The European Theater of World War II - Research Paper Example

?The European Theater of World War II The Second World War is the most terrible war ever fought in the history of the world. The war claimed highest number of lives that any war could claim in the history. The war was fought almost all over the world. Most of the countries in the world were directly or indirectly involved in the war. The war involved all the continents apart from South America and Antarctica. It was fought in every ocean. Although the whole world was the theatre of the war, Europe was its primary place of action1. The war also originated in the same continent. The continent suffered the highest amount of loss in death and destruction. The war started in September 1939 when Hitler’s Germany initiated an attack on Poland while Britain and France called for a war against Germany. Most of the battles fought in the war were fought over the control of different territories in the continent2. It is said that the seed of the Second World War was hidden in the First World War itself. Germany’s humiliation in the Versailles Treaty had injured the German national pride. Hitler used this sentiment cleverly; and rose in the power. Germany went through a lot of economic difficulties3. Germany experienced a severe economic depression during the early 1920s. Hitler blamed it on the terms imposed on Germany at end of the First World War. Hitler stirred up the injured German pride and rose to power in Germany. His Nazi party won the parliamentary election in July 1912 and in January 1933 he became the chancellor of Germany4. German Invasion of Poland: On 1st September 1939 Hitler’s army marched into Poland. On September 3, Britain and France initiated war against Germany to safeguard Poland. This is known as the official beginning of the war. However Hitler’s aggression started the year before, when he annexed Austria with Germany with support from Mussolini’s Italy. Then Hitler threatened Czechoslovakia and wanted Sudetenland. In the Munich Pact the Czechs gave away Sudetenland on French and British request. However, few months after Hitler took reminder of Czechoslovakia violating the Munich pact. During this period Poland continued to get threats from Germany. Britain vowed to help Poland if Germany threatens its independence. Poland already had a mutual treaty with France5 (Feldman, 2000, pp. 38-43). So, when Germany attacked Poland, Britain and France went on to wage a war against Germany. Poland had a strong military force but they were no match to the German panzer division and the motorized division; in addition the Germans had a large fleet of modern aircrafts where, the Poles had a medium size fleet of obsolete aircrafts. Germany used tanks and air power simultaneously. Its bombers continued to bomb Warsaw for days. This is famously known as the blitzkrieg. Within a few days Germany took almost whole of the country. The remaining small part of the Poland was controlled by the Soviet Union; as the soviet force invaded that part of Poland in the name of defending Poland and itself6. However after the takeover of Poland nothing much happened. Although Britain and France declared war on Germany they took a defensive stand. This was called by the U. S. newspapers the Phony War7. The Soviet Finnish War: In the year 1939 Finland was the victim of an invasion led by Soviet Union. But they did not get much success; the Finnish army, though heavily outnumbered, fiercely resisted the red army. This rose world opinion against the Soviet Union. This also gave England and France an opportunity to enter Finland and help it. Britain and France had also other aims; they wanted an opening to enter Germany. The asked for help from Norway and Sweden too. But both the countries refused permission to build a camp on their soil8. Attack on Denmark and Norway: The month of April, 1940 witnessed the attack on Norway and Denmark by Hitler. Denmark surrendered at once. But, Norway decided to fight9. With the help from the British and the French, Norway put up a resistance for sometime. At last they surrendered as Britain and France were forced to recall their troops to defend their own territory10. The Defeat of France: In the end of 1940 Hitler sent troops to attack France and the Low Countries. He sent his forces via the regions of Belgium and Luxembourg. With more sophisticated aircrafts Germans were at advantage. There was another disadvantage to the British and French forces- Belgium and Netherlands remained neutral and gave no assistance to any side. The German air force landed in Holland and Belgium on May 10. They took over the airfields and bridges. The Dutch army surrendered as the German aircrafts bombed and destroyed parts of Rotterdam. In the next few days the German force took Somme River and continued to push forward11. After few days the Belgium king Leopold III surrendered. From the beginning of June Hitler began a new attack on France. After some days Italy waged war against Britain and France. On June 17 1940 France asked for an armistice. And it was signed on June 25. By this Germany got control over the northern France and the Atlantic coast12. The Battle of Britain: The Germans’ first aim was to weaken Britain by starving them. They put a siege in the Atlantics with its submarines. They tired to cut the British lifeline. The Germans had submarine base in Norway and France. In order to invade Britain the Germans must traverse the English Channel. But they did not want to do that until the Royal Air force could be destroyed. In August 1940 the Germans began strike on English airfields and ports; and then against cities13. The aim was to force the British fighters out and destroy them. However Britain continued to resist this attack successfully and destroyed many of the German fighter planes. Britain was bruised but the injury was minor one. Hitler decided to put off the plan to invade Britain14. Sir Winston Churchill’s war effort: Churchill was the prime minister of England most of the time during the war. He personally participated in the planning of the war in the Cabinet War Room. He often made speeches on radio in order to gain public support. His speeches on radio or before Parliament had upped public morale. He made visits to many sites destroyed in London bombing and talked to the affected people. His international trips gained England allies like Roosevelt and Stalin15. Attacks in North Africa: Meanwhile, in September 1940, Germany’s partner Italy attacked the British occupied Egypt from Libya but failed. Then they attacked Greece in October and failed again. This made Britain to take control of Greek airfields and the airfield of Crete. But Germany did not like this. They started preparing for an attack against Greece. Early in 1941 the Italians withdrew to Libya. In February Germany sent General Rommel to help its allies. Hitler needed the help of Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia to reach Greece. He made the first three to join the Axis alliance, but Yugoslavia refused. Hitler decided to attack Yugoslavia16. Yugoslavia and Greece: Germany attacked Yugoslavia both from air and on land. The city of Belgrade fell in mid-April following the surrender of the Yugoslav army17. Hitler attacked Greece next. In few days the Germans took control of half of the Greece. The British forces on Greek soil were forced to draw back towards south. Germany also took control of Crete. In the northern Africa general Rommel expelled the British force from Libya18. Friction between US and Japan: In the meantime, U.S., though still keeping away from the war showed its dislike of the Axis power and pledged to support the allies in future. The U. S. also got into friction with Japan. But there was no military conflict between the two, yet. There were only trade and navigation barriers19. The German Invasion of Soviet Russia: The biggest encounter in the World War Two was the encounter between Germany and the Soviet Union. In June 1941 a huge force of German troops attacked Russia. The number of troops on both the sides was almost equal. But the Russians had more tanks and aircrafts than the Germans. Though their aircrafts were obsolete, their tanks specially the T-34 tanks were superior. Initially the Germans secured great success on a march towards Moscow. Then Hitler made a mistake he ordered to relax the march towards Moscow and divert some of the troops to the north and the south. In September the German force put a siege at Leningrad. The Germans also took Ukraine the food source of Russia20. However the relax of offensive against Moscow cost Hitler dearly. By the time he began the march towards Moscow winter set in. In the bitter cold of Russian winter the Germans almost reached Moscow but their vehicles and machines started to break down in the freezing cold. They were immobilized just outside the city of Moscow. Then Stalin ordered a massive counterattack. The Russian forces were better prepared for the cold. As a result the Germans were forced to retreat, leaving a large number of war resources like tanks, vehicles, machines etc. behind. This failed attempt of attack on Moscow had cost Hitler dearly. This also had upped the Soviet morale21. Pearl Harbor: Japan saw U. S. as a threat to its dream of expansion in China, south-east Asia and the Pacific ocean. Their greatest threat was the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor. On Sunday, December 7 1941, aircrafts from Japanese aircrafts carriers attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack left many U. S. Marine ships and aircrafts destroyed. This attack made U. S. join the war actively22. The Russian Front: The Soviet succeeded in the winter but they suffered set back in spring at Leningrad and Crimea. They lost many men. The fighting also took a toll on German forces. They faced a shortfall of arms to fight land battles. To take control over the Russian oil fields Hitler made an advance towards the Caucasus region. They made quick progress without much resistance. These made Hitler more adventurous and send more troops towards Stalingrad in order to take control over the Volga River. The attack in the Caucasian front eased down. The Russians fought fiercely and stood their positions at Stalingrad. In this siege both the Germans and the Russians suffered heavy loss. The Germans were being helped by Romanian, Italian and Hungarian armies. In the November of 1942 the Russians launched a fierce counter offensive against the Romanian forces deployed near Stalingrad. Finally the Russians encircled the Romanians and some divisions of German troops and cut their supply route. Few days later the Axis troops at Stalingrad surrendered. The siege at Stalingrad had cost the Axis almost two hundred thousand troops. The loss was so heavy that the Germans had to abandon their Caucasian plan. They retreated to the point where they have started. Finally in the July of 2043 Hitler started the battle of Kursk to take control of the area. But the Russian generals Zhukov and Vasilyesky had reinforced the area around it heavily. In a fierce tank battle the Russians stopped the German advance. Hitler called off the offensive as he needed force in Italy. The American and British force landed on Sicily. With this the German offensive in the eastern front ended23. Role of Stalin: The Russian war effort is mostly driven by Josef Stalin. He won many wars for Soviet Union. He was also a great strategist. When Hitler attacked Russia he moved many pants and industrial units to the East. He also believed in “scorched earth” policy. He ordered to destroy properties and crops so that Germans could not use them. He ordered his soldiers to ignore the cold and keep fighting against the enemy. This also brought him an important victory in Stalingrad. The post war map of Eastern Europe is mostly his contribution24. Victory in North Africa: After a successful raid in North Africa the Axis troops, mainly the division under General Rommel faced set back against British and American troops. The British were controlled by General Montgomery. Later both the troops were led by American general Dwight Eisenhower25. After several battles in different pockets of North Africa the Germans and the Italians surrendered in May 194326. Air Raids on Germany: The British and the Americans planned that they will cross the English channel and attack Germans. However they postponed it. Instead, they launched an air raid attack on Germany in July 1943. The British air force attacked by night and the Americans by day. The round the clock attack destroyed many German cities like Homburg etc. The main aim of the attack was to destroy Several German Factories which supplied different war materials to German forces27. Invasion of Italy: In July 1943 American, Canadian and British troops landed on Sicily and made advances towards North. Meanwhile, Mussolini was thrown out of power. And the new Italian Government agreed to negotiate with the Allies. However the Allied force could not reach Rome as they were held back by the Germans along the Gustav line28. The Tehran Conference: At the end of the November British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Roosevelt and Stalin met at their first meeting at Tehran famously known as Tehran conference29. A plan for a cross-channel attack was made. The plan was code-named as Operation Overlord. This meeting was historically a very important meeting, as all three great powers joined hands to plan and attack the Axis forces together30. Documents on Tehran Conference revealed that Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt also discussed on the issues like Poland and future of Germany. To quote from the minutes of the meeting on 1st December 1943 “THE PRESIDENT stated he thought that there were two main questions to be discussed-the question of Poland and the treatment of Germany”. In another place president Roosevelt expressed his desired to divide Germany in five parts after the war: “THE PRESIDENT said he had a plan that he had thought up some months ago for the division of Germany in five parts. These five parts were: All Prussia to be rendered as small and weak as possible. 1. Hanover and Northwest section. 2. Saxony and Leipzig area. 3. Hesse-Darmstadt. 4. Hesse-Kassel and the area South of the Rhine. 5. Bavaria, Baden, and Wurtemburg”31. Normandy Invasion: As a part of the Operation Overlord the Allied forces reached the Normandy coast, west of France on June 6, 1944 after crossing the English Channel. The day is more popularly known as the D-day. The Allied troops faced fierce German resistance however the British and the German air power made the invasion successful. By the end of June nearly 1 million troops and hundreds of thousands of vehicles crossed the channel. The operation was led by General Eisenhower32. Liberation of France: After the Operation Overlord was successful it was only a matter of time before France was liberated. Attacks on German force in France were made from all the sides. British and American Generals like, Eisenhower, Montgomery and Bradley were involved in those attacks. General Charles de Gaulle and his Free French and Resistance forces with the help of Americans liberated Paris on August 2533. Victory in Italy: This time onwards defeat of the Axis powers was only a matter of time. The allied forces consisting of Americans, French and Poles continued to fight in Italy in the summer of 1944. They forced the German forces to leave the Gustav line. Rome was liberated. They still advanced towards north. But soon they were stopped at the Po River valley for the winter in the Alps34. The Battle of Bulge: The German offensive in the Ardennes region began in December 1944. The attack is known as the battle of Bulge. It was the last major attack made by Hitler. The Americans were totally unprepared for the attack. They were pushed back a little. The weather was bad for flying. However they had put a strong resistance and were able to save all the important roads. When the weather cleared up and became good for flying the Allied forces pushed the Germans back35. Fall of Berlin: At the beginning of 1945 the Allied forces planned to cross the Rhine River in order to invade Germany. Before that they had to cross the Ruhr River Valley. But the Germans opened dams and flooded the Ruhr Valley. The U. S. forces waited till February for water to dry up. Then they advanced up to Rhine. The U.S. army secured bridges across the river and General Montgomery sent British and U. S. troops across the river. In April the Soviet armies surrounded Berlin. Hitler waited in Berlin for a last try. But most of his associates left. On April 30 Hitler committed suicide. The Germans surrendered. They signed an unconditional surrender of all armed forces. All the German troops across the Europe had either already surrendered or surrendered after this. The British and the U. S. government named 8th May as Victory Europe day (V - E Day). The war in Europe was thus concluded36. End of World War II: The war in the eastern part of the world still continued. But after the U. S. dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima on August 6 and over Nagasaki on August 9 Japan surrendered. This brought the Second World War to an end37 . Conclusion: The above discussion on World War II is predominantly concentrated on the European chapter of the war. It was Europe, where the war started. And it is just seen in the above discussion that the whole continent of Europe was directly affected by the war. German attack on Poland started the war. German aggression towards Russia involved Russia to the war. Attack on Poland and France made England and France’s active involvement in evitable. Hitler found allies in Italy, Hungary, etc. In the initial days of the war Hitler made great advancements won great victories. Gradually his power diminished. His defeat in the Russian front made him a great deal weaker. When USA joined the war, past the attack on Pearl Harbor, the victory of Allies became certain. In battles after battle the Axis powers kept losing; and surrendered themselves. The suicide of Hitler and the fall of Berlin ended the war in Europe. The defeat of Japan by USA ended the Second World War. References Havers, Robin. The Second World War (2): Europe 1939 – 1943. Oxford : Osprey Publishing, 2002 Feldman, George. World War II: Almanac Volume 1. USA : U.X.L, 2000 Feldman, George. World War II: Almanac Volume 2. USA : U.X.L, 2000 Bigelow, Barbara C. World War II: Biographies. USA : U.X.L, 2000 Senker, Cath. How Did It Happen? The Second World War. London: Franklin Watts, 2005. Taylor, Mike. Battles of World War II. Edina: Abdo Publishing Co, 1998. Goldstein, Margaret J. World War II Europe. Minneapolis: Learner Publishing Co., 2004. Bradley, John N. The Second World War: Europe and the Mediterranean. New York: Square One Publishers, 2002. Documents on the Grand Alliance, 1942-1943. Tehran Conference: Tripartite Dinner Meeting. Teaching American History.org. Accessed May 6, 2013. http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=906 Message from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to Gen. George C. Marshall about the nvasion of Normandy on D-day, June 6, 1944. National Archives. Accessed May 6, 2013. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/d-day-memo/images/d-day-memo.jpg Read More