The military engagements and campaigns of World War II are emblazoned on mankind’s memory: from the Blitzkrieg attacks that smashed the Polish army in 27 days, and conquered Norway in a day, through the savage and sustained fighting of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The previously unknown level of destruction made possible by Robert Oppenheimer’s scientific breakthrough brought the war to an end, and in its wake came the full revelation of the horror of the Holocaust.

With the aid of 300 black and white and colour photographs, The Illustrated History of World War II tells the full story of the war and the individuals who led it – Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Mussolini, Togo, Rommel, Montgomery and De Gaulle, among many others. In addition, the book examines life beyond the frontline: the Holocaust, living under occupation, refugees, the Blitz and evacuations, the changing role for women, and food. Full-colour maps complement the lively text and pictures, leading the reader through many of the principal engagements on land, sea and air.