In this history of a global war, the author weaves together all aspects - political, diplomatic, military and civilian. Heroes from all nations - soldiers, sailors and airmen, statesmen and resistance fighters are remembered and their stories put in the context of the wider struggle.
Chapter 1. The German invasion of Poland, September 1939
Chapter 2. Poland defeated, October 1939
Chapter 3. Finland defiant, November 1939
Chapter 4. The Scandinavian cockpit, winter 1939–1940
Chapter 5. The German attack in the West, May 1940
Chapter 7. The battle for France, June 1940
Chapter 8. France’s agony, Britain’s resolve, June–July 1940
Chapter 9. The battle for Britain, August–September 1940
Chapter 10. ‘The war is won!’ (Hitler), October 1940
Chapter 11. The ‘new order of tyranny’ (Roosevelt), winter 1940–1941
Chapter 12. The widening war, January–March 1941
Chapter 13. The German conquest of Yugoslavia and Greece, April 1941
Chapter 14. The fall of Crete; war in Africa, April–May 1941
Chapter 15. The German invasion of Russia, June 1941
Chapter 16. Terror in the East, July–August 1941
Chapter 17. Towards Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev, September 1941
Chapter 18. Russia at bay, September–October 1941
Chapter 19. ‘Deciding the fate of Europe’ (Hitler), November 1941
Chapter 20. The limits of German conquest, December 1941
Chapter 21. Japan strikes, December 1941
Chapter 22. ‘We are no longer alone’ (Churchill), New Year 1942
Chapter 23. Global war, February–April 1942
Chapter 24. The spread of resistance and terror, summer 1942
Chapter 25. Axis triumphs, July 1942
Chapter 26. Guadalcanal, Dieppe, El Alamein, August–September 1942
Chapter 27. Stalingrad and ‘Torch’, September–October 1942
Chapter 28. The turn of the tide for the Allies, winter 1942
Chapter 29. Casablanca: blueprint for victory, January 1943
Chapter 30. The German armies in danger, February 1943
Chapter 31. ‘Drive the enemy into the sea’ (Montgomery), spring 1943
Chapter 32. ‘The first crack in the Axis’ (Roosevelt), summer 1943
Chapter 33. Germany and Japan in retreat, autumn 1943
Chapter 34. ‘Bleeding to death in the East’ (Goebbels), winter 1943
Chapter 35. Anzio, Cassino, Kwajalein, January–February 1944
Chapter 36. Bombing, deportation, and mass murder, February–March 1944
Chapter 37. Resistance, sabotage and deception, spring 1944
Chapter 39. Germany encircled, July 1944
Chapter 40. The battles for Poland and France, summer 1944
Chapter 41. The bitter-sweet path of liberation, autumn 1944
Chapter 42. Into Germany; towards the Philippines, September 1944
Chapter 43. Fighting for every mile, October–November 1944
Chapter 44. Flying bombs, suicide pilots, death marches, January 1945
Chapter 45. Berlin, Manila, Dresden, Tokyo, February–March 1945
Chapter 46. The Axis in disarray; the Allies in conflict, March–April 1945
Chapter 47. The deaths of Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler, April 1945
Chapter 48. The end of the war in Europe, May 1945
Chapter 49. Germany in defeat, Japan unbowed, May–July 1945
Chapter 50. Alamogordo, Potsdam, Hiroshima, July–August 1945
Chapter 51. The defeat of Japan, August 1945
Chapter 52. Retribution and Remembrance, 1945–1952
Chapter 53. ‘Unfinished business’, 1953–1989