The book explores the reasons why the Second World War broke out in September 1939 and not sooner; and why a European war expanded into world war by 1941. The war has usually been seen simply as Hitler’s war and yet the wider conflict that broke out when Germany invaded Poland was not the war that Hitler wanted. He had hoped for a short war against Poland; instead; Britain and France declared war on Germany. Richard Overy argues that any explanation of the outbreak of hostilities must therefore be multi-national and he shows how the war’s origins are to be found in the basic instability of the international system that was brought about by the decline of the old empires of Britain and France and the rise of ambitious new powers; Italy; Germany and Japan; keen to build new empires of their own.
#1918623 in Books Palgrave Macmillan 2003-06-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.60 x 1.83 x 6.36l; #File Name: 1403962316640 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Slightly different perspective on Peninsular WarBy James H.This book surprised me; because it strongly emphasized the Spanish contribution to the War in the Peninsula. The conventional approach; in so many other books; has been to mention the Spanish and their incredibly inept leadership and untrained soldiers. This book gives a substantial amount of information about why these conditions existed and why they weren't able to correct most of them. It is an important addition to anyone's collection of books about this conflict.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Iberian MicroinformationBy kenneth macrossonEXcellent detail for those dwindling few that appreciate reading about the events in and around 1812--though tends to go over the top in this regard when you tire of the micro information so expertly ladelled out--if only for a day or two--and once refreshed back we come to drink at the Iberian well6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. And Now For Something Completely Different...By HMS WarspiteCharles Esdaile's 2002 "The Peninsular War" is something rather different among the many British histories of this conflict; most of which focus on the heroic role of the British Army in ejecting Napoleon's Imperial forces from Portugal and Spain. Esdaile takes a long step back in perspective; seeing the Peninsular War of 1808-1814 as primarily between Spain and France; with Portugal as a secondary theater and the legendary Anglo-Portuguese Army under the future Duke of Wellington as supporting players until late in the conflict.In Esdaile's highly detailed narrative; Napoleon's effort to seize Spain as a kingdom for one of his brothers triggers a political revolution within the rotting Spanish Empire; setting the Spanish against the French invaders and against each other. He traces the wildly eratic efforts of several Spanish juntas; interim governments; and a regency to execute political reform while simultaneously waging war against French occupation forces. Esdaile then goes the next step in attempting to assess the effectiveness of these measures. The result is a balanced and often surprising look at the contributions of Spanish guerrillas and regular army formations toward defeating the French. His conclusions set the stage for a century and more of Spanish political unrest.Esdaile is no obvious fan of the Duke of Wellington; although he is prepared to grant the Duke his due for keeping his small army alive and in the game against long odds; and in orchestrating the decisive defeat of French forces in Spain in 1813. Esdaile is able to set these events in perspective against Napoleon's ultimately poor decisionmaking as leader of the French Empire; and to assess their contribution to Napoleon's eventual departure from power.By way of warning; the general reader may find the long discussions of Spanish societal politics and conflict to be dry and less unrewarding; while the author's coverage of the various battlefields is necessarily compressed. This book is however a worthwhile corrective to the standard narrative; as a more balanced account from the Spanish perspective. It is highly recommended to students of the Peninsular War on that basis.
