The Rise of Germany 1939-1941 : the war in the West. Volume one / James Holland.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

War begins. Countdown ; Diplomacy ; Running Out of Time ; The Point of No Return ; War Declared ; All at Sea ; Offensive Reconnaissance ; Vehicle Shortages ; The Modern Army ; Leading the Nation ; Attention to Detail ; Case YELLOW ; Home Front ; Iron in the Soul ; All Alone -- Germany triumphant. Operation WESERÜBUNG ; The Battle for Norway ; The Go-for-Broke Gamble ; Attack in the West ; Race to the Meuse ; Smashing the Meuse Front ; Encirclement ; Britain's Darkest Hour ; Getting Away ; The End in France ; Air Power : I -- War in the Air and on the Sea. Air power : II ; Not Alone ; Indecision ; Adler-Angriff ; Crossing the Water ; The Approach to Battle ; Science, Money, and Resources ; The Grey Atlantic ; The Humiliation of Mussolini ; Change of Tack -- The Widening War. The Vanquished and the Defiant ; Saved from the Deep ; Developments at Sea ; Sea Battles ; Mixed Fortunes : I ; Forwards and Backwards ; Gains and Losses ; Mixed Fortunes : II ; Mercury Falling ; Midsummer Heat ; Industrial Potential ; Trouble at the Top -- Glossary -- Appendices -- Timeline.

The first volume in a three-part history of World War II in Europe, North Africa, and the Atlantic draws on original testimony and new research to discuss events from the outbreak of war in 1939 to the eve of the invasion of the Soviet Union.