Basil Collier (1908–1983)

Antony Beevor's general history of the Second World War is a momentous achievement. Weighing in at 880 pages it provides a comprehensive, well considered and well written account of a truly momentous set of events in world history. Writing a general history of one of the twentieth century’s ‘Total Wars’ is a formidable task. Although the timeframe for the First and Second World Wars are individually relatively narrow, the geographical breadth and sheer range of events make it difficult to construct a readable narrative. Writers can focus on particular regions or campaigns at the expense of understanding the chronological links with events elsewhere. In focussing on military strategy, the political context or contingency of individual decisions in battle can be lost. The other challenge is writing quality prose for the general reader which doesn’t descend into armies and corps colliding and repositioning like pawns on a chessboard. Finally an enormous quantity of secondary research must be assessed.

This book manages to accomplish these difficult requirements with flair. It compares favourably with Keegan’s history, whose prose is a bit turgid and where coverage of aspects such as Japan’s excursions in China in the 1930s is a bit light. The structure of focussing on particular geographic areas for periods of a few months, noting connections with other parts of the globe where appropriate, makes the narrative flow more naturally than Martin Gilbert’s strictly chronological structure. Finally Beevor, having submerged himself in researching aspects of the Second World War for over thirty years, is able to write gripping prose with the right amount (for this reader anyway!) of opinion and interpretation to make a gripping story.

Beevor doesn’t conceal his views. Most participants face criticism or praise without too much evidence of partisanship. Stalin is rightly castigated for his truly cruel regime and failure to anticipate the German invasion in 1941, however Beevor rightly highlights his effective (if Machiavellian) manipulation of the rivalry of Zhukov and Konev in the race for Berlin. His criticisms of the way Roosevelt played into Stalin’s hands are well made, and there is certainly an argument that Churchill’s warnings about Stalin’s intentions should have been paid more heed. Beevor certainly doesn’t whitewash Churchill though. After his 1944 visit to Moscow Churchill felt the trip had been a success - Beevor pronounces that “his self-delusion could at times match that of Roosevelt”.

“Bomber” Harris is one commander who receives particular criticism (Montgomery, MacArthur and Mark Clark are others). He portrays Harris as possessing an obsessive belief that the destruction of German cities by bombing would win the war. “Harris was … not prepared to take any criticism, or willingly accept other requests from generals or admirals, whom he was convinced had tried to undermine the RAF since its independence”. Beevor portrays Harris as deliberately deceiving the public and his superiors that bombing targets had military singificance. As Beevor points out “Harris was now openly defining success by the number of urban acres his bombers had reduced to rubble”. In my opinion, expressing such views backed up by the facts is an appropriate function for an historian, providing explanation and interpretation.

Beevor concludes his book with a strong section on the legacy of the war, and the importance of “recogniz[ing] the millions of ghosts from the mass graves as individuals”. Throughout the book he manages to convey both the major strategic dilemmas, whilst also deftly interweaving individual stories and experiences from all sides. For example in discussing Harris’ “remorseless campaign” he gives a vivid description of the bombing of Cologne on 29 June 1943. Albert Beckers describes how “you cannot imagine what it is like to cower in a hole when the air quakes, the eardrums burst from the blast, the light goes out, oxygen runs out and dust and mortar crumble from the ceiling”. Readers of this book, despite the enormous scope of this horrendous historic event, will have a solid understanding of the rights and wrongs, causes and course as well as the experience of the Second World War.… (altro)