Germany and the Second World War: Volume 2: Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe (Germany & Second World War) - Tapa dura

'a fascinating volume ... As with volume I of the English edition, and the complete German version, this remains an indispensable contribution to its field.' John P. Fox, International Affairs, 1/92

`Volume 2 maintains the same high standard of scholarship, broad analysis of economic and political factors, and clear exposition as the first. ... An essential addition to all library collections.' Choice

'worth waiting for ... its contributors ... do a truly commendable job of analysing the receptivity of Germans to the martial spirit ... Handsomely produced and smoothly translated ... the first two installments of Germany and the Second World War can be warmly recommended to the broad readership they deserve.'Marilyn Shevin Coetzee, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, History, Summer 1992

This is the second in the comprehensive ten-volume Germany and the Second World War. The six volumes so far published in German take the story up to 1943, and have achieved international acclaim as a major contribution to historical study. Under the auspices of the Militärgeschichtliches 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.

Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe surveys the first year of the war deliberately begun by Nazi Germany. The authors examine the train of interconnected political and military events, and set military operations against the background of Hitler's war policy and general aims, both immediate and long term. Their comprehensive analysis, based on detailed scholarly research, is underpinned by a full apparatus of maps, diagrams, and tables. The conflict took a course quite different from that which Hitler had intended, but nevertheless resulted in a series of conquests for the Third Reich. At the same time, the establishment of hegemony on the European continent confronted the aggressor with new problems.

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.