Military Effectiveness, Volume 3: The Second World War

Military Effectiveness #3

by Allan Reed Millett (Editor), Williamson Murray (Editor)

This work constitutes the third part of a three-volume set which analyzes the strategic and military problems of the era spanning the two world wars. This book covers World War II. The other two volumes in the set address World War I and the interwar period respectively.

Genres: History, Military History, Military Fiction

375 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

A specialist in the history of American military policy and twentieth century wars and military institutions, Allan R. Millett is professor emeritus at The Ohio State University, where he taught form 1969 until his retirement in 2005.

Reviews

[Jarl Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Praise for Military Effectiveness: Volumes 1 thru 3

Should be a required course of study in American educational systems.

The theme of political, strategic, operational, and tactical effectiveness of the great world powers in the three volumes provides vast amounts of valuable information. They illustrate the complexity of war, the massive expenditure of resources, and the consequences of making wrong decisions by political and military leaders.

The lessons contained in these volumes could be valuable for future decision makers. Hopefully they are a source of study to them and are used to avoid the mistakes of the past.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of scholarly essays on the military effectiveness of the major combatants in both world wars - volume I covering the First World War - has become something of a classic, and it doesn't disappoint. The editors defined that effectiveness in terms of four levels of activity: political, strategic, operational and tactical, and each of the nations' armies and navies are examined thereby. The Second World War is still a benchmark for total warfare in the 20th century, perhaps overly so, as the wars which followed tended not to reach the same levels of scope and intensity. Some of the articles in this volume, especially those on the USSR and Germany, have a dated feeling, as newer research (especially in Russia) have brought the truth about the Eastern Front closer to the light. However, since it is almost impossible to find a modern work on the military history of the 20th century that does not have this series in its bibliography, one must conclude that these books are authoritative. Some of the best minds in military history were recruited to write here as well. The only drawback is that the countries invoked (Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Italy and the United States) had to have been actively involved in both world wars, so unfortunately several important combatants in those wars didn't make the cut, such as Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and China, for example. But other than that, anyone with an interest in how various military and associated organizations functioned (or didn't) in the first half of the 20th century cannot afford to give this series a miss.