The object of this book is to introduce readers to a whole range of military history which has all the drama, dangers, horrors and excitement that we associate with Stalingrad or the Somme. Battles are acute moments of history whenever and wherever they have been fought. Through them we can understand how warfare and world history have evolved. Choosing just one hundred battles from recorded human history is a challenge. Not just because it is necessary to cover almost 6,000 years of history, but because men have fought each other almost continuously for millennia. Anyone who knows anything about the history of war may be disappointed at what has had to be left out. However, each of the 100 memorable battles described shows both how the nature of armed combat has changed over human history, and also how, despite changes in technology, organisation or ideas, many things have remained the same. It is an old adage that you can win a battle but lose a war. The battles featured here almost always resulted in victory for one side or another, but the victor did not necessarily win the war. Some battles are decisive in that broader historical sense, others are not. The further back in time, the more likely it is that an enemy could be finished off in one blow. The wars of the modern age, between major states, have involved repeated battles until one side was battered into submission. Some of the great generals of the recent past - Napoleon, Robert E Lee, Erich von Manstein - have been on the losing side but are remembered nonetheless for their generalship. Some on the winning side have all but disappeared from the history books or from public memory. Equally, in many battles, the issue is not victory or defeat, but what the battle can tell us about the history of warfare itself. New weapons, new tactics, new ways of organising armed forces can have a sudden impact on the outcome of a battle. But so too can leadership, or the effects of a clever deception, or raw courage. That is why the book has been divided up into clear themes which apply equally to the battles of the ancient world as they do to the battles of today. As Professor Richard Overy laments: "Battle is not a game to plug into a computer but a piece of living history, messy, bloody and real. That, at least, has not changed in 6,000 years."

Up to date, concise textbook on the Orignis of the Second World War, with lots of pedagogical features, updated to include more on Empire and Aisa. The Second World War is an enduring topic for students. Ours is the only proper textbook with documents and pedagogical features in the market, the rest are trade volumes or edited collections.

Up to date, concise textbook on the Orignis of the Second World War, with lots of pedagogical features, updated to include more on Empire and Aisa. The Second World War is an enduring topic for students. Ours is the only proper textbook with documents and pedagogical features in the market, the rest are trade volumes or edited collections.

The Inter-War Crisis is a concise yet analytical overview of the rapidly-changing world between 1918 and 1939, covering the political, economic and social instability that resulted from the First World War and the eventual descent towards the fresh upheaval of the Second World War. Revised throughout and containing a new range of illustrations, this third edition covers topics such as the Russian Revolution, the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the concepts of the 'end of civilization' and the decline of the West, cultural and scientific responses to an age of anxiety and fear, and the ways in which dictatorship came to replace democracy across so much of Europe. Global in focus, it offers thematic discussions, close analysis of a range of case studies and a clear over-arching narrative structure that guides the reader from the close of one war to the beginning of the next. Also including a selection of over thirty primary source documents, maps, a chronology of events, a glossary of key terms, a Who's Who of important figures and an extensive and updated guide to further reading, this book is an essential introduction for students of the inter-war period.

Heinz Knocke was one of the outstanding German fighter pilots of World War II and this vivid first-hand record of his experiences has become a classic among aviation memoirs, a best-selling counter-balance to the numerous accounts written by Allied pilots. Knoke joined the Luftwaffe on the outbreak of war, and eventually became commanding officer of a fighter wing. An outstandingly brave and skilful fighter, he logged over two thousand flights, and shot down fifty-two enemy aircraft. He had flown over four hundred operational missions before being crippled by wounds in an astonishing 'last stand' towards the end of the war. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for his achievements. In a text that reveals his intense patriotism and discipline, he describes being brought up in the strict Prussian tradition, the rise of the Nazi regime, and his own wartime career set against a fascinating study of everyday life in the Luftwaffe, and of the high morale of the force until its disintegration. His memoirs are set in a new perspective, and are both a valuable contribution to aviation literature and a moving human story.

The Inter-War Crisis is a concise yet analytical overview of the rapidly-changing world between 1918 and 1939, covering the political, economic and social instability that resulted from the First World War and the eventual descent towards the fresh upheaval of the Second World War. Revised throughout and containing a new range of illustrations, this third edition covers topics such as the Russian Revolution, the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the concepts of the 'end of civilization' and the decline of the West, cultural and scientific responses to an age of anxiety and fear, and the ways in which dictatorship came to replace democracy across so much of Europe. Global in focus, it offers thematic discussions, close analysis of a range of case studies and a clear over-arching narrative structure that guides the reader from the close of one war to the beginning of the next. Also including a selection of over thirty primary source documents, maps, a chronology of events, a glossary of key terms, a Who's Who of important figures and an extensive and updated guide to further reading, this book is an essential introduction for students of the inter-war period.

Explore World War II in unprecedented detail with this compelling geographical guide. If you're interested in finding out more about one of the deadliest wars in history, then this war book is perfect for you. World War II Map by Map is an intricately detailed history book, that will encourage you to get a sense of the magnitude, mobility and speed at which the colossal armies swept through these vast landscapes during a war that claimed millions of lives and spanned through many areas globally. Follow the key developments of World War II in unprecedented visual detail, with more than 100 specially created historical maps covering all major theatres of war. Discover how the conflict raged around the globe on land, air, and sea, while timelines provide an in-depth chronology of events. Beautiful archival photographs, contemporary artifacts, and profiles of famous leaders reveal the full story of the war that shaped the modern world. So what are you waiting for? Journey back in time and uncover: - 9 main contemporary maps, including battle maps from both Allies and Axis countries, explain key events. - Easy-to-read text panels to accompany the maps for a deeper understanding of each topic. - Set out into 5 Chapters with 11 narrative overviews - 30 photo feature spreads exploring topics beyond the War Bursting with striking illustrations and full of fascinating detail, this world war 2 book is the ultimate gift for history students, general readers, and military history enthusiasts. Whether you enjoy watching military documents, or you're looking for the perfect gift for the history lover in your life, World War II Map by Map can be enjoyed by adults and children aged 12+ alike. Written by a team of historians headed by Richard Overy as a consultant, this history book for adults examines in detail how the most destructive conflict in history changed the face of our world. At DK, we believe in the power of discovery. So why stop there? The Map by Map series includes other titles such as History of the World Map by Map and Battles Map by Map, each detailing historical events and placing them in the context of geography. DK's luxurious Map by Map books are fantastic history gifts, packed with fascinating facts, high-quality photography, and detailed profiles and descriptions of people and events.

The ultimate work of historical reference 'The Times Complete History of the World' is the most comprehensive, authoritative and accessible work on world history available today. It has sold over 2.25 million copies and has been translated into 18 languages since its first publication in 1978. With a narrative scope covering the origins of humankind right through to the turmoil of the 21st century, this book is an unrivalled and breathtaking accomplishment. With over 600 full-colour maps and charts on a wide range of historical subjects and representing the work of a team of world-class historians, this new edition continues a tradition of more than thirty years of excellence, style, authority and cutting-edge design. With fully up-to-date text, including new material on the Middle East, China and Russia, this book, edited by leading modern historian Professor Richard Overy, is more compelling than ever. Updates for the ninth edition include: * New spreads: China since 1976 The collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation of modern Russia The Arab World in transition * Substantially updated spread on Europe since 1991 * The most up-to-date research on human origins * Updated spreads on South and Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Central and North America. * Updated spread on the World in 21st Century * Updated introduction

Spitfire Pilot was written in 1940 in the heat of battle when the RAF stood alone against the might of Hitlers Third Reich. It is a tremendous personal account of one of the fiercest and most idealised air conflicts the Battle of Britain seen through the eyes of a pilot of the famous 609 Squadron, which shot down over 100 planes in that epic contest. Often hopelessly outnumbered, in their state of the art Spitfires, Crook and his colleagues committed acts of unimaginable bravery against the Messerschmidts and Junkers. Many did not make it and the author describes the absence they leave in the squadron with great poignancy. Spitfire Pilot is justly regarded as one of the classics of WWII and this new paperback edition, 66 years on, includes an introduction by the historian Richard Overy.

Histories you can trust. World War Two was the most devastating conflict in recorded human history. It was both global in extent and total in character. It has understandably left a long and dark shadow across the decades. Yet it is three generations since hostilities formally ended in 1945 and the conflict is now a lived memory for only a few. And this growing distance in time has allowed historians to think differently about how to describe it, how to explain its course, and what subjects to focus on when considering the wartime experience. For instance, as World War Two recedes ever further into the past, even a question as apparently basic as when it began and ended becomes less certain. Was it 1939, when the war in Europe began? Or the summer of 1941, with the beginning of Hitler's war against the Soviet Union? Or did it become truly global only when the Japanese brought the USA into the war at the end of 1941? And what of the long conflict in East Asia, beginning with the Japanese aggression in China in the early 1930s and only ending with the triumph of the Chinese Communists in 1949? In The Oxford History of World War Two a team of leading historians re-assesses the conflict for a new generation, exploring the course of the war not just in terms of the Allied response but also from the viewpoint of the Axis aggressor states. Under Richard Overy's expert editorial guidance, the contributions take us from the genesis of war, through the action in the major theatres of conflict by land, sea, and air, to assessments of fighting power and military and technical innovation, the economics of total war, the culture and propaganda of war, and the experience of war (and genocide) for both combatants and civilians, concluding with an account of the transition from World War to Cold War in the late 1940s. Together, they provide a stimulating and thought-provoking new interpretation of one of the most terrible and fascinating episodes in world history.

Published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (May 2020) and Victory in Japan Day (August 2020), this is an outstanding concise history of the Second World War written by one of Britain's foremost historians. The second in a two-part history of the World War II: The Essential History, Vol 2 - From the Invasion of Sicily to VJ Day 1943-45 examines the Allies' long struggle for victory against Axis powers which had once seemed unbeatable. Starting with the Allied invasion of mainland Europe in the west and ending with the explosion of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the east we are taken page by page through the gripping events which eventually saw the end of six long years of war. The concluding volume in this landmark series contains some of the most dramatic moments of the war: the use of so-called V-weapons by the Nazis to maximize civilian casualties; the unforgettable story of D-Day and the battle for Normandy; the Battle of the Bulge, which finally broke Axis power in the West; and the indescribably bloody and brutal race to Berlin that finally extinguished the Third Reich.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY SHORTLISTED FOR THE GILDER LEHRMAN PRIZE FOR MILITARY HISTORY 'A masterpiece. It puts all previous single-volume works of the conflict in the shade' Saul David, The Times A bold new approach to the Second World War from one of Britain's foremost military historians Richard Overy sets out in Blood and Ruins to recast the way in which we view the Second World War and its origins and aftermath. He argues that this was the 'great imperial war', a violent end to almost a century of global imperial expansion which reached its peak in the ambitions of Italy, Germany and Japan in the 1930s and early 1940s, before descending into the largest and costliest war in human history and the end, after 1945, of all territorial empires. How war on a huge scale was fought, supplied, paid for, supported by mass mobilization and morally justified forms the heart of this new account. Above all, Overy explains the bitter cost for those involved in fighting, and the exceptional level of crime and atrocity that marked these imperial projects, the war and its aftermath. This war was as deadly for civilians as it was for the military, a war to the death over the future of the global order. Blood and Ruins is a masterpiece from of one of the most renowned historians of the Second World War, which will compel us to view the war in novel and unfamiliar ways. Thought-provoking, original and challenging, Blood and Ruins sets out to understand the war anew.

"Overy's book is easily the best account of Europe's descent into...death and destruction." --"Evening Standard" (London)

A brilliantly concise narrative of the days leading to the outbreak of history's greatest conflagration, "1939" takes readers hour by hour through the nail-biting decisions that determined the fate of millions. Richard Overy, a leading historian of the period, masterfully recreates the jockeying for advantage that set Europe's greatest powers on a collision course. Would Stalin join Hitler in a bid to divide Poland and flout the West? Would Britain and France succeed in forcing Germany to reason? And how far would a defiant Poland push its claim to exist? In the summer of 1939, the course of events was anything but assured, as this exceptionally absorbing book drives home.

Published in the Bloomsbury Revelations series and featuring a new preface by the author, this classic biography by acclaimed historian Richard Overy takes the reader on a chilling journey into the heart of Hitler's inner circle. Hermann Goering was Hitler's most loyal supporter, his designated successor and the second most powerful man in the Third Reich. One of the main architects of the Nazi regime, he was also instrumental in the creation of the Gestapo and directly ordered the Final Solution. But who was the man behind the carefully-constructed mask? Self-indulgent and ruthless, sybaritic and brutal, egotistical yet capable of self-effacement, weak-willed yet fiercely calculating, Goering was a contradictory, complex and often bufoonish character. He styled himself as the 'Iron Man' but was known to wear togas, fur coats and faux-medieval hunting outfits. A brilliant World War I fighter pilot, military leader and mercurial Luftwaffe commander, he also loved the opera and took a perverse pride in his ill-gotten, infamous art collection. Richard Overy illuminates the many facets of Goering's personality and charts his story from his golden days as Hitler's most trusted commander to his failures and loss of power after the Battle of Britain, his sensational trial at Nuremberg and his ignominious death by suicide on the eve of his execution.

Spitfire Pilot is the exhilarating and moving memoir of D. M. Crook, an airman in the legendary 609 Squadron - one of the most successful RAF units in the Battle of Britain. Beginning with his fond recollections of his halcyon days in training - acrobatics, night flying and languorous days spent playing sport and nights off visiting Piccadilly Circus - Crook goes on to recount in thrilling detail the dogfights, remarkable victories and tragic losses which formed the daily routine of Britain's heroic aerial defenders in that long summer of 1940. Often hopelessly outnumbered, the men of 609 Squadron in their state-of-the-art Spitfires committed acts of unimaginable bravery against the Messerschmitts and Junkers of Germany's formidable Luftwaffe. Many of Crook's fellow airmen did not make it back alive, and the absence they leave in the close-knit community of the squadron is described with great poignancy. Spitfire Pilot offers a unique and personal insight into one of the most critical moments of British history, when a handful of men stood up against the might of the German Air Force in defence of their country. This definitive edition, the first for more than sixty years, includes a new foreword by David Crook's daughter and Air Vice Marshal Sandy Hunter, Honorary Air Commodore of the 609 Squadron. The book also has an introduction by Professor Richard Overy.

Hailed on publication as a thought-provoking, authoritative analysis of the true beginnings of the Second World War, this revised edition of The Road to War is essential reading for anyone interested in this momentous period of history. Taking each major nation in turn, the book tells the story of their road to war; recapturing the concerns, anxieties and prejudices of the statesmen of the thirties.

While the trial of Hitler's fallen elite at Nuremberg has been thoroughly documented, the interval between the Nazis' capture in May and June 1945 and the start of the actual trial in late November has until now remained shrouded in shadow. With Interrogations, acclaimed historian Richard Overy opens a new window into the Third Reich, providing an intimate glimpse of the savage dictatorship in its death throes. More than thirty transcripts of the interrogations are reproduced here for the first time, allowing us to hear the voices of the newly captured "Hitler gang"—including Göring, Speer, and Hess—as they squirmed under the Allies' glare. Interrogations is the stark and disturbing history of defeat; it lays bare as never before the human weaknesses that made the Third Reich possible.

World War Two was the most devastating conflict in recorded human history. It was both global in extent and total in character. It has understandably left a long and dark shadow across the decades. Yet it is three generations since hostilities formally ended in 1945 and the conflict is now a lived memory for only a few. And this growing distance in time has allowed historians to think differently about how to describe it, how to explain its course, and what subjects to focus on when considering the wartime experience. For instance, as World War Two recedes ever further into the past, even a question as apparently basic as when it began and ended becomes less certain. Was it 1939, when the war in Europe began? Or the summer of 1941, with the beginning of Hitler's war against the Soviet Union? Or did it become truly global only when the Japanese brought the USA into the war at the end of 1941? And what of the long conflict in East Asia, beginning with the Japanese aggression in China in the early 1930s and only ending with the triumph of the Chinese Communists in 1949? In The Oxford Illustrated History of World War Two a team of leading historians re-assesses the conflict for a new generation, exploring the course of the war not just in terms of the Allied response but also from the viewpoint of the Axis aggressor states. Under Richard Overy's expert editorial guidance, the contributions take us from the genesis of war, through the action in the major theatres of conflict by land, sea, and air, to assessments of fighting power and military and technical innovation, the economics of total war, the culture and propaganda of war, and the experience of war (and genocide) for both combatants and civilians, concluding with an account of the transition from World War to Cold War in the late 1940s. Together, they provide a stimulating and thought-provoking new interpretation of one of the most terrible and fascinating episodes in world history.

"Overy has written a masterpiece of analytical history, posing and answering one of the great questions of the century."—Sunday Times (London)

Richard Overy's bold book begins by throwing out the stock answers to this great question: Germany doomed itself to defeat by fighting a two-front war; the Allies won by "sheer weight of material strength." In fact, by 1942 Germany controlled almost the entire resources of continental Europe and was poised to move into the Middle East. The Soviet Union had lost the heart of its industry, and the United States was not yet armed.

The Allied victory in 1945 was not inevitable. Overy shows us exactly how the Allies regained military superiority and why they were able to do it. He recounts the decisive campaigns: the war at sea, the crucial battles on the eastern front, the air war, and the vast amphibious assault on Europe. He then explores the deeper factors affecting military success and failure: industrial strength, fighting ability, the quality of leadership, and the moral dimensions of the war.

"A clear-sighted, interesting explanation of the reasons for the victory."—New York Times

Richard Overy's The Morbid Age opens a window onto the creative but anxious period between the First and Second World Wars. British intellectual life between the wars stood at the heart of modernity; it was the golden age of the public intellectual and scientist: Arnold Toynbee, Aldous and Julian Huxley, H. G. Wells, Marie Stopes and a host of others. Yet, as Richard Overy argues, a striking characteristic of so many of the ideas that emerged from this new age - from eugenics to the Freudian unconscious, to modern ideas of pacifism and world government - was the fear that the West was faced a dystopian future of war, economic collapse and racial degeneration. Brilliantly evoking a Britain of BBC radio lectures, public debates, peace demonstrations, pamphleteers, psychoanalysts, anti-fascist volunteers, sex education manuals and science fiction, The Morbid Age reveals a time at once different from, and yet surprisingly similar to, our own. 'History at its best' Economist 'The carefree image of life in Britain between the wars is overturned in this magnificent account' Peter Preston, Observer 'It is hard to imagine anyone recording these times more exactly and more intelligently, or with greater insight and scholarship, than Overy has' Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph 'With learning, lucidity and wit, The Morbid Age ... brilliantly describes the sense of an inevitably approaching catastrophe' Eric Hobsbawm, London Review of Books Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. His books include Why the Allies Won, Russia's War, The Battle of Britain and The Dictators, which won the Wolfson and the Hessell Tiltman Prizes for history in 2005.

The ultimate history of the Blitz and bombing in the Second World War, from Wolfson Prize-winning historian and author Richard Overy The use of massive fleets of bombers to kill and terrorize civilians was an aspect of the Second World War which continues to challenge the idea that Allies specifically fought a 'moral' war. For Britain, bombing became perhaps its principal contribution to the fighting as, night after night, exceptionally brave men flew over occupied Europe destroying its cities. The Bombing War radically overhauls our understanding of the War. It is the first book to examine seriously not just the most well-known parts of the campaign, but the significance of bombing on many other fronts - the German use of bombers on the Eastern Front for example (as well as much newly discovered material on the more familiar 'Blitz' on Britain), or the Allied campaigns against Italian cities. The result is the author's masterpiece - a rich, gripping, picture of the Second World War and the terrible military, technological and ethical issues that relentlessly drove all its participants into an abyss.

In Russia's War: 1941-1945, Richard Overy re-creates the Soviet Union's apocalyptic struggle against Nazi Germany, from the point of view both of the troops and of the ordinary civilians. In the course of human history there has probably been no more terrible place than Eastern Europe in 1941-45. Estimates of total Soviet military and civilian deaths in the period now stand at more than 25 million. Yet without the Soviet war effort, it is unlikely that Germany could have ever been defeated. Drawing on a recent wealth of evidence to account for the Soviet Union's remarkable victory against invading forces, Richard Overy's Russia's War is a fascinating account of the epic struggle that turned the tide of the Second World War. 'Masterly ... a vivid account' Robert Service, Independent 'A dramatic and exciting tale ... His set-piece descriptions of such visions of Hell as Stalingrad, the 900-day siege of Leningrad and the crucial battle of Kursk are as fascinating as they are horrifying' Alan Judd, Sunday Times 'Overy is a first-class military historian ... Now, we have an authoritative British account that understands both sides, without illusions' Norman Stone, Spectator 'Excellent ... Overy tackles this huge, complex and multifaceted story with the vital gifts of clarity and brevity' Antony Beevor, Literary Review Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. His books include Why the Allies Won, Russia's War, The Battle of Britain, The Morbid Age and The Dictators, which won the Wolfson and the Hessell Tiltman Prizes for history in 2005.

Published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (May 2020) and Victory in Japan Day (August 2020), this is an outstanding concise history of the Second World War written by one of Britain's foremost historians. The first of two volumes, World War II: The Essential History, Vol 1 - From the Munich Crisis to the Battle of Kursk 1938-43 begins by charting the period when the Axis powers reigned supreme. In little more than two years Germany, Italy and Japan had conquered much of mainland Europe, moved east into the Soviet Union and pushed the Allies out of the Far East and Pacific. It ends as the Allies finally began to stop the Axis advance in its tracks and win significant ground. From defeat on the beaches of Dunkirk and the jungles of the Philippines to victory in the North African desert, the snow-covered Soviet plains and the Pacific island of Guadalcanal. The first volume ends just as the Allies start to turn the tide against the Third Reich, with the extraordinary dramas of the Battle of the Bulge, D-Day and the race to Berlin still to come.

"An essential part of the literature of World War II." -Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post From acclaimed World War II historian Richard Overy comes this startling new history of the controversial Allied bombing war against Germany and German-occupied Europe. In the fullest account yet of the campaign and its consequences, Overy assesses not just the bombing strategies and pattern of operations, but also how the bombed communities coped with the devastation. This book presents a unique history of the bombing offensive from below as well as from above, and engages with moral questions that still resonate today.

'Outstanding...Overy has written a masterpiece of analytical history, posing and answering one of the great questions of the century' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times The Allied victory in 1945 - though comprehensive - was far from inevitable. By 1942 almost the entire resources of continental Europe were in German hands and Japan had wiped out the western colonial presence in Asia. Democracy appeared to have had its day. In this remarkable study, Richard Overy provides a reinterpretation of the war through an account of the decisive military campaigns that created the astonishing revival in Allied fortunes. He also explores the deeper factors that determined success and failure: industrial stength, fighting ability, the skills of leaders and the moral contrasts between the two sides. Today the modern world is once more in the throes of painful transformation. It is essential to establish why and how the last great war was won. Richard Overy casts a brilliant light on the most important turning-point of the modern age. 'A compelling analysis...skilful and chilling' The Economist