The Allies Strike Back, 1941-1943

by James Holland

Overview

By June 1941, Germany’s war machine looked to be unstoppable. The Nazi blitzkrieg had taken Poland, France, and Holland with shocking speed. The Luftwaffe had bombed London, while German U-boats wrought havoc on Allied shipping on the Atlantic. And yet, as James Holland shows at the start of The Allies Strike Back, 1941-1943—the second volume in his magisterial narrative of World War II in the West—cracks were already appearing in Germany’s apparent invincibility. Shortages of food and materiel were becoming critical. And, having failed to defeat Britain, Adolf Hitler fatefully pivoted east to invade the Soviet Union—territory he felt compelled to conquer for Germany’s protection—and on June 22, 1941 precipitated the largest clash of arms the world had ever seen. Built for speed and quick conquest, German forces by that fall were bogged down in a horrible war of attrition that blunted the Nazi momentum.

The Allies Strike Back offers fascinating new perspective on the critical middle years in World War II’s western theatre, as the advantage between Axis and Allied forces swung back and forth on the Atlantic and eastern front, and in north Africa and Europe. Acclaimed historian James Holland has spent years conducting original research and interviews, mining newly available archives, visiting battlefields and uncovering letters and diaries previously unread. Acknowledging that strategy and tactics have been the focus of previous histories, he gives equal space to the logistics and supply of men and materiel without which no war can be fought. Allied and Axis leaders criss-cross Holland’s narrative, but he also memorably introduces readers to heretofore unknown participants: Sgt. Ralph Schaps, who experienced the Louisiana Maneuvers that propelled him into Europe; Colonel Hermann Balck, in command of a German panzer regiment in Africa; U-boat captain Teddy Suhren, operating against Allied shipping in the Atlantic; Billy Drake, squadron commander in Britain’s Desert Air Force that helped turn the tide in North Africa; and many others.

Following the acclaimed first volume of his trilogy, The Rise of Germany, and offering frank assessments of successes and failures on both sides, James Holland has crafted a masterful and gripping narrative of the events that ultimately determined the outcome of World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802125606
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Series:	The War in the West
Pages:	720
Sales rank:	1,138,392
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

James Holland is a historian, writer, and broadcaster. The author of The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941, the first book in The War in the West series, as well as the bestselling Fortress Malta, Battle of Britain, and Dam Busters, he has also written numerous works of historical fiction. Holland regularly appears on television and radio and has written and presented the BAFTA-shortlisted documentaries Battle of Britain and Dam Busters for the BBC, among others. His writing has appeared in magazines and newspapers including the Sunday Telegraph, for whom he went to Helmand Province in Afghanistan, the Times, Daily Mail, and BBC History Magazine. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and cofounder and program director of the hugely successful Chalke Valley History Festival, Holland has also advised the British government on history curriculum and has his own collection at the Imperial War Museum.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Diagrams ix

List of Principal Characters Featured xxi

Note on the Text xxvii

Introduction 1

Part I America Enters the War

1 The Largest Clash of Arms 16

2 Manoeuvring 23

3 Summer '41 42

4 The US Navy Goes to War 57

5 The Sinking of the Reuben James 73

6 Crusaders 84

7 Unravelling 95

8 World War 105

Part II Eastern Influences

9 Battles at Sea 114

10 Strategic Blunders 123

11 Carnage Off America 136

12 Fighters and Bombers 146

13 Steel and Strategy 157

14 Seeds of Resistance 170

15 Heat and Dust 182

16 Into the Cauldron 199

17 Combined Production 214

18 The Fall of Tobruk 225

19 Sea and Sand 242

20 Thousand Bomber Raid 252

21 Sea and Steppe 259

22 Gathering Strength 273

23 Last Chance in Africa 288

24 The End of the German Dream 306

Part III The Allies Strike Back

25 A Brief Discourse on Tanks and Fire-power 320

26 A Brief Discourse on Training and Morale 331

27 Return of the Hero 345

28 Getting Ready 355

29 The Vicious Circle 371

30 Lighting the Torch 388

31 Lightfoot 401

32 Supercharge 414

33 Cutting Losses 428

34 Invasion 444

Part IV Crushing the Wolfpacks

35 The Blackest Month 458

36 Setbacks 473

37 Year End 487

38 The Critical Theatre 499

39 Living Dangerously 514

40 Frühlingswind 531

41 Heavy Water 546

42 Regaining the Initiative 558

43 Into the Gap 571

44 Closing In 585

45 Victory for the Allies 598

Glossary 615

Appendices 617

Timeline 621

Notes 626

Selected Sources 649

Acknowledgements 679

Picture Acknowledgements 681

Index 685

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2017
Continuing his trilogy describing WWII in the West, British historian Holland follows The Rise of Germany with this detailed, well-researched, and comprehensive look at the Allied response to the German military’s sweeping successes in the war’s initial stages. Holland focuses on the early strategic bombing campaign against Germany, the battles between the British and Germany’s Afrikakorps in North Africa, and Operation Torch and the naval campaign to control Atlantic sea lanes. These campaigns comprise the bulk of the book, with strategic logistics its main theme. Holland makes a strong case that even before the U.S. entered WWII, and certainly after, Germany’s fate was inevitable due to the huge imbalance in industrial capacity and natural resources available to the Allies and the superior management of logistics issues by the Allied leadership. Germany’s only hope of redressing this imbalance was the U-boat campaign against Allied shipping in the North Atlantic, which Holland covers in great detail. Holland shifts smoothly between high-level strategy and tactical battlefield events, producing a good refresher to the large strategic picture for those who are deeply read in WWII history and an excellent introduction to the war in Western Europe for the general reader. Agent: Patrick Walsh, Conville & Walsh Ltd. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Allies Strike Back, 1941–1943: The War in the West, Volume 2:

A Military History Book Club Main Selection
An Amazon Best Book of the Month (History)

“As someone who considers himself well-read in World War II history, this reviewer was pleasantly surprised to discover how much he did not know, and, moreover, how much of what he thought he knew was simply not true. The second volume in Holland’s trilogy is even better than his first . . . A fascinating story of how the fortunes of war changed in obvious—and particularly not so obvious—ways.”—Col. Eric M. Walters, Military Review

“Detailed, well-researched, and comprehensive . . . Holland makes a strong case . . . [He] shifts smoothly between high-level strategy and tactical battlefield events, producing a good refresher to the large strategic picture for those who are deeply read in WWII history and an excellent introduction to the war in Western Europe for the general reader.”—Publishers Weekly

“An illuminating read from a skilled historian . . . Holland delivers a detailed, opinionated account of fighting in North Africa, the Atlantic submarine campaign, and the air war while acknowledging (and often describing) the far larger war in Russia . . . Expert, anecdote-filled, thoroughly entertaining.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Holland puts the case for Allied technological and military skills as a vital factor in turning the war’s tide, and makes us eager for the third and final part of what now ranks as a towering work of historical research and writing.”—BBC History Magazine

“A well-researched, lively account.”—CHOICE

“Holland’s two greatest qualities, his engaging writing style and his ability to weave multiple threads into a convincing whole, are on display once more in this accessible and authoritative history . . . Holland, a successful fiction author as well, keeps his reader gripped with an engrossing tale, which both educates and entertains. In Holland’s own words this is ‘a truly epic and astonishing story’ and the same could be said for his book.”—History of War (UK)

“Holland shoots down the myth of German invincibility . . . All the great turning points of 1941–43 are here. A triumph”—Sunday Express (UK)

“Holland brings a fresh eye to the ebb and flow of the conflict . . . [A] majestic saga”—Literary Review (UK)

“This second volume easily reaches the benchmark set by its predecessor . . . The style is crisp, engaging, absorbing, it really does have the feel of a fresh and revisionist perspective on the momentous events that occurred between 1941 and 1943.”—Soldier (UK)

Praise for The Rise of Germany, 1939–1941: The War in the West, Volume 1:

A Military History Book Club Main Selection

“This is narrative history as intimate, intricate tapestry . . . Mr. Holland’s success is built in part on an engaging writing style and in part on a genuinely fresh approach to events that have been so often—and apparently definitively—recounted. This is at heart an operational narrative, but with a difference: Mr. Holland takes the time and space to enhance his recounting of troop and ship movements and clashes of arms with the stuff of wider humanity. He deftly interweaves the experiences of refugees, of civilians, of the warriors’ loved ones and of the political elites, while never distracting us with meaningless sentimentality or extraneous personal detail. This is harder to do than it looks. Mr. Holland’s achievement is exceptional . . . [An] epic narrative.”—Wall Street Journal

“Impeccably researched and superbly written . . . [Holland] skewers a number of myths about the early years of the Second World War . . . Holland’s fascinating saga offers a mixture of captivating new research and well-considered revisionism. The next two volumes should be unmissable.”—Guardian

“Fascinating.”—Daily Mail (UK)

“James Holland is the best of the new generation of World War II historians. His epic new venture convincingly challenges many received ideas about the war and draws some exciting new conclusions.”—Sebastian Faulks

“With this magnificent, hugely readable debut, James Holland’s The War in the West is set fair to become one of the truly great multivolume histories of the Second World War.”—Andrew Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War and Napoleon: A Life

“This brilliant, lucid and intimate history is a game-changer, the Second World War will never seem the same again.”—Professor David Edgerton, Hans Rausing Professor of the History of Science and Technology, King’s College London

“James Holland has produced a gripping multi-layered study of the War in West. It weaves together accounts from all levels of those caught up in the opening stages of the war and provides an accessible and captivating narrative. More importantly still it offers a challenging reappraisal that forces us to rethink our attitudes to the conduct of the most destructive and important war in history. Essential reading.”—John Buckley, Professor of War Studies, Wolverhampton University and author of Monty’s Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe

“In The Rise of Germany, James Holland weds his typically deft writing to years of research and thought about the early years of World War II. He seeks—and finds—that elusive middle ground between the high politics of Hitler, Churchill, and Roosevelt and the personal experience of the soldier in the field. Holland writes on the operational level as well as any historian working today. I am already making room on my shelf for volumes two and three. I would read anything Holland writes.”—Robert M. Citino, author of The German Way of War and The Wehrmacht Retreats

“A hugely engaging, scholarly, and ambitious book that strips away the myths surrounding the Second World War and—uniquely—tells the human stories, not just the political and military history. A must-read for anyone with an interest in this turbulent and transformative period.”—Tracy Borman, author of Thomas Cromwell

“Holland’s achievement here is presenting multiple perspectives based on extensive research in such a page-turner. This is as much a gripping drama played out on a huge stage with distinctive characters and rapidly unfolding action as it is a book on one of the most significant periods in all of world history.”—Thomas Clavin, co-author of The Heart of Everything That Is

“Holland nimbly weaves the complex military, diplomatic, political, economic, and social patterns that marked the conflict on a global scale . . . [He] 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 . . . A worthy history that both general readers and WWII enthusiasts can enjoy.”—Publishers Weekly

“Holland skillfully integrates the broad political, diplomatic, economic, and military narrative with stories of individuals, civilians, and soldiers from all the belligerents.”—Library Journal

“A lively study.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

01/01/2018
This second volume (after The Rise of Germany, 1939–1941) in a projected trilogy by historian Holland begins with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party seemingly at the height of their power. As Holland adroitly points out, however, appearances are often deceiving. Despite the image of technological superiority, for example, the Wehrmacht's transportation system was still overwhelmingly dependent on horses and human muscle. The scarcity of natural resources and manpower reserves meant that German forces needed to perform strategically quick campaigns. By 1942, the German war effort was stalling and the Allies were posed to take the offensive in large part owing to the mobilization of resources from the United States. Holland skillfully integrates the technological and logistical underpinnings necessary to waging modern warfare into his well-researched narrative of how World War II was fought. He moves easily from larger themes of grand strategy and troop movements to stories from all sides of the conflict. Some characters were famous in their day—such as actor-turned-naval officer Douglas Fairbanks Jr.—while others were common soldiers, reminding readers of the human dimensions of war. VERDICT Military history recommended for all libraries. This work can stand alone or be read alongside Holland's previous volume.—Frederic Krome, Univ. of Cincinnati Clermont Coll.

Library Journal

2017-03-20
A thick, sturdy history of World War II, beginning in 1941, the second in the author's War in the West trilogy.There is no shortage of multivolume general histories of WWII, but this is an illuminating read from a skilled historian. In 2015, Holland delivered 500 pages of The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941: The War in the West. In this even heftier second volume, the author begins at the traditional nadir of Allied (really British) fortunes just before Hitler invaded Russia in June 1941. Holland reminds readers that in the first volume, he argued that Germany was doomed from the beginning, and he has not changed his mind. Few scholars deny that Germany's economy could not support a long war. Its vaunted technology was only a veneer because it lacked mass production capacity to make use of it. Even 6,000 superior tanks were no match for 50,000 Shermans. Furthermore, the potency of its mechanized army was greatly exaggerated. Not even 20 of the 135 divisions were mechanized in 1940, and soldiers remained dependent on horse transport to the end. Stripped of resources in 1940-1941, conquered nations provided little help afterward, while Britain's empire and America poured out supplies. Having set the scene, Holland delivers a detailed, opinionated account of fighting in North Africa, the Atlantic submarine campaign, and the air war while acknowledging (and often describing) the far larger war in Russia. This second volume, once again helpfully illustrated with plenty of maps, ends two years after it begins, in May 1943, with the Axis surrender in Tunisia, its disastrous loss of a few dozen U-boats, and the first massive bomber missions. "Germany was running out of steam," writes Holland. "Food, fuel, manpower—those three most important requirements for sustained modern warfare: there was not enough of any." Although it fills no great need, this is an expert, anecdote-filled, thoroughly entertaining if heavily British-oriented history of the war's middle years.

Kirkus Reviews