This is an updated edition of the first truly concise introduction to the history of World War II in the West. The author, S. P. MacKenzie traces the major events on both fighting front and home front, explaining what happened and, just as importantly, why the balance of fortunes swung first towards the Axis and then towards the Allies. Along with overviews of the origins and consequences of the conflict, the book:

- Provides a narrative account of the course of events on land throughout the war

- Contains sections specifically devoted to societies and economies; resistance movements and collaboration; technology and intelligence; alliances and strategy; the war in the air and at sea

- Assesses the impact of the war and introduces the key historiographical debates surrounding it

Far from being a blow-by-blow account, the book shows how the Second World War can only be understood by taking all the contributing factors - military, economic and social among others - into account. In addition to the existing wealth of useful supplementary material, this edition has been updated to include a colour illustration section and, for readers interested in learning more, a detailed narrative guide to published historical literature. Admirably succinct yet academically rich, this is the essential introduction to the Second World War in the West.

Professor S. P. MacKenzie is the Caroline McKissick Dial Chair of History at the University of South Carolina. He is the author of a variety of books on aspects of the Second World War, including The Home Guard (1995), The Colditz Myth (2004), British War Films (2006), The Battle of Britain on Screen (2007), and most recently Bader's War (2008).

S.P. Mackenzie is Professor of History at the University of South Carolina. He teaches military history and modern European history, with special emphasis on the linkages between war and society. Professor MacKenzie teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on the evolution of warfare as well as Britain and Continental Europe in the modern period. His publications include: The Colditz Myth: British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War in Nazi Germany; British War Films, 1939-1945: The Cinema and the Services; Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Era: A Revisionist Approach; The Home Guard: A Military and Political History; Politics and Military Morale: Current-Affairs and Citizenship Education in the British Army, 1914-1950 .

List of maps

Note on referencing system

Preface

Acknowledgements

Chronology

Who's Who

Glossary

PART ONE: BACKGROUND

1. THE ROAD TO WAR

The Origins of the Second World War

Preparing for War

PART TWO: THE SECOND WORLD WAR

2. THE FLOW OF BLITZKRIEG, 1939-42

Campaigns East and West, 1939-40

Strategies for Survival and Expansion, 1940-41

The Limits of Blitzkrieg, 1941-42

3. PEOPLES AT WAR

Economies and Societies at War

Barbarism and the Holocaust

Collaboration and Resistance

4. CONDUCTING WAR

Technology and Intelligence

Alliances and Strategy

Strategic Bombing and the U-Boat War

5. THE EBB OF BLITZKRIEG, 1942-45

The Changing Balance of Fortune, 1942-43

Success and Failure South and East, 1943-44

Closing the Ring, 1944-45

PART THREE: ASSESSMENT

6. THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER

Costs and the Division of Europe

Historical Debates

Winning and Losing

PART FOUR: DOCUMENTS

Guide to Further Reading

References

Index