The Second World War and the Oxford History of Modern War

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 proclaimed as the War that would end all wars yet within two
decades of the same it was seen that another World War started which was more gruesome in
nature and also in magnitude as well. More importantly, this war was totally different from the
ones which were fought in the earlier times not only because of the number of soldiers who died
in the war but also on account of the warfare techniques which were used in the same. The
purpose of this paper is to write a critical summary of the chapter “Total War II The Second
World War” by Richard Overy in the book “The Oxford History of Modern War”.
According to Townsend, “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”1. For instance,
Overy states that although great wars had been fought in the earlier times yet none of them
matched the Second World War in terms of its magnitude or gruesomeness. As a matter of fact,
it was seen that more than 55 million individuals died in the concerned war which was greater
than the number of soldiers who died in the earlier three great wars which were fought in
Europe2. As a matter of fact, in order to overcome 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. More importantly, although religion formed the basis
for the earlier great European wars yet in the context of the Second World War it was seen that
politics or the selfish desire of the nations to hold more political power within the European
nation was the root cause of the war. Furthermore, this particular war was a total war since it
mobilized the material, intellectual and the moral energy of the common people of the different
nations involved within the same which in turn set it apart from the earlier traditional wars
wherein only the mobilization of material and human resources were witnessed.
1 Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford history of modern war. OUP Oxford, 2000.
2 Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford history of modern war. OUP Oxford, 2000.

2CHAPTER SUMMARY
An important feature of the Second World War which distinguishes it from the other wars
which were fought in the earlier times was the contradictory techniques which were being used
by the nations fighting in the concerned war. For instance, on the Western Front it was seen that
the soldiers fought with war tanks, on horsebacks, used guns, knives and others. This becomes
apparent from the lines of the chapter wherein Overy had said that “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”3. On the other hand, the methods of naval and air warfare
(by Japan, USA, Germany and others) including the usage of submarines (by Britain) was used
in the concerned war which were seldom used simultaneously in the earlier wars. The lines of the
chapter “Naval power was a critical element in British war-making…..and was the instrument
which linked together the scattered territories of the Empire and ferried the resources to defend
them” are important to note in this regard4. More importantly, the war was also revolutionary in
nature because it introduced the concept of air warfare which in the earlier wars was rarely used.
Lastly, unlike the earlier wars which were fought for religion, peace and for other purposes, the
completely political nature of this particular total war becomes apparent from the fact that this
war fought by the different European nations for the purpose of gaining more land and thereby
political power within the continent of Europe rather than for the resolution of the different
issues faced by the concerned continent. As a matter of fact, the conflicting nations rather than
being content holding power or influence with Europe also fought for supremacy within Asia as
well. This in turn gave the Second World War the status of a total war wherein it was seen that
3 Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford history of modern war. OUP Oxford, 2000.
4 Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford history of modern war. OUP Oxford, 2000.

3CHAPTER SUMMARY
all the important nations of the world which held a substantial amount of power in the third and
the fourth decades of the 20th century became involved in the concerned war. These aspects of
the Second World War not only made it a total war but also distinguished it from the wars which
were fought in the earlier times as well.
To sum up, Richard Overy in the chapter “Total War II The Second World War” of the
book “The Oxford History of Modern War” highlights the different aspects of the Second World
War which not only distinguished it from the other wars which were fought earlier but also gave
it the status of a total war. For instance, this war introduced the concept of air warfare which was
seldom used in the earlier times and also the soldiers used different methods like fighting on
horsebacks, use of tanks, knives and others for fighting against the enemies. More importantly,
unlike the earlier wars which were fought for religion, peace and for other purposes, this war was
totally political in nature and was fought for the purpose of gaining the maximum amount of
power within the continent of Europe. These aspects of the Second World War become apparent
from the above analysis of the same in the particular context of Richard Overy’s chapter “Total
War II The Second World War” of the book “The Oxford History of Modern War”.

4CHAPTER SUMMARY
Reference
Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford history of modern war. OUP Oxford, 2000.