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World War 2, also known as the Second World War, was a war fought from 1939 to 1945 in Europe and, during much
of the 1930s and 1940s, in Asia.
The war in Europe began in earnest on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, and
concluded on September 2, 1945, with the official surrender of the last Axis nation, Japan. However, in Asia the war
began earlier with Japanese interventions in China, and in Europe, the war ended earlier with the unconditional
surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945.
The conflict spilled over into Africa, included a handful of incidents in the Americas, and a series of major naval
battles.
It was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning the entire world and involving more countries than any other war,
as well as introducing powerful new weapons, culminating in the first use of nuclear weapons.
However, despite the name, not all countries of the world were involved; some through neutrality (such as the Eire -
though Eire supplied some important secret information to the Allies; D-Day's date was decided on the basis of
incoming Atlantic weather information supplied from Ireland - Sweden, and Switzerland), others through strategic
insignificance (Mexico).
The war ravaged civilians more severely than any previous conflict and served as a backdrop for genocidal killings by
Nazi Germany as well as several other mass slaughters of civilians which, although not technically genocide, were
significant.
These included the massacre of millions of Chinese and Korean nationals by Japan, internal mass killings in the Soviet
Union, and the bombing of civilian targets in German and Japanese cities by the Allies. In total, World War II
produced about 50 million deaths, more than any other war to date.
World War 2 History
Preceding events
In Europe, the origins of the war are closely tied to the rise of fascism, especially in Nazi Germany. A discussion of
how the Nazis came to power is a requisite in this context.
The origins of the Second World War are generally viewed as being traced back to the First World War (1914-1918).
In that war Germany under the ultra-nationalistic Kaiser Wilhelm II along with its allies, had been defeated by a
combination of the United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia and others. The war was directly blamed by the
victors on the miltant nationalism of the Kaiser's Germany; it was Germany that effectively started the war with an
attack on France through Belgium. France, which had suffered a previous defeat at the hands of Prussia (a state that
merged one year later with others to form Germany) in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, demanded revenge for its
financial devastation during the First World War (and its humiliation in the earlier war) ensured that the various peace
treaties, specifically the Treaty of Versailles imposed tough financial reparations and restrictions on Germany.
A new democratic German republic, known as the Weimar Republic, came into being. After some success it was hit by
hyperinflation and other serious economic problems. Right wing nationalist elements under a variety of movements,
but most notably the Nazi Party of Adolf Hitler, sought to blame Germany's "humiliating" status on the harshness of
the post-war settlement, on the weakness of democratic government, and on the Jews, whom it claimed possessed a
financial stranglehold on Germany. Hitler was appointed Reichskanzler (Chancellor) on January 30, 1933, by the aged
President von Hindenburg. Hitler's government exercised much of its power through the special emergency powers
possessed by the President under the constitution.
These powers enabled a government with the President's powers to effectively bypass the Reichstag (federal
parliament). Under a further disastrous clause in the Weimar constitution when the President died, his office was
temporarily assumed by the Chancellor. As a result, when Hindenburg died, the immense powers of the presidency fell
into the hands of Adolf Hitler. Through the possession of those powers and an Enabling Act that allowed the nazi
government to bypass and ignore the constitution, Hitler ensured his possession of the presidential powers became
permanent and so gained dictatorial control over Germany.
The Italian economy also fell into a deep slump following World War I. Anarchists were endemic, Communist and
other Socialist agitators abounded among the trade unions, and many were gravely worried that a Bolshevik-style
Communist revolution was imminent.
After a number of liberal governments failed to rein in these threats, Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III invited right-
wing politician Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party to form a government in 1922, following their largely symbolic
Marca su Roma (March on Rome). The Fascists maintained an armed paramilitary wing, which they employed to fight
Anarchists, Communists, and Socialists.
Within a few years, Mussolini had consolidated dictatorial power, and Italy became a police state. On January 7, 1935,
he and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval signed the Italo-French agreements.
Meanwhile in Germany, once political consolidation (Gleichschaltung) was in place, the Nazis turned their attention to
foreign policy with several increasingly daring acts.
On March 16, 1935, the Versailles Treaty was violated as Hitler ordered Germany to re-arm. Germany also
reintroduced military conscription (the treaty stated that the German Army should not exceed 100,000 men).
These steps produced nothing more than official protests from Britain and France, for they were more serious about
enforcing the economic provisions of the treaty than its military restrictions. Many Brits felt the restrictions placed on
Germany in Versailles had been too harsh, and they believed that Hitler's aim was simply to undo the extremes of the
treaty, not to go beyond that. Faced with no opposition, Hitler moved troops into the Rhineland on March 7, 1936.
Under the Versailles treaty, the Rhineland should have been demilitarized, for France wanted it for a buffer between
herself and Germany. But, as before, Hitler's defiance was met with inaction.
The first German conquest was Austria. After Italy had joined the Anti-Comintern Pact, thereby removing the main
obstacle of a Anschluss of Austria, Germany announced the annexation on March 12, 1938, making it a German
province: "Gau Ostmark."
With Austria secured, Hitler turned his attention to Czechoslovakia. His first order of business was to seize the
Sudetenland, a mountainous area in northeast part of the country. With Austria in German hands, the tiny state was
nearly surrounded. Following lengthy negotiations, and blatant war threats from Hitler, British Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain went out of his way with French leaders to appease Hitler, even though the United Kingdom had earlier
guaranteed the security of Czechoslovakia. However, the Munich Agreement of September 30, 1938, then allowed
German troops to occupy the Sudetenland.
Czech representatives were not allowed at the conference; their government strongly opposed giving up the
Sudetenland but they were powerless in the face of German military might and British and French unwillingness to
support them. A few months after that, in March 1939, the remaining Czech lands passed into German hands as well.
March 14 Slovakia declared her independence, recognized by France, Britain and other important powers. The Slovak
state tried to avoid nazification, but was finally occupied by Nazi-Germany in September 1944.
Italy, facing opposition to its wars in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) from the League of Nations, forged an alliance with Nazi
Germany, which had withdrawn from the League in 1933. In May of 1939, Italy and Germany thus formed the Pact of
Steel, which deepened their alliance and established a Rome-Berlin "Axis."
Scandinavian Campaigns
Several other countries, however, were drawn into the conflict at this time. By September 28, 1939, the three Baltic
Republics felt they had no choice but to permit Soviet bases and troops on their territory.
Finland was invaded by the Soviets on November 30. This began the Winter War. After over three months of hard
fighting, and heavy losses, the Soviet Union gave up the attempted invasion. In the Moscow Peace Treaty, March 12,
Finland ceded 10% of her territory. The Finns were embittered over having lost more land in the peace than on the
battle fields, and over the seemingly little use of the whole world's sympathy.
On April 9 Germany commenced Weser�bung to seize Denmark and Norway, ostensibly as a defensive maneuver
against a planned (and openly discussed) Franco-British occupation of those countries aimed at controling export of
Swedish iron ore and the Northern Atlantic. After the failed British campaign in Norway Finland and Sweden were
physically cut off from the West. As a consequence, Germany put pressure on neutral Sweden to permit transition of
military goods and soldiers on leave. Germany's presense proximate to northernmost Finland, and its Nickel mines,
were perceived as an improvement of the strategical situation by the Finns.
Bomber War
Prewar doctrine had held that waves of bombers hitting enemy cities would cause mass panic and the rapid collapse of
the enemy. As a result, the Royal Air Force had built up a comparatively large strategic bomber force. By way of
contrast, German air force doctrine was almost totally dedicated to supporting the army. Therefore, German bombers
were smaller than their British equivalents, and the Germans never developed a four engined heavy bomber equivalent
to the Lancaster, B-17 or B-24.
The main concentration of German raids on British cities was from autumn 1940 until spring 1941. After that a large
proportion of the strength of the Luftwaffe was diverted to the war against the Soviet Union. German raids continued
on a smaller scale for the rest of the war, and later the V-1 cruise missile and V-2 ballistic missile were both used
against Britain. However, the balance of bomb tonnage being dropped shifted greatly in favour of the RAF as Bomber
Command gained in strength. By 1942, Bomber Command could put 1,000 bombers over one German city. However,
it should be noted that this was a special effort using all available aircraft and training units as well. It was 1943 before
1,000 bomber raids became possible without a special effort. From 1942 onwards, the efforts of Bomber Command
were supplemented by the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Force. Bomber Command raided by night
and the US forces by day. During 1943, a raid on Hamburg produced one of the most devastating fires in history. A
firestorm was created in the city, and 40,000 people were killed. Only the raid on Dresden in 1945, the firebombing of
Tokyo and the atomic bombs killed more people through a single attack. In addition to the direct damage caused by
these attacks, large amounts of resources were diverted to air defense.
The Balkans
On October 28 1940, Italy invaded Greece but was unable to match the German's success in France. Not only did the
Italians fail to conquer Greece, but the Greeks successfully counterattacked into Albania. This prompted German
intervention, which also involved the invasion of Yugoslavia, where a pro-German coup had been defeated a few days
earlier. British forces were dispatched from Egypt to Greece, but were comprehensively beaten. After the mainland
was conquered, the Germans invaded Crete. Instead of an amphibious assault as expected, the Germans mounted a
large airborne invasion. It suceeded, but the paratroops of the German army were so badly mauled in the process that
an airborne operation was never again attempted by Germany during the war.
Once the Balkans was secure, the largest land operation in history was launched, when Germany attacked the Soviet
Union.
orth Africa
The north African campaign began in 1940, when small British forces in Egypt turned back an Italian advance from
Libya. This advance was stopped in 1941 when German forces under Erwin Rommel landed in Libya. Thus began a
seesaw campaign that culminated in the two Battles of El Alamein. The first battle took place in summer 1942. The
Germans had advanced to El Alamein, the last defensible point before Alexandria and the Suez Canal. However, as in
the Soviet Union, they had outrun their supplies, and a British defence stopped their thrusts.
The later of the two battles, in the late autumn saw British forces take the offensive. Rommel was pushed back, and
this time did not stop falling back until Tunisia.
To complement this victory, on 8 November, 1942, American and British troops landed in Morocco and Algeria in
Operation Torch. Vichy French forces put up limited resistance before joining the Alied cause. Ultimately German and
Italian forces were caught in the pincers of a twin advance from Algeria and Libya. Advancing from both the east and
west, the Allies completely pushed the Germans out of Africa and on May 13, 1943, the remnants of the Axis forces in
North Africa surrendered. Not widely known is that the number of prisoners taken in this incident, 250,000 was as
many as at Stalingrad.
The Holocaust
Thousands of Holocaust victims arriving at the Nazi extermination camp at Birkenau in 1944
When all was lost, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker along with his lover, Eva Braun. The German Empire was
partitioned by the Allies into an area of Soviet control, which became East Germany, and an area of joint
British/French/American control, which became West Germany. The final surrender documents were signed by
General Alfred Jodl on May 7, 1945. May 8 was declared V-E (Victory In Europe) Day.
Following the war, Allied soldiers discovered a number of concentration camps and other locations that had been used
by the Nazis to imprison and exterminate an estimated 12 million people. The largest single group represented in this
number were Jewish (roughly half the total according to the Nuremburg trials), but Gypsies, Slavs, Catholics,
homosexuals and various minorities and disabled persons formed the remainder. The most well-known of these camps
is the death camp Auschwitz in which about two million prisoners were killed. Although the Nazi genocide or
"Holocaust" was largely unknown to the Allied soldiers fighting the war, it has become an inseparable part of the story
of World War II.
Battle of St. Mihiel - American Engineers The crew of the U.S.S. Olympia (1919)
The Big Three: The Allied Leaders: Prime Minster Winston Thousands of Holocaust victims
Churchill (UK), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (US), arriving at the Nazi extermination camp at President
Soviet soldiers raise their flag over the A mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Reichstag in
Berlin in 1945 Nagasaki rising 60,000 feet into the air on the morning of August 9th,
1945