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Line 2: − − − The major tactical innovation of the war was the use of combined arms warfare, typified by the German doctrine of [[blitzkrieg]]. In this style of warfare armor, infantry, artillery and air power (see [[Luftwaffe]]) all coordinate to achieve overwhelming superiority at point on the enemy lines. Armor and fast-moving infantry units then exploit the gap and penetrate deep behind enemy lines. The objective is to cause a widespread collapse of the enemy's ability to fight. It was particularly effective during the early stages of the war, before the Allies developed effective countermeasures. − Line 40:
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Line 43: − − ==Finnish War== − − ==Soviet-German War== − − 1941 marked the major turning point in the war in Europe, when the Germans put aside plans for an invasion of Britain and undertook [[Operation Barbarossa]] - the invasion of the Soviet Union. In a war of major turning points, this was the most significant in Europe. This miscalculation diminished the German army's capacity. − − Stalin was informed by its master spy in Japan, [[Richard Sorge]], of the Japanese Imperial Conference in Tokyo which decided on July 2 not to move against the Soviet Union from [[Manchuria]] through Siberia, but instead to prosecute a plan of advance to the south at the risk of war with the United States and United Kingdom. The possibility of a Japanese attack and a two front war with both Germany and Japan was a specter that haunted Soviet officials. <ref>President Roosevelt followed the debate through the medium of "Magic" -- a name applied to intercepted and decoded Japanese messages. He described the Imperial Conference as "a real drag-down and knockout fight... to decide which way they were going to jump --attack Russia, attack the South Seas (or) sit on the fence and be more friendly with us." President Roosevelt to Secretary Ickes, July l, l941 cited in William L. Langer and S. Everett Gleason, ''The Undeclared War, 1940-41'', (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1953), p. 646.</ref><ref>Testimony of Major General Charles A. Willoughby, August 9, 1951, [[Institute of Pacific Relations]], Hearings, Part 2, pp. 363-364; p. 505.</ref> Russia had over 200,000 men facing Japan in the Far East. These troops were desperately needed in the war against Germany. [[Victor Kravchenko]] a high Soviet official and defector wrote, "Beginning with the nineteenth (October, 1941), the situation improved. The first seasoned Siberian and Far Eastern forces began to arrive... Far Eastern troops, hardened in border struggle with the Japanese, and Siberian forces inured to winter warfare were rushing westward across a continent to hold the invaders." <ref>Victor Kravchenko, ''I Chose Freedom'', New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1950, p. 377-378.</ref> − − The German war against the Soviet Union (known as the [[Great Patriotic War]] in the Soviet Union) demanded a huge dedication of resources and lengthy supply lines in need of defense later in the war permitted an invasion of mainland Europe by Allied Forces on [[D-Day]]. − − ==War in Europe 1939-1941== Line 72:
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integrate material chronologically; may need to add and/or rorder some subheads
During the war, eight major world powers fought, along with several lesser states joining with one side or the other. On the side which lost were the Axis Powers Germany, [[Japan]], and [[Italy]]. Against them came to be the Allied Powers [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]] and the Commonwealth, the [[Soviet Union]] with its [[Comintern]] allies, and the [[Republic of China]].
During the war, eight major world powers fought, along with several lesser states joining with one side or the other. On the side which lost were the Axis Powers Germany, [[Japan]], and [[Italy]]. Against them came to be the Allied Powers [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]] and the Commonwealth, the [[Soviet Union]] with its [[Comintern]] allies, and the [[Republic of China]].
==Failure of the League treaty==
==Failure of the League treaty==
In the immediate run up to WWII, there were frequent reports of trespassing Polish troops. On August 31, 1939 German covert operatives staged a fake attack by Polish troops on a German radio station. WWII started on September 1, 1939, when German troops invaded Poland. Hitler justified this as a defensive act, pointing to the frequent border incidents, and said famously that from this moment on Germany would strike back.
In the immediate run up to WWII, there were frequent reports of trespassing Polish troops. On August 31, 1939 German covert operatives staged a fake attack by Polish troops on a German radio station. WWII started on September 1, 1939, when German troops invaded Poland. Hitler justified this as a defensive act, pointing to the frequent border incidents, and said famously that from this moment on Germany would strike back.
The major tactical innovation of the war was the use of combined arms warfare, typified by the German doctrine of [[blitzkrieg]]. In this style of warfare armor, infantry, artillery and air power (see [[Luftwaffe]]) all coordinate to achieve overwhelming superiority at point on the enemy lines. Armor and fast-moving infantry units then exploit the gap and penetrate deep behind enemy lines. The objective is to cause a widespread collapse of the enemy's ability to fight. It was particularly effective during the early stages of the war, before the Allies developed effective countermeasures.
[[Image:Communazipact1.JPG|thumb|300px|left|Partition of Poland.<br>Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY; Time magazine [http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/fdr-diplo-images.html].]]
[[Image:Communazipact1.JPG|thumb|300px|left|Partition of Poland.<br>Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY; Time magazine [http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/fdr-diplo-images.html].]]
In 1939-1940, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Bessarabia were incorporated into the Soviet Union proper. The Soviets lowered the local standard of living and disrupted and destroyed the prevailing socioeconomic structure. Local currencies were still legal tender but so was the Russian ruble. The occupying Russian soldiers were paid in rubles and the established exchange rate inflated the ruble by as much as 2000 to 3000 per cent. Overvaluing made the average Russian soldier extremely rich. This huge influx of rubles started a wave of inflation that natives did not notice at first. Eventually shortages were caused by Soviet purchasing agents that fanned out through the newly occupied nations, buying up wholesale goods in warehouses and the production of local factories.
In 1939-1940, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Bessarabia were incorporated into the Soviet Union proper. The Soviets lowered the local standard of living and disrupted and destroyed the prevailing socioeconomic structure. Local currencies were still legal tender but so was the Russian ruble. The occupying Russian soldiers were paid in rubles and the established exchange rate inflated the ruble by as much as 2000 to 3000 per cent. Overvaluing made the average Russian soldier extremely rich. This huge influx of rubles started a wave of inflation that natives did not notice at first. Eventually shortages were caused by Soviet purchasing agents that fanned out through the newly occupied nations, buying up wholesale goods in warehouses and the production of local factories.
Goods produced locally were shipped to Russia instead of resupplying the local market. Russian propaganda stated the goal was to raise the ordinary working person's standard of living. Prices were frozen, and wages raised by as much as ten times. Merchants and factory owners declared bankruptcy and went out of business. Shortages of food and other necessities introduced growing inflation, a black market, and discontent among the population. These deliberate Soviet policies raised the cost of living but not the actual standard of living. Once annexation was complete, local stores and industries were nationalized, their former owners arrested, stripped of their possessions, including their accumulated rubles, and shipped to the [[gulag]]s of Siberia. Workers still employed were then paid in rubles. <ref>Vladimir Petrov, Money and Conquest: Allied Occupation Currencies in World War II, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1967, pgs. 173 -175.</ref>
Goods produced locally were shipped to Russia instead of resupplying the local market. Russian propaganda stated the goal was to raise the ordinary working person's standard of living. Prices were frozen, and wages raised by as much as ten times. Merchants and factory owners declared bankruptcy and went out of business. Shortages of food and other necessities introduced growing inflation, a black market, and discontent among the population. These deliberate Soviet policies raised the cost of living but not the actual standard of living. Once annexation was complete, local stores and industries were nationalized, their former owners arrested, stripped of their possessions, including their accumulated rubles, and shipped to the [[gulag]]s of Siberia. Workers still employed were then paid in rubles. <ref>Vladimir Petrov, Money and Conquest: Allied Occupation Currencies in World War II, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1967, pgs. 173 -175.</ref>
[[Image:SOVietOffense med.gif|thumb|300px|right|Soviet map of offense operations in the West. The map is dated May 15, 1941.<ref>Stalin's chance. Soviet Union and struggle for the Europe: 1939-1941. 2000. (In Russian) [http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov/index.html] Index to Maps and Illustrations [http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov/ill.html]</ref>]]
[[Image:SOVietOffense med.gif|thumb|300px|right|Soviet map of offense operations in the West. The map is dated May 15, 1941.<ref>Stalin's chance. Soviet Union and struggle for the Europe: 1939-1941. 2000. (In Russian) [http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov/index.html] Index to Maps and Illustrations [http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov/ill.html]</ref>]]
The French and British were initially reluctant to honor promises to the Polish government, avoiding serious consideration of an invasion of Germany. The British failed to send land forces in time to support the Poles (see [[Western betrayal]]). The French mobilized slowly and then launched a token offensive in the Saar. The Meanwhile, on September 8, the Germans reached Warsaw, having slashed through the Polish defenses. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East.
The French and British were initially reluctant to honor promises to the Polish government, avoiding serious consideration of an invasion of Germany. The British failed to send land forces in time to support the Poles (see [[Western betrayal]]). The French mobilized slowly and then launched a token offensive in the Saar. The Meanwhile, on September 8, the Germans reached Warsaw, having slashed through the Polish defenses. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East.
==Finnish War==
==Soviet-German War==
1941 marked the major turning point in the war in Europe, when the Germans put aside plans for an invasion of Britain and undertook [[Operation Barbarossa]] - the invasion of the Soviet Union. In a war of major turning points, this was the most significant in Europe. This miscalculation diminished the German army's capacity.
Stalin was informed by its master spy in Japan, [[Richard Sorge]], of the Japanese Imperial Conference in Tokyo which decided on July 2 not to move against the Soviet Union from [[Manchuria]] through Siberia, but instead to prosecute a plan of advance to the south at the risk of war with the United States and United Kingdom. The possibility of a Japanese attack and a two front war with both Germany and Japan was a specter that haunted Soviet officials. <ref>President Roosevelt followed the debate through the medium of "Magic" -- a name applied to intercepted and decoded Japanese messages. He described the Imperial Conference as "a real drag-down and knockout fight... to decide which way they were going to jump --attack Russia, attack the South Seas (or) sit on the fence and be more friendly with us." President Roosevelt to Secretary Ickes, July l, l941 cited in William L. Langer and S. Everett Gleason, ''The Undeclared War, 1940-41'', (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1953), p. 646.</ref><ref>Testimony of Major General Charles A. Willoughby, August 9, 1951, [[Institute of Pacific Relations]], Hearings, Part 2, pp. 363-364; p. 505.</ref> Russia had over 200,000 men facing Japan in the Far East. These troops were desperately needed in the war against Germany. [[Victor Kravchenko]] a high Soviet official and defector wrote, "Beginning with the nineteenth (October, 1941), the situation improved. The first seasoned Siberian and Far Eastern forces began to arrive... Far Eastern troops, hardened in border struggle with the Japanese, and Siberian forces inured to winter warfare were rushing westward across a continent to hold the invaders." <ref>Victor Kravchenko, ''I Chose Freedom'', New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1950, p. 377-378.</ref>
The German war against the Soviet Union (known as the [[Great Patriotic War]] in the Soviet Union) demanded a huge dedication of resources and lengthy supply lines in need of defense later in the war permitted an invasion of mainland Europe by Allied Forces on [[D-Day]].
==War in Europe 1944==
==War in Europe 1944==
"The time of liberation is at hand. Poles, to arms! There is not a moment to lose!" This was broadcast on the Polish language radio station from Moscow on July 29, 1944, at 8:15 in the evening. A force of 40,000 responded. <ref>''Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time'', Carroll Quigley, Collier-Macmillan, 1966, pg. 795. ISBN 0-945001-10-X</ref> But the Red Army, for sixty-three days, denying they knew anything about it, refused to drop weapons and food to assist the Polish fighters for whose liberty the British government had gone to war in September 1939. The Polish resistance fighters were massacred methodically by the Germans. At the very time at which Prime Minister Mikolajczyk from the legitimate [[Republic of Poland|Polish Government in exile]] in London flew to Moscow, the Kremlin "recognized" the [[Comintern]] puppet regime, the [[Lublin Committee]], as the new Polish "people's government." <ref>Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, ''The Rape of Poland; Pattern of Soviet Aggression'', (NY: Whittlesey House, 1948), p. 70.</ref>
"The time of liberation is at hand. Poles, to arms! There is not a moment to lose!" This was broadcast on the Polish language radio station from Moscow on July 29, 1944, at 8:15 in the evening. A force of 40,000 responded. <ref>''Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time'', Carroll Quigley, Collier-Macmillan, 1966, pg. 795. ISBN 0-945001-10-X</ref> But the Red Army, for sixty-three days, denying they knew anything about it, refused to drop weapons and food to assist the Polish fighters for whose liberty the British government had gone to war in September 1939. The Polish resistance fighters were massacred methodically by the Germans. At the very time at which Prime Minister Mikolajczyk from the legitimate [[Republic of Poland|Polish Government in exile]] in London flew to Moscow, the Kremlin "recognized" the [[Comintern]] puppet regime, the [[Lublin Committee]], as the new Polish "people's government." <ref>Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, ''The Rape of Poland; Pattern of Soviet Aggression'', (NY: Whittlesey House, 1948), p. 70.</ref>