The rise of Germany, 1939-1941

James Holland, 1970-

Book - 2015

"In The Rise of Germany, the first of a major new three-part history of World War II in the West, he weaves together the experiences of dozens of individuals, from civilians and infantrymen, to line officers, military strategists, diplomats, and heads of state, as well as war strategy, tactics, and the economic, political, and social aspects of the war to create a captivating book that redefines and enhances our understanding of one of the most significant conflicts in history,"--Amazon.com.

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Subjects
Published
New York, NY : Atlantic Monthly Press 2015.
Language
English
Main Author
James Holland, 1970- (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Originally published: The rise and fall of Germany, 1939-1942 -- London : Bantam Press, 2015 -- (The war in the West : a new history ; volume 1).
Physical Description
xxiv, 692 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 612-664) and index.
ISBN
9780802123978
  • List of Maps
  • List of Principal Characters Featured
  • Note on the Text
  • Introduction
  • Part I. War Begins
  • 1. Countdown
  • 2. Diplomacy
  • 3. Running Out of Time
  • 4. The Point of No Return
  • 5. War Declared
  • 6. All at Sea
  • 7. Offensive Reconnaissance
  • 8. Vehicle Shortages
  • 9. The Modern Army
  • 10. Leading the Nation
  • 11. Attention to Detail
  • 12. Case YELLOW
  • 13. Home Front
  • 14. Iron in the Soul
  • 15. All Alone
  • Part II. Germany Triumphant
  • 16. Operation Weserübung
  • 17. The Battle for Norway
  • 18. The Go-for-Broke Gamble
  • 19. Attack in the West
  • 20. Race to the Meuse
  • 21. Smashing the Meuse Front
  • 22. Encirclement
  • 23. Britain's Darkest Hour
  • 24. Getting Away
  • 25. The End in France
  • 26. Air Power: I
  • Part III. War in the Air and on the Sea
  • 27. Air Power: II
  • 28. Not Alone
  • 29. Indecision
  • 30. Adler-Angriff
  • 31. Crossing the Water
  • 32. The Approach to Battle
  • 33. Science, Money and Resources
  • 34. The Grey Atlantic
  • 35. The Humiliation of Mussolini
  • 36. Change of Tack
  • Part IV. The Widening War
  • 37. The Vanquished and the Defiant
  • 38. Saved from the Deep
  • 39. Developments at Sea
  • 40. Sea Battles
  • 41. Mixed Fortunes: I
  • 42. Forwards and Backwards
  • 43. Gains and Losses
  • 44. Mixed Fortunes: II
  • 45. Mercury Falling
  • 46. Midsummer Heat
  • 47. Industrial Potential
  • 48. Trouble at the Top
  • Glossary
  • Appendices
  • Timeline
  • Notes
  • Selected Sources
  • Acknowledgements
  • Picture Acknowledgements
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Holland's first volume of a planned trilogy illustrates the difficult nature of writing a history of WW II. The war's enormity forces scholars to make choices about coverage and sources. Holland's compelling narrative focuses on the military, diplomatic, and economic responses of Britain, France, and the US to Germany's quest for European domination and relies mainly on non-German sources. Missing is a detailed examination of the deep ideological, political, and economic factors that influenced Hitler's decision to start the war. Holland provides a cast of civilian and military characters of many nationalities and traces their experiences as the war progressed. However, he attends to their experiences inconsistently and seems to stress military personnel. The book covers all the major land campaigns, but its strength is in the detailed examination of the air and sea battles, especially the development of British air defenses and the strategic and tactical adjustments the Royal Navy made to combat the U-boat menace. Unfortunately, Holland perpetuates myths about British and French appeasement when he implies that a more robust response to Hitler's aggression would have averted war prior to 1939. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. --Mark A. Mengerink, Lamar University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this first of a three-volume history of WWII in Western Europe and the Mediterranean, British historian Holland (The Dam Busters) discusses the major battles, events, and factors important to the first two years of conflict in Western Europe. Relying on archival research, extensive secondary sources, and personal memoirs, Holland nimbly weaves the complex military, diplomatic, political, economic, and social patterns that marked the conflict on a global scale. He organizes the book by the major military events of the early war period: the road to war, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, and the war at sea and operations around the Mediterranean. Impressively for so weighty a subject, Holland keeps the reader engaged by showing the major events through the eyes of the participants-at the strategic level with politicians and generals, and at the tactical level with common soldiers and civilians. Though it would have been easy to fill the book with descriptions of combat, Holland balances those with such critical topics as political relations, economics, and the role of technology. Holland has produced a worthy history that both general readers and WWII enthusiasts can enjoy. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Holland's (Dam Busters; The Battle of Britain) goal in this first volume of a projected trilogy is to incorporate a generation of academic research about World War II and make it accessible for a general audience. The author adopts the revisionist argument that Germany's war effort was hindered by a variety of strategic weaknesses, especially in raw materials, while the Allies had greater access to natural resources and populations. Allied defeat cannot be understood merely as the result of a mechanized Wehrmacht blitzing across Europe until stopped at the gates of Moscow; defeat was the result of strategic and operational mistakes, and for France, the lack of political will. While Holland is almost certainly correct that the old interpretation of the war is still commonly accepted in popular culture, a quick survey of recent literature on the war reveals that a number of popular authors have also challenged the old paradigm. VERDICT Holland skillfully integrates the broad political, diplomatic, economic, and military narrative with stories of individuals, civilians, and soldiers from all the belligerents. While his approach may not be as unique as he claims, Holland's volume is a worthy addition to libraries. [See Prepub Alert, 4/20/15.]-Frederic Krome, Univ. of Cincinnati Clermont Coll. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A lively study of the first part of World War II that moves along operational and tactical lines. Concentrating on the beginning salvos of war in the West, British historian and novelist Holland (Dam Busters: The True Story of the Inventors and Airmen Who Led the Devastating Raid to Smash the German Dams in 1943, 2012, etc.) sticks close to the nuts-and-bolts angle of the various flare-ups, beginning with complacent American isolationism in mid-1939 and the rise of extremism in Germany and Italy in reaction to struggling economies. The author returns throughout this engaging narrative to several key players for an intimate look: Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano, who caught the rise of Benito Mussolini, married his daughter, and stood at the heart of discussions with the new Axis partner, Germany, intent on regaining the Danzig Corridor; Capitaine Andr Baufre, the French staff officer chosen for work in diplomacy, who had grave doubts about the French army's preparedness; and Edward Spears, member of the British Parliament and Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal representative, who would observe the horrific fall of France. (Holland provides a terrific "cast list" as well as comprehensive maps throughout.) The author follows the earnest work for diplomacy, the U-boat danger in the North Sea, the Battle of Britain and vacillation over Norway, the justification for the widening war in the Mediterranean, andmost importantlyjust how all those ships, tanks, and artillery were fabricated and delivered. Germany faced huge obstacles, including a fuel shortage and the superior manpower numbers of France and Britain. Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, was the only way to remedy the chronic shortage of resources, but it was incredibly riskyand, as Holland notes, "nothing less than total victory would suffice." A sturdy, readable resource that regards the Blitzkrieg as no magical matter. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.