Wednesday 8 April 2015

Second World War



                                   SECOND WORLD WAR
                          


CAUSES:


·         Dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles:


The Treaty of Versailles by which the First World War came to an end, created more problems than it solved. The treaty demanded annexation of German territories and the creation of many States. This sowed the seeds of bitterness and conflict. In fact, this treaty was based on the spirit of revenge and Germany was forced to sign it. All German colonies were forcibly taken away from her and she was divided into two parts for the benefit of Poland. She was burdened with huge war indemnity which she could never pay and her military power was reduced. This humiliation gave rise to the spirit of revenge and Germany started to look for an opportunity to do away with the harsh treaty. But this wasn’t possible without an aggressive policy and armaments. Hence, the war became inevitable.


·         Rise of Fascism and Nazism:



The rise of extreme nationalism in Germany and Italy in the form of Nazism and Fascism, respectively contributed to the causes of the Second World War. Italy wanted to revive the glory of the Old Roman Empire. She joined the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937 and formed a ten years Alliance with Germany (Pact of Steel) to strengthen her position. Italy opposed the Treaty of Versailles and demonstrated her imperialistic designs by attacking Abyssinia. The League of Nations failed to take any action which exhibited the weakness of the League.




In Germany Hitler wanted to re-establish the prestige of Germany in the international field. He flouted the military clauses of the Versailles Treaty and declared re-armament. In 1938, he annexed Austria and dismembered Czechoslovakia. Thus, Mussolini and Hitler drove the world towards another war.


·         Policy of Appeasement:


          Appeasement refers to the policy of conciliating an aggressive power at the expense of some other country. It meant accepting the hostile demands of an aggressive nation to gain peace. Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement towards dictatorial countries like Germany and Italy because they felt that the dictators had a real cause for their grievance given to the Treaty of Versailles. So if their grievances were removed they would not disturb world peace. Further they wanted to check the rising tide of Russian Bolshevism. Therefore they allowed Germany to re-arm, remilitarise Rhineland, and capture Austria and Czechoslovakia. So without this unintended green signal Fascism and Nazism would not have survived for long to cause World War II.


·         Japanese Invasion of China:


Japanese policy of expansion was another serious cause of the Second World War. She was determined to dominate the Far East. In 1931, Japan intervened in Manchuria and, in spite of League’s opposition, occupied it set up a government there. Japan also started an undeclared war with China in 1931. China appealed to the League of Nations for help but they turned a deaf ear. Japan joined the Alliance of Germany to form the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Alliance. In 1933, Japan left the League of nations and started occupying British and American properties in China. Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement, thinking that Japan can be used to weaken China.


To know more see: Sino Japanese War.


·         Failure of The League of Nations:


The League of Nations was created after the First World War to prevent future wars. However, it failed in its main objective. It suffered an early blow when the USA didn’t join it. Even those who joined it were not interested in the principles of collective security.




·         Hitler’s Invasion of Poland:


Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939 for the following reasons:


1.       By the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was divided into two in order to give Poland a land route to sea (see: Danzig Corridor) and the Port Of Danzig was also given to Poland. Germany wanted to regain these lost territories.


2.       The city of Danzig was inhabited by many Germans and by occupying Danzig Corridor; Germany could connect with East Prussia.

    3.   Germany signed a Non-Aggression Pact (see: The Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact) with Russia in 1939 which contained secret protocols for dividing Poland between the two. Poland was accused of committing atrocities against the Germans living there. 


On September 1, 1939, the German armies marched into Poland. France and Britain gave an ultimatum to Germany. In reply, Germany attacked France. On September 3, Britain and France declared War on Germany and began the Second World War. The German armies completed the invasion of Poland in less than 3 weeks to ensure that no aid reached Poland. In spite of the declaration of the War there was little actual fighting from September 1939 to April 1940 on the Western Front and hence this period of the war remained dormant.


To know more see: German invasion of Poland                    
                                    Phoney War


THE WAR (Main events only)
To know in detail see: The Second World War


Soon after the German invasion of Poland; The Soviet Union attacked Eastern Poland and occupied the territories of earlier of the Russian Empire. In 1940, the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania which had become independent after WW1 became republics of the USSR. In November 1939, The Soviet Union went to war against Finland (see: The Winter War)


v  Conquest of Norway, Denmark and Holland


Germany launched her invasion of Norway and Denmark on April 9, 1940 and within three weeks completed the conquest of these countries. In early May began the Invasion of Belgium and Holland which ended by the end of May. (See: Operation Weserubung)

 v  Fall of France


The German armies marched into France and by July 14, 1940, the capital, Paris fell. The war conducted by Germany with great speed and force is known as Blitzkrieg or Lightning War. (See: Invasion of France)


 v  Battle of Britain


The German Air force, the Luftwaffe, began bombing raids over Britain in preparation for Operation Sea Lion, a land invasion of Britain. Initially the British Air force suffered heavy losses but with American aid they finally prevailed over the air raids and matched the German Air Force with their own. This foiled any plans for an Invasion of Britain. (See: Battle of Britain)


v  The Battle of Stalingrad


In June 1941, Hitler betrayed the non-aggression pact with Russia and invaded her (See: Operation Barbarossa). In August 1942, Hitler targeted an industrial city. In November the Soviets were able to counter attack with fresh reinforcements. The German were already suffering from frigid temperatures and their overextended supply lines became a threat. The German finally had to retreat. (See: Battle of Stalingrad)


v  The Battle for Berlin


It began in April 1945. The Germans were caught between the Americans in one side and the Soviets on the other. When Allied Forces closed in on Berlin itself Hitler committed suicide. On May 7, 1945 the last of the German armies surrendered. (See: Battle of Berlin)


                                                   Goebbel's  Last Speech






EFFECT OF THE WAR


Over 50 million people perished in the Second World War. Of them about 22 million were soldiers and over 28 million civilians. About 12 million people lost their lives in concentration camps or as a result of the terror unleashed by the fascists. Some countries lost a large percentage of their population. For example: Poland lost 20% of their population. Soviet Union lost 20 million people which are about 10% of their population. The various nations that took part in the war spent about 1 lakh crore rupees. Britain alone suffered a loss of Rs 200 crore .One fourth of the national wealth of Russia was spent in the war. Germany, France and Poland also suffered heavy losses. The chief colonial powers lost their power and glory and many countries like India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka became independent. Later many other countries in Asia and Africa were liberated from the imperial control of Britain, France, Portugal and Netherlands.


CONSEQUENCES


·         Defeat of the Axis powers:


Up to the middle of 1942 the Axis powers met with remarkable success and captured large territories in Europe, Africa and Asia. But by the end of 1940, the tide began to turn against the Axis. In November 1940, Allied powers recaptured African territories lost by France. This was followed by their victory over Italy. The Allies powers forced Italy to make an unconditional surrender. In March, 1945 the Allied powers moved across the Rhine and dealt a death blow to the German forces. Hitler was so disappointed that he committed suicide on April 30, 1945.


After the defeat of Germany the Allied powers turned their attention towards Japan. In South East Asia, Japan had won victories over a number of countries and had occupied Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Myanmar, parts of New Guinea and Indonesia. The British forces liberated Myanmar, Malaya and Singapore. The Americans liberated the Philippines. In the Potsdam Conference held at July 26, 1945, Allied Powers asked Japan to surrender but Japan turned deaf ear. Consequently the Americans dropped the atomic bombs over Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) and ended the war. Japan surrendered on the terms of the Potsdam Conference on August 10.


After the War the Axis powers met with the following consequences-


v  Germany was divided into zones:

  1.       Federal Republic of Germany to be administered by USA, Britain and French forces. It came under the capitalist ideology of the Anglo-American and became part of the capitalist bloc.


   2.       The German Democratic Republic to be administered by the Soviet Union. It came under the influence of the communist ideology of  the Soviets and became part of the communist bloc.


 v  Japan and Italy also became very weak. Unlike Germany they were not divided into zones to be governed by conquering forces. The American army was to occupy Japan until 1952. After this, the Japanese would resume sole control over its own affairs. Emperor Hirohito was left as a constitutional monarch. The Japanese Parliament retained some of its law making powers. All lands taken or seized by Japan since 1845 were taken away.


v  Formation of the UN: The horrors of the two world wars and the failure of the League of Nations led to the meeting of the Big Three- Roosevelt (President of USA), Churchill (Prime Minister of Britain), and Stalin (premier of USSR) at Yalta in   February 1945. They resolve to convene the representatives of all Nations at San Francisco to draw up the “Charter of the United Nations”. This led to the establishment of the United Nations Organization on October 24, 1945.


v  Cold War:  During the Second World War the USA and the USSR fought together. But after the War the apparent harmony between the two nations declined and old suspicion and ideological differences came to the forefront. Though both countries did not engage into a real fight with each other, but there was a state of extreme political tension between the two. This state of tension between one or more Nations in which either power designed and adopted policies to strengthen itself and weaken the other is called Cold War.


To know more see: THE COLD WAR.






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