Chapter Summary: Second World War - Analysis of Overy's Chapter

This report provides a comprehensive summary of the Second World War, focusing on the chapter by Richard Overy in "The Oxford History of Modern War." The summary highlights the unprecedented scale of the war, the use of new technologies such as air and naval warfare, and the mobilization of entire populations. The report details the shift from earlier wars fought for religious or peacekeeping purposes to a war fought for political dominance in Europe and Asia. The summary also touches upon the use of various weapons, the role of industrial workforces, and the extremes of physical and moral endurance experienced by the nations involved. The report emphasizes the Second World War's impact on military strategies, technological advancements, and its profound impact on the world.

Running head: CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER SUMMARY: A SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER “THE SECOND WORLD
WAR” BY RICHARD OVERY” IN THE BOOK “THE OXFORD HISTORY OF
MODERN WAR”
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CHAPTER SUMMARY
 The First World War was hailed as the war which would end all wars yet within two
decades another World War started
 The scale of the Second World War in terms of the number of soldiers who died, the war
techniques which were used, the weapons and others was way higher than the earlier
wars
 More than 55 million soldiers died in the war which was higher than the earlier three
great wars which were fought in Europe
 The Second World War saw the introduction of air warfare and naval warfare which were
seldom used in the earlier wars
 Soldiers took the help of different weapons like war tanks, guns, bombs, knives and
others
 In August 1942 two squadrons of Italian cavalry performed their country’s last mounted
charge, with sabres drawn, against a Soviet infantry division….soldiers fought with
knives and the long samurai sword side by side with machine-guns. Biplanes saw service
throughout a war that generated the first rockets…the first nuclear weapons
 There was extensive mobilization of intellectual, moral and the material energies of the
people which in turn gave the total nature to this war
 For overcoming the shortage of soldiers, the industrial workforce of the nations of USA,
Britain and others were mobilized and thereby sent to the Western Front for fighting in
the total war
 Unlike the earlier wars which were fought for religious and peace-keeping purposes, this
war was fought for political supremacy in Europe and Asia

2CHAPTER SUMMARY
 The Second World War was a war of extremes. All the powers that fought it were pushed
to the very depths of physical and moral endurance

3CHAPTER SUMMARY
Bibliography
Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford history of modern war. OUP Oxford, 2000.