How the War Was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War Ⅱ

摘要

'There were no decisive battles in World War Ⅱ.' Phillips O'Brien's opening statement sets the tone for this stridently revisionist examination of the conflict. This latest book by the director of the Scottish Centre of War Studies at Glasgow University is an expansion and explanation of an article he wrote fifteen years ago, which argued that the West was far more important than Russia or China in determining the outcome of the Second World War and the peace that followed. He uses his subsequent research to further explore this thesis in this book: an attempt to counter the current orthodoxy (the predominant importance of Russia's fight against Germany in comparison to the Allied efforts) by examining equipment production figures and destruction ratios. As such, the book looks back at the war through the prism of national economics, technology and industrial might, linking these to an appreciation of grand strategy. Analysis of the different strategic decisions made by the national leaders sheds new light on the war and allows for an understanding of the importance of air and sea power, in contrast to the longstanding emphasis on large-scale continental campaigns. In O'Brien's words, 'Battles such as El Alamein, Stalingrad and Kursk did not win World War Ⅱ; air and sea power did'. It is a thesis that will infuriate historians and soldiers alike.