Wars and Battles, 1939-1945

Introduction
World War II was the mightiest struggle humankind has ever seen. It killed more people, cost
more money, damaged more property, affected more people, and caused more far-reaching
changes in nearly every country than any other war in history. The number of people killed,
wounded, or missing between September 1! and September 1"# can never be calculated,
but it is estimated that more than ## million people perished.
$ore than #% countries took part in the war, and the whole world felt its effects. $en fought
in almost every part of the world, on every continent e&cept 'ntarctica. (hief battlegrounds
included 'sia, )urope, *orth 'frica, the 'tlantic and +acific oceans, and the $editerranean
Sea.
,istorians do not agree on the e&act date when World War II began. $ost consider the
-erman invasion of +oland on September 1, 1!, to be the beginning of the war. .thers say
it started when the /apanese invaded $anchuria on September 10, 1!1. .thers even regard
World War I, which culminated in the +eace with the (entral +owers in 111 and World War
II as parts of the same conflict, with only a breathing spell in between.
War officially began on September 1, 1!, when -ermany attacked +oland. -ermany then
crushed si& countries in three months 2 3enmark, *orway, 4elgium, 5u&embourg, The
*etherlands, and 6rance 2 and proceeded to con7uer 8ugoslavia and -reece.
/apan9s plans for e&pansion in the 6ar )ast led it to attack +earl ,arbor in 3ecember 1"1,
bringing the :nited States into the war. 4y early 1"1, all ma;or countries of the world were
involved in the most destructive war in history.
World War II would go down in the history books as bringing about the downfall of Western
)urope as the center of world power, leading to the rise of the :nion of Soviet Socialist
<epublics =:.S.S.<.>, setting up conditions leading to the (old War, and opening up the
nuclear age.
Causes of the war
The -reat 3epression crippled the economies of )urope and the :nited States. That,
combined with the outcome of World War I, led to ma;or repositioning of world power and
influence. That was fertile ground for the emergence of various forms of totalitarian
governments in the Soviet :nion, /apan, Italy, and -ermany, as well as other countries. $any
countries had liberal democratic governments following World War I, but dictatorship
developed during the 11%s and 1!%s, which destroyed democratic rights.
$any historians trace the roots of World War II to the Treaty of ?ersailles and other peace
agreements that followed World War I. The -ermans found it easy to blame the harsh Treaty
of ?ersailles for their troubles.
-ermany set up a republican form of government in 11. $any -ermans blamed the new
government for accepting the hated treaty. +eople who could not find ;obs began to drift into
the (ommunist and *ational Socialist parties. 's the government lost power, 'dolf ,itler
and his *ational Socialist or *a@i party grew stronger.
+rior to 11", 4ritain, 6rance, and -ermany were the industrial and financial centers of the
world. 6ollowing World War I, those countries lost their positions and the :nited States filled
their place. 'merica dominated the world market of food, minerals, and industry.
When the stock market crashed on .ctober 1, 11, the financial crisis had worldwide
conse7uences and the reaction of nations to the dire financial straits of the 3epression had a
huge impact.
'fter World War I, -ermany, Italy, and /apan 2 all an&ious to regain or increase their power
2 adopted forms of dictatorship. The 5eague of *ations was unable to promote
disarmament. When 'dolf ,itler came into power, he promised to end the humiliating
conditions caused by -erman defeat in World War I.
)conomic problems were among the fundamental causes of World War II. -ermany, Italy,
and /apan considered themselves un;ustly handicapped in trying to compete with other
nations for markets, raw materials, and colonies. They believed that such countries as
4elgium, 6rance, -reat 4ritian, the *etherlands, and the :nited States unfairly controlled
most of the world9s wealth and people. So, -ermany, Italy, and /apan began to look for lands
to con7uer in order to obtain what they considered to be their share of the world9s resources
and markets.
The 3epression destroyed the market for imported silk from /apan, which had provided the
country with two-fifths of its e&port income. $ilitary leaders took control of the government,
and in 1!1, /apan invaded (hina, looking for more raw materials and bigger markets for her
factories.
The 5eague of *ations called a conference of A% nations in -eneva, Swit@erland, in 1!1.
The conference was one in a long line of disarmament conferences that had been occuring
since the end of World War I.
-ermany, whose military power had been severely limited by the Treaty of ?ersailles,
announced that world disarmament had to be accomplished, or -ermany would rearm and
achieve military e7uality. 6rance refused to disarm until an international police system could
be established.
The conference ad;ourned temporarily and by the time it was back in session, ,itler had
become chancellor of -ermany and was already preparing to rearm. -ermany withdrew from
the conference, which ended in failure, without any hope for disarmament.
America prepares for war
'fter the war began in )urope in 1!, people in the 'mericas were divided on whether their
countries should take part or stay out. $ost 'mericans hoped the 'llies would win, but they
also hoped to keep the :nited States out of war. The isolationists, wanted the country to stay
out of the war at almost any cost. 'nother group, the interventionists, wanted the :nited
States to do all in its power to aid the 'llies. (anada declared war on -ermany almost at
once, while the :nited States shifted its policy from neutrality to preparedness. It began to
e&pand its armed forces, build defense plants, and give the 'llies all-out aid short of war.
+resident 6ranklin 3. <oosevelt called upon the :nited States to be Bthe great arsenal of
democracy,B and supply war materials to the 'llies through sale, lease, or loan. The 5end-
5ease bill became law on $arch 11, 1"1. 3uring the ne&t four years, the :.S. sent more
than C#% billion worth of war matDriel to the 'llies.
In 1!, the :nited States had about 1E",%%% men in the 'rmyF 11A,"%% in the *avyF 1A,%%%
in the 'rmy 'ir (orpsF 1,E%% in the $arine (orpsF and 1%,%%% in the (oast -uard. 't the
height of its strength in 1"#, the :nited States had si& million in the 'rmyF !,"%%,%%% in the
*avyF 1,"%%,%%% in the 'rmy air forcesF "0",%%% in the $arine (orpsF and 1E%,%%% in the
(oast -uard. In 1!, the :nited States had about 1,#%% airplanes and EA% warships. 4y
1"#, it had about 0%,%%% airplanes and 1,#%% warships. The :nited States used draft laws to
build their armed forces. The :nited States Selective Service 'ct became law on September
1A, 1"%. Thousands of women served in the 'rmy9s Women9s 'rmy (orps =W'(> and *avy
e7uivalent W'?)S, standing for Women 'ccepted for ?olunteer )mergency Service.
6actories in the :nited States converted from civilian to war production with ama@ing speed.
6irms that had made vacuum cleaners before the war began to produce machine guns. 's men
went into the armed forces, women took their places in war plants. 4y 1"!, more than two
million women were working in 'merican war industries. In shipyards and aircraft plants,
<osie the riveter became a common sight. .fficials discovered that women could perform the
duties of eight of every 1% ;obs normally done by men.