World War II

World War II was a global conflict fought between the Allied powers including the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, Australia, Canada and many other nations and the Axis powers (mainly Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan). The war is usually considered to have started on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany. 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 were the Allied Powers United States, Great Britain and the Commonwealth, the Soviet Union, France, and China (which was friendly to the West at the time.) Russia entered the war after Germany launched an attack codenamed Barbarossa, while Britain declared war in reaction to Germany's aggression against Poland.

Causes

The causes of World War II are complicated. The immediate causes of World War II are generally held to be the Japanese attacks on China, the United States, the British and Dutch colonies and the German invasion of Poland. World War II began after these acts of aggression were met with an official declaration of war, armed resistance or both. One major cause of German aggression may be the fervent Nationalism that became the norm in Germany post-World War I. Germans were eager to reaffirm their position as a major player on the world stage.^{[Citation Needed]}

German Tactics

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 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.

War in Europe 1939-1941

The War in Europe was initially slow, leading US commentators to dub it the Phoney War. The collapse and occupation of France, together with Germany's alliance with the Soviet Union, fascist Italy, benevolent neutrality of fascist Spain, with little of Europe outside of Axis hands led many to assume that the United Kingdom had been defeated.

Indeed it would appear that the, seemingly foolish, descision of the relativly weak United Kingdom to continue the war took the Axis powers off guard. This desicion ensured the remaining Briish Empire was still involved in the war, with Japan threatening many British possessions in Asia.

The end of World War II in Asia

On August 6, 1945, a B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay, dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. Then, on August 9, a B-29 dropped the second atomic bomb. On August 20 the Japanese government told the United States they were ready to accept the terms which the Allies proposed. The next day, the Allies replied, saying the authority of the emperor would be "subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers." On August 14 the Japanese government agreed to this.

Then, September 2, 1945, the Japanese government, along with all it's military forces, formally surrendered to the United States. This happened in a ceremony aboard an American battleship, the Missouri, on Tokyo Bay, where the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed. This was the ending of World War II, after six years almost to the day.

Fall Out From World War II

• Iron Curtain

• British Empire

The war effectively bankrupted Britain, which started the process of discarding its empire. It was not until 2007 Britain finished paying off the loans to the USA which it had taken to fight Nazi Germany.

• Supermecy of the USA in the Western World

Whilst most countries had seem their economies demolished by the war, the USA had industrialised heavily and gained financial gains from sales of arms to other Allied countries.

• Supremecy of the Soviet Union in the Eastern World.