Sirk TV Book Review: WORLD WAR II - BATTLE BY BATTLE [Osprey]

The essence of World War II in terms of understanding the war can always been overwhelming in terms of sheer size and scope and also of pertinence. Certain battles because of pop culture or movies like Normandy, Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor or Iwo Jima will always be foremost in some minds. With "World War II: Battle By Battle" [Nikolai Bogdanovic/Osprey/128pgs], there is more of a sense of minutiae and how certain battles fit into a great conception of the whole. Some battles indicated here like one in Scandinavia where the the city went back and forth from the Germans and some of their quiet allies is interesting also because of the cold ratio. There is also a battle in the forests in Germany where guerrilla and trench warfare were implemented. Seeing these individually are interesting perceptions of a different approach that maybe wasn't heard about often. The interesting aspect with this book is that it is matter of fact in many ways and gives the structure of the battle while also adding a minute amount of editorial about why and how it was fought. The illustrations give interesting perspective but are more structured like a moment in time versus the essence of either the tactics or the emotional resonance. The inherent dissimulation of the battles in the order they are in does not necessarily show a trajectory of why they were selected but the author is quick to point out that the war was so far reaching that this is inherently impossible in any way because of the amount of moving parts. All said in this personification, the book gives a very rounded view of the warfare without being mired and drone-like in its relation of facts. Thereby, it definitely is effective in many ways.B

By Tim Wassberg