The Second World War

The period from 1939 to 1945 saw some of the most devastating and remarkable events in living memory. Laboring beneath a daily burden of fear, sacrifice, deprivation and uncertainty, soldiers and civilians of all nationalities were driven to extremes of selfless loyalty, dogged determination or bitter cruelty by the demands of a world at war.

This book tells the stories of the men and women who lived and died during the Second World War, from politicians to factory workers, and from High Command to the conscripted men on the front lines. The experience of war is brought to life through a wealth of contemporary documentation, private writings and historical research, whilst the political, military, and historical significance of the war is assessed and examined. From Europe's Western and Eastern Fronts to the war at sea, and from the Pacific to the Mediterranean and North Africa, every fighting front of the Second World War is covered in this truly comprehensive volume.

Philip D. Grove BSc(Econ), MSc(Econ), FHEA has taught Strategic Studies at Britannia Royal Naval College since January 1993, becoming Head of Department in March 2004. Upon the academic faculty's transfer to the University of Plymouth in 2008 he became Subject Matter Expert in Strategic Studies. In 2014 he was appointed Head of Maritime Aviation Studies in the new Dartmouth Security & Seapower Centre.

Alongside teaching at BRNC he has taught at various Royal Navy establishments, ships and Fleet Air Arm squadrons. From 1996–2013 he also taught at Plymouth University on modules including Contemporary History, International Relations, Foreign Policy and Maritime Power.

Besides delivering numerous conference and seminar papers he has also published widely on naval matters including the forthcoming From Actium to the Falklands: How Navies Win Wars (Amberley Publishing, 2018); the chapters 'Post Cold War Naval Operations' and 'Naval Manning in the Post Cold War World' in Navies in the 21st Century (Seaforth Publishing, 2016); The Royal Navy: A History Since 1900 with Duncan Redford (I B Tauris, 2014); Turning the Tide: The Battles of Coral Sea and Midway (University of Plymouth,2013); 'The Lofoton and Vaagso Raids', inTristan Lovering ed., A Collected History of Amphibious Operations (Seaforth 2007); 'Falklands Conflict 1982 – The AirWar a New Appraisal', in Stephen Badsey et al., The Falklands Conflict Twenty Years On: Lessons for the Future (Frank Cass, 2005); and The Battle of Midway (Brassey's, 2004).