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WORLD WAR - 2

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World War II, also called Second World War, was a conflict that
involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45.

The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy,

and Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United
States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China.

It was the biggest conflict in history that had lasted almost six
years.

Nearly some 100 million people had been militarised, and 50

million had been killed (around 3% of the world's population).
 Causes of Second World War (1939-1945)

(1) Humiliation by the Treaty of Versailles

War indemnity.

The provision for disarming Germany. Saar coal mine to France for
15 years. Polish corridor was given to Poland.

City of Danzing was made free.

(2) Growth of Fascism and Nazism

Mussolini (Italy) and Hitler (Germany) strongly glorified war and

violence.

While West was fighting communism, Germany and Italy started

massive militarization.

(3) Rise of Japan

Imperialism.

Rome-Berlin-Tokyo axis (1936).

(4) Neglect of minority interests

New countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria were formed

after the First World War.

While drawing boundaries the interests of minority groups in each

of these countries were neglected.

(5) Military Alliance

Allies – Britain, France, USA, USSR and China vs

Axis Powers – Germany, Italy and Japan

Leaders – Churchill (Britain), Roosevelt (USA), Stalin (USSR)

(6) Germany’s attack on Czechoslovakia

In-spite of the Munich Pact between Germany and Britain (1938),

Germany re-attacked and sized Czechoslovakia.

(7) Immediate Cause : Germany’s invasion of Poland (1st

September 1939)

Germany annexed Polished corridor and Danzig city. The sudden

attack on Poland is known as Blitzkrieg (lightning war).
Britain and France declared war on Germany.

(8) Failure of the League of Nations

The League of Nations was an international organization set up in

1919 to keep world peace.

It was intended that all countries would be members and that if

there were disputes between countries, they could be settled by
negotiation rather than by force.

The League of Nations was a good idea, but ultimately a failure, as

not all countries joined the league.

Also, the League had no army to prevent military aggression such as

Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in Africa or Japan’s invasion of
Manchuria in China.

(9) Great Depression of 1929

The worldwide economic depression of the 1930s took its toll in

different ways in Europe and Asia.

In Europe, political power shifted to totalitarian and imperialist

governments in several countries, including Germany, Italy, and
Spain.
In Asia, a resource-starved Japan began to expand aggressively,
invading China and maneuvering to control a sphere of influence in
the Pacific.

(10) Policy of Appeasement

Hitler openly denounced the Treaty of Versailles and began secretly

building up Germany’s army and weapons. Although Britain and
France knew of Hitler’s actions, they thought a stronger Germany
would stop the spread of Communism from Russia.

An example of appeasement was the Munich Agreement of

September 1938. In the Agreement, Britain and France allowed
Germany to annex areas in Czechoslovakia where German-speakers
lived. Germany agreed not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia or
any other country. However, in March 1939, Germany broke its
promise and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Even then, neither
Britain nor France was prepared to take military action.
 Course of the War

Key Turning Points of the World War II

The Start

Three years of mounting international tension - encompassing the

Spanish Civil War, the union of Germany and Austria, Hitler's
occupation of the Sudetenland and the invasion of

Czechoslovakia led to deterioration of ties between Axis Power and

Allied Powers.

However, the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and

subsequently two days later, Britain and France declared war on
Germany.

This marked the beginning of World War II.

Phoney War

The western Europe was very quiet during the first few months of
the war.

This period of war is known as 'phoney war'.

Preparations for war continued in earnest, but there were few signs
of conflict, and civilians of the western european countries (allied
powers) evacuated to safe places.
Ribbentrop Pact

By the early part of 1939 the German dictator Adolf Hitler had
become determined to invade and occupy Poland.

Poland, for its part, had guarantees of French and British military
support should it be attacked by Germany. Hitler intended to invade
Poland anyway, but first he had to neutralize the possibility that the
Soviet Union would resist the invasion of its western neighbour.

Secret negotiations in August 1939, led to the signing of the

German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact in Moscow.

Further, Russia followed Germany into Poland in September and

Poland was carved up between the two invaders before the end of
the year.

Winter War 1940

The 'winter war' between Russia and Finland concluded in March,

and in the following month Germany invaded Denmark and
Norway.

Denmark surrendered immediately, but the Norwegians fought on -

with British and French assistance - surrendering in June 1940.
Fall of France 1940

After war with scandenavian countries got over, Germany invaded

France, Belgium and Holland.

During this phase, the western Europe encountered the Blitzkrieg -

or 'lightning war'. Blitzkrieg: Germany's combination of fast
armoured tanks on land, and superiority in the air, made a unified
attacking force that was both innovative and effective. Despite
greater numbers of air and army personnel in Allied powers, they
proved no match for German Forces.

In France an armistice was signed with Germany, with the puppet

French Vichy government. Having conquered France, Hitler turned
his attention to Britain, and began preparations for an invasion.

Battle of Britain 1940

Lasting from July to September 1940, it was the first war to be

fought solely in the air.

German took decisions to attack from airfields and factories to the

major cities, but somehow the Royal Air Force managed to squeak a
narrow victory.

This ensured the - ultimately indefinite - postponement of the

German invasion plans.
War Getting Global

With continental Europe under Nazi control, and Britain safe - for
the time being - the war took on a more global dimension in 1941.

Following the defeat of Mussolini's armies in Greece and Tobruk,

German forces arrived in North Africa and invaded Greece and
Yugoslavia in April 1941.

Operation Barbarossa

After facing defeat in Britain, Hitler broke the Ribbentrop Pact and
invaded Russia in 1941.

The initial advance was swift, with the fall of Sebastopol at the end
of October, and Moscow coming under attack at the end of the
year.

The bitter Russian winter, however, like the one that Napoleon had
experienced a century and a half earlier, crippled the Germans.

The Soviets counterattacked in December and the Eastern Front

stagnated until the spring.
Pearl Harbour

The Japanese, tired of American trade embargoes, mounted a

surprise attack on the US Navy base of Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, on 7
December 1941.

This ensured that global conflict commenced, with Germany

declaring war on the US, a few days later.

Also, within a week of Pearl Harbor, Japan had invaded the

Philippines, Burma and Hong Kong.

American Entry Into the War

Through the Battle of Midway 1942, the US entered World War II. In
this battle, US sea-based aircraft destroyed four Japanese carriers
and a cruiser, marking the turning point in World War II.

Also, the news of mass murders of Jewish people by the Nazis

reached the Allies, and the US pledged to avenge these crimes.

Reversal of German Fortunes

By the second half of 1942, British forces gained the initiative in

North Africa and Russian forces counter attacked at Stalingrad. In
February 1943, Germany surrendered at Stalingrad to Soviet Union.
This was the first major defeat of Hitler's armies. Further, German
and Italian forces in North Africa surrendered to the Allies. As the
Russian advance on the Eastern Front gathered pace, recapturing
Kharkiv and Kiev from Germany. Moreover, Allied bombers began
to attack German cities in enormous daylight air raids. The Russians
reached Berlin (capital of Germany) on 21 April 1945. Hitler killed
himself on the 30th, two days after Mussolini had been captured
and hanged by Italian partisans. Germany surrendered
unconditionally on 7 May, and the following day was celebrated as
VE (Victory in Europe) day. The war in Europe was over.

Nuclear Bombing And The End

Plans were being prepared for an Allied invasion of Japan, but fears
of fierce resistance and massive casualties prompted Harry Truman
- the new American president to sanction the use of an atomic
bomb against Japan. Such bombs had been in development since
1942, and on 6 August 1945 one of them was dropped on the
Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Three days later another was dropped on Nagasaki.

No country could have with stand such attacks, and the Japanese
surrendered on 14 August. With the surrender of Japan, World War
II was finally over.
Aftermath of World War II

New Superpowers

World War II brought about changes in the status of countries and

continents. Britain and

France lost their positions of preeminence as superpowers and

yielded place to the USA and the

USSR.

Start of Decolonisation

After the war, Britain and France were confronted with various
domestic and external problems.

Both of them could no longer hold onto their respective colonies

Thus, the post-war world witnessed the end of colonialism in Africa
and Asia.
Birth of UN

One of the momentous results of the war was the birth of the
United Nations Organisation.

Although the League failed to deliver, mankind did not altogether

lose its hopes of making the world a safer and happier place to live
in.

The UN Charter enshrines the hopes and ideals of mankind on the

basis of which countries can work together to maintain lasting
peace.

However, the establishment of the UN was agreed, much before the

end of World War II under the Atlantic Charter.

Start of Cold War

After the end of the war, a conference was held in Potsdam,

Germany, to set up peace treaties.

The countries that fought with Hitler lost territory and had to pay
reparations to the Allies. Germany and its capital Berlin were
divided into four parts.

The zones were to be controlled by Great Britain, the United States,

France and the Soviet Union.
The three western Allies and the Soviet Union disagreed on many
things and as time went on Germany was divided into two separate
countries: East Germany, which had a Communist government and
West Germany, which was a democratic state.

This laid the foundation of the Cold War.

New Economic World Order

Bretton Woods Conference, formally United Nations Monetary and

Financial Conference, meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
(July 1–22, 1944), during World War II to make financial
arrangements for the postwar world after the expected defeat of
Germany and Japan. It drew up a project for the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD-now known as World
Bank) to make long-term capital available to states urgently
needing such foreign aid, and a project for the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) to finance short-term imbalances in
international payments in order to stabilize exchange rates.

Also, the US dollar was established as a reserve currency for the

world trade.

• Germany was divided into West Germany and East Germany.

West Germany was controlled by
Britain, France and USA. East Germany by USSR.

• Strengthening of nationalist movements in Africa and Asia.

(From Britain – India, Myanmar, Egypt, Sri Lanka; From America –
Philippines; From France – Indo-China; From Dutch – Indonesia)

• 5 crore deaths (2.2 crore soldiers and 2.8 crore civilians)

• Economics problems – Unemployment, low growth etc.

• Emergence of third world Countries.