World War II Operations in 100 Maps

Here is the latest prototype from the Perrin laboratories: an operational atlas of the Second World War. This conflict was won through military operations on land, at sea and in the air — to give just one example, the Red Army alone launched more than two hundred. And yet, until now, no one had thought to select the most important, to comment on them and to present them in the form of one hundred new, thoroughly researched and readable maps.

All theatres are covered: Europe, Asia, Africa, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, from 1937 to 1945. The true novelty of this work lies in the word "operative". The operations are not presented in simple chronological order: they follow an operational logic, and it is according to this principle that they are set out in the detailed text accompanying the maps. For each one, the following are defined and presented — through pictograms — the Strategic Line, the Objective(s) pursued, the Form and Sequencing, the Force Structure, Command, Counter-measures, Execution, the Assessment and Consequences. In other words, each operation is connected to the strategic vision of those who executed it, to specific means (presented in the form of infographics) and to commanders possessing particular expertise; it takes a form that reflects its purpose: the destruction of the adversary, the seizure of a specific point, the pursuit of a political, economic or psychological effect…

This work is not only the first atlas of Second World War operations but also the first intelligent atlas, in the sense that it lays bare for the reader the deep logic underpinning the operations, their raison d'être and their execution. Every enthusiast of the Second World War has bought Jean Lopez's Infographie de la Seconde Guerre mondiale and unanimously praised it for its innovative and didactic character: they will buy this operational atlas for its format, its new maps and infographics, but also for its resolutely fresh perspective. A work carried out by Jean Lopez, Nicolas Aubin and Benoist Bihan with the specialists at EdiCarto, who also produce the maps for the "Champs de bataille" collection.