Hitler's Strategy 1940-1941: The Balkan Clue

by Martin van Creveld

Book Overview

Did Mussolini invade Greece against Hitler's wishes? Were Fuhrer's plans for that country purely defensive? How did the German campaign in the Balkans affect their attack on Soviet Russia? These are a few of the questions to which Dr van Crevland provides provocative answers. Using Hitler's attitude to Greece and Yugoslavia as a vital clue, this book puts forward a novel interpretation of Germany's overall strategy in the years 1940-1. Rejecting 'traditional...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521089662
• ISBN13: 9780521089661
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A treasure for the specialists

This is certainly not a book for beginners in World War II history, but rather an academic study of the military and diplomatic preparations of Hitler's Germany, before the Balkans campaign of 1941. The author goes in great depth analysing the strategic situation in Europe in the end of 1940 and details the complex diplomatic maneuvers that Hitler made in order to finish the war against Britain in the Mediterannean and also to set the stage for the great invasion of the Soviet Union. There is also a wealth of information for the military interested readers, especially for those who want to discover the art of finely orchestrated moves of the German divisions, as they were deployed to the East and took positions for the attack against Greece and Yugoslavia, passing through countries with extremely poor road and rail networks (Romania and Bulgaria)and under foul weather. The facts I found in this book were of an amazing quality and quantity, and they are extremely useful to anyone who wants to study this subject deeper. Of course the book stops just before the actual operations start, but this doesn't diminish its importance. Very highly recommended!