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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.
List of contents
- Introduction
- Part I: Political and Military Developments in the Mediterranean Area, 1939-1940
- 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 Aggression
- 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 Balkans
- 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 1941
- 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 Africa
- 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
Bernd Stegemann war von 1999-2002 Chefdramaturg am TAT in Frankfurt und ist seit 2004 Dramaturg am Deutschen Theater Berlin. Seit 2005 ist er Professor für Schauspielgeschichte, Dramaturgie und Theaterregie an der Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch.
Summary
Explores the conduct of the war in the Mediterranean region and shows how German policy in this area was largely determined by the attitude of the German leadership, especially Hitler, towards Mussolini's Italy, thus shedding important new light on the alliance policy of the Third Reich.
Additional text
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.
Report
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
