The War in the West: A New History, Volume 2

The second volume begins as Germany invades the Soviet Union and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor turns the conflict fully global. It follows the Atlantic war, strategic bombing, the Eastern Front, North Africa and the Mediterranean as the Allies begin converting greater resources into sustained military pressure.

Holland examines how shipping, aircraft production, fuel and coalition command affected the battles more decisively than simple comparisons of weapons. By the invasion of Sicily in 1943, Germany remains dangerous but has lost the strategic freedom enjoyed at the start of the war. Allied recovery is presented as an industrial and organisational achievement as well as a series of battlefield victories.