The Second World War - Essay Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: То what Ехtеnt is it Usеful to Intеrрrеt the Sесоnd World War as Two World Wars? The Second World War was a longstanding military conflict that took place between 1937 and 1945. Although the time line of the war is documented as between 1939 and 1945, the start of the war can be traced as early as 1937 when the Empire of Japan aimed to rule East Asia and started war with the Republic of China. Being the most lethal military conflict in history in terms of the number of casualties and the level of sophistication of weapons that were used, this conflict involved many nations in the world which were allied into two competing fronts: the allied forces on one hand and the axis forces on the other. Given that conflict started in 1937, the Second World War can be perceived as a single world war that lasted between 1937 and 1945; but there are enough reasons to suggest that indeed, the Second World War was a combination of two separate world wars. The invasion of Japan by Chinese forces in Asia back in 1937 together with the conflict that emerged from the declaration of war against Germany by Britain and France in Europe formed two separate conflicts. It is these two separate conflicts that amalgamated into the Second World War. This means that each of these conflicts was separate in terms of the time of occurrence, the key players involved, the geographical location and key events in the course of their progress. This paper examines the extent to which it is useful to interpret the Second World War as two separate world wars. To begin with, it important to examine the historical basis of the second world war, in light of the Sino-Japanese conflict of 1937 and the consequent declaration of war against Germany by the nations of Britain and France later in 1937. According to Murray and Millet, the second Sino-Japanese War was signalled by the mobilisation of over 30, 000 Chinese soldiers in Shanghai on 13 August 1937 (38). This was in opposition to the action by the Japanese navy to send a landing force in Shanghai in order to protect the Japanese nationals living in the province (Black World War Two 54). Although this is taken to be the formal beginning of a full blown war, the second invasion of China by Japanese forces was the culmination of a long build-up, during which many separate events involving many actors occurred. On the other hand, the act of Britain and France declaring war on Germany on 1 September 1939 was necessitated by the invasion and occupation of Poland by Germany on the same day (Black World War Two 124). This conflict in Europe ended in early May 1945, after Hitler committed suicide in April of the same year. It is important to note that both conflicts ran separately at first before amalgamating into a single major global conflict later on. The continuous large-scale conflict that occurred in China starting from 1937 was widespread, complicated and involved many players over a long course of time (Richardson 67). According to Ming, the second Sino-Japanese War was preceded by a long sequence of events which acted as a build-up to the main conflict that started in 1937 (96). In general, these events involved: the first Sino-Japanese War that planted the seeds of discord between the two countries back in 1894; a series of systemic reforms in China that sought to gain resemblance to the Japanese one; and finally, intensified attempts by China to reform its systems following the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese war (Murray and Millet 89). Also, following the end of the Russo-Japanese war, a new conflict emerged between China and Japan over the administration of the Manchuria region. According to Parker (23), it is this strife between China and Japan over Manchuria, together with the corresponding strife between Japan and the United States of America that had a decisive influence over Japan’s involvement in the second Sino-Japanese War as well as in the Second World War later on. Also, Gruhl, writing a history of the Second World War from the Japanese perspective, observes that the war was composed of two separate major conflicts: the first stage from China to Indochina between 1937 and 1941 and the second expanded stage between 1941 and 1945 (35). The initial attacks by Japan in China formed the first part of the war. From the initial attack of Beijing and Tientsin, war broadened in the years that followed. This was a result of both the increasing level of Chinese resistance and the Japanese strategy of advancing on the Chinese territory (39). In the course of the years, this conflict saw an increase in the number of Japanese soldiers directly involved from the initial 408,000 to about 1.5 million soldiers in 1941 (40). On the other hand, the German offensive over Poland that triggered the Second World War in Europe was driven by the political pressure for a speedy victory before the British and French forces launched a counterattack on the western front. This means that the conflict that emerged in Europe followed its own course of events before a final amalgamation with the second Sino-Japanese War that had started earlier. According to Gordon, the period between 1937 and 1945 was characterised by three different wars which, although being related to an extent, occurred parallel to each other (138). All the three wars: the Chinese Civil War, the second Sino-Japanese War and the global conflict that formed the Second World War, were multi-layered conflicts that involved different global powers in the course of their progress. During the initial years of the conflict, leading nations such as the USSR and Germany focused on the second war between China and Japan (Gordon 139). This was also of interest to Russia, since it occurred close to its borders. Things changed when Japan attacked the interests of Britain and the United States across the Pacific in the course of the second war. This means that during the period between 1937 and 1945, countries such as the United States, Russia, Germany and Britain were able to focus on different wars in order to protect their vested interests. For instance, China’s involvement in the global war after Britain and France declared war on Germany was motivated by the need to ensure that the outcome of the global war highly influenced the course of both the war with Japan as well as the civil war within its borders (Paine 237). In examining the history of the period between the First World War and the second one, Black states that the period between the official ending of the First World War and the official commencement of the second one is often underrated on accounts of military history of different countries in the world (Global Military History 67). The interwar period is seen as a time that marked the continuation of the First World War; which morphed into preparation for the Second World War (Black Global Military History 123). This means that just like the Chinese Civil War which proved similar to the Second World War in terms of the number of combatants and the area of land fought over, the Sino-Japanese invasion of 1937 was a separate conflict large enough to be regarded separately from the other activities of the Second World War. This continuous large-scale conflict not only played a key role as a precursor of expanded conflict that was to follow, but also involved different players who sought to safeguard their interests in the course of the conflict (124). According to Paine, the second Sino-Japanese War was not a mere confrontation between Japan and China. It is observed that the conflict represented the interests of many nations with a corresponding complexity in the nature and course of international relations between the leading nations of the time (79). For instance, the conflict was surrounded by the complex and competing interests of Japan, Germany, the USSR and China (Richardson 68). Germany, being keen to establish and maintain a cordial relationship with China, had been building a military relationship with China long before the onset of the conflict. By developing military ties with China, the German government sought to provide China with military strength and unity, in readiness for an anticipated conflict with Japan (Ming 99). In return to military support, the German government sought to access tungsten and other valuable minerals which were used in the munitions industry. This symbiotic relationship between China and Germany, which started in the early 1930s, was not only crucial in the second Sino-Japanese War but also played a key role in the large-scale conflict that followed in Europe. With a steady supply of key raw materials from China, Germany was able to increase its military strength and thus expand its power in Europe in the subsequent years during the major phase of the conflict in Europe. Apart from the military modernisation programmes, the interests of Germany in the second Sino-Japanese war were evident in increasing arms transactions between Germany and China (Gordon 47). During the early 1930s, there was an increasing level of trade ties between the two countries, in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles which forbade Germany from making weapons exports to china (Black World War Two 124). This followed a close military relationship between the two countries resulting from the fact that the leading military generals in the NRA had received their military training in Germany. Also, according to Hiromichi, the second Sino-Japanese War involved a complex interaction of the interests of the USSR, Germany, Japan and China. Since the USSR had viewed Japan as a potential enemy ever since the Russo-Japanese war, the USSR had already sought to develop a united front in China which would act as a buffer to neutralise the chances of a Japanese attack on the USSR (24). Also, at the outbreak of the full-blown war in 1937, the USSR was quick to seek a non-aggression pact with Chinese nationalists. This was a strategy by the USSR to prolong the conflict and therefore achieve its objectives of seizing administration of the Chinese eastern railway in Manchuria (Hiromichi 33). Paine states that USSR’s motive of benefiting from a military confrontation between China and Japan was known to the ambassadors from other countries such as Germany and the United States (288). Also, with the increasing tension between Japan and China over the administration of the Manchuria region, the USSR sought to establish relations with China. Since the USSR was faced with the internal danger of rising fascism as well as the threat resulting from Japanese occupation of Manchuria, it sought to build a united front in China against Japan prior to the second Sino-Japanese War (Paine 301). In essence, the second Sino-Japanese War involved the competing interests of different countries; just as it was the case for the expanded conflict on Europe which formed the core of the Second World War. With the two-faced diplomatic activities by Germany and the ulterior motives of the USSR which sought to prolong a possible confrontation between China and Japan, the second Sino-Japanese War was an amalgamation of longstanding international relations between the leading nations of the time. In conclusion, it can be seen that although the Second World War is regarded as a long period of a single conflict that lasted from 1941 to 1945, the essence of the second Sino-Japanese War is often underrated. This essay has examined a number of reasons which show that the Second World War was, indeed, an amalgamation of two separate large scale conflicts: the second Sino-Japanese War and the major conflict in Europe that was triggered by the declaration of war by Britain and France on Germany. Just like the major conflict that occurred in Europe following the German invasion of Poland, the second Sino-Japanese War also entailed a long series of events and minor conflicts which acted as a build-up to the major confrontation. Also, in terms of involving a large number of players, the second Sino-Japanese war involved a complex interaction of competing interests of China, Japan, Germany, the USSR and, to an extent, the United States of America. Therefore, to the extent that the second Sino-Japanese War entailed a longstanding conflict whose course of development was influenced by competing interests of different nations, the Second World War can be interpreted as two separate world wars: the second Sino-Japanese War in Asia and the major conflict in Europe. Works Cited Black, Jeremy. Introduction to Global Military History: 1775 to the Present Day. Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis, 2005. Black, Jeremy. World War Two: a Military History. Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis, 2003. Gordon, David. “The China-Japan War, 1931-1945.” The Journal of Military History, January 2006. 9 October 2013. Gruhl, Werner. Imperial Japan’s World War Two: 1931-1945. Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2007. Hiromichi, Moteki. “The Second Sino-Japanese War was Caused by China – A Criticism of the ‘Japan -As-Aggressor’ Views” 8 October 2013. Ming, Ng, Ying. “Generalissimo Chiang, Kai-Shek and the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945.)”. Pointer, Journal of the Singapore Armed Forces, vol. 38, no. 1. 9 October 2013 Murray, Williamson and Millet, Allan, R. A War to be won: Fighting the Second World War. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2009. Paine, S. C. M. The Wars of Asia: 1911-1949. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Parker, R. A. C. The Second World War: A Short History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Richardson, Jacques. “Japan’s Sino-Pacific War: A Conflict Unplanned, Lacking Both Means and Foresight? Foresight, vol. 10, no. 1, 2008. 9 October 2013. Read More