The Second World War
What caused The Second World War and why did the U.S. become involved in it?
There was a lot of instability and complaints all over Europe after the First World War. Germany lost the war and was being held responsible for it and it was pressurized to pay for the damaged incurred in the course of the war. This was not only embarrassing, but also financially stressing for the nation. With social equality lost, Hitler rose to power with the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. His goals were paramount, and he began to overpower the parliamentary state as well adopting dictatorial powers via the declaration of the Third Reich. His goals for the nation were exceptional as he fortified the German armed force with a vision to topple the Treaty of Versailles. In addition, the Nazi state tried to find the lost territory in settlement as well as get back the German-speaking small numbers into the fatherland.
In contrast, Japan had its own goals being the solitary industrial power in Asia. Japan yearned over the Southeast Asia as well as Chinese natural assets, however its drive for accessing these resources was barred by the European and United States colonial powers. As a result, after defeating Manchuria, Japan began a battle with China in the year 1937, devoid of hindrance from the League of Nations. Japan, Germany and Italy built a coalition (The Axis), concentrating on overcoming self-governing Western European states. Germany had by this time captured the Rhineland, an area that was not ready for the war between France and Germany, whereas Italy led by Mussolini, had captured Ethiopia. Entirely, these took place without deterrence from other European authorities which included Soviet Union, France and Britain.
Nevertheless, connections between Japan and the US had begun to loosen up. Having implemented a Neutrality Act, the United States regulated doing business due to escalating storm in Europe. Japan was infuriated as it had placed money as well as built trade links with the US, as most of its oil, trucks and aircraft were traded from the US. Japan attacked the American military installation at Pearl Harbor in 1941 for what they perceived as US injustice; as a result, this pushed the America into the ongoing battle in Europe, mainly as Germany had also avowed war against the United States 3 days prior to the attack on the harbor.
Via the intense storm of war in Europe, the United States kept it impartial concerning the happenings. Congress had been persuaded that taking part in the First World War was a blunder, despite some entrepreneurs who earned from the trade in the course of the war. Racial tension that was brewing up in the US due to the battle won over America to restrain from being involved in the foreign predicament. Parliament ratified a chain of Neutrality Acts, which barred business with fighting nations, particularly arms trade for the belligerents. As a result, the United States restrained from the battle, with its key focus being to shun its engagement in the European war.
In Europe and in the Pacific, why did the Allies win?
This war saw Germany battling the Soviet Union. At this moment in time, the Britain, France as well as United States had established their own association, the Allies. Attacking the Soviet Union was a blunder for Germans as they penetrated into the Russian zone in Stalingrad. The Soviet Union had a vast population on the combat zone and this was an added merit over the Germans, in addition to the exceptional military supplies obtained from the US and their own industries. Russia had experienced economic reinforcement in this period, thus, it was financially stable into supplying both labor force and arms for the battle. Together with alliance of the United State, France as well as Britain, the eastern war front, the battlefield for the Europe war, the Soviet Union calmed the Germany troops, despite losing 1 million military experts and civilians.
America’s economic stability was an added advantage to the allied military against the Axis troops. US did business with most of the nations prior to taking part in the battle. Following its engagement in the war, most of the sectors became military companies, providing not only the American forces, but other Alliance troops too. This guaranteed an endless provision of military tools as well as ammunition to the forces. On top of this, it boosted the American economy, as workforce and supplies generated more revenue into the economy.
Aircraft brought in from America, were an added merit of the Allies. The Second World War witnessed a severe utilization of aircraft in attacks, more so from the US. Precisely, whereas the Nazi had utilized the opportunity for surprise attack in the battle of Bulge in Sauer River, the air attacks were contributory for the alliance military. Despite the Germans having aircraft, Americans proved more dominant as well as developed, and this gave the Allied military extra merit over the Axis.
The Allied military movement in the Europe war commenced in 1942 in North of Africa. The Germany troops had to surrender by 1943 in North Africa (Foner 913). Grouping of American and British destroyers and planes fell Nazi ships and also moved into Sicily in an operation to liberate Italy. By 1944, a widely acknowledged uprising had upset Mussolini’s government. In the same year, an alliance of Canada, British as well as American troops reached Normandy. Other alliance military troops arrived from the sea to take part in huge battle with Germany forces. This involved lasted between June and August, culminating into the emancipation of Paris. The Nazi Holocaust had, nevertheless, been the highpoint of the war, whereby more than six million Jewish kids, women and men lost their lives in Nazi camps at the end of 1945.
The Alliance forces’ troops operations in the Pacific were boosted by the United States engagement in the War. The military force that the US troop brought following the Pearl Harbor in 1941 attack made it easy for the Alliance to triumph in the pacific battle. The fatalities that the Japanese military experienced after the United States war on Midway Island forced the Japanese troops to move from the secured islands, they drew the United States closer to Japan. The operation by the American forces were certainly injured, in the famous battle without mercy. American army forces went on attacking the Japanese forces causing more fatalities whilst damaging the Japanese ships. Part of this war without mercy was due to the fact that Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and also the “death march” whereby the Japanese forces pushed 78,000 American soldiers to admit defeat them into prisoner-of-war camps (Foner 912).
In the course of the war, America was still proceeding war infuriated by Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor (Foner 920). In the year 1942, as a result, America inaugurated chronology of firebombing on Japan in Tokyo. This shattered a huge part of the city, whereas all together impacting the light weapon companies, which provided firearms to the Japanese military. The air bombings, nevertheless, persistent to 1945. Whereas the attacks firstly focused on industrial centers, the later concentrated housings, which the Japanese troops could not stopover. Nevertheless, the most overwhelming attack on Japan that led to their admission of defeat, therefore signposting to the alliance triumph, was the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This indicated the end of the war for Japan, as other attacks would damage the nation, as it was certain with Nagasaki whose industrial production had been destroyed by the attack. Therefore, Japanese state called for debates over terms of defeat.
What were the consequences of the The Second World War—both Geo-politically and domestically?
By the end of the Second World War more than 60 million fatalities. This is in addition to thousands of more people who were bloody and left homeless. In addition, economies were reduced with most nations both the Allied as well as Axis forces calculating their losses due to war.
The battle, nevertheless, led to new set of artillery. The atomic bomb led to better scope of weaponry, whereby only the United States and the Soviet Union had them. This latest weapon turned into the forerunner to the cold war. On top of tanks and destroyer ships, war aircraft and bombs turned into the latest weapons for both allied and axis forces.
When it came to Italy, Mussolini had established dictatorship, and had a dream of disseminating the ideology to other parts of Europe (Foner 907). This had similar principles as Nazism established by Hitler. The association had, as a result, focused at disseminating the ideology all over Europe. The battle, as a result, led to culmination to this forced philosophy, aiding many nations for example Poland as well as Austria-Hungary, to rejoice in their liberation as independent governments devoid of Germany or Italy impact.
Hitler’s “final solution” was an intricate strategy to annihilate the unwelcome people as well as introduce a reign of supreme race in Europe. Jews, gypsies, Slavs as well as homosexuals were the people to be exterminated. The Holocaust, as a result, left six million males, females and kids of the Jewish ethnic dead in Nazi concentration camps (Foner 914).
Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History 3rd ed. Vol 1. Seagull, 2011