ABSTRACT
Although truly worldwide, the war which began in 1939 had at its heart the same struggle as that of 1914–18, the overcoming of Germany. Her preponderance was greater than in 1914 because her opponents were weaker. Even though she was not to develop her full strength until 1943, Germany’s early victories were so complete that by the summer of 1941 there was a small likelihood that blockade could sap her strength and so win the war for England. Nor would the puny bombing offensive which was all the RAF could mount in the first two years of the war have any hope of doing so. Only the entry of Russia and the United States made it possible to envisage a military defeat of Germany by forcing her to fight on more than one major front. It was not, therefore, until 1941 that the war entered its major phase.
