World War II: Origins, Turning Points, and Conclusion

Long-Term Causes of World War II

1. The Treaty of Versailles: In Germany, people resented the Treaty of Versailles, which Hitler had promised to destroy. He broke its conditions, firstly by rebuilding Germany's armed forces. Then, in 1936, he reoccupied the Rhineland, an important industrial region that had been made a demilitarized zone by the treaty.

2. The Failure of the League of Nations: The League of Nations was created to keep the peace, but it was unable to prevent the Second World War. In general, the organization failed because it could not enforce treaties or impose its decisions.

3. Expansionism: Authoritarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan felt that they needed to expand the territory under their control in order to acquire more raw materials and establish new markets for their exports. They also aimed to increase their international power and influence.

4. Appeasement Policies: In order to keep the peace and avoid another war, democracies such as Great Britain supported a policy of appeasement. As a result, they did not use military force to prevent Japanese, German, and Italian expansionism in the 1930s.

Increasing Tensions

During the 1930s, Japan, Italy, and Germany took advantage of appeasement and proceeded to annex or invade other countries.

• In 1935, Mussolini invaded Abyssinia.
• In 1938, Germany annexed Austria and occupied the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. In March of the following year, Germany invaded and occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia.

The Outbreak of War

On August 23, 1939, Hitler and Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact, in which they agreed not to attack each other. They also decided to invade Poland and divide the country between them. In response to the Nazi-Soviet Pact, on August 25, Great Britain joined France and Poland in an alliance of mutual protection. One week later, Germany invaded Poland, and on September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Participants and Phases of the War

The war was fought by two opposing sides: the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers.

• The Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and, after 1940, Japan.
• The Allied Powers: Initially Great Britain, France, and Poland, later joined by members of the Commonwealth like Canada and Australia, the USSR, and the United States.

First Phase: Axis Offensives (1939-1941)

Europe: Germany had a number of early victories in Europe, occupying Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. These victories were due to the German blitzkrieg strategy. In June 1941, Germany attacked the USSR, which responded by joining the Allies.

Asia and Oceania: Japan invaded several Allied colonies in Asia and Oceania. Then, on December 7, 1941, Japanese forces carried out a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor - an important American naval base in Hawaii. As a result, the United States declared war on Japan and entered the conflict.

Second Phase: Allied Victories (1942-1943)

Europe: During the 1942-1943 Battle of Stalingrad, German forces occupied the city of Stalingrad in the USSR. The Soviet army counter-attacked and surrounded the German forces.

Third Phase: Final Allied Advances (1943-1945)

Africa: The Allies crossed the Mediterranean and invaded Italy.

Europe: On June 6, 1944, the Normandy Landings took place in France. Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and began liberating France from German control. After that, the Allies attacked Germany in three directions: from France, Italy, and the USSR. In May 1945, the Allies entered Berlin, and Germany surrendered.

Asia and Oceania: In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, Japan finally surrendered on September 2, 1945.