Second World War: Introduction, History, Cause.
Second World War: Introduction
Second World War: World War II was a worldwide armed conflict that took place between 1939–45. There were two main enemy groups in this war: Germany, Italy and Japan and France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and to a lesser extent China.
This was the biggest conflict in history that lasted for about six years. About 100 million people were involved and 50 million died, about 3% of the world’s population.
Causes Of Second World War
The future of Germany was determined by the victorious Allies at the end of World War I. Germany had to sign the Treaty of Versailles. There were several important causes of World War II.
Treaty of Versailles
They include the failure of the League of Nations, the harsh conditions of the Versailles Treaty after the First World War, economic recession, the policy of appeasement, the rise of militarism in Germany and Japan, etc. Under this treaty, Germany was blamed for the war, economic penalties were imposed on it, its important minerals and colonial territories were taken away and it was stipulated to keep a reduced army. This humiliating treaty gave rise to chauvinism in Germany.
failure of the league of nations
The League of Nations was formed in 1919 with the aim of ensuring world peace. This organization wanted to make all the countries its members so that disputes could be resolved through negotiation instead of force. The idea of the League of Nations was good, but not all countries could join it, so it did not succeed. Furthermore, the League did not have its own army to stop military invasions such as Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia or Japan’s invasion of the Manchuria region.
Great Depression of 1929
The worldwide depression of the 1930s affected Europe and Asia differently. Most of the political powers of Europe such as Germany, Italy, Spain and other totalitarian and imperialist Asian countries began to occupy Japan, Asia and the Pacific regions.
Rise of fascism
The objective of the winners of World War I was to “make the world safe for democracy”. After the war, Germany, like most other countries, adopted a democratic constitution. The wave of nationalist, militarist totalitarianism known as Fascism in Italy in the 1920s is. This ideology presented itself as working more effectively than democracy and preventing communism. The first fascist dictatorial government was established by Benito Mussolini in 1922 during the Interwar period in Italy.
Rise of nazism
Adolf Hitler, leader of the German National Socialist Party (Nazi), encouraged the racist thinking of fascism. Hitler promised to break the Treaty of Versailles, restore Germany’s economy and happiness, and create more Lebensraum (living space) for the German people. In 1933, Hitler made himself a dictator by becoming German Chancellor.
In 1941, the Nazi government began a war against the Slavs, Jews, and other ideas associated with Hitler’s ideology. Hitler openly broke the Treaty of Versailles and secretly began building Germany’s army and weapons. Britain and France were aware of Hitler’s policies, but they believed that only a strong Germany could stop the rise of communism in Russia. An important example of this appeasement was the Munich Agreement of September 1938. In this agreement, Britain and France allowed Germany to enter the areas inhabited by the German-speaking people of Czechoslovakia. Germany had promised not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia or any other country, but in March 1939 Germany broke this promise and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Britain and France did not take military action even after this.
Major events of World War II
Two days after Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. This incident marked the beginning of World War II. Western Europe was very quiet during the first few months of the war. This period of the war is known as the ‘Phoney War’. During this period, preparations for war continued, but little actual military conflict occurred. Citizens of Western European countries were evacuated to safe places. Relations between the Axis and Allied powers began to deteriorate as international tensions escalated over three years (the Spanish Civil War, the unification of Germany and Austria, Hitler’s occupation of the Sudetenland, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia).
Treaty of Retrop
In early 1939, German dictator Adolf Hitler decided to attack Poland. France and Britain promised to aid Poland in case of German invasion. Hitler fully intended to invade Poland, but first wanted to overcome opposition from the Soviet Union. But in August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union reached an agreement on non-aggression in Moscow. The ‘Winter War’ between Russia and Finland ended in March 1940 and Germany invaded Denmark and Norway the following month. Denmark surrendered immediately but Norway, with the help of Britain and France, fought Germany until June 1940.
Fall of France, 1940
After the Scandinavian Wars ended, Germany attacked France, Belgium and Holland. During this period, Western Europe faced the “lightning war system”. Rapid combat mechanism: The German army carried out rapid air attacks on the enemies with fighter airplanes and destroyed them. In this way the German army did not get the opportunity to fight the enemies. Germany signed an armistice with the puppet French Vichy government. Hitler planned to attack Britain after conquering France.
Germany’s invasion of Britain, 1940
The German invasion of Britain continued from July to September 1940. This was the first battle to be fought entirely in the air. Germany decided to attack major factories and cities by air, but the Royal Air Force managed to save them with great difficulty. Ultimately Germany postponed its plans to attack Britain indefinitely.
Global nature of war
The war was made worldwide after the Nazis occupied Europe (except Britain). Following the defeat of Mussolini’s forces in Greece and Tobruk, German forces entered North Africa in April 1941 and invaded Greece and Yugoslavia.
Operation barbarossa
Hitler abrogated the Ribbentrop Pact in 1941 after the defeat in Britain and attacked Russia. After conquering Sebastopol by the end of October, Moscow was to be conquered by the end of the year. Germany had to face winter like Russia a hundred years ago. The Soviet Union counterattacked in December, and the Eastern Front remained stable until the spring. On November 7, 1941, Japan, frustrated by American trade sanctions, launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the US naval base in Hawaii.
This started a worldwide conflict. A few days after this attack, Germany started war with America. Within a week of attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked Burma, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
America’s entry into the war
In 1942, America participated in World War II. American fighter planes played an important role in the war, destroying four Japanese carriers and one battleship. News of the mass murder of Jewish people by the Nazis reached the Allies, and the United States promised to avenge these crimes.
Germany’s defeat
In late 1942, British forces responded in North Africa and Stalingrad. In February 1943, Germany surrendered to the Soviet Union at Stalingrad. This was the first defeat of the German army. Also German and Italian forces in North Africa surrendered to the Allies. Russian forces advanced on the Eastern Front, recapturing Kharkiv and Kiev from Germany. Allied bombers also began attacking German cities. On April 21, 1945, the Russian army reached Berlin, the capital of Germany. On the 30th, Mussolini was captured and hanged by Italian patriots, while Hitler committed suicide by shooting himself. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, which was celebrated as Victory Day across Europe. This ended the European war.
Nuclear attack and end of war
Japan was planning to attack the Allied countries. As a result, newly elected US President Harry Truman decided to use the atomic bomb against Japan, which would cause great casualties. Atomic bombs were being made since 1942, which fell on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Three days later, an additional bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. No country could face such attacks. Japan surrendered on 14 August. World War II ended with Japan’s independence.
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