For many years, historians have argued that the war in the Mediterranean was merely a sideshow to the big events that took place in Russia and Northern Europe during the Second World War. This new and extremely accessible study of the conflict turns that argument on its head. For Douglas Porch, the Mediterranean theatre was absolutely central to the success of the Allies. It was the only place where Britain could showcase its refusal to accept German domination of Europe. It helped draw the Americans into the war, distracted Hitler from his true strategic objectives in the north, and provided a perfect training ground for the Allied troops who would fight in Normandy. Without the Mediterranean, the Allies would never have learned the skills they needed to win the war; indeed, the Alliance itself might not have lasted beyond 1943. This book covers every aspect of the Mediterranean conflict, from the Italian attack on Greece in 1940 right through to the advance on the Gothic Line in northern Italy towards the end of the war. While concentrating on the major battles in North Africa and Italy, the author also covers the less well-documented aspects of the war, some of which have produced strong echoes in our own the 1941 civil war in Yugoslavia, Churchill's pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, and the continual threat of an Arab uprising in Palestine. He explains not only the events themselves but the personalities of the leaders behind them, and the motives behind the complex decisions they had to make. The result is a fresh, compelling and comprehensive account of this vital arena of the Second World War.

DOUGLAS PORCH

Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )

Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )

London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Weidenfeld and Nicholson

Orion Pub Co

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

LONDON, Unknown, 2004

London, England, 2004

1. publ, London, 2004

June 10, 2004

Published in the New York under the title: The path to victory : the Mediterranean Theater in World War II, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

Covering every aspect of the Mediterranean and African conflicts during World War II, the author argues that, had Britain not distracted Hitler's attentions away from dominance in Northern Europe, the Allies might not have won the war.

xiv, 796 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index

2023-06-28