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Purnell's History of the Second World War

January 07, 2023

Purnell's History of the Second World War was a hugely successful weekly anthology or 'partwork' publication covering all aspects of World War II that was distributed throughout the English-speaking world. Produced shortly before the similarly accomplished 8-volume series on WW1, it was first published in 1966, being reprinted several times during the 1970s.[1]

The magazine was notable for its use of multiple writers – many of them well-known military figures – from all relevant nationalities in order to present a rounded view of the subject material. This was combined with high-quality original artwork of the military hardware used, maps and numerous previously unseen photographs, some of them quite gruesome.

Background

Despite the name, Purnell's History of the Second World War was published by Phoebus Publishing Ltd in co-operation with the Imperial War Museum, which provided its research facilities, expert advice, official statistics and photographs. The now defunct Purnell & Sons, later British Printing Corporation, based in Paulton, Avon (Now Bath & North East Somerset), were the printers of the magazine. At the time, Purnell's were one of the largest and most advanced printing plants in Europe, and had developed a reputation for high quality printing, producing well-known titles such as the Observer Magazine and the TV Times.[2]

Editorial stance

The editor, Barrie Pitt, had been involved in the production of the BBC Television series The Great War. Pit and the editor in chief, the renowned military theorist and historian Sir Basil Liddel Hart, wanted to create a definitive record of the Second World War which would both hold up to academic scrutiny and be accessible to the general public. Each issue of the magazine contained several articles on differing topics but typically, important or contentious events were viewed from both sides (e.g. Stalingrad: The German View, followed by another article, Stalingrad: The Russian View) in order to allow the writers to counter long held myths and set the record straight rather than to merely recycle familiar themes. Numerous famous military figures and former senior staff officers contributed articles; because it was originally published just over twenty years after the end of the conflict, many of the surviving protagonists were still alive.

Former combatants who wrote for the magazine

General Walter Warlimont (he received a life-long prison sentence at Nuremberg, but was released in 1954) was commissioned to produce a piece on life in Hitler's inner circle, while Marshal G.K. Zhukov contributed an article on how he planned the Moscow counterattack. Marshal I.S. Konev also continued an article about the plan to invade Berlin.

Other senior figures who contributed to the publication include

Major General Eric Dorman O'Gowan, former Chief of Staff of General Auchinleck; Freiherr von der Heydte commander of Rommel's rearguard during the second Battle of El Alamein; General Major Alfred Philippi who commanded an infantry division on the western front after D-Day; Lord Chalfont writing on the morality of the atom bomb attacks on Japan; General Leutnant Walter Chales De Beaulieu, commander of a Panzer army at Leningrad; Major General JL Moulton; and Lieutenant-General Nikolay Kirillovick Popel (Red Army), who participated in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Other contributors

Prominent historians such as John Keegan, Jerrard Tickell, W.H. Koch, Alvin D. Coox, Phyllis Auty, Martin Blumenson, Antony Brett-James, John Vader, Rudolf Bohmer, Raleigh Trevelyan produced articles, as well as AJP Taylor, who acted as editor in chief for later editions after the death of Sir Basil Liddel Hart.

Other well-known contributors to the publication included Alan Clark MP and the best-selling author Dudley Pope. Eyewitness accounts from otherwise anonymous individuals, such as a Japanese housewife telling of the horrors of life after the surrender and the testimony of a former Zero pilot, were also included.

John Batchelor contributed 1163 illustrations.[3]

Cold war

Despite the efforts to tell the story from alternative viewpoints, many of the events being discussed remained controversial and sensitive subjects, and there was still scope for Cold War propaganda and government censorship to find its way into print.

In issue 45, which covered the Katyn Massacre, the discovery of the bodies of several thousand captured Polish officers in 1943, which was widely believed to have been carried out by the Soviets, and which remained an unmentionable subject between the Allies after the war, the historian Jerrard Tickell attempted to reconstruct the events around the atrocity which took place at the Hill of Goats site. While pointing to the evidence, he left his conclusion open ended, finishing with the comment that it was up to the reader to form their own opinion. His article was followed by a piece by a Soviet scientist purporting to be a forensic re-examination of all the available evidence such as the conditions of the bodies, their levels of decomposition and the remaining artefacts in order to 'prove' that the Polish officers could have only been murdered during the period of the German occupation of the region. Using eye witness accounts, selective testimonies and the findings of the official Russian investigation into the affair, Doctor of Juridical Sciences Arkady Poltorak finished with the paragraph;

Thus was unmasked the provocative act of the Nazis, thus was established with complete clarity the fact of the monstrous killing by the Nazi authorities of Polish prisoners of war at Katyn Wood

During the Perestroika period in the early 1990s, the Russian authorities finally admitted that the killings had been carried out by the NKVD, the secret police organization used to enforce Stalin's rule.

Later editions

The series was so successful that although it was initially scheduled to run to six volumes of 16 issues each, a further two volumes were added, covering later themes such as the Chinese Civil War, the Arab–Israeli Conflict, Suez, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the rise of nationalism which led to the breakup of the European empires in the years after World War II. There were also discussions on the spread of communism, tactics and battle strategy, the post war reconstruction, the use of propaganda, the work of war correspondents and artists, profiles of the leading politicians, generals and ambassadors, and features on uniforms and medals.

While the editorial comment justified this move as important for the reader to gain a rounded view of all the inter-connected events, it could also be considered a sound business move to extract as much financial reward for the publishers as possible.

As well as the magazine itself, a series of higher quality 'specials' were also later produced which were themselves hugely successful, selling over 8 million copies world wide.[4] They centred on specific elements not only of World War II but also World War I, e.g., Battleships of the First World War, The Desert War, German Secret Weapons, D Day: Invasion of Hitler's Europe and German Tanks 1939–1945. While popular, they included a great deal of material previously published in the main magazine.

Though the magazine is long out of print, it is remembered as largely achieving what it set out to do, and back issues remain sought after on internet auctions.

Titles

References

  1. ^ Purnell's History of the Second World War 30 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine in 96 weekly issues, with 32 supplements, partworks.co.uk. Retrieved July 2011
  2. ^ Goodman, Terry, The History of Purnell & Sons Ltd and the British Printing Corporation, July 2004, ISBN 978-0-9547241-0-8. Retrieved July 2011
  3. ^ "Out of work for 44 minutes". Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine. July 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  4. ^ Purnell's History of the Second World War issue 100 – Back Page

January 07, 2023
purnell, history, second, world, hugely, successful, weekly, anthology, partwork, publication, covering, aspects, world, that, distributed, throughout, english, speaking, world, produced, shortly, before, similarly, accomplished, volume, series, first, publish. Purnell s History of the Second World War was a hugely successful weekly anthology or partwork publication covering all aspects of World War II that was distributed throughout the English speaking world Produced shortly before the similarly accomplished 8 volume series on WW1 it was first published in 1966 being reprinted several times during the 1970s 1 The magazine was notable for its use of multiple writers many of them well known military figures from all relevant nationalities in order to present a rounded view of the subject material This was combined with high quality original artwork of the military hardware used maps and numerous previously unseen photographs some of them quite gruesome Contents 1 Background 2 Editorial stance 3 Former combatants who wrote for the magazine 4 Other contributors 5 Cold war 6 Later editions 7 Titles 8 ReferencesBackground EditDespite the name Purnell s History of the Second World War was published by Phoebus Publishing Ltd in co operation with the Imperial War Museum which provided its research facilities expert advice official statistics and photographs The now defunct Purnell amp Sons later British Printing Corporation based in Paulton Avon Now Bath amp North East Somerset were the printers of the magazine At the time Purnell s were one of the largest and most advanced printing plants in Europe and had developed a reputation for high quality printing producing well known titles such as the Observer Magazine and the TV Times 2 Editorial stance EditThe editor Barrie Pitt had been involved in the production of the BBC Television series The Great War Pit and the editor in chief the renowned military theorist and historian Sir Basil Liddel Hart wanted to create a definitive record of the Second World War which would both hold up to academic scrutiny and be accessible to the general public Each issue of the magazine contained several articles on differing topics but typically important or contentious events were viewed from both sides e g Stalingrad The German View followed by another article Stalingrad The Russian View in order to allow the writers to counter long held myths and set the record straight rather than to merely recycle familiar themes Numerous famous military figures and former senior staff officers contributed articles because it was originally published just over twenty years after the end of the conflict many of the surviving protagonists were still alive Former combatants who wrote for the magazine EditGeneral Walter Warlimont he received a life long prison sentence at Nuremberg but was released in 1954 was commissioned to produce a piece on life in Hitler s inner circle while Marshal G K Zhukov contributed an article on how he planned the Moscow counterattack Marshal I S Konev also continued an article about the plan to invade Berlin Other senior figures who contributed to the publication includeMajor General Eric Dorman O Gowan former Chief of Staff of General Auchinleck Freiherr von der Heydte commander of Rommel s rearguard during the second Battle of El Alamein General Major Alfred Philippi who commanded an infantry division on the western front after D Day Lord Chalfont writing on the morality of the atom bomb attacks on Japan General Leutnant Walter Chales De Beaulieu commander of a Panzer army at Leningrad Major General JL Moulton and Lieutenant General Nikolay Kirillovick Popel Red Army who participated in the Battle of Stalingrad Other contributors EditProminent historians such as John Keegan Jerrard Tickell W H Koch Alvin D Coox Phyllis Auty Martin Blumenson Antony Brett James John Vader Rudolf Bohmer Raleigh Trevelyan produced articles as well as AJP Taylor who acted as editor in chief for later editions after the death of Sir Basil Liddel Hart Other well known contributors to the publication included Alan Clark MP and the best selling author Dudley Pope Eyewitness accounts from otherwise anonymous individuals such as a Japanese housewife telling of the horrors of life after the surrender and the testimony of a former Zero pilot were also included John Batchelor contributed 1163 illustrations 3 Cold war EditDespite the efforts to tell the story from alternative viewpoints many of the events being discussed remained controversial and sensitive subjects and there was still scope for Cold War propaganda and government censorship to find its way into print In issue 45 which covered the Katyn Massacre the discovery of the bodies of several thousand captured Polish officers in 1943 which was widely believed to have been carried out by the Soviets and which remained an unmentionable subject between the Allies after the war the historian Jerrard Tickell attempted to reconstruct the events around the atrocity which took place at the Hill of Goats site While pointing to the evidence he left his conclusion open ended finishing with the comment that it was up to the reader to form their own opinion His article was followed by a piece by a Soviet scientist purporting to be a forensic re examination of all the available evidence such as the conditions of the bodies their levels of decomposition and the remaining artefacts in order to prove that the Polish officers could have only been murdered during the period of the German occupation of the region Using eye witness accounts selective testimonies and the findings of the official Russian investigation into the affair Doctor of Juridical Sciences Arkady Poltorak finished with the paragraph Thus was unmasked the provocative act of the Nazis thus was established with complete clarity the fact of the monstrous killing by the Nazi authorities of Polish prisoners of war at Katyn WoodDuring the Perestroika period in the early 1990s the Russian authorities finally admitted that the killings had been carried out by the NKVD the secret police organization used to enforce Stalin s rule Later editions EditThe series was so successful that although it was initially scheduled to run to six volumes of 16 issues each a further two volumes were added covering later themes such as the Chinese Civil War the Arab Israeli Conflict Suez Korean War Vietnam War and the rise of nationalism which led to the breakup of the European empires in the years after World War II There were also discussions on the spread of communism tactics and battle strategy the post war reconstruction the use of propaganda the work of war correspondents and artists profiles of the leading politicians generals and ambassadors and features on uniforms and medals While the editorial comment justified this move as important for the reader to gain a rounded view of all the inter connected events it could also be considered a sound business move to extract as much financial reward for the publishers as possible As well as the magazine itself a series of higher quality specials were also later produced which were themselves hugely successful selling over 8 million copies world wide 4 They centred on specific elements not only of World War II but also World War I e g Battleships of the First World War The Desert War German Secret Weapons D Day Invasion of Hitler s Europe and German Tanks 1939 1945 While popular they included a great deal of material previously published in the main magazine Though the magazine is long out of print it is remembered as largely achieving what it set out to do and back issues remain sought after on internet auctions Titles EditVolume 11 Blitzkrieg 2 Hitler The New Messiah Sinking of the Graf Spee 3 The Germans Strike North 4 Glider Strike on World s Strongest Fort The Balance of Arms Assessed Hitler s Troops Crush Norway 5 Invasion of Holland and Belgium Panzers Break Through At Sedan 6 Dunkirk 7 The Fall of France 8 Operation Sea Lion The Plan to Invade Britain 9 The Battle of Britain 10 Italian Fiasco The Attack On Greece 11 Menace at Sea 12 Victory in the Desert 13 Rommel The Desert Fox 14 Hitler s Revenge on Yugoslavia 15 Hitler Drives the Allies Out of Greece 16 The Sinking of the Bismarck Volume 217 Civilians in the Front Line 18 How Crete Was Lost 19 Desert Tragedy Frenchman Fights Frenchman in Syria 20 Duels with the Afrika Korps 21 Operation Barbarossa 22 Barbarossa 23 Russia Blunts the Blitzkrieg 24 Target Rommel 25 Pearl Harbor 26 Malaya 27 Battle For Moscow 28 Hit and Run The Big Commando Raids Begin 29 The General Who Never Lost a Battle 30 1000 Bomber Raid 31 Corregidor 32 Banzai Volume 333 Showdown At Midway 34 Tobruk Falls 35 The Siege of Sebastopol 36 First Alamein 37 Suicide Invasion What Went Wrong at Dieppe 38 Stalingrad 39 Alamein 40 Guadalcanal 41 Operation Torch 42 Life in France 43 Scrap the Battle Fleet 44 Death of an Army 45 The Crime at Katyn Wood 46 Tunisia The Noose Tightens Guadalcanal Slaughter at Sea 47 Wingate Minus Myth 48 Africa The End Volume 449 Battle for the Sealanes 50 The Greatest Tank Battle in History 51 Italians Quit 52 Allies Invade Italy 53 The Bolshevik Horde 54 Did the Germans Stop Monty 55 War at the Top 56 Guadalcanal to Bougainville 57 Marines at Tarawa 58 Was Anzio Worth It 59 Cassino Falls 60 RAF Raider Destroyed 61 Kohima and Imphal 62 Pre D Day Hitler s Fortress Europe 63 Pre D Day The Allied War Machine 64 Pre D Day Europe s Secret Armies Volume 565 D Day 66 Battle of the Hedgerows 67 The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot 68 The Bomb Plot 69 The Red Army Bursts into Poland 70 Allies Smash Two German Armies 71 Prisoner on the Kwai 72 Paris Freed 73 Arnhem 74 Inside the Camps 75 The Incredible Career of Richard Sorge Stalin s Man in Tokyo 76 The Strange Career and Spectacular Death of the Tirpitz 77 The Soviet View of Liberation 78 The Red Army s Drive to the Gates of Berlin 79 Bombing Did it Work Was it Justified 80 Battle of the Bulge Hitler s Last Gamble Volume 681 Battle of the Bulge The Allies Hit Back 82 Iwo Jima 83 Whatever the enemy does he can never reckon on a capitulation Never Never Never 84 Victory in Italy 85 Into the Heart of Hitler s Reich 86 Fall of Berlin 87 Hitler Dead Doenitz Appointed Fuhrer 88 Fire Raids On Japan 89 Cult of the Kamikazes 90 The Race to Rangoon 91 Japan s Last Hope 28 Million Volunteers 92 Hiroshima Nagasaki 93 The War An Overview 94 Blister Gas Chlorine gas Blood gas Nerve gas Why were they never used 95 Tanks Guns Men 96 Index Volume 797 The World and the Bomb 98 The Perils of Peace 99 Big Four Take Over 100 Facing Up To Defeat 101 Brave New World 102 The Propaganda War 103 Hitler s Foreign Legions 104 U Boat 105 Dambusters 106 Heraldry of War 107 Waffen SS 108 Czechoslovakia Fights Back 109 Belsen 110 The Soldier 111 Life At Home 112 The Leaders and their Generals Volume 8113 Chiang and His Generals 114 Diplomacy In War 115 Strategy amp Tactics 116 Forts 117 Trials at Nuremberg 118 Struggle Over Israel 119 France Retreats From Empire 120 Indonesia 121 Vietnam s Fight for Freedom 122 The Spread of Communism 123 The Years of Reconstruction 124 Artists at War 125 Mao s Victory 126 The Violent Peace 127 Chronology 1933 1944 128 Chronology 1945 1949 amp Bibliography References Edit Purnell s History of the Second World War Archived 30 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine in 96 weekly issues with 32 supplements partworks co uk Retrieved July 2011 Goodman Terry The History of Purnell amp Sons Ltd and the British Printing Corporation July 2004 ISBN 978 0 9547241 0 8 Retrieved July 2011 Out of work for 44 minutes Dorset Life The Dorset Magazine July 2016 Retrieved 7 April 2018 Purnell s History of the Second World War issue 100 Back Page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Purnell 27s History of the Second World War amp oldid 1097587000, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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