The Allies Strike Back, 1941-1943

The War in the West, Book 2

By: James Holland

Narrated by: David Baker

By June 1941, Germany's war machine looked to be unstoppable. The Nazi blitzkrieg had taken Poland, France, and Holland with shocking speed. The Luftwaffe had bombed London, while German U-boats wrought havoc on Allied shipping on the Atlantic. And yet, as James Holland shows at the start of The Allies Strike Back, 1941-1943 - the second volume in his magisterial narrative of World War II in the West - cracks were already appearing in Germany's apparent invincibility. Shortages of food and materiel were becoming critical. And, having failed to defeat Britain, Adolf Hitler fatefully pivoted east to invade the Soviet Union - territory he felt compelled to conquer for Germany's protection - and on June 22, 1941 precipitated the largest clash of arms the world had ever seen. Built for speed and quick conquest, German forces by that fall were bogged down in a horrible war of attrition that blunted the Nazi momentum.

The Allies Strike Back offers fascinating new perspective on the critical middle years in World War II's western theatre, as the advantage between Axis and Allied forces swung back and forth on the Atlantic and eastern front, and in north Africa and Europe. Acclaimed historian James Holland has spent years conducting original research and interviews, mining newly available archives, visiting battlefields and uncovering letters and diaries previously unread. Acknowledging that strategy and tactics have been the focus of previous histories, he gives equal space to the logistics and supply of men and materiel without which no war can be fought. Allied and Axis leaders criss-cross Holland's narrative, but he also memorably introduces listeners to heretofore unknown participants: Sgt. Ralph Schaps, who experienced the Louisiana Maneuvers that propelled him into Europe; Colonel Hermann Balck, in command of a German panzer regiment in Africa; U-boat captain Teddy Suhren, operating against Allied shipping in the Atlantic; Billy Drake, squadron commander in Britain's Desert Air Force that helped turn the tide in North Africa; and many others.

Following the acclaimed first volume of his trilogy, The Rise of Germany, and offering frank assessments of successes and failures on both sides, James Holland has crafted a masterful and gripping narrative of the events that ultimately determined the outcome of World War II.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 James Holland (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

wonderful fresh look

The author provides both broad views and intimate personal stories. He works to dispel and debunk popular myths and incorrect ideas about the way the Allies and the Axis conducted their operations.

Downside: the narrator reads clearly but makes many errors in pronunciation

not just the dry dates and stats

Moves quickly, includes context and some personal opinion (always clearly identified). love this author and the performance was excellent

Great Detail and Easy to Follow

I learned so much from this book. The author combines minute historical detail, relevant and engaging anecdotes and a very listenable style. Woven throughout are excellent explanations of various concepts such as development of the machine-tool industry, Eisenhower's diplomatic and persuasive genius, especially managing Patton's and Montgomery's massive egos, and many others. He avoids value judgments about the politics of the era, just exposition of the facts. Of course, the way he tells the story itself is riveting. I'm going to listen to, or read, everything he writes.

good story. bad narrator

the narrator is uneducated and lazy. he cannot pronounce even simple French and German names as well as using strange syllabic intonations on common English words. His mispronounciations were so frequent it was annoying.

A Fresh Take On A Familiar Era

James Holland brings a stunning new way of looking at WW2 in this book. I’ve read a lot on WW2, watched a lot of documentaries, but this is an angle I’ve never seen before. Holland looks at the war from the highest level, demonstrating how the economy of war played such a major part of the whole event. Interspersed with this high level view is excellent information about battles in North Africa, the Atlantic, and the Eastern Front. Interspersed with all of this is tremendously personal stories of folks at all levels. In total, this book gave me an entirely new appreciation for an era I’m already fascinated by and I learned A LOT. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in WW2.