World War II

World War II is conventionally thought to have begun on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland by the German military in most Anglo-American and European accounts. However, a less Eurocentric understanding of world history would identify the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937 or the start of the Italo-Ethiopian War in 1935 as beginning pointys for the protracted global conflict. The Second World War was a result of various factors, including the flawed peace settlement following the First World War and geo-political grievances of the three main revisionist powers: Germany, Italy and Japan.

The rival international military alliances in the war were the United Nations, conventionally called the "Allies", and the Axis powers. France and the U.K. were the principal Allied powers in 1939, with the Soviet Union joining in 1941 following the German invasion and the United States joining in late 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. Canada, India and Australia also contributed immensely to the Allied war effort. Germany, Italy, and Japan were the principal Axis powers. Finland, Hungary and Romania also contributed much to the Axis war effort. Although technically neutral, both Spain and Sweden contributed "Blue Divisions" of fascist volunteers to the Eastern Front. Sweden also allowed German troops to use its railways to occupy Norway. Although a fascist dictatorship, Portugal continued to aid the U.K. Both alliances presented odd bedfellows memberships; liberal democratic Finland was a member of the Axis and authoritarian Cuba was a member of the Allies.

At the beginning of the war, Germany quickly seized the capital of Poland: Warsaw. Poland was home to the largest population of Jews in the world at the time: more than three million. They found themselves under Nazi rule. The Soviet Union invaded Eastern Poland, in part with the agreements in the Soviet Nazi non-aggression pact. France and Britain expected a

The bloody memories of World War II

reenactment of World War I tatics, so they dug trenches. The Allied commanders also expected the Germans would attack France after the invasion of Poland. However, this was wrong, as Nazi Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in April, 1940, to secure iron ore being shipped from Sweden to Germany. Denmark surrendered immediately, while Norway was conquered in two months. As Allied leaders pondered where the next attack would take place, Nazi Germany moved it's tanks through the very lightly defended territory of the Ardenne. The panzers then swiftly cut through France with its infantry following behind. The British, trapped, evacuaded their forces at Dunkirk. On June 22, an armistice was signed between France and Germany. The Netherlands and Belgium were also overrun. With France neutralized, Germany began an air superiority campaign over Britain (the Battle of Britain) to prepare for an invasion. However, the air campaign failed, and the invasion of Britain was postponed indefinitely. Throughout this period, the neutral United States took measures to assist China and the Western Allies. In November 1939, the American Neutrality Act was amended to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. 1941 was a major year for World War 2, as it witnessed the invasion of the Soviet Union and the attack on Pearl Harbor, which in turn, brought the United States into the war. Soviet counteroffensives were attempted at the German advance. However, most of them failed, and Kiev fell to the Germans. Japan knew the Allied powers were weakened, so Japan attacked French indochina. Great Britain and the United States responded by freezing Japanese assets, and the U.S. put a complete oil embargo on Japan. Japan had a choice between abandoning their empire, or taking the resources they needed by force. Japan decided to take the resources. Japan then invaded the Dutch East indies, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and attacked the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor. The United States declared war on Japan on December 8th, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, the Axis advance stopped, with the Germans being pushed out of North Africa. The battle of Stalingrad was a severe defeat for the German army. The Japanese navy had been eliminated as an effictive fighting force at the battle of Midway. The Allies attacked the Vichy holdings in North Africa as well. In 1943, Soviet offensives had eliminated any hopes for a German victory. A disastrous attack on the Kursk bulge exhausted German forces. On July 9, 1943, the Allied forces from North Africa, along with many reinforcements, invaded Sicily. The invasion of Sicily paved the way for an invasion of the Italian mainland. In September, Italy signed an armistice with the Allies, and Allied forces invaded mainland Italy. However, the Germans then established a puppet state, called the Italian Social Republic. The Japanese were pushed out of New Guinea as well during 1943. In 1944, American, Britain, and Canadian forces had launched Operation Overlord, the liberation of France from Nazi rule. Local uprisings in France also assisted the Allies. But an attempted liberation of the Netherlands failed. The Soviets launched a massive operation as well, resulting in the almost complete destruction of Geman forces in Belarus. Encouraged by the Soviet advance, Polish uprisings exploded, and two-thirds of Warsaw were taken by resistance forces. But the resistance had no response to Nazi armor and airpower, and the revolt was put down. By then, Soviet forces pushed into Nazi occupied Yugoslavia. The United States by then had also began to liberate the Philippines. Germany launched a massive counter offensive in the ardenne which would continue into 1945. In 1945, the Ardenne counter-offensive had been repulsed, and the Allies had finally entered Germany. On April 30th, in the face of defeat, and with the Red Army advancing into Berlin, Hitler committed suicide. In May 1945, the Third Reich collapsed. The Philippines had been finally secured in 1945, and Okinawa had been seized.  The United dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, as well as the Soviet Union invading Japanese occupied Manchuria. Japanese leaders realized that the United States had a new deadly weapon, and also knew the Soviet Union was willing to bear the heavy losses if they invaded Japan. The Japanese empire surrendered, and World War 2 ended. World War Two had some of the worst atrocities ever committed in recorded history. The Holocaust had killed six million Jews, as well as four million others.

It was the greatest confrontation ever. It saw the rise and fall of some totalitarisms: Nazism in Germany and Fascism in Italia. World War II would bring an entirely different war: the Cold War.

Origins of World War II

World War Two started in 1939

Axis Alliance (list)

Nazi Germany

Imperial Japan

Fasist Italy

The Allies (list)

• Britain
• France
• U.S.A
• U.S,S.R.

Belligerents

Allies

• United Kingdom
• Soviet Union
• United States
• China
• Poland
• France
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Belgium
• The Netherlands
• Greece
• Yugoslavia
• Norway
• etc.

Axis

• Germany
• Japan
• Italy
• Hungary
• Romania
• Finland
• Thailand
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Slovakia

Main characters

Allies

• Winston Churchill: United Kingdom
• Franklin D. Roosevelt: United States
• Charles de Gaulle: Free France
• Joseph Stalin: Soviet Union

Axis

• Adolf Hitler: Germany
• Benito Mussolini: Italy
• Hideki Tojo: Japan

Major Battles

Blitzkrieg - the "lightning fast" Axis conquests of many countries such as Poland, Austria, France, etc.

• Defeat of Poland, occurred in 1939, land battle, German victory
• Battle of France, occurred in 1940, land battle, German victory
• Battle of Britain, occurred in 1940, aerial battle, British victory

The War in the Mediterranean

• The battle of El Alamein, occurred in 1942, land battle, Allied victory
• The battle of Anzio, occurred in 1944, land battle, Allied victory
• The battle of Monte Cassino, occurred in 1944, land battle, Allied victory

Invasion of Russia

• The battle of Leningrad, occurred in 1941-1944, siege, Allied (Soviet) Victory
• The battle of Moscow, occurred in 1941-1942, land battle, Allied (Soviet) Victory
• The battle of Stalingrad, occurred in 1942-1943, siege, Allied (Soviet) Victory
• The battle of Kursk, occurred in 1943, land battle, Allied (Soviet) Victory

Germany's defeat

• The Normandy Landings of D-Day, occurred in 1944, land/naval battle, Allied Victory
• The battle of Arnhem, occurred in 1944, land battle, German Victory
• The battle of Berlin, occurred in 1945, land battle, Soviet Victory

The War in The Pacific

• The Battle of the Philippines, occurred in 1941-1942, land battle, Japanese Victory
• The Battle of Singapore, occurred in 1942, siege, Japanese Victory
• The Battle of Coral Sea, occurred in 1942, naval battle, American Victory
• The Battle of Guadalcanal, occurred in 1942-1943, land battle, Allied (American) Victory
• The Battle of Midway, occurred in 1942, naval battle, Allied (American) Victory
• The Battle of Leyte Gulf, occurred in 1944, land battle, Allied (American) Victory
• The Battle of Philippine Sea, occurred in 1944, Allied (American) Victory
• The Battle of Iwo Jima, occurred in 1945, land battle, Allied (American) Victory
• The Battle of Okinawa, occurred in 1945, land battle, Allied (American) Victory