The Great World War 1914-45: 1. Lightning Strikes Twice

by John M. Bourne, Peter H. Liddle, Ian Whitehead

A volume of immense international scholarship, The Great World War 1914-45 asks the question: Rather than two separate wars, should not the whole period between 1914 and 1945 be recognized as one "Great War," a conflict that was not resolved until the extinction of German military ambition? In this first volume, twenty eminent historians offer a work of rich collaboration. They compare and contrast frontline combat, from the Somme to Stalingrad, and aerial warfare, from "Bloody April" to the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." Naval campaigns, jungle and desert warfare, and amphibious operations are also examined as are the successes and failures of national strategies. Away from the battlefields, they investigate the civilian's experience of war, national economic policies, and the "barbarization of warfare" that so marred the first half of the 20th century. A groundbreaking work of military history.

Genres: World War II, World War I

768 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000