Question about WWII history books, eng

Hi,
I'm trying to learn about the battles of the war from the European Allied perspective. Can someone recommend (or if there's already a post, please link?) some good books to read once I've finished Richard Evans and William Shirer?
I like to read several good overview books on the subject before getting into any of the many details.
Thanks in advance!
~M

 

You can start with the popular authors and see what they cite for sources. Start here: European theatre of World War II - Wikipedia

Scroll down to the bottom for sources/citations of the main article's authors. Have fun and report back if you have more questions. We do that.

 

I feel like some directed recommendations would still be helpful as there are quite a few works listed there, some of them academic... unfortunately I tend to read at the more detailed level, so I don't have high level recommendations.

I think that Richard Overy's Why the Allies Won is highly regarded?

 

Metro Tango,

I would recommend three paperbacks:

1) Six Armies in Normandy by John Keegan (US, Canada, Scotland, English, Poland, Germany and France)

2) With the Jocks by Peter White (Scottish infantry officer D-Day to VE-Day)

3) D-Day Through German Eyes: How the Wehrmacht Lost France by Jonathan Trigg

Do you include the Soviets as an ally?

 

Forums like these will help people focus. You're all free to ask questions about books/authors/your chances with that waitress.

Well, maybe not the last.

 

Thanks all for your suggestions/pointers, all great stuff! As I mentioned, I've gone through Evans and Shirer, am now reading Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945 by Max Hastings, and am looking for a few more "overview" sources before I start on the next steps down into the stages of the War (battle by battle). Great suggestion to look through the Wikipedia resources on the ETO page, its probably full of sources that I hadnt considered.

From the titles listed here, I think Overy's will be my next one, though I'd like to find something that starts earlier than 1939, just to learn more about the causing factors.

I think once I get into the actions of the War, the tiles you list davidbfpo will be spot on for those periods. Your question about the Soviets probably deserves a different thread, lol! As an USAF Russian cryptoanalyst during the cold war, I have more than a few thoughts here. Short answer, for this period, yes.

I followed this same process for an amateurs education on the Pacific War. I'll post those titles in a different thread, but I think it was fairly comprehensive. Again though, I realize I'm just a duffer here compared to the pros, so would appreciate any other pointers.

Thanks again!!
~M

 

M,

I read a long time ago two of Professor John Erikson (Edinburgh University) on the Soviet war, made an impression then. See the listing on: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B0028EUZTW

Richard Overy had a well-reviewed book a few years ago. See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russias-Wa...&sprefix=richard+overy,stripbooks,109&sr=1-11

 

Not impressed by Erikson. It's also most certainly dated by now.

Much prefer Ziemke, also dated but much more accessible, and available online:

https://history.army.mil/Publications/Publications-Catalog/Publications-by-Author/#index-Z

All the best

Andreas

 

Hastings is now considered to have a bias in favour of German soldiers and against the British (and other allies? Not sure). At least in his 1980s work. Don't know if it affects Inferno. Just something to keep in mind.

 

From a time nearer to the events described. Some may say dated even, but for me a decent place to start - as per the suggestions previously made in the thread.

Kind regards, good luck, always,

Jim.

 

Couple of books at Ibiblio.org/hyperwar and Ibiblio.org/pha.

 

Do you know why he started with events only after the tide had turned? Just curious.

 

I've found Inferno so far to press a bit on the Brits wealth/snobbery compared to other forces, but no outright bias.

Thank you von Poop, I need to start a list.
JimHerriot (All Creatures G&S?), I have a few like that on the Pacific. Great places to start, thank you!

 

He's covering the initial offensive in the first two chapters. But no idea why it is structured like that.

All the best

Andreas

 

If it wasn't for Chester Wilmot, we'd never have had the "Lorry Thread"

 

I know this won’t specifically answer your question, but a general history of the war in Europe is too overwhelming and ambitious for one author. Those with specialized pockets of knowledge will always find fault with the results.

Pre-internet studies once hailed as a masterpiece, have not necessarily stood the test of time. In some cases the reporting is less accurate than recent Wikipedia articles.

But you can’t go wrong with the Oxford Companion to World War II. Encyclopedia format and perhaps a bit long in the tooth, but the best part is that it’s not trapped in the bias of one writer. The essays and summaries were written by 140 authors from all over the world. With every reference check, I never fail to find something that I didn’t know.

Like many people, my interest began with reading about battlefields and technical subjects. For a long time, I ignored behind-the-scenes politics. But this is a backwards way to learn about war. If I could go back in time for a do-over, I would have started with international banking and economics, then government contracts and extractive industries, and then military logistics. Once you have a better understanding of those subjects, your perspective about borders, flags and warfare might change drastically.

 

Thanks EKB, do you know of a good source for this? Audiobooks are great, but pdf/ebook or even actual pages would work too!

This is exactly the type of information I've been looking for. I like to build a "strawman" of the basic structure in my head and then hang as many details as I'm able to digest into that. This is very much the way I approached the 3 yrs I spent on the Pacific War. Eventually I'll be looking for the "Tregaskis" of the ETO, but for now, this is enough for a spell.

I've had experiences in both the military (intelligence/linguistics) and corporate world (ecommerce and finance IT) and from those many years have learned that the process you've put so succinctly here is The Way. I'm actually a bit excited to get into the logistics/supply chain information once I get to that part, since it was such a driver. As Yanks, I think we like to talk about the Red Ball express as such a big deal (and it was!), but it was really just the flickering flame on the candles on top of the frosting on the cake.

Thank you!

 

For a different perspective try Norman Davies Europe at War No Simple Victory

He takes issue with the classic Anglo American view of WW2 as Good V Evil. His view is that the war in Europe was dominated by two evil monsters - Hitler and Stalin - whose fight for supremacy consumed the best people in Germany and in the USSR . The outcome of the war was at best ambiguous, the victory of the West was only partial, its moral reputation severely tarnished and, for the greater part of the continent of Europe, ‘liberation’ was only the beginning of more than fifty years of totalitarian oppression.