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World War II 1939-1945Kelius ShannonAP World HistoryApril 29, 2016IntroductionWhat events led to WW2? On July 4, 1914, a never before experienced event shocked nations and millions citizens all around the world. Nations around the globe began to form many different alliances, countries were upheld with war amongst each other, and many countries were in the middle of a crisis, the Anglo-German Naval Arms Race, and lastly “the assassination”. All of these events had the world boiling with turmoil, but the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was the main event that set off the world’s very first “Great War” (World War I). Major Powers throughout the world formed alliances, new weapons and vehicles were used, and there were many casualties suffered throughout this long and exhausting war. Four years later, the war resulted in an Allied Powers victory, the end of the Ottoman, German, Russian, and Austro-Hungarian Empires. The war was finally over and the world was finally at peace, for now…. After the World War I ended, conflict did not end throughout Asia and Europe. In the 1920’s, Italy’s fascism form of government began to stir up trouble in Europe. In the 1930’s, Japan began to use militarism and started invading china. Lastly, in the 1933, Adolf Hitler and his Nazis took over Germany and that is when all conflict began to take place. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland due to false Intel that they had received. They believed that Poland had been carrying out many sabotage operations against German targets. Great Britain then stepped in this situation and then ordered Germany to stand down, but their order was ignored by the Nazis and they continued to charge into Poland. France, Great Britain, and all of the British domains declared war on Germany. A few weeks later, the Soviet Union began to invade Poland from the east and this caused the Poles to surrender their army. When Adolf Hitler and the Nazis invaded Poland, they decided to use a new and very efficient strategy for attacking other countries. This new strategy was called “Blitzkrieg” or the “lightning war” tactic. This tactic allowed them to destroy all of their enemy’s military and also reinforcements while causing chaos and confusion in the area they are attacking. While using this strategy, first they would send in a first wave of aircraft to drop missiles and destroy the enemy’s air force while it was still on the ground. The second wave on bombers would bomb the roads and rail communication, assembly centers, and civilian centers to cause panic and confusion. The third wave of bombers would bomb marching men and gun down any civilians who tried to flee from approaching soldiers. The next stage of Blitzkrieg was the ground waves. They use motorized vehicles, tanks, and motor-draw artillery to push as far in the country as possible. After this was done, the foot soldiers would come in and occupy the area and kill off any resistance left if there was anything to deal with. After the Germans would execute all of this, they would then meet up with the mechanized units to start the initial strike. In this new advanced time period, weapons, vehicles and technology were majorly upgraded since the First World War.New technology had a major effect on the outcome of many battles and the outcome of the entire war itself! These new technologies consisted of new aircraft, boats and submarines, ground forces and vehicles, stronger weaponry, and better medical treatments. After Germany took over Poland, they signed a peace treaty of friendship with the Russians. Russia then tried to force certain countries to let the station their troops there, but Finland refused to allow Russia to do this. Russia retaliated by invading Finland which caused Great Britain and France to assume Russia joined in the war on the side of the Germans and they responded by supporting the USSR’s expulsion from the League of Nations. After this took place, both sides of the war began to prepare themselves for war. In 1940-41, Germany began to invade many other countries in and around Europe. Germany quickly took over Netherlands and Belgium using the Blitz attacking method. Within a few days or weeks the Germans had completely overrun those two nations. Allied forces entered Belgium and tried to support their army but came to find themselves trapped and helpless. Due to the thickly wooded area that they tried to flank the Nazi army in, they ended up trapping themselves to where their armored vehicles couldn’t move and this led to their defeat. On June 10,?Italy invaded France, declaring war on both France and the United Kingdom. Paris fell to the Germans on June 14 and eight days later?France signed an armistice with Germany?and was soon divided into?German?and?Italian occupation zones. The?Battle of Britain?began in early July with?Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbors.?On 19 July, Hitler again publicly offered to end the war, saying he had no desire to destroy the?British Empire. The United Kingdom rejected this ultimatum. The German?strategic bombing?offensive became worse as the night attacks on London and other cities in?the Blitz, but largely failed to disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy?enjoyed success?against an over-extended Royal Navy, using?U-boats?against British shipping in the?Atlantic. Although Roosevelt had promised to keep the United States out of the war, he nevertheless took concrete steps to prepare for war. In December 1940 he accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out negotiations as useless, calling for the US to become an "arsenal for democracy" and promoted the passage of?Lend-Lease?aid to support the British war effort. At the end of September 1940, the?Tripartite Pact?united Japan, Italy and Germany to formalize the?Axis Powers. The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country, with the exception of the Soviet Union, not in the war which attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three countries. ?The Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that Britain's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany. He therefore decided to try to strengthen Germany's relations with the Soviets, or failing that, to attack and eliminate them as a factor. On 22 June 1941, Germany, supported by Italy and Romania, invaded the Soviet Union in?Operation Barbarossa, with Germany accusing the Soviets of plotting against them.?Hitler's objectives were to eliminate the Soviet Union as a military power, exterminate Communism, and generate Lebensraum?(living space) by dispossessing the native population and guarantee access to the strategic resources needed to defeat Germany's remaining rivals. Although the?Red Army?was preparing for strategic?counter-offensives?before the war,?Barbarossa?forced the?Soviet supreme command?to adopt a?strategic defense.??The Axis Powers made significant gains into Soviet territory, inflicting immense losses in both personnel and materiel.? This picture shows the true destruction of the Blitzkrieg bombing tactic that the Germans used in World War Two. They used this tactic on many different cities and in many different battles throughout the war. Japan planned to take over European colonies in Asia to create a large defensive perimeter stretching into the Central Pacific. The Japanese would then be free to use the resources of Southeast Asia while tiring out the over-stretched Allies by fighting a defensive war. To prevent American intervention while securing the perimeter it was further planned to neutralize the?United States Pacific Fleet?and the American military presence in the Philippines from the outset. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked British and American holdings with?offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific. These included an?attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor,?the Philippines,?landings in Thailand and Malaya?and the?battle of Hong Kong. After Japan launched those attacks, that caused many countries on the Allies side to declare war on Japan as well. These main countries were the United States, Britain, Australia, and China. This also caused Germany and other members of the Axis Powers to declare war on The United States. In conclusion, the main reason and cause for the second great world war was Germany, Japan, and their other assets as well. They launched many illegal attacks and raids on countries and areas that lacked the necessities needed to defend themselves. This stirred up quite a commotion throughout the world and caused much chaos as well. One of the most influencing attacks that led to World War Two was the “Attack on Pearl Harbor”. This was the attack that entered the U.S and the rest of the Allied Powers and began the Second World War! BibliographyThe United States: Becoming a World Power, Vol 2 (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1991), 703-704."World War II."?Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. Staff. "World War II History."?. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.Wood, James?B. (2007).?“Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War: Was Defeat Inevitable?”Wohlstetter, Roberta?(1962).”Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision”.?Royde-Smith, John Graham. "World War II."?Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.KNIGHT, JUDSON, MARK HARRISON, "World War II." Dictionary of American History. 2003, "World War II." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008, "World War II." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed.. 2016, Daniel E. Spector, John Cannon, "World War II." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005, ADRIENNE WILMOTH LERNER, "World War 2." World Encyclopedia. 2005, "World War II." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S, and "Second World War." World Encyclopedia. 2005. "World War II."?. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 2004. Web. 29 Apr. 2016. ................
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