Some interesting books being publsihed in 2008: Amazon.co.uk: Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany, and World War II: Books: Stanley G. Payne Amazon.co.uk: The Ultimate Battle: Books: Bill Sloan Amazon.co.uk: A Hard Way to Make a War: The Italian Campaign in the Second World War: Books: Ian Gooderson Amazon.co.uk: Tank Men: Books: Robert Kershaw Amazon.co.uk: Special Op Bomber: The Daring Missions That Changed the Shape of WWII: Books: Steven Darlow Amazon.co.uk: From North Africa to the Arakan: The Engrossing Memoir of WWII Spitfire Ace Alan McGregor Peart DFC, RNZAF: Books: Alan Pearl Amazon.co.uk: People on the Move: Forced Population Movements in Europe in the Second World War and Its Aftermath (Occupation in Europe): Books: Gustavo Corni,Tamas Stark
Oooh, A Hard Way to Make a War might fill some holes and I'm sure From North Africa to the Arakan will be worth a look! Having said that, People on the Move is an interesting topic. So much more to this conflict than just the military side of things, it is truly sobering. So much to read...
I think I'd want to physically have a look at A Hard Way before deciding. General campaign histories can be tricky. I agree on the Africa to Arakan - it's on my watchlist. I've been interested in the social elements of the war for a while and that book certainly looks good. But I really fancy the Franco/Hitler book - I hope it explores in detail whi Spain stayed neutral, and whatthe plans were for Gibraltor.
Would "neutralish" be a better word? :-D Kinda like Turkey - willing to turn a blind eye to RN ships "resting" in its waters and returning downed aircrew to their units fairly quickly?
Turkey did that for the Allies but Spain interned any Allied escapees. The British embassy had to smuggle them out. But I don't know what Spain did with Germans - probably returned them via Vichy.
Yep, sorry, I should have said neutral with a leaning to Germany like Turkey was neutral but had a leaning to the UK etc. Read last night of German ships transporting ore from Spain that was used to harden shells. Only read it last night and can't remember! Sigh.
Hopefully the books will explore in more detail the points raised by the wiki article I posted in this thread http://ww2chat.com/forums/general-topics/301-spain-ww2-franco-smarter-than-hitler.html