THE SECOND WORLD WAR

(1939-45)

INTRODUCTION

WORLD WAR II was the most destructive conflict which man has so far
witnessed. It was fought in all p[arts of the globe- on land, in the air, at the sea, and under
the sea. It brought tremendous damages on both victors and vanquished.
The combats were the Allied Nations and the Axis Powers. They were composed
of the democracies led by Britain, France, and the United States. Soviet Russia joined the
Allied Nations because Hitler was anti-communist. Axis powers were the totalitarian
states, headed by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and militarist Japan.
SUMMARY

NEW WEAPONS IN THE WORLD WAR

1. The tommy gun and automatic rifle
2. The bazooka, a small jet propelled anti-tank gun
3. Heavily armored land tanks with rotating guns
4. Amphibian tanks which travel on land and sea
5. The booby-trap, a mine set to explode at the slightest touch
6. Powerful anti-aircraft guns that shot explosive shells in the air to destroy attacking
planes
7. Radio-controlled rockets filled with high explosives
8. Balloon barrages, which are huge balloons that held up wire nets in the air to
protect cities and fleets from raiding planes
9. New type of planes, such as dive bombers and the flying fortresses
10. The nuclear bombs, the most destructive weapon ever used by man

NEW METHODS OF WARFARE

Nazi Germany introduced the blitzkrieg (lightning war). Bombers first blasted
enemy fortifications, cities, and communication lines, after which the troops, supported
by tanks and planes, assaulted the enemy positions.
Submarines had greater cruising ranges and inflicted heavier damages on enemy
shipping. Te fleets had aircraft carriers, loaded with combat planes. The planes play a
decisive role in naval battles.
CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II
1. The clash between two rival political ideologies – democracy and totalitarianism
2. The unchecked aggressions of Germany, Italy, and Japan
3. The fantastic dream of Hitler and Mussolini to be masters of the world
4. The failure of the League of Nations to settle international crises.

THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II

NAZI ATTACK ON POLAND
 Summer of 1939- Hitler, encouraged by his bloodless conquest of Austria and
Czechoslovakia, demanded that the Republic of Poland give him the Baltic port of
Danzing and the Polish Corridor.
 September 1, 1939- Nazi land and air forces suddenly attacked Poland. The
valiant Poles fought hard for their freedom.
 September 3- Britain and France, belatedly realizing that Hitler could not be
stopped by appeasement, declared war on Germany.
 September 17- Soviet Russia, which had a secret pact with Hitler, invaded Poland
from the east.
 September 28- The blitzkrieg was over. Bleeding Poland was partitioned by Nazi
Germany and Soviet Russia.

THE “PHONY WAR “IN THE WEST

The brave Finns, like the valiant Poles, resisted the Russian invaders. They fought
furiously for three months. Soviet Russia finally conquered them at a heavy cost. The
lack of fighting in Western Europe caused many people to talk of the “phony
war“between Germany and Western democracies.

NAZI CONQUEST OF SCANDINAVIA

In April 1940, the phony war suddenly ended because of the renewal of Hitler’s
blitzkrieg. The German forces attacked both Norway and Denmark. King Haakon VII of
Norway fled to London and set up a government-in-exile in that city. A puppet
government was established by Hitler in Norway with Vidkun Quisling as head.

NAZI INVASION OF THE LOW COUNTRIES

 May 10, 1941, the Nazi’s suddenly invaded Belgium, Holland, and
Luxembourg. Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Britain.
 May 14, Holland surrendered. Queen Wilhelmina escaped to London.
 May 28, Belgium surrendered.
THE EPIC OF DUNKIRK
The collapse of the Belgian- Dutch resistance left the British and French armies in
a desperate plight. Thousands of all kinds of vessels were rushed from England to
Dunkirk to evacuate 325, 000 Allied troops.
From May 26 to June 23, 1941, the world witnessed the stirring epic of Dunkirk.
The French shore was littered with dead soldiers and military weapons of all kinds. The
English Channel was strewn with wrecked boats and floating bodies. Two-thirds of the
Allied armies at Dunkirk reached England alive.

THE FALL OF FRANCE (1940)

France was dome. The Nazi invaders reached the gates of Paris on June 10. the
French government fled to Bordeaux. Premier Paul Renaud resigned and was succeeded
by Marshal Petain, an aged hero of World War I.
Arshal Petain asked for an armistice. This armistice was signed on June 22, 1940
at Compiegne forest in the same railway car in which the armistice of 1918 was signed. A
puppet government under Petain was established at Vichy. The pro-German government
of France was called the Vichy Government. The Free French Forces and a government-
in-exile were established in London and led by General Charles De Gaulle.

HIGH TIDE OF NAZI POWER

THE BATTLE BRITAIN

The Battle of Britain, which began soon after France’s downfall and lasted until
1941, showed the tenacious valor and heroism of the British people. Nazi Luffwafe ( air
force ) planes bombed London and other cities daily. Hitler’s policy was bring to England
to its knees through the systematic destruction of its cities and military installations. The
fury of the Nazi air attacks came during the months of September and 0ctober, 1940.
Over 15, 000 Londoners were killed, 20% of the buildings in London were destroyed,
and some famous edifices (British Museum, the houses of Parliament, and St. Paul’s
Cathedral) were damaged. Under the inspiring leadership of the Prime Minister
Churchill, the people continued to fight. The RAF (Royal Air Force) performed
marvelous feats of heroism by engaging the numerically superior Nazi airmen in
combats. With the “stiff upper lip “symbolizing their calm courage, the British people
endured the daily air raids. They were greatly helped by the U.S. Lend-Lease supplies
and by the development of radar, the miracle device of World War II. Hitler bitterly
regretted his first major defeat in the war – his failure to conquer Britain.

NAZI INVASION OF SOVIET RUSSIA

Great mistake of Hitler was the invasion of Soviet Russia, his former partner in
the conquest of Poland. At dawn of June 22, 1941, while the Battle of Britain was raging,
3, 000, 000, 000 Nazi troops invaded Soviet Russia along a 2, 000-mile front. The
Russian armies, numbering 2, 000, 000 resisted, but were driven back. Premier Stalin
appealed to his people for a united support against the Nazi invasion. The Russians- men,
women, and children- rose to arms and helped their armies in the “Second great
Fatherland War”.
At the beginning, the well- trained, superbly armed Nazi armies were winning the
battles. They occupied Poland and the Baltic countries, besieged Laningrad in September
1941, and the advanced to Crimea and the Ukraine. Winter came, and Hitler failed to
conquer Soviet Russia by the end of 1941, as he had expected.
In the spring of 1942, Hitler hurled more German armies against Soviet Russia.
Sebastopol was taken in July. By September, Stalingrad was under siege. Leningrad,
Stalingrad fought hard and refused to surrender.
In January 1943, the Russians now strengthened by armaments supplied by the
United States launched a vigorous offensive which surprised the Germans.

AMERICA AND WORLD WAR II

The United States was pursuing an isolationist policy. When the war began in
1939, Congress passed a series of neutrality laws to avoid America’s involvement in the
European conflict. The United States became apprehensive and did everything short of
declaring war to help the hardpressed democracies.
Congress promulgated the Lend-Lease Act (March 1941). The United States
furnished war materials to all nations (including Soviet Russia) that were resisting Axis
aggression. On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt manifested America’s
sympathy with the Allied Nations by announcing the “FOUR FREEDOMS” in his
address to Congress. America’s relations with Japan, an Axis power in Asia, was
becoming tense because of Japanese aggressions in China and French Indochina.

THE ATLANTIC CHARTER (1941)

ON August 14, 1941, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill conferred
on board the Prince of the Wales (British Battleship) and the Augusta (American cruiser)
off the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland and drafted the Atlantic Charter.
Famous document embodied the aims of the United States and Britain, as follows:
1. Both countries sought to territorial gains out of war.
2. No territorial changes would be made after the war that were contrary to the
wishes of the people concerned.
3. The right of all peoples to choose the form of government they liked should be
respected.
4. There should be equal economic opportunities among all countries, great or
small, victories or vanquished.
5. Nations should cooperate in the economic filed to secure economic and social
security for all.
6. After the destruction of Nazi tyranny, an association of nations would be
established to maintain freedom and security for all men.
7. All nations should enjoy freedom of the high seas.
8. There should be disarmament among nations in order to avoid the use of force
and prevent aggression.

WAR IN THE PACIFIC (1941-42)

As the Nazi were rampaging in Europe in 1941, ominous war clouds loomed in
the Pacific. Japan joined the Axis in April 1940, the United States was deeply concerned
about Japanese aggressive activities in China and French Indochina. Congress banned all
shipments of iron and oil to Japan and froze all Japanese assets in the United States.
General Hideki Tojo, who became Japan’s Premier in October 1941, sent Special Envoy
Saburo Kurusu to Washington in order to assist the Japanese ambassador Admiral
Kichisaburo Nomura in a diplomatic conversation to ease American-Japanese tension.

JAPAN ATTACKS PEARL HARBOR

ON December 8, 1941,(December 7, American time), while negotiations were
still going on between United States Secretary of state Cordell Hull and the Japanese
envoys in Washington, Japan suddenly attacked Pearl Harbor, America’s base in Hawaii.
Five battleships and three cruisers were sunk, three other battleships were crippled, and
almost 200 American planes destroyed. The casualties were 2, 403 killed and 1, 178
wounded.
The tragic day of Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was a “day of infamy,”
according to President Roosevelt. Immediately, the United States declared war on Japan,
as did Britain. Germany and Italy, rushing to Japan’s side, declared war on the United
States on December 11. The European conflict had spread to the Pacific to become the
SECOND WORLD WAR.