R. J. Overy

Richard Overy

Explains how the Allies regained military superiority after 1942, and discusses important campaigns, naval battles, industrial strength, fighting ability, leadership, and moral issues

Why the Allies Won

Arun Khanna

Why did the Allies win World War II? Asking this question presumes that the war was to be *won* and not an inevitability. Richard Overy somewhat persuasively shows using a number of case studies from the U-boat campaign to the Wehrmacht defeats at Stalingrad and Kurst that this was indeed the case. Essentially, Overy's case boils down to effective use of resources, greater morale, better intelligence, significantly stronger economic mobilization (which translates into better ships, airplanes and tanks) and better doctrine.

The only case study I found somewhat unconvincing was his discussion of the battle of Midway where he argues that the Japanese had a significant superiority over the United States going into the battle. According to *Shattered Sword*, this does overstate the case -- adding in the airplanes from the naval base itself, both sides were roughly equal with the United States possessing a significant strategic advantage in possessing intelligence about the Japanese intentions and hitting them when they were the most vulnerable. I also think he overstates the general case for the Axis powers to win, the economic superiority of the Allies once the United States joined did make the chances of victory almost inevitable.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone with only a rudimentary understanding of WWII and is looking to understand the war from an overall strategic level rather than the lens of individual battles. I definitely want more history books in this vein, where battles and individual commanders matter, but an emphasis is placed on the true winners of war such as factors like logistics and economic mobilization.

Why the Allies Won

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