This comprehensive volume covers three major theatres of combat - the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. It reveals how crucial victory at sea was to the outcome of World War II, as sea lanes were the logistical arteries of the Allies fighting abroad. World War II was won on land, but could easily have been lost at sea.

The period from 1939 to 1945 saw some of the most devastating and remarkable events in living memory. Labouring beneath a daily burden of fear, sacrifice, deprivation and uncertainty, soldiers and civilians of all nationalities were driven to extremes of selfless loyalty, dogged determination or bitter cruelty by the demands of a world at war.

This book tells the stories of the men and women who lived and died during the Second World War, from politicians to factory workers, and from High Command to the conscripted men on the front lines. The experience of war is brought to life through a wealth of contemporary documentation, private writings and historical research, whilst the political, military and historical significance of the war is assessed and examined.

From Europe's Western and Eastern Fronts to the war at sea, and from the Pacific to the Mediterranean and North Africa, every fighting front of the Second World War is covered in this truly comprehensive volume.

This volume provides a comprehensive guide to three major theatres of combat; the battles for the Atlantic, the war in the Mediterranean and the contest in the Indian Ocean. The war at sea was a vital contest, which if lost would have irreversibly altered the balance of the military forces on land. An island nation like Britain could not have sustained itself to triumph over Germany, Italy and Japan after five years of fighting without having first assured victory at sea. The sea lanes were the logistical arteries of British and subsequent Allied armies fighting on the three continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Second World War was ultimately won by land forces but it could always have been lost at sea.