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Short History of World War II - James L. Stokesbury [216]

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Pearl Harbor (New York, 1950). On American naval and military posture there are R. F. Weigley’s History of the United States Army (New York, 1967) and his The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy (New York, 1973), both volumes in the series of the Macmillan Wars of the United States; and for the navy there is Thaddeus V. Tuleja’s Statesmen and Admirals: Quest for a Far Eastern Naval Policy (New York, 1963). The definitive study of Japanese-American prewar relations is H. Feis’ The Road to Pearl Harbor (Princeton, 1950). Needless to say, Pearl Harbor has received extensive examination. The most popular accounts are W. Lord’s Day of Infamy (New York, 1957) and J. Toland’s But Not in Shame (New York, 1961), which takes the story from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Probably the best specific study to date is Roberta Wohlstetter’s Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision (Stanford, 1962).

Many of the works listed above, especially those dealing with Germany and with Britain during the period 1937-39, have sections on the prewar crises. As mentioned in the text, A. J. P. Taylor’s The Origins of the Second World War (New York, 1962) is crucial, whether or not one agrees with it. Particularly condemnatory of Chamberlain is Leonard Mosley’s On Borrowed Time (New York, 1971). The standard biography is by K. Feiling, The Life of Neville Chamberlain (New York, 1946). For the Czech crisis there is K. Eubank’s Munich (Norman, Okla., 1963). Laurence Thompson’s The Greatest Treason: The Untold Story of Munich (New York, 1968) is a very readable account that emphasizes both the banality of the participants and the divisions among them.

THE EUROPEAN WAR: EARLY PHASE. For all the campaigns there are the standard histories of the war referred to earlier. Probably the two best surveys of the Polish campaign are R. M. Kennedy’s The German Campaign in Poland, 1939 (Washington, 1956) and a French work, R. Jars’ La Campagne de Pologne (Paris, 1949). An interesting personal memoir is Gen. K. S. Rudnicki’s The Last of the War Horses (London, 1974). The question of western inactivity is dealt with in J. Kimche’s The Unfought Battle (New York, 1968).

For the Russo-Finnish War there is V. A. Tanner, The Winter War: Finland Against Russia, 1939-1940 (London, 1961). Marshal Mannerheim wrote his Memoirs (New York, 1954), dealing extensively with relations between his unfortunate country and Soviet Russia.

On the Norwegian campaign B. Ash wrote Norway (London, 1964), and K. Derry’s The Campaign in Norway (London, 1952) is a useful volume of the United Kingdom Military Series. The British naval officer Captain D. G. F. W. MacIntyre wrote a study specifically on Narvik (New York, 1960). A more recent study of the whole war in Norway is R. Petrow’s The Bitter Years: The Invasion and Occupation of Denmark and Norway, April, 1940-May, 1945 (New York, 1974).

As might well be expected, the greatest military collapse of the twentieth century, the fall of France, has inspired an enormous amount of investigation. The general studies by W. L. Shirer and Alastair Home have already been referred to. Gamelin wrote his memoirs, and Reynaud wrote his twice, the first under the title, in French, France Has Saved Europe (Paris, 2 vols., 1947), and again under the title, in its English translation, In the Thick of the Fight (New York, 1955). It is safe to say that memoirs of French generals and politicians have been somewhat critically received in the English-speaking world. This is equally true of de Gaulle’s War Memoirs (London, 3 vols., 1955-60). Probably the most balanced account of events by a close observer is General Sir E. Spears’ Assignment to Catastrophe (New York, 2 vols., 1954). Marc Bloch’s Strange Defeat (New York, 1949) has also been highly regarded. For the actual military operations, there are several works available. T. Draper’s The Six Weeks’ War (New York, 1944) is old but surprisingly good, considering it was published while the war was still on. The Battle of France, 1940, by Colonel A. Goutard (New York, 1959) takes

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