World War II was the greatest conflict in the history of mankind. The Military Atlas of World War II is a comprehensive visual guide to this complex conflict in a large folio edition that allows the fine detail of the maps to be seen clearly. It plots the exact course of the land, sea and air battles, enabling the reader to trace the ebb and flow of the fortunes of both sides. With the aid of 180 large full-color maps, every theater of war is covered. All the maps come with a key to help the reader decipher the action depicted.
A comprehensive atlas based on the Arthur Banks atlas first published in 1975. The maps in the original were all painstakingly hand-drawn in black and white, covering every aspect of the first truly global war. This book takes the information laid down by Banks and re-interprets it in full colour, computer modelled cartography. The book covers the main reasons why the major powers entered the conflict, the individual battles fought along the Western Front as well as in depth coverage of the war in the east of Europe. The War at sea is mapped in great detail, including the clashes at Dogger Bank and Jutland as well as the German submarine campaigns and the first major seaborne landing at Gallipoli. The First World War saw the first extensive use of air power, maps show the routes taken by the German Zeppelin raids on eastern England as well as the Allied strategic bombing effort at the end of the war. In Arthur Banks own words: "I hope that the book will be a convenient reference work which deals with those areas where a more detailed examination in cartographical terms has long been demanded.'' AUTHOR: Alex Swanston has worked on over 30 historical titles, creating the cartography and layout, along with picture editing he has written two previous books: 'The Historical Atlas of World War II' for Quarto Books and the 'Atlas of Air Warfare' for Amber Books, the latter has been translated into seven different languages. Over 350 colour maps and 150 Diagrams
Historical Atlas of World War II examines all the key events of the six-year conflict, with thoroughly researched text accompanied by 140 highly detailed maps. Incredible multimedia profiles of World War II's most significant battles make Historical Atlas of World War II the next best thing to a time machine. With realistic maps, detailed accounts, and vibrant illustrations, the book transports the reader to famous World War II battles. Using state-of-the-art technology, special microchips translated the contours of two-dimensional maps of battlefields into realistic renderings of actual landscapes. Illustrators then overlaid these maps with all of the information at their fingertips—troop movement, weapon deployment, terrain conditions, and weather. The book brings to bear all the other available details of each battle, including battle plans, troop formations, strikes and counter strikes, and troop strength. From this bird's-eye vantage point, the reader is able to piece together the big picture of the six-year war and analyze the tactics and strategies at play. Historical Atlas of World War II also includes profiles of the commanders, outlining their abilities and backgrounds. Coupled with hundreds of colorful illustrations, the book's detailed maps and wealth of information put the reader in the shoes of a soldier at the D-Day assault on Omaha beach, the Battle of the Bulge, and the US dive-bomber attack on Japanese aircraft carriers. Prepare to see one of the most significant wars of the twentieth century as you've never seen it before.
Using large full color maps, every theater of the war is covered here in fine detail. This comprehensive visual guide plots the exact course of the land, sea, and air battles, enabling the reader to trace the ebb and flow of the fortunes of both sides. Each of the 180 maps in the book has been specially commissioned by an expert cartographer.
Prelude to war, 1941: Blitzkrieg -- Prelude to war, 1943: war in the Pacific -- 1942-1944: breaking Hitler's grip -- 1944-1945: victory over Germany -- 1943-1945: defeating Japan.
The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of the Second World War explores in graphical form, the causes, course, and consequences of this global war. Clear two-colour maps and diagrams are accompanied by a facing page of explanatory text addressing not just battles and campaigns, but also clarifying the key social, economic and political aspects of the war. These tend to get less coverage in conventional military history atlases, but are vital for understanding the totality of the war experience and its enduring legacy. Students and general readers will find it a useful and accessible introduction to the war in all its facets, from its origins to its legacy.
The First World War was marked by an exceptional expansion in the use and production of military cartography. But World War II took things even further, employing maps, charts, reconnaissance, and the systematic recording and processing of geographical and topographical information on an unprecedented scale. As Jeremy Black—one of the world’s leading military and cartographic historians—convincingly shows in this lavish full-color book, it is impossible to understand the events and outcomes of the Second World War without deep reference to mapping at all levels. In World War II, maps themselves became the weapons. A History of the Second World War in 100 Maps traces how military cartography developed from simply recording and reflecting history to having a decisive impact on events of a global scale. Drawing on one hundred key maps from the unparalleled collections of the British Library and other sources—many of which have never been published in book form before--Jeremy Black takes us from the prewar mapping programs undertaken by both Germany and the United Kingdom in the mid-1930s through the conflict’s end a decade later. Black shows how the development of maps led directly to the planning of the complex and fluid maneuvers that defined the European theater in World War II: for example, aerial reconnaissance photography allowed for the charting of beach gradients and ocean depths in the runup to the D-Day landings, and the subsequent troop movements at Normandy would have been impossible without the help of situation maps and photos. In the course of the conflict, both in Europe and the Pacific, the realities of climate, terrain, and logistics—recorded on maps—overcame the Axis powers. Maps also became propaganda tools as the pages of Time outlined the directions of the campaigns and the Allies dropped maps from their aircraft. In this thrilling and unique book, Jeremy Black blends his singular cartographic and military expertise into a captivating overview of World War II from the air, sea, and sky, making clear how fundamental maps were to every aspect of this unforgettable global conflict.
From the prewar development of the German war machine to the ultimate victory of the Allied coalition, here is an in-depth analysis of the battles that raged on the Western and Eastern Fronts. It examines the major strategies, the innovative tactics, and the new generation of weapons--along with the people who used them.
