World War Two
The many issues of World War One and the after effects were the catalyst of beginning a new chaotic era that would be known as the Second World War. Despite how bad the Great War was with the use of nuclear gases in a never seen harsh war World War Two would go on to be an even bigger threat to the world.[1] Some would say the Treaty of Versailles was a harsh treatment of the German people with the Germans feeling it was a humiliating treaty which would leave countries like Great Britain, USA and France all having control of the German country for their own country’s personal use and gain, with many believing this was deserved for the way the German Empire 1871-1918 had ruled.
The German public felt this was a harsh result considering that a lot of German people probably didn’t want this war and felt they were being treated harshly by people who were in high power who were making these decisions. This and the economic hardships Germany faced after World War One would in turn lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler and his national socialist political party, the Nazi party, which lead to a strategic move on Hitler’s part after becoming the Reich chancellor in 1933[2].Thus, began a secret treaty with Italy and Japan, which in turn violated the Treaty of Versailles; in Hitler’s mind the war had begun.
With the seeds begin planted, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, signed a German-Soviet non-aggression pact which made Great Britain and France concerned, and by September 1st 1939 these fears were realised when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France feeling there was no other choice and thus declared war on Germany and leading to the dark period of humanity which would be known as World War Two. Germany at this point, with the backing power of Italy and Japan, and Germany with their massive military invaded Norway and Denmark on April 9th 1940 and then on May 10th overwhelmed Belgium and the Netherlands. This was what would be later known as “blitzkrieg,” or “lightning war”[3]. This threw down the gauntlet of German dominance in World War Two.
In the west in the summer of 1940 there were night raids in London and the industrial centre which caused heavy losses in Great Britain. However, in what became known as the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force (RAF) gave Germany a rare defeat at this point in the war and the Luftwaffe (German air force) were defeated. With this, Hitler was forced to postpone his attempt to invade Great Britain.[4] However, this came at a great cost for Britain as Britain’s defensive resources were at their limit. Winston Churchill at this point in the war started to get much needed aid from the US, which helped Great Britain in their great hour of need.
With Britain and Germany battling each other, and with the USA being the only country that could match Japan with its military resources and firepower, it was only matter of time before one of these countries was going to strike.[5] On December 7th 1941 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. This caught America off guard and the casualties of American troops were 2,300. This was to be the catalyst for America to enter in World War Two. With the American public outraged by such a vicious attack the USA would finally join the fight. The US at the beginning were losing many battles to the Japanese naval forces. However, the Battle of Midway in June 1942 was a turning point for the USA with a decisive victory and so began the offensive against Japan and managed to gain the upper hand in World War Two in the favor of the USA. In turn Japan were always on the back foot after this.
June 6th 1944, which would be later known as D-Day, would be the beginning of the end of World War Two. With the combined forces of Great Britain, Canada and America the forces that landed in Europe amounted to a massive 156,000 troops, while Adolf Hitler gathered all his remaining forces to try and repel the upcoming invasion and to drive back the Americas and Britain in the Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from December 1944 to January 1945. This was to be the last time Germany mounted an offensive attack in this war. With the intensive aerial bombardments of Germany in February 1945 with the invasion of the allied forces, Germany surrendered on May 8th 1945. Adolf Hitler was already dead at this point when Germany surrendered; he committed suicide on April 30th 1945 and this sparked the end of World War Two.
With the war ending in the epilogue of World War Two there was still the problem with Japan, with the USA wanting to cement that they were the dominant power and didn’t want to prolong the war anymore, which at this point had already taken the lives of 60 to 80 million people, including 6 million Jews, who died by the Nazis in the Holocaust. With all this to consider the USA put in to motion the Manhattan Project, set off the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was seen as a drastic action by the US while others thought it was the right thing to put an end to any other warfare.[6] On August 15th 1945 Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration and on September 2nd 1945 and with this the USA accepted Japan’s surrender and thus came the end to this long war, and finally some form of peace was made. After World War Two the after effect would still to this day have an effect on the world and it was a time period which future generations would never forget.
Bibliography
1. Joshua Rothman (December 23, 2017) A New History of the Second World War, Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-new-history-of-the-second-world-war (Accessed: 05/03/2020).
2. Timothy B. Lee (Nov 13, 2014, 1:10pm ) 42 maps that explain World War II, Available at: https://www.vox.com/2014/11/13/7148855/40-maps-that-explain-world-war-ii (Accessed: 05/03/2020).
3. ALAN TAYLOR (OCTOBER 30, 2011) World War II: After the War, Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/10/world-war-ii-after-the-war/100180/ (Accessed: 05/03/2020).
4. BBC (2014) World War Two, Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ (Accessed: 05/03/2020).
5. History (October 1, 2019) World War Two, Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history (Accessed: 05/03/2020).
6. https://europeremembers.com/ (2019) Learn About World War Two, Available at: https://europeremembers.com/history/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj8SN0Y6D6AIVC8jeCh0SUgFXEAAYASAAEgKPdfD_BwE (Accessed: 05/03/2020).
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