World War II: Difference between revisions

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'''World War II''' was the most extensive and costly [[war|armed conflict]] in the [[history of the world]], involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing approximately 55.5 million lives <i>(see below)</i>. The war was fought between two groups of powers:

* The [[alliance]] of the [[British Commonwealth]], the [[United States]], the [[Soviet Union]], governments-in-exile of [[France]] and other European countries occupied by Germany and Italy, and [[China]]&#0151;collectively known as the [[Allies]]; and

* The alliance of [[Germany]], [[Italy]], and [[Japan]]&#0151;collectively known as the [[Axis Powers|Axis]], and minor countries.

Most of the fighting occurred in the [[European Theatre of World War II|''European theatre'']] in and around [[Europe]], and in the [[Pacific War|''Pacific theatre'']] in the [[Pacific]] and [[East Asia]].

The German invasion of [[Poland]] on [[1 September 1]], [[1939]] is the most common date in the West for the start of World War II. Others cite the Japanese invasion of China in [[1937]] as the war's beginning, or even the [[1931]] Japanese incursion into [[Manchuria]]. The war in Europe ended with the surrender of Germany on [[8 May 8]], [[1945]], but continued in Asia and the Pacific until [[2 September 2]], [[1945]], when Japan surrendered.

The war was significant in that it was the first war in which air power was a significant factor. Indeed, the first combat operation in World War II was a German bombing attack against Poland, while the last combat operation was a thousand-aircraft bombing attack on Japan, on [[August 14 August]], [[1945]]. The war also saw the re-emergence of the United States from its [[isolationism]], the destruction and rebuilding of Germany and Japan into major industrial powers, the advent of the [[atomic bomb]], and the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as global [[superpower]]s. The war also directly led to the [[United Nations]], which was founded by the victorious Allies in order to prevent such a large and destructive conflict from ever happening again.

[[Image:Stalingrad.jpg|thumb|250px|Soldiers at the [[Battle of Stalingrad]]]]

The war caused more civilian casualties than any war in history. This was partly due to its unprecedented scale, the first uses of mass aerial bombings against civilian populations (a policy initiated by the German [[Luftwaffe]] against Poland, and later used more extensively against German cities by the Allies), and the first application of industrial age technology to enable the mass killing of unwanted civilians in [[extermination camp]]s. In total, World War II caused the deaths of about two percent of the population of the world. (For details, see the [[list of World War II casualties by country]].)

==Causes==

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''Main article: [[European Theatre of World War II]], [[The end of World War II in Europe]]

In [[1939]], Hitler laid claim to parts of [[Poland]] and concluded the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]] with the [[Soviet Union]] in response to Britain's and France's supportive defense alliance with Poland, of March 1939. The German [[Wehrmacht]] then [[Polish September Campaign|invaded Poland]] on [[September 1]], and on [[3rd3 September]], [[1939]], Britain and France declared war on Germany. The Polish government collapsed, with President [[Ignacy Moscicki]] fleeing into [[Polish government in exile|exile on the 18th]]. Within weeks the Soviet [[Red Army]] also invaded Poland, and hostilities ended with French and British troops giving no assistance to the Poles.

The period from the conclusion of the invasion of Poland in October 1939, till the German invasion of [[Benelux]] and [[France]] in May 1940, became known as the ''[[Phony War]].''. The German and Soviet forces were moved from the attack on Poland. The Red Army concentrated on the [[Baltic region|Baltic]] countries and on [[Finland]], where the [[Winter War]] came in focus of the world's interest in absence of other hostilities. Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht moved to the north and invaded Denmark and Norway in [[Operation Weserübung]]. France mobilized and manned its heavily defended border against the [[Rhine]]; and the British sent a large expeditionary force to France. Apart from a brief attack by the French across the Rhine there were little hostilities as both sides built up their forces.

In May of 1940 German forces attacked the [[Low Countries]] ([[The Netherlands]], [[Belgium]] and [[Luxembourg]]). The three countries were occupied quickly with all of their governments and monarchs fleeing to [[London]], except for the Belgian king [[Leopold III of Belgium|Leopold III]] who stayed in his country.

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On [[June 9th]] Soviet Union began offensive on [[Karelian Isthmus]] forcing German co-belligerent Finland out of war. On [[June 22nd]] Soviets began [[Operation Bagration]]; 2.5 million men and 6,000 tank attack along 1,000 km front, destroying completely German 500,000 men [[Army Group Centre]] and taking 350,000 prisoners. Romania surrendered in August and Bulgaria on September. Germans withdrew from Balkans and managed to hold their position in Hungary until February 1945.

After a desperate counteroffensive by the German army in the Ardennes during the [[Battle of the Bulge]] in December 1944, the Allies entered Germany in [[1945]]. By now the Soviets had reached the Eastern borders of the German [[Reich]], and her fate was sealed. Red Army captured [[Vienna]] [[April 14th]] and the final assault on Berlin began on [[April 16th]]. As the Russians surrounded [[Berlin]], Hitler and his staff moved into the bunker underneath the Chancellery. There, on [[April30 30thApril]], 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide as Russian shells exploded in the Chancellery garden above. It was twelve years and three months since he had become dictator of Germany. He had appointed Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] President of Germany, but one week later the German armed forces surrendered unconditionally on [[7 May]] [[1945]].

== The Pacific War ==

[[Image:US landings.jpg|right|thumbnail|250px|US landing in the Pacific, August 1942-August 1945]]

''Main article: [[Pacific War]]''

The weakening of [[China]], partly through the actions of British colonialism, and the rapid modernization of [[Japan]] in the late 19th century were perhaps the first precursors to the Pacific theatre of the war. Japan modernized its military and went to war with China in 1894, winning handily. Western leaders were surprised at the strength shown by the Japanese. Russia, France and Germany united to force Japan to make land concessions to China. In 1904 Russia and Japan would face off in a war in which Japan is victorious. For the first time, a non-Western country had defeated a European power. The repercussions were felt worldwide as colonies saw that with Western technology, the weapons of the West could be used against the colonizers.

In the First World War, Japan joined the Allied powers, but played only a minor role in fighting German colonial forces in East Asia. At the following Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Japan's proposal of amending a "racial equality clause" to the covenant of the League of Nations was rejected by the United States, Britain and Australia. In 1924 the US Congress passed the Exclusion Act that prohibited further immigration from Japan.

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In 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina (Vietnam) upon agreement with the French Vichy government, and joined the Axis powers Germany and Italy. These actions intensified Japan's conflict with the United States and the United Kingdom which reacted with an oil boycott.

The Japanese had already invaded [[China]] before World War II started in Europe. U.S. President Roosevelt signed an executive order in May of 1940 allowing U.S. military personnel to resign from the service so that they could participate in a covert operation in China. Hence was born the All Volunteer Group, more commonly known as Chennault's Flying Tigers. With the United States and other countries cutting exports to Japan, Japan decided to [[attack on Pearl Harbor|bomb Pearl Harbor]] on [[7 December]] [[1941]] without warning or declaration of war. Severe damage was done to the American [[Pacific Fleet]], although the [[aircraft carrier]]s escaped as they were at sea. Japanese forces simultaneously invaded the British possessions of [[Malaya]] and [[Borneo]] and the American occupied [[Philippines]], with the intention of seizing the oilfields of the [[Dutch East Indies]]. The British island fortress of [[Singapore]] was captured in what Churchill considered one of the most humiliating British defeats of all time.

In May 1942, a Japanese naval attack on [[Port Moresby]], [[New Guinea]] which had it succeeded would have put them within striking range of [[Australia]], was thwarted by the Allied navies in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], becoming both the first successful opposition to Japanese plans and the first naval battle fought only between aircraft carriers. A month later the U.S. Navy again prevented the invasion of [[Battle of Midway|Midway island]], this time destroying four Japanese carriers, which Japanese industry could not replace, and putting the Japanese navy on the defensive.

However, in July the Japanese Army attempted an overland attack on Port Moresby, along the rugged [[Kokoda Track]]. Australian reservists, many of them of very young and untrained, fought a stubborn rearguard action, until they were relieved by Australian regular troops returning from action in the [[Middle East]].

The Allied leaders had agreed even prior to the American entry to the war that priority should be given to the defeat of Germany. Nonetheless US and Australian forces under General [[Douglas MacArthur]] began to attack captured territories, beginning with, against the bitter and determined defense of Japanese troops, [[Battle of Guadalcanal|Guadalcanal Island]]. On [[August 7 August]], 1942 the island was assaulted by [[United States Marines]]. In late August and early September, while battle raged on Guadalacanal, Australian forces fought off a Japanese amphibious attack on the eastern tip of New Guinea at [[Battle of Milne Bay|Milne Bay]], the first conclusive defeat suffered by Japanese land forces. US forces triumphed on Guadalcanal in February 1943.

Exhausted Australian and US forces then strove to retake the occupied parts of [[New Guinea]] and the Dutch East Indies, experiencing some of the toughest resistance of the Pacific Theatre. The rest of the [[Solomon Islands]] were retaken in 1943, [[New Britain]] and [[New Ireland]] in 1944. The Philippines were attacked in late 1944 following the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]].

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The Nationalist [[Kuomintang]] Army under [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and the [[Communist Party of China|Communist]] Chinese Army under [[Mao Zedong]] both opposed the Japanese occupation of China, but never truly allied against the Japanese. Conflict between Nationalist and Communist forces continued after and, to an extent, even during the war.

Capture by the Allies of islands such as [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] and [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]] close to Japan brought the homeland within range of naval and air attacks, [[Tokyo]] was firebombed and later an [[atomic bomb]], the "Little Boy", was dropped from the B-29 "Enola Gay" and destroyed [[Hiroshima]]. On 8 August 8, 1945 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, attacking her possessions in Manchuria. On August 9th, in [[Nagasaki]], another atom bomb, "Fat Man" was dropped by the B-29 "Bock's Car". The Japanese surrendered on August 14, August 1945, signing official surrender papers on September 2, September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

== African and Middle Eastern Theatre ==

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. In addition, in [[June]] [[1941]] the [[Australian Army]] and allied forces invaded [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]], capturing [[Damascus]] on [[June 17 June]]. Rommel's [[Afrika Korps]] advanced rapidly eastward, laying siege to the vital seaport of [[Tobruk]]. The Australian and British troops in the city resisted all until relieved, but a renewed Axis offensive captured the city and drove the Eighth Army back to a line at [[El Alamein]].

The [[First Battle of El Alamein]] took place between [[July 1]] and [[July 27]], [[1942]]. German forces had advanced to the last defensible point before [[Alexandria]] and the [[Suez Canal]]. However they had outrun their supplies, and a British and Commonwealth defense stopped their thrusts. The [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] occurred between [[October 23]] and [[November 3]], [[1942]] after [[Bernard Montgomery]] had replaced [[Claude Auchinleck]] as commander of the Eighth Army. Commonwealth forces took the offensive and destroyed the Afrika Korps. Rommel was pushed back, and this time did not stop falling back until [[Tunisia]].

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To complement this victory, on [[8 November]], [[1942]], American and British troops landed in [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]] in [[Operation Torch]]. The local forces of [[Vichy France]] put up limited resistance before joining the Allied 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 Wehrmacht out of [[Africa]] and on [[May 13]], [[1943]], the remnants of the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. 250,000 prisoners were taken; as many as at [[Stalingrad]].

North Africa was used as the jumping-off point for the invasions of [[Sicily]] and mainland [[Italy]] in 1943.

== Consequences ==

In contrast to [[World War I]], the Western victors in the Second World War did not demand compensation from 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]], called for the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] to allocate billions of dollars for the reconstruction of [[Europe]].

Since the [[League of Nations]] had obviously failed to prevent the war, a new international order was constructed. In 1945 the [[United Nations]] was founded.

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The future [[Warsaw Pact]] countries did not subscribe to the Marshall Plan. In the [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Paris Peace Treaty]], the Soviet Union's enemies [[Hungary]], [[Finland]] and [[Romania]] were required to pay [[war reparations]] of $300,000,000 each (in 1938 dollars) to the USSR, Hungary and Romania. [[Italy]] was required to pay $360,000,000, shared chiefly between [[Greece]], [[Yugoslavia]] and the Soviet Union.

In the areas occupied by US troops, capitalist governments were created, in the areas occupied by Soviet troops, communist governments were created. Germany was partitioned into four zones of occupation, with the American, British and French zones grouped as [[West Germany]] and the Soviet zone as [[East Germany]]. [[Austria]] was once again separated from Germany and it, too, was divided into four zones of occupation which eventually re-united and became the state of Austria. The [[Cold War]] had begun, and soon [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]] would form.

The repatriation, pursuant to the terms of the [[Yalta Conference]], of two million Russian soldiers who had come under the control of advancing American and British forces, resulted for the most part in their deaths.

The massive research and development involved in the [[Manhattan Project]] in order to quickly achieve a working [[nuclear weapon design]] greatly impacted the scientific community, among other things creating a network of national laboratories in the United States. In addition, the pressing for numerous calculations for various things like ballistics tables kickstarted the development of electronic [[computer]] technology.

In the military sphere, World War II marked the coming of age of airpower, mostly at the expense of warships. While the pendulum continues to swing in this never-ending competition, air powers are now a full partner in any military action. World War II also saw the creation of [[guided missile]]s which, like airpower, are now used in virtually every conflict.

The war was the high-water mark for mass armies. While huge armies of low-quality troops would be seen again (during the [[Korean War]] and in a number of African conflicts), after this victory the major powers relied upon small highly-trained and well-equipped militaries.

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After the war, many high-ranking Germans were prosecuted for [[war crime]]s, as well as the mass murder of the [[Holocaust]] committed mainly on the area of [[General Government]], in the [[Nuremberg trials]]. Similarly Japanese leaders were prosecuted in the [[Tokyo War Crime Trial]]. In other countries, notably in Finland, the Allies demanded the political leadership to be prosecuted in "[[war-responsibility trials]]" - i.e. not for ''crimes'' of war.

The defeat of Japan, and her occupation by American Forces, led to a [[westernization]] of Japan that was surely more far-reaching than would otherwise have occurred. Japan approximated more closely to a Western style democracy and, because of her defeat by the USA, set out to imitate the United States. This huge national effort led to the post-war Japanese economic miracle and Japan's rise to become the world's second largest economy.

==World War II military history by country==