World War II
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
World War II was a war fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It was called a "World War" because many countries all over the world fought or were involved in this war. Of all the wars ever fought, World War II involved the most countries and killed the most people. About 72 million people died, making it the worst human disaster of all time. It lasted six years in Europe, from 1939 to 1945.
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[change] The two sides
The Axis Powers in the past had been the nations Germany, Italy and Japan. These countries made an agreement called the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis Powers in the year of 1937, in which they agreed to help each other in wars of which they were in the fighting of.
The Allied Powers, or Allies as many called them as well, were Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and China. Canada, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand were also part of the Allies. They were part of the British Empire and were friends with Great Britain. Other Allies included Poland, Greece, and Yugoslavia, and several other nations of the world.
[change] Why the war was started
In Europe, World War I occurred during the years of 1914 through 1918. Germany faced the burden of defeat. In the aftermath, Germany had to surrender a select area of land and money as compensation for the damage done. Areas along the Rhine River were occupied by France for a time. Germany was informed that its army had to have less than 100,000 men. Germany was unallowed to have an air force or massive ships in its navy. Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, took control of Germany in 1933. He prosecuted and persecuted others for whom he had disdain for. Hitler also expanded the size of the German air force, army, and navy. He desired to seize land from other places, as well as hated many groups of people including Russians, Jews, and people with dark skin. In 1938, Germany threatened Czechoslovakia, a small country, but the Allies decided to stay neutral in this event. In fact the Britain and France made a pact with Germany, at Munich in September 1938, to take part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland. Hitler made the claim that he would stop attacking, but six months later, he violated his word by attacking again and took all of Czechoslovakia including the capital, Prague. The Allies, not including the United States, thought Poland would be the next country Hitler attacked. They promised to help Poland if it was attacked.
In Asia, Japan attacked China. To stop the United States defending its islands and other countries in the Pacific Ocean, Japan attacked the naval base on Hawaii named Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
[change] Beginning of the War (September 1939 - August 1940)
World War II began on September 1, 1939, due to the event in which Germany invaded Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany. By 1941, Germany controlled most of Europe. Dunkirk was eventually invaded by French and British soldiers.
Japan then started to begin to expand its country to include China and some islands near the Pacific.
[change] September 1940 - May 1944
By September 1940, Hitler controlled large sections of Europe. He hoped that the British would ask for peace, but they did not. German aeroplanes bombed the city of London to weaken the British. The bombings lasted about two years. Winston Churchill played a major role in keeping citizens under control but by the time The Blitz ended many civilians lost their lives.
In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviets joined the Allied Powers. The majority of German forces would spend the war fighting the Soviets. Adolf Hitler planned to capture the Soviet Union and place a blockade (not letting anything in or out) on Britain, creating a "Fortress Europe" that would be very difficult to invade.
The invasion started on June 22, 1941. The German army captured large amounts of Soviet land and encircled Leningrad. By December the Germans advanced as far as Moscow, but were stopped by Russian army.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese fighters attacked an American port in Hawaii named Pearl Harbor. On December 11, the Axis Powers declared war on the United States. In November 1942, the battle fought there, named El Alamein, resulted in an Allied victory and Italy and the Allies became close.
The German war machine needed more oil, as Germany only had the relatively small oilfields of Romania under its control. Therefore in 1942, when the Germans began advancing again in Russia, their target was the oilfields of the Caucasus. To secure this territory, the Germans needed to take the city of Stalingrad, but they were defeated in the Battle of Stalingrad, which was the turning point of the war. At the same time the Siege of Leningrad was relieved.
On July 10, 1943, Allied forces landed on the Italian island of Sicily, in an operation named Husky. They were successful in taking the island, and Italy fell shortly after.
In the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese empire was getting bigger and bigger. The United States, now at war with the Axis, began to send out ships to attack the Japanese navy. The result of a large deployment, or sending out, of ships was the famous Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942, which was an American victory. Hoping that Japan was weakened by this defeat, the Americans landed in Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942. The result was another American victory, and a capture of a very important place. The war was very bad, both economically and socially.
[change] June 1944 - September 1945
[change] The Atlantic Front
As the war went on, the Allies saw that they would need to land in Europe to defeat Germany. They chose a small piece of coastline in France called Normandy for the invasion. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded Normandy and began the Battle of Normandy, code named Operation Overlord or D-Day. It was an Allied victory.
As the Allies fought to get to Berlin, the capital of Germany, the Germans attacked fiercely to defend their land. The resulting battle was named the Battle of the Bulge, and was an Allied victory. It was the last time in the war that the Germans were able to send a major attack against the Allies. In the spring of 1945, the Soviet Red Army closed in on Berlin and captured it, defeating Germany.
The Soviet general, Georgy Zhukov reached Berlin before the Americans, and won an unspoken "contest" between Generals to see who could get to Berlin first. The day that Germany officially surrendered (gave up), May 8, 1945, was a day marked with large celebrations. Today, the day is called V-E Day, or "Victory in Europe Day."
[change] The Pacific Front
After the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal, the Japanese were being pushed slowly out of the Pacific. Many battles were fought in the Pacific. The United States went on an "Island Hopping" campaign to capture small islands that were under Japanese control. Of these small islands came some very large battles, such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945. President Harry Truman of the Americans gave the order to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. On August 6, 1945, bombers dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, bombers dropped another atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki. Only 6 days later, on August 15, Japan surrendered to the Allies. President Truman marked the end of the war on September 2, calling it V-J Day, or "Victory over Japan Day." Today it is sometimes called V-P Day for "Victory in the Pacific."
[change] Products of the War
The war introduced new methods for fighting, approaches, and knowledge gained during the war. A major new technology was radar (finding airplanes by using radio waves).
The war also made weapons with far more killing power. The atomic bomb was first used by the United States during this war. President Truman ordered two atomic bombs to be dropped from airplanes on the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No atomic weapons have been used in war since then.
[change] Timeline
- 1931- September 18: Japan invades the Manchuria region of China and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo.
- 1932-1936- Japan and China fought a series of battles in an undeclared war.
- 1935- March: Germany declares military buildup.
- 1935- April: France, Britain, and Italy form the "Stresa Front" which says they will defend Austrian independence, and will not allow Germany to change the Treaty of Versailles.
- 1935- June: Anglo-German Naval Agreement: Britain withdraws from the Baltic, and agrees to a limited German naval buildup. The British naval advantage over Germany is lost by this agreement. Italy regards Britain's act as a violation of the Stresa Front, and in response, Italy begins to plan the invasion of Ethiopia.
- 1935- October: Italy invades Ethiopia, using 300-500 tons of mustard gas against military, civilians, and Red Cross camps and ambulances.
- 1936- May: Italy claims victory in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie goes into exile in Britain. Ethiopian guerilla resistance continues until Haile Selassie's return on May 5, 1941, still celebrated in Ethiopia as Liberation Day. During Italy's occupation, massive reprisal killings were gradually replaced by a policy of building public works and roads, abolishing slavery, abrogating the feudal laws previously upheld by Ethiopia, and favoring and empowering the non-Christian groups who had supported the invasion. Upon the Emperor's return, these groups like the TPLF, having seen empowerment for the first time under Italian occupation, refused to resort to the previous subservience to the Amhara and the Emperor.
- 1936- June: The League of Nations condemns Italy's actions, and Italy withdraws from the League of Nations.
- 1936- November 25: Germany and Japan form the Anti-Comintern Pact. Germany recognizes Manchukuo.
- 1937- July 7: Japan declares war on China. (Second Sino-Japanese War).
- 1937- Italy joins the Anti-Comintern Pact
- 1939- January 26: Francisco Franco's troops, helped by Italy, take Barcelona.
- 1939- September 1: Germany invades Poland, starting World War II in Europe (European War).
- 1941- December 7: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, starting World War II in the Pacific (Pacific War).
[change] See also
[change] Other websites
- World War II Database. Chen, C. Peter. Accessed 2007-11-05.
