DK - World War II Map by Map

the astonishing turnaround after Stalingrad in 1942–1943. Perhaps

most dramatically of all, we can see the greatest seaborne invasion

of all time on D-Day in June 1944.

This book also reminds us that the war enveloped Asia. It describes

the great naval battles of the Pacific that followed Japan’s attack on Pearl

Harbor on December 7, 1941. This was, in President Roosevelt’s words,

the “date which will live in infamy,” propelling the US into the war.

More than anything, it was the commitment of America’s industrial

might on the side of the Allies that spelled the end for Germany, Italy,

and Japan. The set of maps describing the desperately hard-fought and

costly series of battles that finally consumed Japan’s short-lived

Pacific empire is an essential guide to the understanding of the massive

task that confronted the US forces. This comprehensive picture of

World War II is enhanced by further maps and features that illustrate

the state of the world before and after the fighting, and the wider social,

political, and economic aspects of the conflict. We also get a glimpse of

the kind of mapping that was available to military commanders at the

time. I’ve long been fascinated by the way good maps have helped me

and other commentators explain the ups and downs of warfare. This

book is right at the forefront of that great enterprise.

PETER SNOW, 2019

▽ Contemporary map of action in Normandy

This German situation map shows Axis and Allied troop movements

in 1944. Following the Allied counterinvasion of France on D-Day, the

two sides battled fiercely for control of territory in northern France,

Belgium, and the Netherlands in what was to be one of the pivotal

episodes of the war in Europe (see pp.190–191).

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