World War II (1939 - 1945) Complete Discussion, Share This
In general, the development of Europe towards the outbreak of World War II was marked by the existence of two conflicting forms of government. The two opposing forms of government are democratic government and authoritarian government. The democratic form of government supports liberty. Countries that support a democratic form of government include Britain, France, and the United States. Authoritarian form of government (dictator) is a government that suppresses all forms of freedom. Countries that support this authoritarian form of government include Germany, Italy, and Russia.
The causes of war
Common reasons:
The failure of the League of Nations ( the League of Nations was apparently unable to prevent the conflicts that occurred, especially in Europe .) The occurrence of an arms race ( Mutual distrust between countries so that each country tries to arm and improve its own combat capabilities, resulting in a competition weapons .) The re-formation of political alliances that are mutually hostile ( Because they are always haunted by feelings of mutual suspicion, each country continues to try to strengthen itself by making as many friends as possible. This situation encourages the formation of alliances / political alliances that are contradictory to each other. ie The Triple Alliance , which later became known as the "Central Block" , consisting of Germany, Austria and Italy. Meanwhile , the Triple Entente , which was later called the "Allied Bloc" , consisted of France, Britain, the Soviet Union and others. ) The emergence of a new imperialism ( Several countries that have succeeded in overcoming their political and economic crises that were destroyed by World War I, then grew to become ultranational countries that carried out a new style of imperialism. These countries felt entitled and obliged to lead and control other nations. With that assumption , they carry out their new style of imperialism .) The emergence of a spirit of revenge (Revenge and the desire to avenge the defeat in World War I that the German nation experienced, were mainly aimed at the British and French .) The development of a narrow sense of nationalism ( According to Hitler, the German nation or the Aryan race was a superior nation destined by God to lead other nations. The notion of nationalism it finally pushed Germany to launch a policy of expansion to conquer other countries .) There were raids. ( The events of the attack include the following: Japan invaded China in 1937. Japan suddenly attacked the US fleet base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. These events sparked the Pacific War .)
Special reasons:
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. This invasion caused Britain and France (protectors of Poland's independence) to declare war on Germany on September 3, 1939, which were then joined by their respective allies, resulting in the second world war.
The course of World War II
Based on its territory, World War II was divided into three battlefields, namely the European battlefield, the North African field, and the Asia-Pacific field where in the early stages almost every battlefield Germany won. The parties that fought in several battlefields in World War II are as follows.
European field
At the beginning of the second world war Germany by launching a lightning attack (Blitzkrieg) managed to win battles on all European battlefields, these battlefields included:
German invasion of Poland and Finland : Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. In a short time, most of Poland's territory was controlled. German invasion of Norway and Denmark : On April 9, 1940, Germany launched a sea and air attack on Norwegian territory. In a short time, German troops had occupied Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavagar, and Narvik. Norwegian troops assisted by the British and French had put up a fierce resistance. However, on April 30, 1940, Norway was forced to surrender to Germany. Meanwhile, at the same time, German troops also invaded Denmark. Germany easily conquers Denmark. Fall of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France : Without any announcements, German troops launched a blitzkrieg on the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg on 10 May 1940. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands fled to London. Meanwhile , King Leopold III ordered Belgium to surrender to Germany on May 26, 1940. In early June 1940, German troops who had occupied Luxemburg were preparing to invade France through the town of Sedan. After a fierce battle in the city of Verdum on June 15, 1940, French independence could no longer be maintained. ( Later, General Petain formed a French government that submitted to the Germans in Vichy City. French troops that remained loyal to France, under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle, put up a fight by setting up an exile government in London. ) Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands German–English War : The fall of France causes German attention to be turned to England. By deploying its navy and air force, Germany attacked England. This made Britain sign a defense cooperation agreement with the United States on September 2, 1940. With the help of the United States, British troops rose against and were able to offset Germany's combat power. This frustrated Hitler's air force. Therefore, Germany has entered into cooperation involving the axis Rome - Berlin - Tokyo with the signing of military cooperation between Germany, Italy, and Japan on September 27, 1940. But with the flow of money, weapons, and foodstuffs; Even with the agreement to standardize their weapons, Britain was able to survive the German attacks which continuously pounded it day and night. German–Russian War : Despite the non-aggression treaty, Germany invaded Russia on June 22, 1941. In this blitz, Germany was able to push the Russian troops back far to the east. Russia, retreating eastward, then asked for help from Britain and the United States. So that on October 1, 1941, Russia, Britain, and the United States signed the Moscow Protocol . ( The content of the agreement was that Britain and the United States would provide assistance with basic needs to Russia for 9 months. Besides, America will deliver
credit under the $1 Billion Lend and Lease Bill.) With the help of the Allies and scorched earth tactics, the Russians managed to hold back the German troops.
War in Africa (1940 – 1943)
Wars in Africa and the Mediterranean broke out since Italy declared war on France and Britain on June 10, 1940. Italy did not only attack Southern France. Italy also hit French and British troops in North Africa and East Africa. However, the Italian troops were beaten by French and British troops led by General de Gaulle and General Montgomery . The incident occurred in Bardia on January 5, 1941. Seeing the helpless Italian troops, General Erwin Rommel from Germany immediately intervened to lead his troops to invade Libya. General Rommel easily defeated the British troops at Bardia and Sollum. Montgomery forced to retreat to the Egyptian border in the city of Tobruk on April 20, 1941. Even in June 1941, Rommel's troops had captured the city of El Alamein, which was located 70 miles away from Alexandria. Thus, he completely controlled the battlefield of North Africa.
Battle in Asia-Pacific
Japan opened the Pacific War by launching a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor is the United States Fleet Base in the Pacific. This attack caused the United States to no longer maintain its neutral attitude in World War II . Hours after the incident, on December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. This event sparked the outbreak of war in Asia Pacific. Similar to other battlefields in the early stages of the war, the central powers won victory, on the Asia Pacific battlefield in less than 5 months, Japan was able to defeat the allies and succeeded in controlling all of Southeast Asia.
War Stages
When viewed from the time the war took place (1939-1945), the course of World War II can be distinguished in three stages.
Initial stage (1939-1942)
At this stage, the Central countries generally always won on various battlefields. Instead, the Allied nations only survive or lose.
The turning point stage (1942)
The turning point stage is characterized by:
The defeat of Japan in the battle in the Coral Sea on May 4, 1942. The Germans were beaten back in the battle at El Alamien by General Montgomery on October 12, 1942. The Germans began to encounter resistance and lost the battle of Stalingrad on November 19, 1942, against the Russian army led by General Gregory Zhukov.
Late stage (1943-1945)
At this stage, the Allied countries began to strike or strike a decisive blow for the defeat of the Central Powers. Some of these battles are as follows:
In 1944, the advance of the Russian troops became even more unstoppable. City after city could be recaptured. In fact, on August 24, 1944, Romania surrendered to Russia. Bulgaria surrendered to Russia on October 20, 1944. After that, Russia continued to launch attacks until it entered German territory and pounded the city of Berlin from the east.
With the backbone of the United States and Britain, the Allies formed a special expeditionary unit called the Allied Expeditionary Forces under the command of General Eisenhower. This attack was supported by the Army, Navy and Air Force which included 10,000 fighter planes and 4,000 warships that continued to attack German territory. Although German troops put up fierce resistance until late 1944, resistance it no longer carries much impact. Germany's glory has faded and only remnants remain. By early 1945, no one believed that Germany would win the war anymore. The Allies had surrounded the entire German border. The people in Germany themselves were desperate, so that the industrial, economic, military and political life was in chaos. German troops were crushed on the southern, eastern, and western fronts in early 1945. On the Eastern Front, Russian troops had captured Warsaw, Krakow, and Lozt by mid-January 1945. Then, in early February 1945, on the Western Front, British troops captured Nijmegen . American forces took Trier, Cologne and crossed the Ruhr valley. In April 1945, American and Russian forces met along the Elbe River. Only the city of Berlin that still survives. Meanwhile, Allied air forces continued to rain rain on German cities to support infantry attacks on the ground. Hitler, who was desperate to see this situation, on April 30, 1945, committed suicide. The reins of leadership were handed over to Admiral Doenitz. Hitler's death and the surrender of German troops in Austria did not make Admiral Doenitz surrender immediately. After all of Berlin was stormed by Allied troops, General Doenitz surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945 to the Allies. With the surrender of the German troops, Hitler's death and the surrender of German troops in Austria did not make Admiral Doenitz surrender immediately. After all of Berlin was stormed by Allied troops, General Doenitz surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945 to the Allies. With the surrender of the German troops, Hitler's death and the surrender of German troops in Austria did not make Admiral Doenitz surrender immediately. After all of Berlin was stormed by Allied troops, General Doenitz surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945 to the Allies. With the surrender of the German troops, World War II in Europe ended.
General Douglas Mac Arthur
Admiral Chester Nimitz Beginning in 1943, the fighting in the Asia-Pacific entered a turning point after the battles in the Coral Sea (4 May 1942) and on Guadalcanal (7 August 1942 - 9 February 1943). In the battle the Allies devised attack tactics from one island to another or a jumping frog system . This strategy was led by General Dauglas Mac Arthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz. Japanese troops in the Coral Sea and Midway (7 May 1942) destroyed by the Allies. And Japan suffered a heavy defeat. On March 17, 1945, Iwojima was taken. Following later, on June 21, 1945, Okinawa was captured by American troops. Even though the United States air force had bombed cities in Japan, Japan still did not surrender. Therefore, on August 6, 1945 the city of Hiroshima was bombed by an atomic bomb. Because Japan did not surrender, on August 9, 1945, Nagasaki City was atomic bombed by the United States to force it to surrender. Finally, through a radio speech on August 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito expressed Japan's willingness to surrender unconditionally to the Allies.
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