The World War II Story

In September 1939 Hitler's Nazi Germany invaded Poland, sparking international condemnation and declarations of war on Germany and France and most of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Thus, one of the greatest wars in history began. World War II witnessed the mobilisation of more than 100 million military personnel. This was 'total war' in a scale that had not been previously experienced by any of the countries involved. The war eclipsed everything: industry, technology, the economy and home life. It changed generations of men and women, who grew up under the shadow of war. It encompassed theatres of warfare from the desert to the skies, from the sea to the swathes of land across Europe and Russia. It was the dealiest conflict in human history with the loss of 50 million and over 70 million people and saw the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare to this day. The World War II Story charts the narrative of the war and the impact it had on human life and history.

Auteur

Chris McNab is a full-time writer and freelance editor. He has worked on numerous military history books globally and specialises in the development of military weaponry throughout the ages. His books included The Machine Gun Story.

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In September 1939, Hitler's Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Thus began the greatest armed struggle in history. Within days of the invasion, Germany was at war with France, Great Britain and much of the Commonwealth, but by the end of 1941 - by which time Japan and the United States had been plunged into war - the conflict had engulfed virtually the entire planet. World War II witnessed the mobilisation of more than 100 million military personnel. Here was 'total war' on a scale never previously experienced by any of the countries involved. The conflict eclipsed everything: industry, technology, the economy and home life. It transformed the lives of an entire generation of men and women, who grew up under the shadow of violence, separation and loss. It was also fought in every conceivable terrain and theatre, from the arctic conditions of the Soviet winter to the tropical landscape of the Pacific islands, with the battle for seas and skies being equally brutal. By the time it ended in September 1945, World War II had claimed the lives of more than 50 million people, and it witnessed the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare to this day. The World War II Story charts the dramatic narrative of the conflict from its first shots to its final apocalyptic end.