The Mediterranean Air War :Airpower and Allied Victory in World War II

Publication subTitle :Airpower and Allied Victory in World War II

Author: Ehlers > Robert S. Jr.  

Publisher: University Press of Kansas‎

Publication year: 2015

E-ISBN: 9780700620760

P-ISBN(Paperback): 9780700620753

Subject: K152 World War II (1939 - 1945)

Keyword: 世界军事

Language: ENG

Access to resources Favorite

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Description

Without what the Allies learned in the Mediterranean air war in 1942-1944, the Normandy landings—and so, perhaps, the Second World War II—would have ended differently. This is one of many lessons of The Mediterranean Air War, the first one-volume history of the vital role of airpower during the three-year struggle for control of the Mediterranean Basin in World War II—and of its significance for the Allied successes in the war's last two years.

Airpower historian Robert S. Ehlers opens his account with an assessment of the pre-war Mediterranean theater, highlighting the ways in which the players' strategic choices, strengths, and shortcomings set the stage for and ultimately shaped the air campaigns over the Middle Sea. Beginning with the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, Ehlers reprises the developing international crisis—initially between Britain and Italy, and finally encompassing France, Germany, the US, other members of the British Commonwealth, and the Balkan countries. He then explores the Mediterranean air war in detail, with close attention to turning points, joint and combined operations, and the campaign's contribution to the larger Allied effort. In particular, his analysis shows how and why the success of Allied airpower in the Mediterranean laid the groundwork for combined-arms victories in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean area, North Africa, and the Atlantic, northwest Europe.

Of grand-strategic importance from the

Chapter

Part II. Contest

2. War Comes to the Mediterranean

3. Triumph and Tragedy

4. The RAF Holds—and Learns

5. The Back Door Secured and the Front Door Strengthened

6. Preparations for and the Conduct of Operation Crusader

7. Rommel Strikes Again

8. Axis High Tide

9. The Tide Turns

10. El Alamein and Operation Torch

11. Building a New Air Command and Clearing North Africa

Part III. Exploitation

12. Operations Husky, Avalanche, and Baytown

13. The Italian Campaign and the Invasion of Southern France

14. The Second Aerial Front

15. The Balkan Air Force

Part IV. Retrospective

16. Taking Stock

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Back Cover

The users who browse this book also browse


No browse record.