ABSTRACT
FOR BRITAIN WORLD WAR II lasted nearly six years, during one of which the British stood alone against Germany. It was a different war from World War I; 324,000 not 750,000 were killed, and of these 70,000 were civilians. It was also a sprawling, mobile war. Instead of trenches, mud, and stalemate there were naval battles in the Pacific, desert war in Africa, jungle fighting in Burma, submarine pursuit in the Atlantic, and the battle for the skies. Surprises came at every turn—the fall of France, the invasion of Russia, Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor, the arrival of the United States, and the invasions of Italy and France. While not as horrible as the first war, it was far more taxing on the British people and destructive of their land and Empire.
