6 giugno 2024: 80° anniversario dello sbarco in Normandia, anno che ha cambiato le sorti della Seconda Guerra Mondiale. H.P. Willmott è considerato uno dei più famosi storici inglesi delle guerre fra la seconda metà del XIX secolo e fino alla prima metà del XX secolo. Egli ha poi esaminato anche il 'dopo' con un'analisi politica ben chiara che, nonostante disaccordi e compromessi, ha permesso un lungo periodo di pace. Molte illustrazioni dell'epoca.

In this second volume of his history of naval power in the 20th century, H. P. Willmott follows the fortunes of the established seafaring nations of Europe along with two upstarts -- the United States and Japan. Emerging from World War I in command of the seas, Great Britain saw its supremacy weakened through neglect and in the face of more committed rivals. Britain's grand Coronation Review of 1937 marked the apotheosis of a sea power slipping into decline. Meanwhile, Britain's rivals and soon-to-be enemies were embarking on significant naval building programs that would soon change the nature of war at sea in ways that neither they nor their rivals anticipated. By the end of a new world war, the United States had taken command of two oceans, having placed its industrial might behind technologies that further defined the arena of naval power above and below the waves, where stealth and the ability to strike at great distance would soon rewrite the rules of war and of peace. This splendid volume further enhances Willmott's stature as the dean of naval historians.

Information recorded during the war itself offers a history of the United States naval operations in the Pacific before and during World War II, from 1931 to April 1942. Reprint.

From the animosity-filled years prior to 1914 through the Treaty of Versailles and from the European campaigns to naval battles, this book explains the causes of the war, the course the war followed, and what made it the most costly and destructive war in the world's history.
Enhanced edition, with 16 additional pages of a gazetteer including WWI memorials, battlefields, and museums.

The book has ten chapters: the first is an analysis of the build-up to the war, the next seven chapters cover the war itself and the final chapter examines how victory for the USA and the USSR shaped the subsequent history of the 20th century. The chapters are arranged as far as possible to give a clear chronological account of the war as it developed in all theatres, both on the battlefields and on the home front. Each begins with an overview of the situation at the starting point of the chapter. The following sections are each introduced by a timeline of the events covered. The main text is accompanied by maps, feature boxes on many aspects of life during the war, and brief biographies of major personalities.
This enhanced version includes 16 additional pages of a gazetteer of World War II memorials, battlefields, and museums

This second volume of a three-volume history of the war in the Pacific tells of the situation in which Japan found herself in spring 1942 when confronted by the reality that her enemies would not negotiate an end to the war that she had initiated in December 1941.The book also explains the basis of Allied miscalculations and provides explanations for the defeats that overwhelmed American, British, and Dutch forces throughout Southeast Asia during this same period and the process whereby the Americans picked up the burden of the prosecution of war in the southwest Pacific. From this development, when tied to signals intelligence and related matters, there was fought actions in the Coral Sea and subsequently off Midway, and the story of these two battles form the basis of this book. Historical b&w photos and maps are included. The book was first published in 1983; this is the first paperback edition. Willmott is a member of the Royal Historical Society and a research associate with Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This is the first installment of a three-volume study of the strategic policies of the countries involved in the Pacific War and the range of political, economic, military, and navy activity in the Pacific. Willmott, a British military historian, covers events between December 1941 and April 1942 in this volume. Historical b&w photos and maps are included. The book was first published in 1982; this is the first paperback edition. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Military historian and retired professor Willmott has revised his 1989 history of World War II, covering both the European and Pacific theaters. He is concerned with the overall course of the conflict not individuals and battles. His goal is to 'set out levels of war that are so often confused by historians.' He also seeks to prove that Germany was not the military powerhouse many writers have claimed it to be. While this is a comprehensive history of the war, Willmott also sees it as an example of how wars are instigated. His explanations demonstrate how the military functions in strategy and the execution of warfare. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

'The Battle of Leyte Gulf was an extremely unusual battle. It was unusual on five separate counts that are so obvious that they are usually missed. It was unusual in that it was a series of actions, not a single battle. It was unusual as a naval battle in that it was fought over five days; historically, naval battles have seldom spread themselves over more than one or two days. It was unusual in terms of its name. This battle involved a series of related actions subsequently grouped together under the name of just one of these engagements, but in fact none of the actions were fought inside Leyte Gulf.... More importantly, it was unusual in that it was a full-scale fleet action fought after the issue of victory and defeat at sea had been decided, and it was unusual in that it resulted in clear, overwhelming victory and defeat.' —from Chapter One

The Battle of Leyte Gulf—October 22-28, 1944—was the greatest naval engagement in history. In fact the battle was four separate actions, none of which were fought in the Gulf itself, and the result was the destruction of Japanese naval power in the Pacific. This book is a detailed and comprehensive account of the fighting from both sides. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations and the search for 'a fitting place to die' and 'the chance to bloom as flowers of death.' Using Japanese material never previously noted in western accounts, H.P. Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle and very deliberately seeks to give readers a proper understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. This careful interrogation of the accounts of 'the last fleet action' is a significant contribution to military history.

Willmott, a military historian, and coauthors Robin Cross (an author and journalist) and Charles Messenger (a World War II veteran and military historian) provide an illustrated survey of World War II in its many theaters of operations and from the seeds of unrest in pre-War Germany, Italy and Japan, to the Berlin Blockade, Chinese Cultural Revolution, and beginnings of the Cold War. Numerous maps, diagrams, timelines, and sidebars provide additional details on topics ranging from armaments and battles to wartime entertainment and civilian life. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was the beginning of the United States' battle with Japan during World War II. In the months following the attack, Japan was successful in a series of victories throughout Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Then, from May 1942 to October 1943, the Japanese and the United States engaged in a series of fierce clashes in the Southwest Pacific. Both the U.S. and Japanese forces were evenly matched, and their troops fought one another to exhaustion. This engrossing book looks at the war with Japan, focusing on this 'period of balance' between American and Japanese forces. The War with Japan explains how the battles fought in the Coral Sea in May and off Midway Islands in June 1942 represented the first engagements that were not the result of decisions made by the Japanese before the outbreak of war. Both the U.S. and Japanese had to consider their next moves in a strategic situation that was much like a gun lying in the street: it was there for either side to pick up and use. H. P. Willmott examines the conflict in this context. The campaigns that raged in the lower Solomons and along the Kakoda Trail for control of eastern New Guinea, along with the ferocious battles in the Coral Sea and off Midway Islands, were the turning point of the war in the Pacific. The fight for control of Guadalcanal saw the Imperial Navy and U.S. Navy fight one another, and themselves, until they were completely spent. But between February and October 1943, the Americans gained a critical edge when the U.S. Navy took delivery of the first of the massive warships that were to carry the fighting to the Japanese home islands. After November 1943, this strong U.S. fleet-built during the period of hostilities-outfought the Japanese navy. The War with Japan explores all these aspects of Japanese defeat. This fascinating probe into the war with Japan is ideal for all readers who are interested in military history and World War II.