The Second World War contains vivid details of all the major events; the fall of France, the Western Desert, Hitler's fatal attack on Russia, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Victory in Europe and the defeat of Japan. This series is richly illustrated with nearly twenty thousand photographs and informative drawings and maps, which create a memorable and vivid portrait of war.Reprinted from contemporary accounts, this superb series is the most comprehensive work on the Second World War ever published. Its scope ranges from Hitler's Blitzkrieg, which crushed Poland in 1939, to the unconditional surrender of Japan six years later. In this savage war millions of lives were lost or changed forever. Week by week throughout the conflict the magazine War Illustrated recorded front-line accounts from war correspondents and fighting men. These accounts reveal not only the horror and bleakness of war, but tell the courage and humour of the men and women involved.Siege of Leningrad Begins-- Pearl Harbor Attack-- U.S. Declares War-- Japanese Invade Philippines & Malaya-- Japanese Aircraft Sink HMS Prince of Wales & Repulse-- Battle of the Coral Sea-- Bataan Surrenders-- Doolittle Air Raids on Tokyo