World War II

World War II was a war fought from 1939 to 1945 in Europe, and from at least 1937 to 1945 in Asia. It was the largest armed conflict the world has ever seen, spanning the entire world and involving more countries than any previous war - and fought with powerful new weapons, culminating in the first use of two atomic bombs, whose very existence had been a tightly-held secret.

The conflict ravaged civilians more than had any previous wars of the modern era, and served as a backdrop for genocidal killings by Germany, the Soviet Union, and Japan. World War II caused a greater number of deaths, about 61 million, than any previous war.

Overview

World War I aftermath

The origins of the war in Europe can be traced to the end of World War I. In the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was punished with the payment of reparations of war to the victorious nations. The Treaty also placed important restrictions on the German military.

The severe economic reparations helped bring on a serious economic crisis, hyperinflation, and civil unrest in Germany that made possible the rise of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. See also The Origins and Commencement of World War II.

Oddly, Germany's wartime adversaries were far more serious about enforcing the economic reparations than the military restrictions on Germany. Under Adolf Hitler, Germany began re-asserting itself in Europe, clandestinely remilitarising in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1936 the German army reoccupied the Rhineland. Germany annexed Austria in the spring of 1938; Hitler then planned to attack and conquer Czechoslovakia, on the pretext of alleged mistreatment of the (largely Germanic) population of the Sudetenland.

Britain had guaranteed the security of Czechoslovakia and it seemed war must break out at this point when the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, appealed to Hitler, and flew to Munich, where the British and French leaders agreed to the cession of the Sudetenland to Germany. Czech representatives were not allowed at the conference; their government strongly opposed giving up the Sudetenland but were powerless in the face of German military might and British and French unwillingness to fight for them.

It should be remembered that the rapidly rearming Germany had militarily stolen a march on Britain, which was completely unprepared for war at this time. Chamberlain's infamous act of appeasement, which has been widely seen as cowardly submission, was explained by Chamberlain as an effort to buy time in which to rearm.

Start of the war in Europe

Germany finally became engaged in full-scale war on September 1, 1939 after the Germans invaded Poland, with whom both Britain and France had pledged guarantees (see Polish September Campaign 1939).

Soon after, on September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, as had been agreed to between Hitler's Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, and his Soviet counterpart, Vyacheslav Molotov (see Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). Under this joint attack Poland fell quickly, with last large operational units surrendering October 5 (However Poland was fighting to the end of the war, contributing much to the final defeat of Nazi Germany).

Germany on the one hand, and France and Britain on the other, settled into a period of quiet maneuvering while they mobilized for conflict. This relatively non-confrontational period between the major powers lasted until May, 1940, and was known as the Phony War. Several other countries, however, were drawn into the conflict at this time. The USSR conquered the Baltic, and also attacked Finland but fought it to a stalemate in the Winter War. Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, ostensibly as a defensive maneuver against potential British occupation of those countries.

Germany finally ended the Phony War when it turned west. In a sweeping invasion of the Low Countries that bypassed French fortifications along the Maginot Line, Germany conquered Belgium and the Netherlands, and then turned the might of its army on France. France fell unexpectedly quickly, leaving Britain to stand alone against Germany. Fortunately for Britain, much of its ground forces escaped capture in the final days of that campaign through a heroic naval rescue from the French harbor of Dunkirk.

Britain's resistance to the threat of German invasion was dogged. An outnumbered RAF fought a long, ultimately successful airwar with the Luftwaffe during the early days of the war, a conflict known as the Battle of Britain. London was later heavily bombed, as were many industrial cities such as Birmingham and Coventry, and strategically important cities, such as the naval base at Plymouth.

In reprisal for the bombing of Lubeck in 1942, Hermann Goering launched the Baedeker Blitz, a campaign of morale-destroying bombings aimed at many beautiful English cities of little military importance such as Exeter, Bath and Norwich. Britain's supply lines with America were severely impacted by the German use of U-boats to sink both military and mercantile shipping in the Battle of the Atlantic.

On June 22, 1941, the Germans launched a surprise invasion, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, against their erstwhile Russian allies. The German Army pushed deep into Russia, overrunning the Red Army at times. But with the capture of Moscow apparently imminent, Hitler suddenly ordered his generals to divert their main thrust south in order to conquer Ukraine. This diversion cost the German Army valuable time; by the time they again set their sites on Moscow, the armored assault was slowed by the autumn mud, and then stopped cold when the Russian winter struck. The German army, which had not expected such a prolonged campaign, suffered great loss of life as the chilling winds and lack of planning took their toll.

The next spring the German army continued to push forward, and in November 1942, with the German army at the "gates of Stalingrad", Moscow only 100 miles away, and the oil fields of Grozny in reach, the Red Army held strong. Factors such as indecision by Hitler, dissent among the higher ranked German officers, a long distance to their supplies and a second Russian winter, combined to result in a prolonged battle in the streets of Stalingrad. Heavy losses affected both sides in the battle for Stalingrad, also known as the greatest military bloodbath in recorded history. An estimated 2 million people perished in this battle, including 500,000 civilians. It was the first major defeat of the German army, and they never regained their momentum, allowing the Russian armies to eventually chase the Germans all the way back to Berlin.

The Germans also suffered defeat at the hands of the British in North Africa in late 1942. In the two battles at El Alamein in June and late October - early November, the British under General Montgomery pushed the Germans out of Egypt, westward towards Tunisia. After American troops landed in Algeria, the Allies completely pushed the Germans out of Africa in 1943.

The war in Asia

Japan had invaded China in the early 1930s and had been actively engaged in military action there since 1937. In an effort to discourage Japan's war efforts in China, the United States either threatened to, or did, stop trading oil and steel (both war staples) with Japan. Japan saw this as an act of aggression, and on December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy attacked the American Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Japan then invaded and conquered countries across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

At the same time Germany declared war on the United States, drawing America into a two theater war. America had until then remained out of the conflict, though providing military aid to Britain through the Lend-Lease program.

The end of the war

Germany's power was eventually broken by the disastrous Russian campaign, while the ultimately successful invasion of France from the Normandy beachheads by the Western allies on June 6, 1944 opened up a second front. Incessant bombing of Germany's infrastructure and cities caused great casualties and disruption. Internally, Hitler survived a number of assassination attempts, one of which was that made by the head of the Abwehr, Admiral Canaris.

When all was lost, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker along with his lover, Eva Braun. The Russians took Berlin, and Germany was partitioned by the Allies. The final surrender documents were signed by General Alfred Jodl on May 7, 1945. May 8 was declared V-E (Victory In Europe) Day.

The Japanese expansion throughout the Pacific and Asia was halted by their devastating defeat at the Battle of Midway, where they suffered crippling losses to their carrier fleet. From then on the Japanese fought a defensive war, as the U.S. began an island hopping campaign across the Pacific. Hard-fought battles at Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and others resulted in horrific casualties on both sides, but the Japanese were finally driven back. Faced with the loss of most of their experienced pilots, the Japanese resorted to Kamikaze tactics in an attempt to slow the U.S. advance. Meanwhile, Tokyo and other Japanese cities suffered greatly from attacks by American bombers. Japan finally surrendered after the cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both industrial and civilian targets, were destroyed by atomic bombs . The final surrender was signed September 2, 1945, on the battleship U.S.S. Missouri.

Historical Significance

Probably because of the example of World War I, compensation was not demanded of the defeated nations. On the contrary, a plan created by U. S. Secretary of State George Marshall, the Economic Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan, meant billions of dollars being used by the US Congress for the reconstruction of Europe. The portion of Europe occupied by the Soviet Union did not participate in the plan.

At the same time, the United States consolidated its military presence and links in Europe as preparation against possible Soviet aggression.

The combatants after 1941 were:

Allied powers

Minor Allied powers