World War II: Axis and Allied Campaigns

Axis Advances (1939-1942)

Poland and Western Europe

In a matter of weeks, the German army decisively defeated Polish forces. Poland was then divided between Germany and Russia. Germany also occupied Denmark and Norway in a surprise attack, securing access to Swedish iron ore. German armored divisions bypassed the Maginot Line and attacked France through Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, despite those nations' neutrality. Italy, initially neutral, joined the war in June 1940, confident in Germany's impending victory. France was divided into two zones: the north, including Paris, under German control, and the south under the Vichy regime, a pro-German government. General Charles de Gaulle, opposing the Vichy regime, fled to London and rallied the French to continue fighting.

Battle of Britain and North Africa

To prepare for a sea invasion of Britain, Germany launched extensive air attacks, known as the Battle of Britain. The British Royal Air Force ultimately prevailed. Germany also suffered setbacks in North Africa, where the German Afrika Korps had joined Italian forces. British victories disrupted Axis control in the region.

Allied Victory (1942-1945)

Turning of the Tide

The battles of El Alamein, Stalingrad, and Midway marked the turning point of the war. At El Alamein, British forces under General Bernard Montgomery defeated General Erwin Rommel. The Battle of Stalingrad was a devastating defeat for the German Wehrmacht, initiating their retreat from the USSR. German and Italian forces surrendered in Tunisia, giving the Allies control of North Africa, which they then used as a springboard to invade Italy. This led to the fall of Mussolini's Fascist regime, his arrest, and Italy's armistice with the Allies. Germany intervened, dividing Italy: a pro-Allied government in the south and a German-backed Fascist republic (the Republic of Salò) under Mussolini in the north.

D-Day and the Eastern Front

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, Allied forces landed in Normandy, opening a second major front against Germany. Paris was liberated, and by late 1944, most of France was free. The brutal Battle of Berlin in 1945 ended Nazi resistance. Hitler committed suicide, and Mussolini was captured and executed in northern Italy.

The Pacific Theater and the Atomic Bomb

To avoid heavy casualties in a planned invasion of Japan, U.S. President Harry Truman, who succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt, authorized the use of atomic bombs. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed in August 1945. Japan surrendered in September.

Post-War Conferences and the Cold War

Allied conferences shaped the post-war world. The Tehran Conference (1943) and the Yalta Conference (1945) addressed the future of Germany. The Potsdam Conference (1945) revealed growing tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, marking the beginning of the Cold War.