Foreword
Introduction
Chronology

Part I Europe 1939-1943
Background to war--The gathering storm
Warring sides--The road to war
Outbreak--'I have determined on a solution by force'
The fighting--Hitler strikes
Portrait of a soldier--Donald Edgar
Portrait of a civilian--Colin Perry
How the period ended--The end of the beginning

Part II The war at sea
Background to war--Naval power
Warring sides--Reluctant adversaries
Outbreak--Opening moves
The fighting--Across the world's seas
Portrait of a sailor--Peter Herbert Owen, Royal Navy midshipman
Portrait of a civilian--John Delaney-Nash, merchant mariner
How the period ended--The German fleet is scuttled

Part III The Mediterranean 1940-1945
Background to war--Italian imperialism
Warring sides--Italian propaganda, German professionalism and Allied industrialization
Outbreak--A parallel war
The fighting--In all directions at once
Portrait of a soldier--A modest hero
Portrait of a civilian--A child in the siege of annihilation: Malta 1940-43
How the period--Not necessarily in peace

Part IV The Pacific
Background to war--The expansion of Imperial Japan
Warring sides--Powerful Japan faced certain defeat
Outbreak--The slide toward inevitable war
The fighting--The course of the Pacific War
Portrait of a soldier--Thomas Currie Derrick, an Australian soldier
Portrait of a civilian--Gwen Harold Terasaki, an American in Japan
How the period ended--Not necessarily to Japan's advantage

Part V The Eastern Front 1941-1945
Background to war--A dictators' deal and a double-cross
Warring sides--Germany gambles on a quick win
Outbreak--Germany achieves surprise
The fighting--Red Army battered but not beaten
Portrait of a soldier--The German and the Russian view
Portrait of a civilian--'We were as mobilised as the soldiers'
How the period ended--Germany surrenders, Stalin joins the war on Japan

Part VI Northwest Europe 1944-1945
Background to war--The road to D-Day
Warring sides--A military audit
Outbreak--The Allies invade France
The fighting--From D-Day to victory
Portrait of a soldier--Donald Burgett
Portrait of a civilian--Brenda McBryde
How the period ended--The road to VE Day
The world around war
Conclusion and consequences
Further reading
Index