World War II (WW2), also known as The Great Patriotic War in Russia and other parts of the former USSR, was fought chiefly between the Allies and the Axis Powers. Most of the fighting occurred in the European theatre in and around Europe, and in the Asian theatre in the Pacific and East Asia.
Introduction
The war in Europe began on September 1, 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. However, Japan had invaded China already in 1937 (the Second Sino-Japanese War), which is sometimes considered the start of the Second World War. Nazi Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. The war in the Pacific ended on September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered.
It was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning virtually the entire world and involving more countries than any other war, introducing powerful new weapons, and culminating in the first use of nuclear weapons. In total, World War II produced about 50 million deaths (about 2% of the world population), more than any other war to date.
The war ravaged civilians more severely than any previous conflict, bringing to its first fruition the concept of total war, and served as a backdrop for genocidal killings by Nazi Germany as well as several other significant mass slaughters of civilians.
Preliminaries
Resentment of Germany's treatment in the aftermath of World War I and economic difficulties allowed Adolf Hitler's extreme nationalist Nazi party to come to power in Germany. He assumed emergency power and virtual total control of the country. Defying post-World War I treaties, he redeveloped the German military, remilitarized the border zone next to France, enforced the unification of Germany with Austria, and annexed parts of Czechoslovakia.
In 1922 Benito Mussolini and the Fascist party had risen to power in Italy, forming the Axis with Germany. Germany entered into a treaty (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) with the Soviet Union, and in 1939 laid claim to parts of Poland. Poland refused, and Britain and France declared support for Poland. Germany then invaded Poland, and on 3rd September 1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany.
European Theatre
From the declaration of war in September 1939 till May 1940 became known as the Phoney War. In May of 1940, Germany attacked the Low Countries and then France. Their Blitzkrieg tactics succeeded in defeating the French and British armies in France. The British army evacuated from Dunkirk leaving their heavy equipment behind.
Germany was unable to defeat the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain and gain the air superiority needed to invade Britain. Instead they began a strategic bombing campaign (the Blitz) and attempted to blockade Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic.
In June 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. The Russians were caught largely by surprise and Germany conquered vast areas of territory. At the end of 1942, the Soviets succeeded in surrounding and destroying the German 6th Army at the Battle of Stalingrad. In 1943, the German offensive at the Battle of Kursk was so unsuccessful that the Soviets were able to counterattack and seize the initiative.
The Allies invaded Northern France in Operation Overlord in June 1944 and liberated most of France and the Low Countries by the end of the year. Following Hitler's suicide as the Russians entered Berlin, Germany surrendered unconditionally on 7 May 1945.
Asian Theatre
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 without warning. Severe damage was done to the American Pacific Fleet. Japanese forces simultaneously invaded Malaya, Borneo, and the Philippines. In May 1942, a Japanese invasion was thwarted by US naval forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea. A month later, the US Navy destroyed four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, putting the Japanese on the defensive.
The Allies began retaking territories in mid-1942, starting with Guadalcanal. The Philippines were attacked in late 1944 following the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After Tokyo was firebombed and nuclear bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered.
African and Middle Eastern Theatre
The North African campaign began in 1940 when small British forces turned back an Italian advance from Libya. Rommel's Afrika Korps advanced rapidly eastward. The Second Battle of El Alamein in October–November 1942 destroyed the Afrika Korps. On 8 November 1942, American and British troops landed in Morocco and Algeria in Operation Torch. By May 13, 1943, the remnants of the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.
Historical Significance
In contrast to World War I, the Western victors did not demand compensation from the defeated nations. The Marshall Plan called for billions of dollars for the reconstruction of Europe. In 1945 the United Nations was founded. In the areas occupied by the Soviet Union, puppet communist regimes were installed. Germany was partitioned, and an "Iron Curtain" descended across Europe, leading to the formation of NATO and the Cold War.
Military Engagements
Major Battles
- Battle of Dunkirk
- Battle of Britain
- Battle of Crete
- Operation Barbarossa
- Battle of Stalingrad
- Battle of Kursk
- First and Second Battles of El Alamein
- Battle of Normandy (D-Day / Operation Overlord)
- Operation Market Garden (Battle of Arnhem)
- Battle of the Bulge
- Battle of Berlin
- Battle of Iwo Jima
- Battle of Okinawa
Naval Engagements
- Battle of the River Plate
- Battles of Narvik
- Battle of the Atlantic
- Battle of Cape Matapan
- Battle of Pearl Harbor
- Battle of the Coral Sea
- Battle of Midway
- Battle of Guadalcanal
- Battle of Leyte Gulf
Defensive Lines
- Atlantic Wall
- Gustav Line
- Maginot Line
- Siegfried Line
Production and Logistics
The Allies won, and the Axis lost, at least partly because the Allies had greater productive resources and were able to turn these resources into greater numbers of soldiers and weapons than the Axis.