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A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War - Essay Example

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The author of the paper "A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War" will begin with the statement that Tuchachevsky and Triandafillov were Soviet military commanders and strategists who revolutionized the Red Army’s approach to modern warfare…

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A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War

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Subject: Environmental Studies
Type: Essay
Level: Undergraduate
Pages: 3 (750 words)
Downloads: 2
Author: prohaskarenee

Extract of sample "A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War"

Tuchachevsky and Triandafillov’s ideas about waging a war of attrition influenced the outcome of the Russo-German war, ultimately shattering Germany’s eastern army.
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact – This key strategic agreement further strengthened the advantage Nazi Germany gained from the Allies’ early inaction. Finalized in August 1939, the pact cleared the way for Germany’s invasion of Poland that September. It allowed the two states to share in the conquering of Eastern Europe and, of course, paved the way for Germany to invade the Soviet Union in 1941. In the long term, it gave the Soviets an important strategic buffer zone, “since it pushed Leningrad 200 miles farther away from the Nazi territory.” Initially, the pact allowed Germany to operate without having to worry about fighting a war on two fronts, an advantage the Nazis threw away when they launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941.

The Cherry Blossom Society - Comprised of dissident army officers, the Cherry Blossom Society sought to change Japan itself by fomenting political violence and advocating the military overthrow of the state. Founded in 1930 by Lt. Col. Kingoro Hashimoto, the society’s aim was to reorder the Japanese state along totalitarian lines, hoping ultimately to place Emperor Hirohito at the head of a military dictatorship. Symptomatic of the country’s burgeoning pre-World War 2 militarism, the Cherry Blossom Society helped further the country’s nationalistic and imperialistic ambitions by strengthening the war party, with many of its former members finding their way into the army’s conservative wing.
Chiang Kai-shek – As the nationalist Chinese leader and head of the country’s war effort against the Japanese, Chiang aided the Americans in the Pacific by keeping Japanese troops involved on the Chinese mainland. Early in the war, Chiang fought the Chinese communists rather than the invading Japanese, establishing a pattern of internecine conflict that abated only temporarily when Chiang and Mao Zedong joined in an uneasy alliance to expel the Japanese. When the Soviet Union became the patron state of Chiang’s government, it gave the Russians a foothold in China, eventually leading to increased cooperation between the Soviets and the Communist Chinese.
Wake Island – Strategically situated in the middle of the Pacific, the presence of an American force threatened the security of Japan’s island defense system. Wake Island was one of the U.S. Navy’s forward operating bases, important to reconnaissance aircraft and submarines. As such, it was targeted by the Japanese, whose invasion coincided with the Pearl Harbor raid. The Americans fought off the initial amphibious assault, which gave the U.S. a sense of optimism in the days after Pearl Harbor. After the surrender of the U.S. garrison on Dec. 23, 1941, the island remained in Japanese control until the war’s end.
Wolfpack – German U-boats attacked in groups, called Rudel (“pack”) by Admiral Karl Donitz. These attack groups, which were coordinated using radio signals, posed a serious threat to shipping convoys in the early stages of the war, hampering efforts to provide Britain with badly needed supplies from the U.S. The U.S. Navy was slow to react to the threat, failing to sink a U-boat until 1942. The wolfpacks were also significant to the Americans and British, who developed an innovative counter-strategy that turned the tide in the North Atlantic. Small, coordinated task forces composed of three vessels acted in concert once a U-boat group was detected.
Afrika Korps – Despite being chronically undermanned and undersupplied, the Afrika Korps fought Great Britain’s forces in North Africa to a standstill for approximately two years. Comprised of three German and six Italian divisions, the Afrika Korps harried better-equipped British forces from Libya nearly to the Suez Canal, threatening vital resources in the region. Its success was due in large part to its superior weaponry and the skill of the Korps’ commander, Erwin Rommel. The Afrika Korps became something of a symbol for the resilience and resourcefulness of the German army, an image that Rommel’s personal reputation did much to enhance.
Crete – Crete was a vital objective for the Germans because it put the oilfields of Rumania within striking distance. With the planned invasion of Russia set for 1941, the German war machine would be in desperate need of oil. Crete also represented a valuable strategic objective, with Cyprus the next step in the drive toward ejecting the British from that part of the Mediterranean. The battle of Crete illustrated the limitations inherent in committing such a large force of paratroopers. The Wehrmacht’s losses at Crete led Hitler to decide not to use paratroopers in such a major offensive action again.

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(“Short Answers: M.N. Tuchachevsky & V.K. Triandafillov The Nazi-Soviet Essay”, n.d.)
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