World War II
World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war. It is generally considered to have lasted from 1939 to 1945, although some conflicts in Asia that are commonly viewed as becoming part of the world war had begun earlier than 1939. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people, from more than 30 different countries. In a state of "total war", the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, andscientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust, the Three Alls Policy, the strategic bombing of enemy industrial and/or population centers, and the first use of nuclear weapons in combat, it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history.
Cause of World War II
Out of all causes of World War II, the desire of Adolf Hitler, in control of Nazi Germany, to dominate Europe (especially agrarian lands in to the East of Germany) and resettle German farmers was paramount. He was allied primarily with Japan (which desired to dominate East Asia, especially China), as well as Italy (which had its own ambitions). After Hitler had taken control of Austria and Czechoslovakia by early 1939, Britain and France reversed their policy of appeasement and switched to a policy ofdeterrence, warning they would declare war if Germany attacked Poland. In response, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in late August that also agreed to divide up Poland and the Baltic states. Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. Two days later, the United Kingdom and France declared war, followed by Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.
World War timeline
1939
- 1 September--German troops invade Poland at dawn
- 3 September--Britain and France declared war on Germany
- 3 September--The Battle of the Atlantic was a struggle between the Germans and the Allies that lasted for six years. During this extended period of time the Canadian navy was a major player in evacuating forces, landing military troops, protecting approaches to Britain, fending off submarine attacks and rescuing survivors from torpedoed merchant ships.
- 7 September--The Canadian Parliament met in a special war session.
- 9 September--Parliament approved support to Britain and France.
- 10 September--Canada declared war on Germany.
- 30 November--Russian troops invaded Finland.
- December--Units of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division sailed for Britain
- 9 April--Germany attacked Denmark and Norway.
- 10 May--Germany launched her blitzkrieg against Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France. It was also on this day that Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
- 15 May--Most of Holland was overrun by German forces.
- 27 May--Belgium surrendered to German forces.
- 27 May-4 June--France collapsed and the British were forced to withdraw from Dunkirk. While almost 35,000 men were evacuated the loss of weapons and equipment was a major disaster for the Allies. Britain lost six destroyers, twenty-four small craft, and 24,000 tons of merchant shipping. France lost seven destroyers and one supply ship. Thirty thousand men were also lost.
- 10 June--Italy declared war on Britain and France.
- 10 June--Canada declared war on Italy.
- 22 June--France surrendered to Germany in the railway car in the Compiegne Forest where Germany had surrendered in 1918.
- 4 August--Italy invaded British Somaliland. Mussolini's forces are defeated by May 1941.
- 12 August-10 May, 1941--On August 12 the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, began bombing British airfields and radar stations. Beginning on September 7, the Germans blasted London nearly every night. By the middle of 1941, after failing in her attempt to conquer Britain, Germany's attacks became less frequent. Great Britain survived the blitz.
- 13 September--Mussolini, the Italian dictator, invaded Egypt to gain control of the Suez Canal.
- 28 October--Italian troops swept into Greece.
- 20 November--Hungary joined the Axis.
- 23 November--Romania joined the Axis.
- 5 January--British soldiers invaded Ethiopia and by May 1941 Britain had defeated the Italians in this area of eastern Africa.
- 1 March--Bulgaria joined the Axis.
- 6 April--Germany invaded Greece and Yugoslavia.
- 13 April--Japan and Russia signed a non-aggression pact.
- 8 June--British and French forces invaded Syria.
- 22 June--Russia is invaded by Axis forces. Hitler sent in approximately 3 million troops to attack his former ally. Despite their initial successes, by December the German advance was halted by the severe Soviet weather.
- 7 August--The Atlantic Charter was announced.
- 16 November--The Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers arrived in Hong Kong.
- 7 December--The Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands.
- 8 December--The United States declared war on Japan.
- 8 December--The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Canada also declared war on Japan.
- 9 December--China declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.
- 11 December--Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The U.S. declared war on Germany and Italy.
- 18 December--On December 8 the Japanese attacked the Lai Tak airport and inflicted severe damage on all RAF aircraft. Ten days later they attacked Hong Kong and on Christmas Day the British surrendered. By the time of the surrender, 290 Canadian soldiers were killed and 493 had been wounded. Many more later died in Japanese prison camps.
- 2 January--Manila fell to Japanese forces.
- 15 February--Singapore surrender to invading Japanese forces.
- 27 February--The Allies lost the Battle of Java Sea.
- 18 April--U.S. carrier-based aircraft bombed Tokyo.
- 24 April--Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King called for a plebiscite concerning conscription.
- 27 April--By a ratio of 3 to 1 the Canadian people voted for conscription. However, the government did not immediately introduce conscription.
- 4-8 May--The Allies won the Battle of the Coral Sea.
- 2-6 June--The Battle of Midway ended Japan's eastward expansion.
- 5 June--The United States declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
- 21 June--German troops seized Tobruk in North Africa.
- 19 August--The attack upon Dieppe involved 4,963 Canadians along with British commandos and a few American Rangers. This major raid on France was a disaster which resulted in the death of 907 Canadian soldiers. In total there were 3,367 casualties including 1,946 prisoners of war.
- 16 September--German forces entered Stalingrad in Russia.
- 7-8 November--Allied forces landed in North Africa and within five days captured Tobruk from the Germans.
- 19 November--The Russians counter-attack at Stalingrad.
- 2 February--The last Germans surrendered at Stalingrad.
- 2-5 March--The Allies defeated the Japanese naval force in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
- 13 March--Japanese troops retreated across the Yangtze.
- 13 May--Axis forces in northern Africa surrendered.
- 4 July--Germany opened an assault near the Soviet city of Kursk.
- 10 July--Allied forces invaded Sicily and forced the withdrawal of German troops towards Messina. By the end of the first week in August, after nearly a month of fighting, the Canadians had suffered 2,310 casualties including 562 deaths.
- 25 July--Mussolini fell from power in Italy.
- 3 September--Italy secretly signed an armistice with the Allies.
- 3 September--The British Eighth Army, including the 1st Canadian Division, landed in Italy.
- 9 September--British airborne troops landed at Toronto and British and American forces landed at Salerno, Italy. While most of the initial advances were rapid, the Allies failed to pierce German defences at the Hitler Line south of Rome.
- 3 October--Italy declared war on Germany.
- 6 November--The Russians captured Kiev.
- 1 December--The 1st Canadian Infantry Division began to take control of the bridgehead on the Sangro River, Italy.
- 4 December--The 1st Canadian Infantry Division reached the Moro River after crossing the Sangro.
- 5 December--An attack launched by the 1st Canadian Infantry Division on San Leonardo failed. However, an attack on the 7th was successful and San Leonardo fell two days later.
- 21 December--The 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade attacked the town of Ortona, Italy and forced the Germans to pull out on the night of December 27th. 1,372 Canadian soldiers died during the week of fighting.
- 27 January--The Russians broke the siege of Leningrad.
- 19 March--German troops invaded Hungary.
- 15 May--The campaign designed to assault the Hitler Line and take Rome began in the Lira Valley.
- 23 May--The 1st Canadian Corps launched a major attack on the Hitler Line, about 120 km south of Rome. The Germans were defeated and on May 31 the Canadian campaign in this area came to a close.
- 4 June--Rome was taken by the Americans.
- 6 June--The Allies landed in Normandy in the D-Day invasion of northern France. Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen participated in the landings. In total, about 15,000 Canadians landed at Normandy. During the weeks of fighting, Canada suffered 359 fatal casualties and 715 non-fatal casualties.
- 13 June--The first V-1 guided missile fell on London.
- 19-20 June--U.S. forces won the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
- 25 August--Romania declared war on Germany.
- 4 September--British troops captured the Belgian city of Antwerp.
- 9 September--Bulgaria declared war on Germany.
- 10 September--Finland signed an armistice with Russia.
- 12 September--After British troops captured Antwerp, the Canadians were to clear the Scheldt. On September 12 the task began. By November, after a combined effort involving the First Canadian Army, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, the Scheldt battle was concluded. The first allied vessel reached the port of Antwerp on November 28th.
- 22 September--The 1st Canadian Corps breached the Gothic Line, The Germans' major defensive barrier in northern Italy, after a month of fighting. The victory cost the Canadians 2,511 casualties.
- 23-26 October--The U.S. Pacific Fleet crushed the Japanese fleet in the Battle for Leyte Gulf.
- 22 November--The Canadian government agreed to dispatch conscripts overseas.
- 16 December--The Germans began the Battle of the Bulge as a means of striking back at United States troops.
- 27 December--The Allies halted the German offensive.
- 9 January--Allied troops invaded the Philippines.
- 11 January--Russian soldiers entered Warsaw, Poland.
- 21 January--Hungary declared war on Germany.
- 8 February-10 March--Following the Battle of the Scheldt, the Canadians were told to hold the line along the Nijmegen Salient and push into the Rhine. After launching two separate assaults the Canadians were successful. By March 10th the Germans crossed the Rhine and all enemy resistance west of the Rhine River was eliminated. In total, 5,304 Canadians were killed, wounded, or declared missing in action.
- 13 February--Russian forces occupied Budapest.
- 19 February--United States marines stormed Iwo Jima Island.
- 1 April--United States troops landed on Okinawa Island.
- 13 April--Vienna fell to invading Russian forces.
- 22 April--The Russians reached the suburbs of Berlin. Berlin surrendered on May 22.
- 2 May--German troops in Italy surrendered.
- 7 May--Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies
- 26 July--The Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration.
- 6 August--The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
- 8 August--The Soviet Union declared war on Japan.
- 9 August--The United States dropped a second, larger bomb, on Nagasaki.
- 10 August--Japan opened peace negotiations.
- 14 August--Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender.
Nuclear Bomb in hiroshima & nagasaki
The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in August 1945. The two bombings were the first and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in wartime.
Following a firebombing campaign that destroyed many Japanese cities, the Allies prepared for a costly invasion of Japan. The war in Europe ended when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945, but the Pacific War continued. Together with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945, threatening "prompt and utter destruction".
Following a firebombing campaign that destroyed many Japanese cities, the Allies prepared for a costly invasion of Japan. The war in Europe ended when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945, but the Pacific War continued. Together with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945, threatening "prompt and utter destruction".
Axis countries & leaders in World War II
Nazi Germany - Adolf Hitler
- Adolf Hitler was leader of Nazi Germany, first as Chancellor from 1933 until 1934. He later became Germany's Führer from 1934 until his suicide in 1945. Hitler came to power during Germany's period of crisis after the Great War. During his rule, Germany became a fascist state with a policy of anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust. Hitler pursued an extremely aggressive foreign policy that triggered the war. He committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
Empire of Japan - Hirohito
Hirohito (posthumously known as Emperor Shōwa) was the Emperor from 1926 until his death in 1989. He was viewed as a semi-divine leader. He was Commander of the Imperial General Headquarters from 1937 to 1945 and authorized in 1936, by imperial decree, the expansion of Shiro Ishii's bacteriological research unit, while, according to some authors, assuming control over the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons. His generals took the full blame and he was exonerated from criminal prosecution, with all members of the imperial family, by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Kingdom of Italy (1940-1943), Italian Social Republic (1943-1945) - Benito Mussolini
- Benito Mussolini† was Prime Minister from 1922 until 1939 commonly called Duce ("Leader") by his Fascist supporters. Mussolini was the de facto dictator of Italy during that period, as King Victor Emmanuel III delegated his powers to Mussolini and opposition to Mussolini and the Fascist state was seen as treason. Mussolini was the official head of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN ("Volunteer Militia for National Security"), often called the "Blackshirts", who were Fascist partisans loyal specifically to him, rather than the King. Mussolini was later Head of State of the Italian Social Republic (regime under control of Nazi Germany), that succeeded the Kingdom of Italy in the Axis between 1943 and 1945. Mussolini was the founder of fascism and made Italy the first fascist state using the ideas of nationalism, militarism and anti-communism combined and state propaganda. Mussolini's regime was an influence on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Mussolini was shot by Italian partisans in 1945.
Allied countries & leaders in World War II
Belgium - Leopold III of Belgium
- Leopold III of Belgium reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951. Prior to the war Leopold had made extensive preparations against such an invasion of his country. After Belgium's surrender Leopold stayed to face the invaders, while his entire government had fled to Great Britain. King Leopold rejected cooperation with the Nazis and refused to administer Belgium in accordance with their dictates. Despite his defiance of the Germans, the Belgian government-in-exile in London refused to recognize his right to rule. The Germans held him under house arrest at the royal castle in Brussels until the end of the war.
British Empire - King George VI
- King George VI was the reigning monarch of the British Commonwealth during the war, and thus acted as Commander-in-Chiefof a number of states within that organization, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The King was, further, a symbol of national and Commonwealth unity during the war, he and his family visiting bomb sites, munitions factories, and with Commonwealth soldiers.[1] Several members of the Royal Family, including the Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), served in the forces.
Free French Forces - Charles de Gaulle
- Charles de Gaulle was the leader of the Free French and as such head of the French government-in-exile following the Fall of France. A vehement opponent of collaboration, he eventually took nominal command of the French resistance and headed the French Army of Liberation from its foundation to the war's end.