Why was the Axis Defeated in the WWII and Why did it Take so Long - Essay Example

The Axis The Axis The Second World War was a worldwide war that had a lifespan of 6 years. It began in the year 1939 and ended in the year 1945 even though traces of conflicts existed in the early years. Most of the nations were involved in the war including the nations of great powers. The parties eventually formed alliances which led to two opposing military groups, that is, the Axis and the Allies1. The Axis countries included Italy, Germany, and Japan. The pillar goal of their alliance was out of their diplomatic efforts to securing expansionist interest during mid- 1930s. The Allies main goal was to stop aggression Italian, Japanese, and German. The Allies nations included the Great Britain, France, Poland, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand among others. Because of the strategic and planning errors committed by the Axis alliance during the WW2, they were defeated by the Allies after 6 years of control. Why the Axis were Defeated in the Second World War The Axis was defeated due to Italy invading Greece. The act did not come as a necessity, but an attempt to be at par with the counterparts. The main idea behind Mussolini in 1940 summer was based on the fact that his counterpart, German had conquered France. He wanted to prove Italy’s strength to the whole world and Hitler in specific. The invasion campaign started on 28th October, 1940 and due to poor planning, the Greeks counterattacked immediately. The reaction of the Greeks was so strong, thus forcing back 530,000 Italian soldiers. March 1941, Italy went through a similar kind of failure against the Greece. Playing a good ally, Hitler came as a rescuer to the Italians that resulted to the Greeks being defeated on 23rd April, 1941. The effect was negative in the sense that Germany was not prepared for the war. Germany committing her troops was therefore a backlash on its military capability of invading Russia. Germany was, therefore, forced to delay the Russians attack by an approximate of five weeks, thus allowing the Wehremaccht fight to be pushed to the Russian winter2. Mussolini was the reason to why Germany’s attack on Russia was delayed and later cumulated into Germany’s defeat. The Germans could, therefore, not consolidate their position in the Northern part of Africa3. The second reason for the defeat was based on the mindset of Germany during the Russia invasion. Nazi Germany’s recent success in France and Poland invasion added to the fact that Russia was defeated by Finland in their recent encounter made the Germans belittle the Russians4. Pegging their decisions on the recent history, the Nazi Germany made their fateful move. The 22nd June, 1941 military confrontation between Russian and Germany is considered to be the largest in history. The Axis soldiers involved were approximately three million and entailed a hundred and seventeen army divisions5. Russia, in defense, amassed a hundred and thirty two army divisions. An approximate of 300,000 Russians had already been captured during the first 14 days. The greatest miscalculation that Hitler made was the pause that was linked to the diversion of the focus from the Army Group Centre to areas around Kiev. The delay led to the stalling Moscow attack and made the German troops be ill- equipped. It also made the attack to take place during the worst Russian climatic conditions (winter) that did not favor Germans6. The third reason for the defeat can be linked to the Japan’s confrontational attack on the Pearl Harbor. The late period of 1941 was characterized by Japan feeling the backlash from Netherlands, Britain and U.S due to its expansionist policies. The policies had ensured Japan’s steady and fast encroachment into South- East Asia and South Pacific. The opposing forces grew stronger with U.S, providing military assistance to the Chinese. Japan was, therefore, either to pull out from its territories or grab the new raw material sources in the new areas. Japan chose the latter with the focus being on accessing oil and rubber. Japan knew that they were in a fight with U.S as per the choice they made7. Japan planned a Pearl Harbor attack with the intention of staving United States of America. The attack that took place on 7 December, 1947 did not go as planned with America managing to save most of their fleet. The result was America is dropping double atomic bombs in Japan in the year 19458. The fourth reason for defeat was out of Hitler declaring war on the U.S as retaliation for Japan’s bombing9. The declaration was not necessary since the Tripartite Pact did not demand so. The act was an attempt by Hitler to prevent the pack from falling. Hitler thought that bringing his military in defense of Japan would make the Axis defeat U.S. His entry into the war technically promoted U.S to become the superpower country. The fifth reason could be blamed on Hitler’s production of wonder weapons and not engaging on atomic bomb fixation10. In an attempt to do better than Russia, Hitler paid much focus on the fixing of tanks that were extremely large. The tanks quality was poor as they were slow in speed and not bullet- proof. Hitler, therefore, laid much focus on the weapons that were less powerful in terms of destruction11. The other reason was that Hitler underestimated the sea power thus never invested in it12. He did not support the German navy as he ought to have. He supported and acknowledged the use of wolf- pack and U- boats tactics, but never gave sea battle superiority over land battles. He laid much focus on the land battles at the expense of the sea machinery. Hitler’s failure was ignoring the significance of the threat associated with the British fleet. World War II was based on logistical calculations on which Hitler ignored or misjudged. The insufficient sea power is what made Germany not able to prevent Britain inversion. The Britain troops used Germany weakest point of existence to defeat them. The next reason was due to Germany’s act of repression on the territories that they occupied. The fight between Red Army and the Wehrmacht gave the citizens hope as they viewed the Germans as their liberators. The citizens wanted a life that was different to the one under Stalin. Stalin leadership was regressive, heavy handed and murderous. The Germans never liberated the citizens but simply introduced a new form of the regime. The Nazi Germany, racism and ideology were beyond reproach13. They treated the Slavic as fewer humans, and accepted no cooperation or reproach. The Nazi removed the Slavs from their lands and introduced German pioneers as their replacement. The Germans had killed an approximate of 9.3 million people in the Eastern Europe region by the end of the war. An approximate of 5.4 million of the killed population died in what was called the Holocaust. The operation bases of the Wehrmacht were considered to be super- hostile for human survival. The partisan activities later became a constant point of concern for the German army side. The thorn that later became much of a brand was due to Nazi reprisals acts of brutality14. Lastly, Axis failure was due to its inability to win Turkey and Spain support during the fight. Despite Spain joining to be an Axis member during World War 2, it never supported the group’s ideology by issuing troops. Spain’s reason for not committing her troops was due to fear of America’s sanctions. It relied on the oil imports from U.S and therefore did not want to be seen as going against them. Spain had also just gone through another domestic war (“Spanish Civil War”)15. An attempt by Hitler to gain a military support from Spain only created more fractions within the Axis. Franco demanded fuel, grain, and armed vehicles among others so as to release its troops. The demands made Hitler so frustrated that he threatened to remove Spain from the group. In the case of Turkey, she had declared herself neutral at the beginning of the WW2 since did not want a Soviet Union conflict. Turkey later joined the Axis (June,. 1941) after her neighbor Bulgaria but signed a non- violent pact with Hitler. In 1994, Turkey stood against the Axis which was a loss on the Axis and a gain on the Allies. Why Axis Lasted for So Long One of the reasons to why the Axis lasted for long is the image impression that they give to their enemies. Though deceiving, the image mattered most of the authoritative claims of the Axis. Axis was made Italy, Germany and Japan as the three major partners in the alliance. Germany represented continental Europe; Italy represented the Mediterranean Sea while Japan represented Pacific and East Asia regions. The three countries recognized the hegemony of each of the principal members in their respective regions. The principal countries, therefore, formed a team of leaders that seemed strong16. The second reason was because the Allies were a counter- reacting alliance and not a proactive one. The sole goal of the Allies was to discourage the Axis practices and therefore took time accumulating the bad practices of Axis. The process of Allies action also took time to yield since it was characterized by a lot of consultations as opposed to the case of Axis. The Allies had institutions in place that coordinated military and foreign policy17. The third reason can be analyzed in terms of the Tripartite Pact provisions. The pact formalized an Axis Alliance that had military provisions. It also did not issue procedures that are bureaucratic in relation to the parties conducting its invasion activities. The pact had only two goals that were open to interpretation; (i) that the parties should be involved in the expansion of their territories and formation of empires which was to be achieved through military conquest. The success of the first goal was also to be achieved by the tampering with the international order gained after the First World War. (ii) The parties were also driven by the mandate of neutralizing or destroying Soviet Communism. In general, the mandate of the Axis was destructive in nature which is easier compared to construction. There were no afterthoughts or regrets since it brought lose as opposed to the Allies18. The fourth reason is that Germany had powerful machinery in its air fleets, tank armies and Panzer divisions19. It also had improved intelligence and communication technology. The training of officers in the Germany army was also intense. The Axis alliance also, often than not, attacked the weaker nations during its first formulation. The alliance principals invaded regions that already they had their authority being felt20. Lastly, most of the Axis alliance team had a great investment in war equipment compared to their Gross National Product (GNP). In 1939, German had an approximate of ¼ channeled into war activities while in 1944 the amount had grown to ¾ of GNP. Japan committed 22% of its GNP on war activities in 1939 which later rose to ¾ in 1944. Italy was the only Axis country whose GNP remained constant compared to the prewar levels21. In conclusion, the Axis alliance was defeated during World War 2 due to strategic and planning errors that they committed. The alliance had nobody in place to help in making tactical decisions in the alliance. Countries like Germany also gave the Axis alliance a bad image with its brutal treatment of civilians and irrational decisions. The parties made their own decisions without consultation, but rather on the basis of comparing to the other part members. The Axis also failed because they would not win more of the countries that they needed most but instead lost some. Despite all the mistakes made, the Axis lasted longer due to its membership structure that represented bigger regions. The other reason why it lasted longer is because Allies alliance was a reactive group rather than proactive. The Allies also had a structure that involved intensive consultations thus took time to end the Axis era. The provisions of the Tripartite Pac also played a major role in the long existence of the Axis. Germany as the leading Axis party had advanced machinery that helped the alliance in fights. The Axis parties also had a great investment in war activities. Notes 1. Richard Overy, Why the allies won (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996), 9. 2. Phillips Payson O’Brien, How the War Was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War II (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), 7. 3. Thomas Hughes, “World War II 1939- 1945,” Britannica, last modified December 18, 2014, accessed May 23, 2015, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/648813/World-War-II/53575/The-Southwest-and-South-Pacific-June-October-1943 4. Richard Overy, Why the allies won, 172. 5. Phillips Payson O’Brien, How the War Was Won, 169. 6. Thomas Hughes, “World War II 1939- 1945.” 7. Phillips Payson O’Brien, How the War Was Won, 376. 8. Richard Overy, Why the allies won, 102. 9. O’ Brien, How the War Was Won, 375. 10. Ibid. 196. 11. Thomas Hughes, “World War II 1939- 1945.” 12. Richard Overy, Why the allies won, 25. 13. Holocaust Encyclopedia, “Axis Alliance in World War II,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, last Modified June 20, 2014, accessed May 23, 2015. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005177 14. Thomas Hughes, “World War II 1939- 1945.” 15. John Erickson, Barbarossa: the Axis and the Allies (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1994), 34.  16. Thomas Hughes, “World War II 1939- 1945.” 17. Holocaust Encyclopedia, “Axis Alliance in World War II.” 18. Erickson, Barbarossa: the Axis and the Allies, 62. 19. Richard Overy, Why the allies won, 208. 20. Holocaust Encyclopedia, “Axis Alliance in World War II.” 21. Richard Overy, Why the allies won, 181. Bibliography Erickson, John. Barbarossa: the Axis and the Allies. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1994.  Holocaust Encyclopedia. “Axis Alliance in World War II.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Last Modified June 20, 2014. Accessed May 23, 2015. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005177 Hughes, Thomas. “World War II 1939- 1945.” Britannica. Last modified December 18, 2014. Accessed May 23, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/648813/World- War-II/53575/The-Southwest-and-South-Pacific-June-October-1943 O’Brien, Phillips Payson. How the War Was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Overy, Richard. Why the allies won. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. Read More