December 1941: Twelve Days that Began a World War

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Editorial Reviews
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Meet the Author
Table of Contents

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Overview

In far-flung locations around the globe, an unparalleled sequence of international events took place between December 1 and December 12, 1941. In this riveting book, historian Evan Mawdsley explores how the story unfolded. He demonstrates how these dramatic events marked a turning point not only in the course of World War II but also in the direction of the entire century.

On Monday, December 1, 1941, the Japanese government made its final decision to attack Britain and America. In the following days, the Red Army launched a counterthrust in Moscow while the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and invaded Malaya. By December 12, Hitler had declared war on the United States, the collapse of British forces in Malaya had begun, and Hitler had secretly laid out his policy of genocide. Churchill was leaving London to meet Roosevelt as Anthony Eden arrived in Russia to discuss the postwar world with Stalin. Combined, these occurrences brought about a "new war," as Churchill put it, with Japan and America deeply involved and Russia resurgent. This book, a truly international history, examines the momentous happenings of December 1941 from a variety of perspectives. It shows that their significance is clearly understood only when they are viewed together.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Suspenseful chronicle of the 12 days in December 1941 that would define the perimeters of the global conflagration. Mawdsley (Professorial Research Fellow/Univ. of Glasgow; World War II: A New History, 2009, etc.) embarks on the action from the first day and never lets up in this crisp, chronological study--from the Japanese Imperial Conference's ratification of war on Dec. 1 against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, setting in motion the Southern Operation invasion, to Germany's declaration of war on the U.S. on the 11th. In between, Hitler's lightning thrust into the Soviet Union was now mired in mud and the approaching winter. In Libya, the British under General Ritchie were driving General Rommel and his Italian allies back from securing the supply port at Tobruk. Yet the essential crisis at this moment was gathering steam in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, with the launch of the Japanese invasion convoy on Dec. 4, which struck Malaya and southern Thailand, Singapore, Pearl Harbor, Wake, Guam, the Philippines and Hong Kong. Mawdsley has an excellent grip on the behind-the-scenes political and diplomatic scurrying among London, Washington, Berlin and Tokyo, much of it desperate and, to readers in hindsight, smugly blinkered, as Japan's hostile intentions were not hidden and the Allies had broken the Japanese encryption in 1940. Crucial code warnings received by U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Harold Stark were not delivered to the Pacific commanders in time. Pearl Harbor brought America into the war, bolstering Britain and turning the tide. Hitler announced in a Dec. 12 speech his resolve to "clear the table" of the Jews; a week later he had taken direct command of the German Army. A rigorous, sharp survey of this decisive moment in the war.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780300154450
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication date: 12/1/2011
Pages: 360
Sales rank: 142,550
Product dimensions: 6.40 (w) x 9.40 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Evan Mawdsley is honorary professorial research fellow, School of Humanities, University of Glasgow. His many books include World War II: A New History; Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet Struggle, 1941–1945; and The Russian Civil War. He lives in Glasgow.

List of Illustrations and Maps vi

List of Terms and Abbreviations viii

Introduction 1

1 1 December. Japan, Germany and the Coming World War 6

2 1 December. The Fight to the Death in Russia 25

3 1 December. London, Libya and the Dangers of the Far East 48

4 1 December. Washington, magic and the Japanese Peril 64

5 2 December. Two Doomed Battleships in Singapore 80

6 3 December. The President's Secret Promise 92

7 4 December. Hitler and Japans War of Conquest 102

8 5 December. The Lull Before Two Storms 121

9 6 December. General Zhukov Throws in his Armies 131

10 7 December. Date of Infamy: Japan's Undeclared Wars in Malaya and Hawaii 152

11 8 December. The Beginning of the End of the British Empire 189

12 9 December. FDR Begins the American Century 215

13 10 December. Force 'Z' and the Malayan Tragedy 227

14 11 December. Hitler's War on America 242

15 12 December. World War and the Destruction of the Jews 257

16 Aftermath. The New War and a New World 266

List of Participants 288

Notes 291

Select Bibliography 327

Index 337

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