Germany and the Second World War: Volume III: The Mediterranean, South-east Europe, and North Africa, 1939-1941(Germany and the Second World War)

This is the third in the comprehensive ten-volume Germany and the Second World War. The volumes so far published have achieved international acclaim as a major contribution to historical study. Under the auspices of the Militargeschichtliches Forschungsamt (Research Institute for Military History), a team of renowned historians has combined a full synthesis of existing material with the latest research to produce what will be the definitive history of the Second World War.Volume 3 explores the conduct of the war in the Mediterranean region and examines the dramatic military events of this period. It shows how German policy in this area was largely determined by the attitude of the German leadership, especially Hitler, towards Mussolini's Italy, and the volume thus sheds important new light on the alliance policy of theThird Reich. The comprehensive analysis, based on detailed scholarly research, is underpinned by a full apparatus of maps, diagrams, and tables.Intensively researched and documented, Germany and the Second World War is an undertaking of unparalleled scope and authority. It will prove indispensable to all historians of the twentieth century.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I: Political and Military Developments in the Mediterranean Area, 1939-1940Gerhard Schreiber: I: Mussolini's 'Non-Belligerence' II: Italy's Entry Into the War III: The Strategy Dilemma of the Summer and Autumn of 1940: An Alternative or Interim Strategy IV: Ideas of German Ruling Circles Concerning a Colonial Empire Part II: Germany, Italy, and South-East Europe: From Political and Economic Hegemony to Military AggressionGerhard Schreiber: I: Unequal Heirs of the First World War II: German and Italian Policy Towards the States of South-East Europe III: Mussolini's Invasion of Greece: The Beginning of the End of Italy's Great-Power Status Part III: German Intervention in the BalkansDetlef Vogel: I: Germany's Balkan Policy in the Autumn of 1940 and the Spring of 1941 II: From the Coup in Yugoslavia to the Outbreak of War on 6 April 1941 III: The German Attack on Yugoslavia and Greece IV: The Capture of Crete Part IV: Politics and Warfare in 1941Gerhard Schreiber: I: The Anglo-American Association and its Consequences for British Strategy II: Hitler's Strategic Deliberations in Connection with the Attack on the Soviet Union Part V: The Italo-German Conduct of the War in the Mediterranean and North AfricaBernd Stegemann: I: The British Take the Offensive in North and East Africa II: German Intervention and its Effects on the Naval and Air War in the Mediterranean III: The Reconquest of Cyrenaica and the Failure of the Attacks on Tobruk IV: The Fighting on the Sollum Front V: The Naval and Air War in the Mediterranean and Supplies for the North African Theatre VI: Operation Crusader Conclusion

About the Author :
Project co-ordinated by the Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt ; Translated from the German by Dean S. McMurray, and Ewald Osers ; Translation Editor: P. S. Falla

Review :
`These two superb volumes from Oxford University Press ... The Companion is quite an extraordinary achievement ... it provides an indispensable guide ... But the range and intellectual energy of the latter will make it an invaluable work of reference for undergraduate and researchers. Together, these two books provide as valuable a commemoration of the war as any.' Mark Mazower, History Today `By bringing out an English translation, OUP have put all scholars of the war in their debt. If any volume can lay claim to being definitive, this is surely it. The authors have read almost unbelievably widely in the primary and secondary sources ... it will endure ... an indispensable guide to the latest research on most key aspects of the war ... the range and intellectual energy ... will make it an invaluable work of reference for undergraduate and researchers ... as valuable a commemoration of the war as any.' Mark Mazower, History Today