![]() Throw in the performances of Petain, Gamelin, Darlan, Wygand, Reynaud, and de Gaulle and it becomes difficult to find one single thing that is positive about French conduct. There is one thread in the book that is not emphasized by Beevor and that is the impact of the fall of France and the resulting Vichy government. It was a war of ideology on the surface but when it is objectively analyzed, economics were underpinning both Germany and Japan's motivations and decision-making. Beevor's treatment begins with a satisfying analysis and review of those issues whereas so many histories commence with Germany's invasion of Poland. Not only was the Second World War an amalgamation of conflicts, it's origins were an amalgam of issues dating back to the Treaty of Versailles and earlier. In fact, he contends and shows how the German and Japanese conflicts deeply influenced each other and states that the "Second World War defies generalization". I have tended to follow the Western conflict more and specifically the ground battles but Beevor does an admirable job in the Pacific (and with the air and sea wars). The complexity of decision-making and the range of personalities involved will never truly be comprehended. The scale of the conflict boggles the mind. Thankfully, historians like Beevor, Atkinson, Evans and others have done us a service with fresh, rich research and writing.īeevor's decision to tackle this "amalgamation of conflicts" must have been daunting. Those images were the catalyst for decades of military history reading. I can still visualize the photo of Wavell & O'Connor discussing strategy in the desert, the Japanese tanker's flame-thrown skull, and the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square. Among them was a collection from Time-Life on the war. My interest in this period can be traced back to the books in my father's den. Why was I purchasing yet another history of The Second World War? Having read many covering the entire war and greater numbers on various aspects of the conflict, was I really going to discover anything I had not already learned? ![]() Following the download of this book, I had a moment of buyer's remorse. ![]()
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