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BOOK REVIEW
ON
HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

1. Identity of the book .

a. Name of the Book . HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

b. Name of the Author . B. H. Liddell Hart.

c. Name of the Publisher . Papermac, 25 Eccleston Place, London

SW1W 9 NF and Basingstoke.

d. First Published . 1970.

e. Price of the Book . 940.54 Taka.

f. Size of the Book . 829 Pages.

2. Introduction . World War II brought out a significant change throughout

the world. It broke out on September, 1939 and terminated on 1945. In this Second
World War we observe the Hiroshima – Nagasaki tragedy which is a tremendous loss
of humanity. Sir Basil Liddell Hart exposed various phases of this world war very
nicely in this book.

3. Author and His Other Works . Sir Basil Liddell Hart was born in Paris
in 1895 and educated at St Paul’s and Corpus Christ College, Cambridge. He is one of
the world’s outstanding teacher-historians. He joined the Army (King’s Own
Yorkshire Light Infantry) and served in the First World War in 1924, he was invalid
and three years later retired with the rank of Captain in 1957.He became personal
advisor to the war minister.

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Liddell Hart was military correspondent to the daily telegraph from 1925-1935. He
lectured on strategy and tactics in many colleges in various countries and wrote more
than thirty books. He died in 1970.

4. Aim . To carry out a book review on ‘HISTORY OF THE SECOND

WORLD WAR’ with a view to analyzing its circumstances.

5. Salient Points of the Book .

a. General .
(1) This book is basically an overview of the history of the
Second World War by B.H. Liddell Hart.
(2) This book can be read by all officers of our Army to
Know about the history of the Second World War.
(3) This book will snatch the interest of all who want in
depth knowledge of the war from military point of view.

b. Chapters of this Book in Broad Line .

(1) Part – 1 : The Prelude . How war is precipitated and the
opposing forces at the outbreak are discussed in these chapters. Grossly,
the background histo ry of the Second World War and its movement are
discussed in these two chapters.

(2) Part – 2 : The Outbreak . The overrunning of Poland, ‘The

Phoney War’ and The Finnish War are discussed in Part-2.

(3) Part – 3 : The Surge . The overrunning of Norway, The

overrunning of the West, The Battle of Britain, Counterstroke from
Egypt, The conquest of Italian East Africa are briefed here.

(4) Part – 4 : The Spread . The overrunning of the Balkans

and Crete, Hitler Turns against Russia, The Invasion of Russia,
Rommel’s entry into Africa, ‘Crusader’, Upsurge in the far East, Japan’s
tide of conquest are discussed in this chapter.

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(5) Part – 5 : The Turn . The tide turns in Russia, Rommel’s high
tide, The tide turns in Africa, ‘Torch’, The race for Tunis, The tide turns
in the pacific, The battle of the Atlantic are deliberated here.

(6) Part – 6 : The EBB . The clearance of Africa, Re – entry into

Europe, The invasion of Italy, The German Ebb in Russia, The Japanese
Ebb in the Pacific are briefed in this part.

(7) Part – 7 : Full EBB . Capture of Rome and second check in

Italy, The liberation of France, The liberation of Russia, The Crescendo
of bombing, The liberation of the South- West Pacific and Burma,
Hitler’s Ardennes counterstroke are deliberated here.

(8) Part – 8 : Finale . The sweep from Vistula to order, The

Collapse of Hitler’s hold on Italy, The collapse of Germany, The collapse
of Japan are discussed in this chapter.

6. Theme of the Book . Sir Basil Liddell Hart was one of the greatest
military historians of the world. According to “ The Soldier”- He was the greatest
British military thinker of this country. In this book “History of the Second World
War”, the writer has discussed the brief history of the world war- which is highly
enriched with the enormous information. During the First World War, the writer could
come to realize how much history was handicapped at that time. So, after the outbreak
of the Second World War, he keenly observed the war and finally at the end of the
war, he wrote this book. It is the greatest contribution of his works. In this book, the
writer has shown the rise and the downfall of Germany in a very artistic way. We have
seen after the First World War, Germany was neglected from all sides. Especially his
economy was totally destroyed after the Treaty of Versailles. So, in the courses of
time, the Germany wanted to take revenge out breaking the Second World War. The
writer has discussed the war into the phases. In the first phase, the writer has shown
the development of the war. That is the rising of the Germany and their domination
over Norway, Belgium and France. In the second phase, he has shown Germany’s
conflict with G. Britain and Russia, conflict between allied forces and axis powers and
finally the obvious downfall of Germany for the second time after the First World
War.

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7. Lessons for the Readers . Germany, being defeated in the First

World War, was highly suppressed by the Treaty of Versailles. Her economy, Military
strength everything was destroyed. Moreover, they were imposed with various rules
and conditions. In such condition, rise of Hitler was a must for Germany. Hitler came
into the power with the aim to take revenge. The whole world divided into two groups
- Allied forces and the axis powers. In the axis powers, there was – Germany, Italy,
Japan etc. On the other hand, in the allied forces, there were – France, Russia, U.S.A.,
G. Britain, China, Belgium etc. On 6th & 7th August, 1945, Atom bombs were
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. Results were the destruction of lives
and properties. Again, Germany was blamed for the war. Hitler decided to suicide. So,
after the death of Hitler, the Second World War came to an end.

8. Criticism of the Book . History of the Second World War by Liddell

Hart, is the greatest source of information about the Second World War. Any reader
interested to learn the history of the Second World War, this book will be very fruitful
for him. In this book, the progress of the war is nicely discussed. The termination of
the war is also discussed nicely. But the effects of war on the entire world are not well
discussed. Rather to some extent it is highly neglected. But the effects are the part of
the war. So, it could have been discussed more elaborately.

9. Conclusion . “ HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR” – A work

of great length and great learning, illuminated flashes of insight…full of brilliant
strategic analysis’.

- A.J.P. TAYLOR

Second World War was unnecessarily prolonged and millions more lives needlessly
sacrified, while the ultimate peace merely produced a fresh menace and the looming
fear of another war.

Station : Savar Cantonment A.M. ASHRAFUL ISLAM

2 Lt
Dated : January 2008

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HISTORY
OF THE
SECOND WORLD WAR

PREPARED BY :
A.M.ASHRAFUL ISLAM
2 LT
9 FD REGT ARTY

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