CHRONOLOGY: 1941-1945. Compiled by Mary H. Williams. (1960, 1989;660 pages, glossaries, index, CMH Pub 11-1.)

This massive compilation establishes the sequence of events in World War II from the time the first bombs fell on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 until the surrender of the Japanese aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. A reference work to the United States Army in World War II, the volume details the tactical events of the war day by day, thus giving the reader a measure of the scope of global coalition warfare so that he can begin to grasp the relationship of the innumerable parts to the whole.

This volume emphasizes the ground actions of the U.S. Army in its various operations in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Far East, the Pacific, and the Western Hemisphere. Events are related at the appropriate level, including battalion and lesser units as well as regiment, division, corps, army, and army group. In addition, the combat actions of Army, Air, Navy, and Marine Corps units and of British, French, Soviet, and other Allied armed forces, as well as those of the enemy, are given in as much detail as space limitations allow. General events of historical import also appear in their proper places.

The value of this well-indexed book is twofold. In one volume the general reader and the student of military history have a ready reference to the whole war during that period in which the United States participated and can quickly check individual facts and dates. In addition, they are able to observe at a glance the progress of the combat operations on a global level for any given day or follow the progress of a single unit day by day to the conclusion of a specific campaign.