Chapter-12
WORLD WAR II
World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast
majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances:
the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over
30 countries. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 million to 85 million fatalities, most of
which were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the deliberate genocide of the Holocaust, strategic
bombing, starvation, disease and the first use of nuclear w eapons in history.
Axis powers - Germany, Italy, Japan
Allies- Britain, France, USSR, USA,
The Second World War, like the First, started in Europe and assumed the character of a world war.
WHAT WERE THE FACTORS THAT CAUSED THE SECOND WORLD WAR?
The question can be answered by describing two set of factors- the necessary but insufficient factors and the precipitating factors.
The necessary but insufficient factors include:
1. Treaties such as the Versailles Treaty and the Munich Agreement, which either caused resentment among European countries or
tried to unsuccessfully appease the aggressive powers.
2. The failure of the League of Nations and the concept of ‘Collective Security’.
3. The global economic crisis spurred by the Great Depression in America, as it led to the rise of Hitler and other Fascist powers.
The factors which proved to be the precipitating causes for the war included - Hitler and Germany’s imperialistic tendencies, the
Policy of Appeasement followed by UK& others and the role of USSR. These are detailed in the following text:
1) Hitler’s Role
a) He attacked Poland on all fronts, rather than just capturing the Polish corridor and Danzig, which were parts of his demands to
Poland. This act of Hitler showed that he desired destruction of the whole of Poland and not just restoration of the territory lost
after the Treaty of Versailles.
b) Hitler wanted to destroy Russia and use its territory for his Lebensraum or ‘Living Space for the Germans’. The concept of
Lebensraum has been explained earlier. Capturing Poland was an important prerequisite for an eastward march towards Russia.
The Non Aggression Pact of 1939 with Russia was just for keeping Russia neutral, while Hitler took Poland. He did not want a
war on two fronts viz. against the Western powers (who would come to the aid of Poland) and Russia. The evidence of Hitler’s
desire for occupying Russia comes from the Mein Kampf (My Struggle) and an unpublished secret book that he wrote in 1928. If
this theory is right, then Appeasement cannot be blamed. It can be said then, that the appeasement only made Hitler’s goal
achievement easy. Also, then the German people cannot be blamed and responsibility for the World War II lies only with Hitler.
c) Yet, it can be said based on general opinion of various scholars that Hitler cannot be blamed for the World War II. He only
wanted a localized war. He did not think that Britain and France would honour their guarantee of Polish frontiers when they had
abandoned Czechoslovakia, where too, Hitler’s actions were unjustified. He thought that Poland and Russia being weak, would be
quickly defeated through the German Blitzkrieg i.e. a swift and violent military offensive with intensive aerial bombardment.
d) Also, it can be argued that Hitler was an opportunist and went ahead with occupation of the Czechoslovakia (minus
Sudetenland) in 1939 only because there existed an opportunity in form of poor law and order situation due to demand for semi-
independence by Slovakia.
2) The Role of Appeasers: The appeasers share the blame equally with Hitler. The Policy of Appeasement raised Hitler’s prestige
at home. After Hitler was offered Sudetenland on a plate in Munich Conference (1938), Hitler was convinced of British and
French inaction when he invaded Poland in 1939. Also, it can be argued that the British Prime Minister Chamberlain picked a
wrong issue to act militarily against Germany. Danzig and Polish Corridor were more genuine demands than Sudetenland. This
was so because in Danzig the Germans formed 95% of the population and the Polish corridor was important for connecting East
Prussia with the rest of Germany. The British justification for Munich Conference (1938) - that it chose to appease Hitler because
it needed time for rearmament - is hard to digest since Czechoslovakia was militarily strong and had excellent fortifications in
Sudetenland against a Germany invasion. Thus, Czechoslovakia would have formed a better ally when it had Sudetenland than
Poland. Also, the inaction during annexation of the rest of Czechoslovakia is condemnable.
3) The Treaty of Versailles and the German People: It can be argued that without the support of the German people, the rise of
Hitler would not have been possible. Hitler did not do any coup to come to power and rather he came to power through a
democratic process of elections. He headed the Nazi party that fought elections and won a good number of seats. It can be said
that Hitler said those things, which the Germans wanted to hear. His propaganda against the Treaty of Versailles capitalized on the
anger among the Germans against the humiliation the treaty brought. The German public thus approved of Hitler’s action. But it
can be said that the public was responsible for the rise of Hitler but it cannot be blamed for the atrocities Hitler committed.
There was a Department of Propaganda, which continuously brainwashed the Germans and fed them with antisemitic views.
The school curriculum was changed accordingly. Hitler stoked the public phobia towards communism and thus manipulated
them in his favor. The weak politicians before the rise of Hitler who worked only in self interest and did not stand up against
Hitler are also to blame. The German capitalists contributed monetarily to the Nazi party as it helped restore law and order. The
people and businessmen supported Hitler because he ensured law and order stability and because they were against communism in
general.
4) Non-agression Pact between USSR & Germany: It can be argued that USSR made world war inevitable by signing the Non
Aggression Pact of 1939 with Germany. Had this not happened, the German aggression would probably have been nipped in the
bud.
5) Distrust between USSR and the would-be Allied Powers: This was also a reason. The conservatives in France and Britain
were more suspicious of communists in USSR than the Nazis. The right wingers in France were sympathetic to Hitler and in awe
of his achievements. The conservatives in France prevented addition of a clause for Military cooperation in the agreement signed
by France and USSR in 1935. If the military alliance between the two had materialized then Germany would have been defeated
in a localized war in Eastern Europe or it might have not ventured into a war at all.
SUMMARY OF EVENTS DURING THE WORLD WAR II
As against the World War I, which was a war of trenches (trench warfare is a form of land warfare using occupied fighting lines
consisting largely of trenches, i.e. ditches, in which troops are significantly protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are
substantially sheltered from artillery) to a great extent, the World War II was a war of rapid movement with troops moving in
mechanized divisions aided by tanks, trucks etc. But, not all the participants in the war had this technological advantage to aid
their military. Poland used cavalry for moving their troops when Germany and USSR invaded it in 1939. Similarly, France was
slow in deploying its troops, which became a major cause of its defeat by the Germans. The war was fought in the Pacific Ocean,
the Far East, the Atlantic Ocean, North Africa, the Russian heartland, and Central and Western Europe, thus making it a World
War.
The war could be divided into four phases:
Phase I: Opening Moves: (September 1939- December 1940)
· Germany and Russia occupied Poland.
· Russia invades Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland.
· Phoney War
· Germany occupies Norway and Denmark.
· Holland, Belgium and France invaded by Germany.
· Battle of Britain fought between the German and British Air Force.
· Mussolini invaded Egypt and Greece
Phase II: Increase in Axis Offensive:
· Russia invaded by Germany in June 1941.
· Pearl Harbour bombed by Japanese Air Force (December 1941) leading to the entry of USA into WW II.
· Japanese occupation of important areas in South East Asia. It had under its control-Philippines, Burma, Malaya and Singapore.
· Germany and Japan seemed unstoppable while Italy was less successful.
Phase III: Three major defeats of the Axis Powers:
· USA defeats Japan in Battle of Midway Island.
· Germany attacks Egypt to help a struggling Italy. Soon Germany is driven out of North Africa by Britain and New Zealand.
· In Russia, the German forces had reached Stalingrad by 1942 but struggling against the harsh winter, they lost the Battle of
Stalingrad.
· The two sides were engaged in aerial bombardment of each other’s key cities and installations.
· USA and Britain had been able to curb the German submarine menace.
Phase IV: Final Axis Defeat
· Italy was the first to be defeated.
· On June 6, 1944, the Allies launched the long-anticipated invasion of Normandy, France. Soldiers from the United States, United
Kingdom, Canada, and other Allied nations faced Hitler's formidable Atlantic Wall as they landed on the beaches of Normandy.
The day Allied forces landed on beaches of Normandy is known as the D-Day and the operation is called as Operation Overlord
/ Operation Neptune (June 1944). The US paratroopers played a major role in this battle. The US air-dropped its tanks into the
battlefield. The battle resulted in the liberation of France. Soon, Belgium and Holland were also liberated from German control.
· Allies crossed the Rhine river in Germany.
· Russia drove out Germany after victory in Battle of Stalingrad (1942) and thereafter, invaded Germany via Poland. It was able
to reach Berlin before US and Britain.
· By 1945, Germany had lost the war.
· 1945- To force Japan to surrender, USA dropped nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. When Japan still did not surrender, Nagasaki was
also nuked.
IMPORTANT EVENTS AND ANALYSIS
We would deal with some of the important events of the war and try to answer some of the important questions incidental thereto.
Why was Germany very successful in the initial phases of the war?
Germany was very successful initially due to the technique of Blitzkrieg whereby the forces would move quickly in mechanized
divisions, tanks would march upon destroying the enemy on their way and most importantly the land-based action would be
preceded and supported by destructive air strikes. The superiority of German Air Force was an important factor in the battles
Germany won. Also, the support of local Nazi groups in invaded countries, proved handy for the German forces. For example,
during the invasion of Norway, the local Nazis helped the Germans and although Britain and France did send troops, the absence
of air support proved fatal.
Opening Moves (September 1939-December 1940)
Defeat of Poland: As per the Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, Russia and Germany were not to attack each other.
USSR was promised parts of Poland, and the Baltic States. USSR was to remain neutral when Germany would attack Poland.
While Germany attacked Poland from the west, the Russians attacked from the east. Poland could not stand the attack. The
German Blitzkrieg destroyed the Polish railways and airforce. Poland had no motorized divisions and they used cavalry (troops
trained to fight on horseback) for troop movement. Britain could not help much and France failed to act in a timely manner due to
slow and out of date troop mobilization procedures. The result was that Poland was divided among USSR and Germany with
East Poland going to the former and the western half to the latter as agreed under the Non-Aggression Pact (1939).
The Phoney War: It was a 6 month period, coined as the Phoney war, during which Germany did not attack any parts of the
Western Europe in the hope that Britain and France would call for negotiations for peace. The German Generals were happy with
the period of lull as they felt that Germany was not strong enough to fight a war of bigger scale at that time.
In the East, when Finland was attacked by USSR in 1939, the League of Nations expelled the Russians. Finland had gained
independence from Russia during the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War (1917, 1918-20 respectively). Russia did not
occupy the whole of Finland but forced it to cede a large part of its territory. Only those areas were taken away from Finland
which would help the Russians deal with an attack from the West. In 1940, Russia invaded and occupied the Baltic States of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania which were taken away from it by the Germans under the Treaty of Brest Litovsk (1917) and then
made independent states under the Treaty of Versailles (1920). Stalin wanted them back under the Russian fold.
Invasion of Denmark and Norway (1940):
This battle is important because it led to important developments. Norway was important to Germany because it the Norwegian
Fjords could serve as good sites for naval bases.
a) Germany could now ensure unrestricted import of Swedish iron ore, which was important for its Armament factories, from
Norwegian ports. Thus after winning the battle, Germany got assured supply of iron and good sites for naval bases.
b) In Britain, Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister as Chamberlain resigned. Churchill proved to be very successful in
leading Britain during the war.
Holland, Belgium and France invaded by Germany simultaneously:
Holland, Belgium and Northern France were occupied. The German victory over Belgium and Northern France was important
because the surrender left British and French troops in these areas exposed and vulnerable.
Britain and France were faced with the challenge of evacuating these troops from Dunkirk, a port town, which was the only
territory in Northern France under the Allied Powers. This successful evacuation from Dunkirk of 3,38,000 allied troops by
British Navy under shelling by German Luftwaffe (German Air-force) is famously known as the Operation Dynamo or the
Battle of Dunkirk. It also proved crucial for the surrender of France. The British could not help France because under the
pressure of evacuation and Luftwaffe shelling, the troops at Dunkirk lost all arms and equipments. After Operation Dynamo the
Germans captured Paris and France surrendered (also known as Battle of France (1940)). Germany made France sign the
armistice (ceasefire) in the same rail coach that was used for the ceasefire of 1918 during World War I. The French army
was demobilized i.e. France was disarmed, the same way Germany was disarmed by the Treaty of Versailles. Germany occupied
Northern France and the Atlantic coast which gave Germany important bases for submarine attacks. The unoccupied France
was put under a Puppet government and this came to be known as Vichy France that existed from 1940 up till 1944 when the
Allies liberated France. Vichy France was an authoritarian regime and with it the Third French Republic (1870-1940) came to
an end. After liberation, the Fourth French Republic (1946-58) was proclaimed.
why France was defeated so quickly by Germany ?
Following are some of the reasons:
a) The French were psychologically not prepared for a war. Although the French were aware of the German threat, the split
between the Left and the Right wings resulted in lack of unity and preparedness. Even though there was a split between the Left
and the Right wingers, yet both were against a war with Germany. The Left was not in favour of war after the Russo-German
Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, while the Right wingers admired Hitler’s achievements and wanted truce. They argued that
since the Poles had been defeated, there was no reason to fight a war against the Germans as France had a role in the war only
because of its guarantee of Polish frontiers.
b) The slow troop mobilization: The mechanized divisions were slowed down by infantry that moved along them. This gave an
advantage to the Germans who were faster in troop movements.
c) France neglected air support for its troops, while the German air support was very effective.
d) Most importantly, in the First World War, Germany was fighting the battle on two fronts simultaneously viz. against
Russia in the east and France in the west. The genius of Hitler was the Non Aggression Pact with Russia in 1939 which allowed
him to concentrate all his forces on a single front against France. Thus France missed the ally in Russia which had served it well
during the First World War.
Battle of Britain (1940):
This was fought in the air between the German Luftwaffe and the Royal Airforce of Britain. It is crucial because it was a
turning point and served as the first defeat for Germany. Although Britain served huge loss of infrastructure in its cities due to
bombing by the Luftwaffe, yet Germany could not defeat the British Airforce. Germany lost 1400 airplanes while Britain lost
only 700. The answer to why Britain won the war lies in the early warning of the airplanes given by the British Radar stations.
Also German Airplanes focused on bombing London and during this the British airfields got time to mobilize the air-force.
Mussolini’s invasion of Egypt & Greece (1940):
Libya was Italy’s colony. Italy attacked Egypt from Libya and Greece was attacked from Albania which was under Italian
occupation since 1939. This event is crucial as it led to huge loss for Italy in form of arms, vessels, tanks and soldiers. Britain
drove back Italy from Egypt and Greece was successful in capturing Albania. Another important point here is that Hitler had to
send his troops in aid of Italy after its defeat. These troops could have been well used in German operations elsewhere. Thus
Mussolini was starting to be an embarrassment to Hitler.
Axis Offensive widens (1941-2)
1) North Africa and Greece: Hitler sent forces to help Italy. German forces drove British out of Libya and partially from Egypt.
They also invaded Greece and forced out the British troops. Yugoslavia and Greece were attacked simultaneously by Germany.
The effect of German victory was :
a) There was a decline in the morale of Allies who suffered huge loss of troops.
b) It also proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Allies because it delayed the German attack on Russia as Hitler had to get
involved in aid of Italy.
2) Operation Barbarossa (1941):
Here Germany invaded Russia breaking the Non Aggression Pact (1939) which was signed for 10 years.
Why did Germany attack Russia? There can be multiple reasons:
a) Some scholars argue that the Germans feared an attack from Russia when Germany was involved in the west. They wanted to
pre-empt such an adventurism by Russia.
b) Germany hoped that Japanese would attack the Russians simultaneously from the Far East, making its defeat quick and
certain.
c) Hatred of communism could also have been a reason.
d) Some argue that Hitler always wanted to attack Russia. Occupation of Russian territory till the Ural Mountains was part of the
strategy to create a living space or Lebensraum for the Germans.
e) Another reason is that the Germans wanted to catch the Russians off-guard. Germany attacked from the north, south and
centre, and marched towards Leningrad, Ukraine and Moscow respectively using Blitzkrieg tactics which involved simultaneous
and rapid attacks by airplanes, tanks and men.
Germans were highly successful initially as they faced an inexperienced Russian army. The Stalin purges of 1937 had led to
inexperienced young officers replacing the experienced Generals. Slow mobilization procedures were also a reason. But
Germany failed to capture Moscow and Leningrad (now called St Petersburg) in 1941. This was due to high rains in October
that turned the Russian roads to mud and then the frost during November- December (temperature as low as minus 38 degree
Celsius) also limited the forward march by the Germans. German army was short of winter clothes as they had expected to defeat
Russia by November. In 1942, the Germans lost the Battle of Stalingrad.
3) US enters the War (December 1941): Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and with this attack the US ended the Policy of
Isolation and joined on the side of Allies. Although through the Lend-Lease Act (April 1941), the United States of America had
already been supporting the Allies with massive financial aid to Britain and war material to Russia. Pearl Harbour was a Naval
Base in Hawaii islands. At the Washington Conference, Japan had reached an agreement on the naval limit with Britain, France
and the USA. In 1930, it had reiterated its commitment to the naval limit but it soon breached it, thus breaking its Washington
conference pledge. It had also agreed to maintain the neutrality of China under the Washington Conference (1921-2) but in 1931 it
invaded Manchuria. By 1937, Japan had began the full invasion of China and this 2 nd Sino-Japanese war merged into the second
World War. The reasons for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour are as follows:
a) Japan wanted domination of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. This was an imperial concept and implied all the
Asian nations in East Asia under the Empire of Japan and free of western powers.
b) Japan wanted raw material and thus desired British possessions of Malaya and Burma which were rich in rubber, oil and tin. It
also wanted to colonize the Dutch East Indies which was rich in oil.
c) Japan did not want a war with US but the latter was proving to be a hurdle in the Japanese plans. US was helping China in the
war against Japan. The US had also placed oil embargo on Japan because Japan would not heed to the US demand of withdrawing
from the French Indo-China (Indo China is the region comprising of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia). The Japanese had got Indo-
China from Vichy France which was a puppet government installed by Hitler after Battle of France (1940). The negotiations had
reached a deadlock when US continued to demand withdrawal of Japan from Indo-China and China.
d) Also war became inevitable when the aggressive General Tojo became the Prime Minister of Japan.
After the attack on Pearl Harbour:
a) Japan got control of the Pacific.
b) It captured the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore, Burma and Hong Kong.
c) It captured the Dutch East Indies, Philippines, Guam and Wake Island, the latter three being US colonies.
4) The attack on Pearl Harbour made Hitler declare war on USA. This was a second serious mistake after the first mistake of
attacking USSR. Had Hitler not declared war on USA, the latter might have just concentrated on the Far East i.e. on the Pacific
War with Japan. This act of Hitler positioned Germany against the vast resources of USSR, USA, British Commonwealth and thus
after this event, a situation came to exist where - the longer the war continued, lesser were the chances of Axis powers emerging
as victorious.
5) The natives in Asia and elsewhere were poorly treated by Japan and Germany respectively. Had they not done this, the
natives tired with oppression of the pre-existing powers might have cooperated with Axis powers. Example, the natives of Baltic
States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Ukraine were under oppression of Stalin’s regime. Japanese treatment of natives in
colonies was unwise as the latter had welcomed the former with open arms as they saw the Japanese as liberators. The poor
treatment resulted in natives organizing resistance movements often under the leadership of Communists. In Indonesia though,
the Japanese recognized Sukarno as a leader of nationalist movement and promised independence in order to gain
Indonesians support in the Japanese war effort.
Three Defeats of the Axis:
These were the US victory over Japan in Midway Island, the loss of Germany in Egypt at the hands of Britain and New Zealand
(also known as Battle of El Alamein) and the defeat of Germany at hands of Russia in the Battle of Stalingrad.
The Battle of Midway (June 1942) served as a turning point as during this battle the US bombers destroyed Japanese Aircraft
Carriers. It is almost impossible to win naval battles without aircraft carriers. After this Battle, the US started, what came to be
known as, ‘Island Hopping’ whereby between 1942-44 it won back from Japan the Pacific islands one by one, via a strategy of
aerial bombing of islands followed by ground assaults on them.
The defeat in Egypt [Battle of El Alamein -October 1942] was a turning point because this prevented the important Suez Canal
from falling under the control of Germany. It also ended the possibility of an alliance between the Axis powers and the Middle
East. The war in desert drained Germany of its resources which could have been better utilized against USSR. Thus Italy’s non-
performance hurt Germany. Most importantly the Battle of El Alamein led to complete exit of Axis powers from North Africa.
This allowed the Allied forces to land in Morocco and Algeria to attack the Axis troops from the West. After this Libya and
Tunisia were won back and Italy was invaded.
The Battle of Stalingrad (July 1942- Feb 1943) was fought in Southern Russia. Germany had reached Stalingrad by August
1942 and destroyed the infrastructure. But Russians refused to surrender and started a counter-offensive in November. By
February 1943, the Germans were trapped, their supply lines were cut and they surrendered. Battle of Stalingrad was a turning
point because had Germany won then it would have been able to cut oil supply lines of Russia which transported oil from the
Caucasus. With Stalingrad under its control, Germany would have been able to attack Moscow from the south-east. The victory
boosted a morale of Russian troops and soon Germany was ousted from Leningrad and eventually from Russia.
ROLE OF THE NAVY IN WWII
The Navy played an important role in the defeat of the Axis powers. The US navy played a crucial role in the defeat of Japan.
The British navy also served the Allied cause to a good extent:
a) The navy protected the Merchant ships of Allies. This ensured continuous supply of food. The British navy, especially, was
important in maintaining the supply of arms, aircraft and meat to Russia by escorting the convoys via the Arctic.
b) The navy of the allied forces played important role by sinking German U-boats (submarines) and surface raiders.
c) The allied navy was successful in blockading the Axis supply.
d) It played important part in troop movements by transporting troops to North Africa and then to Italy.
e) Sea and air power proved to be crucial during the invasion of Vichy France in 1944.
f) British Navy was most known for its victory in the Battle of Atlantic (1939-45). The Battle of Atlantic was a struggle between
the German U-boats which were depriving the British of food and raw material supply by sinking merchant vessels. The Allies
won the Battle of Atlantic due to multiple reasons:
i. By 1943 the Allies could produce ships at a faster rate than German U-Boats could sink them.
ii. Air protection to Allied convoys which were themselves protecting the merchant vessels supplying rations- helped in defeating
the Germans.
iii. A new radar technique was deployed in airplanes by British which allowed Britain to detect U Boats even during night and
low visibility conditions.
ROLE OF AIR-FORCE IN ALLIED VICTORY IN WWII
a) Battle of Britain (1940)- The Royal Air Force defeated German Luftwaffe, which was essential for British survival.
b) Use of new technology in Airplanes for detection of U-Boats in low visibility conditions helped in winning the Battle of
Atlantic (1939-45).
c) US Air-force aided the US navy in winning the Pacific War (1941-5). It had an important contribution in the Battle of Midway
and the consequent ‘Island hopping’ by US. Also, the US airplanes ensured a vital flow of supplies to allies during winning back
of Burma.
d) Royal Air Force bombed supply ships in Mediterranean during the war in North Africa.
e) The airplanes allowed dropping of paratroopers and gave air protection to them in Normandy (1944) and Italy (1943).
f) Allied Strategic Air Offensive: It was the bombing of cities of the Axis powers especially the military and industrial targets. But
this did not have an effect on German industrial production till 1944 but it did result in oil shortages for Germany after 1944.
AXIS DEFEATED (JULY 1943-5)
It included four events viz. the fall of Italy (1943), the Operation Overlord (1944) for liberation of France, the invasion of
Germany (1944-5) and the defeat of Japan (1945) by nuking it.
Fall of Italy (1943): This happened quickly after the US and British troops were air-dropped in Sicily. The King dismissed
Mussolini and Italy joined the Allies. Germany sent troops but they lost. The fall of Italy forced Hitler to send troops to Italy
which could have been better utilized against Russia. Also the Allied powers got air bases for bombing the German troops in
central Europe and Balkans.
Operation Overlord (1944): This was the invasion of France that began on the so called D-Day to liberate it from German
occupation. The operation was carried out due to multiple reasons. The Russians had been demanding to open this second front
since 1941. By now the German U-boats were down and out. Also the Allied air superiority had been established and Italy had
been brought on Allied side. Thus the Allied powers could now focus on liberating France, Belgium and Holland.
Invasion of Germany (1944-5): There was disagreement over this, between US and Britain. While Britain wanted to reach Berlin
before the Russians, the US demanded to practice caution due to an earlier failed attempt at German invasion in 1944. The Battle
of Bulge was fought in December 1944. It is named so due to the fact that German troops were able to break through American
lines and advanced 60 miles leading to a huge bulge in the front line between the two forces. US and Britain pushed them back.
The result was that Hitler had spent all resources in this battle and they could not be replaced. The fall of Germany was now
certain. Russia captured Berlin in April, 1945 and Hitler committed suicide.
Defeat of Japan (1945): The nuclear bomb was used in Japan because US wanted to end the war as soon as possible so that
Russia could not make further territorial gains in the Pacific. USSR had promised to join the Allies in invasion of Japan but US
did not want Russia to gain any territory in Japan. There is also a view that the US wanted to threaten USSR by displaying the
power of the new bomb and wanted to establish itself as a military super power.
WHY AXIS POWERS LOST THE WORLD WAR II ?
This can be summed up in the following points:
1) Shortage of Raw Material: Italy and Japan were dependent on imports and even Germany was short of rubber, cotton and oil.
2) The Axis success depended on quick victories, which did not come. The Blitzkrieg strategy designed for this purpose was
successful earlier but failed later due to British air power.
3) Allied soon learned the importance of air power and aircraft carriers at sea and focused on their production and use in the
battlefield.
4) The Allies had huge resources in form of resource rich US, USSR and British Commonwealth. The USSR moved its
factories to the east of Ural Mountains, which ensured continuous production away from the theatre of war. Also, the axis
powers could not match the US in the production of arms.
5) Axis powers opened too many fronts at the same time.
6) Mussolini proved to be an incompetent general, as he was unable to deliver victories and Hitler had to come to his rescue
twice, in North Africa and then Italy.
7) Also, there were certain tactical mistakes. Japan failed to understand the importance of Aircraft carriers and continued to
produce battleships. Similarly, Hitler did not plan for the Russian winters and neither did he retreat from Stalingrad at the
opportune time.
IMPACT OF WORLD WAR II
1. Destruction: More than 40 million people were killed of which half were Russians. Many people were uprooted from their
homes. The German industrial areas and cities were devastated. Similarly, cities in France and West Russia were devastated by air
strikes. Holocaust was another feature of the war. Hitler engaged in systematic execution of six million Jews in the concentration
camps. The nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed and disabled countless Japanese and continued to affect the
health of succeeding generations for years to come.
2. Peace Settlement: Multiple separate treaties were signed. Italy lost all of its African colonies along with Albania and Ethiopia.
USSR took East Czechoslovakia, parts of Finland and did not free the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania which were
captured in 1939. Trieste (city in Italy) came under United Nations administration. Japan surrendered all territories acquired in the
past 90 years and thus completely withdrew from China. USSR refused any settlement over Germany and Austria except that they
would remain under the occupation of Allied troops, while East Prussia would be divided between Poland and Russia.
3. Migration: Many Germans migrated to Germany from their homes in Allied occupied areas outside Germany. This was done
to ensure that no future German government claimed these territories.
4. Nuclearization: World War II led to production of nuclear weapons.
5. Balance of Power: The European domination of the world ended with the World War II and the balance of power shifted in
favour of the USSR and US. Due to high war costs, Italy, Germany, Britain and France were on the verge of bankruptcy. Britain
was under high US debt which it acquired due to the US aid provided under the Lend-Lease Act (1941). After the war, Britain was
forced to ask for another US loan. Also, the European exports declined. The US was economically strong while the USSR had the
largest army. The world after the World War II was a bipolar world, which became engulfed in a Cold War rivalry between the
two super powers.
6. Third World Concept emerged: The Third World meant to be non-Aligned to any of the two world powers. In 1973, the
leaders of the independent states that emerged after the war gathered at Algiers and declared themselves as the Third World. The
Third world was suspicious of both Communism and Capitalism.
7. Decolonization: The defeat of European powers at the hands of Japan decreased their prestige upon which their colonial rule
depended. It was said that the British was able to maintain its colonial empire not through military but through prestige. The war
was fought against oppression and for freedom from fascist regimes. Also many soldiers from colonies fought in Europe where
they got exposed to the ideas and the prosperity of the West which was in stark contrast with the poverty at home. All this led to
rise of nationalism in the colonies. Also the European powers were militarily and economically weak. USSR was now a world
power. Communist ideology was against colonialism. Many erstwhile European colonies which came under Japanese rule during
the war witnessed rise of nationalist struggles under Communist leaders. India was the first colony to gain independence after
the war. Thus, decolonization first began in Asia which led to demands for independence in Africa and Middle East. The
decolonization process led to emergence of many new nation states in the 1960s.
8. United Nations was established in 1945 for maintenance of world peace, protection of rights of individuals and for socio-
economic development across the world.
