WITHDRAWN **oftflfc ****** *>*ma4 WORLD WAR II WORLD WAR II A Short History Michael Lyons J. North Dakota State University PRENTICE HALL, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 LIBRARYOFCONGRESS LibraryofCongressCatalogIng-ln-PublIcatIonData Editorial/production supervision and interior design: Rob DeGeorge Cover design: Diane Saxe Manufacturing buyer: Ed O'Dougherty © 1989 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. / L A Division of Simon & Schuster 1 ' Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 ^ ^ All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 987654321 10 -13- ISBN c fll32-c it3 i Prentice-Hall International (UK) Limited, London Prentice-Hall of Australia Pty. Limited, Sydney Prentice-Hall Canada Inc., Toronto Prentice-Hall Hispanoamericana, S.A., Mexico Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi Prentice-Hall ofJapan, Inc., Tokyo Simon & Schuster Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore Editora Prentice-Hall do Brasil, Ltda., Rio deJaneiro To Joan contents PREFACE xiii Revolution in Russia 10 The U.S. Role 11 THE ORIGINS OF WORLD WAR II An End to the Nightmare 12 1 WORLD WAR THE GREAT 2 THE LEGACY OF WORLD I: TURNING POINT WAR 1 14 I The Social, Political, and Economic The Peace of Paris 14 Climate in Europe Prior to Other Treaties and Territorial World War I 1 Changes 21 The Growth of Rivalry among Reactions to the New European Nations 3 Arrangements 23 The Seeds of Conflict in Economic Repercussions 25 Europe 4 Political Realignments 26 The War Spreads 4 The Rise of the Land of the Rising Miscalculations and Illusions 5 Sun 27 A Long and Bloody Deadlock 6 Seeking Balance between East and The Resort to Total War 8 West 29 The Territorial Imperative 9 A Fragile Optimism 30 vii viii Contents 3 THE RISE OF THE The First Blitzkrieg: Germany's In- DICTATORS 31 vasion of Poland 77 A Phony War of Real Danger 81 The Emergence of Totalitarianism 31 6 COMPLICATIONS IN THE Lenin and the Bolsheviks 32 NORTH: FINLAND, DENMARK, NORWAY The Stalinist Era in the Soviet 84 Union 35 The Russo-Finnish War 84 Fascism in Italy 37 Focus on Scandinavia 88 Hitler and the Nazis in Germany 41 The Conquest of Denmark and The Weimar Republic in Norway 88 Crisis 44 The Third Reich Takes Form 46 7 THE FALL OF FRANCE 93 The Fuhrer at the Helm 49 Comparative Military Strength 93 The Transformation ofJapan 50 The Politics of Military Leadership 94 4 THE ROAD TO WAR 52 Sweep through the Low Countries 96 Japanese Aggression on the Asian The Conquest of France 99 Mainland 52 Hitler's Plans for Europe 57 8 BRITAIN IS STILL AN Reactions of Neighboring ISLAND 103 Nations 58 Ploys and Counterploys 59 What to Do about Britain? 103 Civil War in Spain 62 Planning the Attack 104 Germany on the Offensive 63 Defending against the The Dilemma of Luftwaffe 106 Czechoslovakia 65 The Battle of Britain 109 A Change of Policy in the West 67 9 THE PLOT THICKENS: THE Crisis over Poland 68 MEDITERRANEAN AND THE BALKANS 112 GERMANY'S MARCH OF CONQUEST Extending the War 5 BLITZKRIEG IN THE EAST, Southward 112 SITZKRIEG IN THE WEST 72 North Africa: The Desert War 114 Differing Approaches to War 72 The Balkan Campaigns 117 A Patchwork of Strength and The Quick Conquest of Weaknesses 76 Crete 120