History World War 2

History World War 2:

Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini came from humble beginnings, being born from a lower-class family in Predappio, a small town in Italy in 1883. However, even during his early life, he was already known to be quick-tempered and arrogant. Before rising to power, Mussolini become a schoolteacher in his small town, worked in Switzerland for a while, and then went back to Italy to become a newspaper editor. His ardent nationalism and love for the country was strengthened when he fought in the First World War. The postwar conflicts, labor strikes, and economic downturn in Italy at the time were actually what led to Mussolini’s desire to rise to power.

Benito Mussolini took advantage of the chaos in Italy to organize postwar veterans and other followers to participate in violent Fascist activities in the name of nationalism. Although Mussolini supported violent protests and acts of terrorism, he was also trying to strengthen his parliament ties. In 1921, he got a parliament seat and founded the National Fascist Party. In just a few years, Mussolini became Italy’s new premiere. Once in power, he immediately instituted a dictatorial form of government and his opponents disappeared or were murdered one by one, particularly Socialist Party’s deputy Matteotti. He also established a secret police, his party’s militia, and controlled the press. By 1928, Mussolini was able to reorganize the nation’s government and economy to follow his Fascist ideology. At this time, supporters of Mussolini started calling him the Duce, even if his official state title was head of the government.

At first, Benito Mussolini did not really support the plans of Adolf Hitler to annex Austria to Germany. But Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 caused the severance of his diplomatic ties with other European nations. Thus, he did not have a choice but become an ally of Hitler. In 1936, the Hitler-Mussolini tandem was responsible for helping Francisco Franco in winning the civil war in Spain. The ties between Italy and Germany were further reinforced after Mussolini supported Hitler’s plan to annex Austria and the Sudetenland.

Benito Mussolini did not immediately join World War II. Only when Germany defeated France in 1940 did Italy became a major player in the war. However, the failure of Italy’s offensive in Africa and Greece, along with the looming attack of mainland Italy by the Allies, have led to his overthrow as head of government in July 1943. The King of Italy placed him under house arrest. In 1945, Mussolini was sentenced to death and was shot together with his mistress Clara Petacci.

History World War 2:

Adolph Hitler

Adolph Hitler has always been a picture of terror and conquest in Europe. While some groups continue to accept Hitler as the hero of the German cause, his stance on racial discrimination brought about the genocide of millions of people, particularly Jews and other races which he considered as inferior. But indeed, Hitler was a hero of Germany. During the First World War, he fought gallantly and was decorated with two Iron Crosses. And as a decorated war veteran, it was easy for him to promote nationalism and conquer the hearts and minds of millions of his countrymen. Before anybody could blink, he became the leader of the Nazi Party.

The rise of Adolph Hitler all started in 1919 right after the end of the first war. He began his ascent to German politics by attending the small group meetings held by fellow compatriots, which eventually became known as the Nazis. Their goal was simple and that is to bring back the glory of Germany, which was lost when they were defeated in the First World War. As the leader of the Nazi party, Hitler delivered the promise of rebuilding Germany into an imperial power that would stand for hundreds of years. Instantly, his countrymen were hooked. Suddenly, the despair and shock that everyone had experienced after Germany’s defeat in the first war seemed to have the end in sight, with Hitler as the bringer of light. But on top of this agenda, Hitler also believed that there was a need to uphold the supremacy of the Aryan race over other people. And this twisted mission turned him into the monster that he is now known in history books.

Indeed, Adolph Hitler was responsible for turning Germany into a mighty nation right after its defeat in the First World War. With formidable armed forces under his control, Hitler was also the main provocateur of the Second World War in 1939. Under him, German soldiers conquered and raped most of Europe, parts of Africa, and even Asia. At first glance, it would seem that Hitler was winning the Second World War. But in 1945, the Allied Forces consist of American, British and Soviet soldiers finally turned the tide of the war and defeated the Germans. And Hitler was found dead, apparently by committing suicide.

The defeat of Adolph Hitler was brought about by his arrogance. While he grossly overestimated his country’s war resources, he also did not have any regard for what his expert advisers had to say. Today, he is largely remembered as the most dreadful tyrant of the 20th century.

History World War 2:

Hermann Goering

Hermann Goering, born in Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria on January 12, 1893, played a major role in the Second World War as Adolf Hitler’s right hand and successor. Aside from being a field marshal and the commander in chief of Luftwaffe (Germany’s Air Force), he was also considered as Nazi Germany’s second most powerful person.

Hermann Goering, who studied at a cadet academy in Karlsruhe and an officer’s college in Lichterfelde, started his military career by serving in the German army and, eventually, in the air force during the First World War. He was one of the few people who received the Blue Max (Pour le Merite), the highest military award in Germany for showing exemplary performance and courage as a pilot. In fact, after the death of the Red Baron, he became the next leader of the Richthofen squadron, Germany’s crème de la crème of fighter pilots. After the war, however, he was not admitted to the Reichswehr, or the German postwar army.

In 1922, Hermann Goering met Adolf Hitler and in just a few months he was already appointed as chief of the Strumabteilung (SA), or the storm troops of Nazi. However, in 1923, after being wounded at an attempted coup in Munich, he fled to Austria and became a morphine addict. But his remarkable war records and alluring persona made him a successful aircraft industry salesman in 1926. This was what led to his renewed friendship with Adolf Hitler in 1927. In a bid to take advantage of the contacts and popularity of Goering, Hitler gave him one of the parliamentary seats that the Nazi Party won in 1928. This is the start of Goering’s rise to power.

In July 1932, Hermann Goering was elected as the president of Reichstag (German parliament) when the Nazi Party became a dominant party in the parliament. The following year, he was appointed by Hitler to several key positions, including the control of Germany’s secret police, known as Gestapo. From then on, Goering became Hitler’s second hand as well as his designated successor as the Third Reich’s chancellor.

In the early parts of the Second World War, Hermann Goering gained favor from Hitler for the sterling performance of the German Air Force, which Goering was heading. However, along with the Luftwaffe’s poor performance in the Battle of Poland and the Battle of Stalingrad, Goering’s authority also diminished. In 1945, after a failed attempt to take over the Third Reich, he surrendered to American forces. The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg found Goering guilty of war crimes and was sentenced to death. However, before his sentenced was carried out, he poisoned himself and died on October 15, 1946.

History World War 2:

Could Genocide Happen Again?

Could it happen again?  The answer to this question is almost definitely “yes”.  This is authenticated by many Holocaust books, and genocide and holocaust studies of history that have taught us that if it has repeatedly happened in the past, it will probably happen in the future.  As technology has increased so has the ability of people to murder others quicker and in larger numbers.

People who would never consider doing something as horrific as gassing great numbers of people and incinerating them in oven, somehow found it easy when they did as a group under direct orders from their superiors.  This phenomenon of group evil has been widely studied and documented, that makes it unproblematic for a group of people to do something horrific that they would never do alone.

Mass genocide has occurred many times in the past century with Stalin’s purges in Russia, Mao’s genocide of his own people in china, Pol Pot’s “killing fields” in Cambodia, ethnic cleansing in Kosovo by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Hitler’s Jewish holocaust. Although genocide is usually the work of a diabolical dictator, it is carried out by hundreds if not thousands of his willing loyal followers.

Currently, there is still “holocaust denial”, or people who deny the Holocaust ever happened in World War 2. Currently, and most prominently the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad adamantly denies the genocide of 6 million Jews ever happened. Like Hitler the Iranian President, now believes in a modern version of the “final solution”, and wants to destroy Israel and wipe the Jews off the face of the earth.

Iran has been working on developing a nuclear weapon and some believe they are within a year or two of accomplishing this mission.  Ahmadinejad’s belief in destroying Israel and his tireless quest for obtaining a nuclear weapons, leads many to believe that he is hoping to rid the world of the Zionist problem as he explicitly stated in a famous speech, “The World without Zionism”.  Sadly many other Middle Eastern countries agree with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad apocalyptical vision for Israel and have been planning for year’s a way in which to de-stabilize and eventually destroy Israel.

Although, there are several worldwide watchdog organizations that have attempted to stem the tide of mass genocide, they have been largely unsuccessful in their attempts to stop it. Civilized governments and watchdogs groups should not give up, but attempt to keep building bridges for peace and the ultimate respect for “human rights” for all of mankind.

Many sights have reserved as a “Holocaust Memorial” and a “Holocaust Museum” has been erected in many countries so that the horror of the mass genocide of Jewish people will never be forgotten. These places document Holocaust stories and Holocaust facts about what happened under the Nazi Regime in World War 2.   Many books have also been published about holocaust survivors and children of the holocaust authenticating the facts of history. The hope is that if we never forget the Holocaust, we will never again allow such a horrible event from ever happening again.

History World War 2:

Analysis of the Holocaust

It is often asked “how could the holocaust and systematic extermination of millions of Jews, and others considered sub-human happen?” Certain races were considered by Hitler and the Nazi’s to be inferior such as Jews, Russians and Gypsies who were singled out as needing to be eradicated by the Nazis for the good of the world.  In addition, the mentally ill, disabled and those with genetic diseases were also thought to be disposable.

In Germany and then eventually in other occupied territories in Europe and Russia, under German rule, the Nazi’s singled out the Jews as the biggest problem confronting the human race.  It was also a convenient propaganda tool used by Hitler and the Nazis to scapegoat the Jews as being responsible for Germany’s fate after World War 1.

Many Jewish people in Germany were successful entrepreneurs, bankers, lawyers, doctors, intellectuals, mathematicians and scientists, and Hitler used their success to create resentment among the German people.   Hitler’s oratory skills were also responsible for a cult-like following that mesmerized the German people, and many would do anything for their Furor even if it meant “mass killing”.  The perfect storm had been created by Hitler and his Nazi party for the systematic extermination of over 6 million Jews.

Even when the war was almost over, Hitler and his loyal devotees, continued their pathological madness and increased the rate of killing as many Jews as was possible before the War’s end.  Their depraved mindset somehow allowed them to do the unthinkable to fellow humans. At the Nuremburg trials after World War 2, many war criminals responsible for the massive extermination effort of the Jews, justified themselves by saying “they were only following orders”.

All of the above mentioned factors contributed to the darkest chapter in Jewish history as 6 million men, woman and children were systematically and deliberately exterminated for what was considered a greater good.  The perfect conditions existed after World War 1 for the Hitler and the Nationalist Socialist Party to blame, isolate and annihilate millions of people. The toxic environment after World War 1, of a humiliated country, a charismatic psychopathic madman, and an international economic depression, all combined to create the right atmosphere for an unthinkable holocaust.

History World War 2:

History of Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism has existed for years starting with the Egyptians who en-slaved them around 1400 BC, until the Pharaoh let them go in the mass Exodus of the Israelites, during the time of Moses.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army conquered Jerusalem in 596 B.C. and desecrated the Jewish Temple, and enslaved the Jewish people until Persia under King Cyrus the Great, overthrew the Babylonian Empire in 536 BC, and the Israelites were allowed to return back to Jerusalem.

During the Crusades of the middle ages Jews were also persecuted by both Christians and Muslim armies. More recently after Israel became a sovereign nation in 1948, most of the Middle East would still like to see them annihilated. Anti-Semitism has also risen in Europe and around the world in the past decade.

Hitler and his Nazi regime placed anti-Semitism onto an entirely different horrific level. This emerged out of Hitler’s occult background and the belief that the Arian race was superior in genetics and bloodlines to other ethnicities. The Nazi’s actually believed that god-like beings came down and started the Arian race.

Hitler thought that the only way to solve social ills was to eradicate lesser bloodlines, and in particular the Jewish race. In his book “Mein Kampf”, Hitler stated that his goal was to usher in a thousand year period of Arian rule, and what he conceived as a utopia for mankind.

The Nazi’s believed the end justified the means, and took the utilitarian approach which was “greatest good for the greatest number”. The Third Reich believed Hitler was a messiah figure that was born to save Germany from it plight after the First World War.

History World War 2:

Consequences of the Holocaust after the War’s End

Towards the end of the war, when Soviet and American troops entered the concentration and extermination camps, piles of dead corpses, bones and human ash were discovered.  These sights of these holocaust camps, were shocking even for many battle hardened soldiers, as the extent of Nazi cruelty even under Hitler, could not be imagined by many who experienced the terrible proof of Nazi Germany’s evil genocide, carried out against the Jews in these death camps.

Thousands of holocaust survivors were also found by soldiers, most of them prisoners who were emaciated, starving and full of disease.  Many of those found alive in the camps died shortly after their liberation as they were in very bad physical condition from all the persecution that they suffered in the camps and on the “death marches” The Holocaust stories of the typical Holocaust survivor was even worse.

The ones that did live to tell the tales of the Holocost camps had to overcome enormous challenges that lay ahead of them.  They had lost their possessions, had no money, spent months regaining their health, and also many suffered from serious mental conditions, that were caused by the terrible trauma that they experienced under these Nazi Holocaust Concentration Camps.

The surviving Jews were afraid to return to their homes for fear of continued anti-Semitism.  It is true that in some parts of Europe that there was still pockets of hatred against the Jews, however much of the fear was the past trauma that had occurred under Nazi rule and occupation, but was still a very real fear of the Jewish people.

Many remained in refugee centers that had been formed by the Allies for survivors of the holocaust, while others migrated to parts of Western Europe.  These centers were administrated by American, British and French authorities. Jewish organizations in America and around the world raised money and helped Jewish refugees with food, clothing and shelter.

President Truman in 1945 loosened the immigration restrictions on persons displaced by the war. In May of 1948, the United Nations partitioned off Palestine and allowed the Jewish State of Israel to be formed.  Over 170,000 displaced Jewish persons from World War 2 immigrated over to Israel from Europe.  In addition both British and America opened up the number of visas allowed to holocaust survivors.   Many other displaced persons immigrated to New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Mexico, South Africa and South America.

History World War 2:

Holocaust during World War II

In September of 1939, when the Nazis’ occupied the western part of Poland, Himmler’s top assistant Reinhard Heydrich, advocated placing the Polish Jews in ghettos, where they could be laborers in assisting with the war effort in major polish cities.   Railroad tracks were placed from these cities to eventually place the Jews like cattle in train cars and ship them off to concentration camps for slave labor and ultimately the holocaust gas chambers and ovens.

In June of 1941, when Germany invaded Russia, mobile killing teams and then militarized battalions of Order Police, carried out mass murder behind the lines of the German Army against Jews, Gypsies and  Soviet state and party officials. More then a million Jews were murdered by these squads, and hundreds of thousands of others were massacred.

From 1941 until 1944, millions of Jewish men, woman and children were transported to Ghettos, killing centers and concentration camps from Germany, Axis Power Countries and other German occupied territories. These killing centers also known as extermination or holocaust camps, had on the grounds specially constructed gassing halls that were designed to kill anywhere from 200 to 2000 in 20 minutes or less. The most notorious of these camps was Auschwitz. The bodies were then removed and put upon a pile of dead corpses until they could be placed in the ovens for cremation.

When the war decidedly turned against Nazi Germany, Hitler decided it was imperative that the “final solution” be implemented as quickly as possible. Hitler in his demented state believed he was doing the world “a favor” by eliminating the Zionist threat from the face of the earth.  SS guard units moved concentrate camp prisoners by train or by foot on forced marches to prevent the Allied forces from discovering and liberating the thousands of souls from these camps.

The marches were known as “death marches” as many of the prisoners were in such poor physical condition that they were unable to keep up and were either shot or left to die on the path. As Allied forces moved deeper into Germany and along its borders, many camps were liberated and also thousands of prisoners were freed as they were travelling on these “death marches” from one camp to another. It was not until the last day of the war - May 7, 1945 when the German’s surrendered that these marches stopped.

History World War 2:

The Early Beginnings of the Holocaust

The social, legal and economic rights of the Jews were increasingly restricted throughout the 1930’s.  The Nazis drew their strength they believed from the “purity of their blood”. This was related to what it believed to be their “rootedness in the sacred German earth”.  After Hitler became absolute dictator in 1933, a series of laws were passed that excluded the Jews from taking part in Germany’s commerce and government.

Attorneys, physicians and farmers were not allowed to participate in their occupations.  Jewish farmers were forbidden from owning their own land, Jewish attorneys were disbarred and doctors were prohibited from practicing medicine. Many of Germany’s leading Jewish intellectuals, authors and composers fled Germany once they realized Hitler’s unwavering stance and pathological hatred of them.

Leading academics such as Albert Einstein, conductor Bruno Walter, Novelist Leon Feuchtwanger and many others fled Germany when Hitler striped all Jews of their civil rights and their citizenship in 1935. These edicts that were launched by the Nazis were referred to as the “Nuremberg Laws”, and Hitler in his speech to justify these laws, stated “that if these were not successful, that then the ‘final solution’ must be handed over to the Nationalist Socialist Party.”

This final solution as proposed by Hitler was the extermination and genocide of the Jewish race.   The German word (Endlosung) or “final solution” became known as the code phrase for the mass murder of the Jews. The National Socialist government established concentration camps in the early years of the Nazi party, to deal with political and ideological opponents.

Some were real many were imagined and as such, many innocent persons were sent off to these camps for detainment, torture and re-indoctrination. Also during this time period police officials and the SS placed Gypsies, Jews and other parties that were victimized by ethnic hatred in these camps.

In addition a mass gathering of Jews and other ethnic enemies of the Reich were placed in Ghettos so that they could be better monitored, and railroad junctions were built from these ghettos to forced labor camps for rapid transport if needed.  These ghettos, transit camps and forced labor camps were all a part of what the Nazis understood to be the “final solution”.

History World War 2:

Holocaust - Introduction

In January of 1933, when the Nazis came to power in Germany, they believed that the Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jews were “racially inferior” and as such the Jews were an alien threat to the purity of the Germany racial community. This is what created the atmosphere for the “Holocaust” which was the state sponsored bureaucratic persecution and massacre of approximately six million Holocaust victims most who were Jewish by the Nazi regime. The phrase “holocaust” is the Greek word meaning “sacrifice by fire”. 

Other groups were targeted during the Holocaust because they were also considered “racial or genetically inferior” by the Nazis. They were the Roma (Gypsies), the disabled, the mentally ill and certain Slavic people (Russians, Poles and others). Some groups were persecuted on religious, ideological, political and behavioral grounds such as Communists, Socialists, Jehovah witnesses and homosexuals.

The Jewish population in Europe in 1933 when Hitler and the Nazi’s came to power was estimated to be over 9 million people. When Hitler conquered most of Europe by 1943 in World War 2 and the subsequent extermination of the Jews by 1945, two out of every three Jews in Europe had been murdered.   Upon the World War 2’s conclusion, there were only about 3 million holocaust Jews left in Europe.

In public, Hitler blamed the Jews for the loss of Germany in World War 1, and accused them of conspiring against the German people with the “Treaty of Versailles”, and other postwar retributions and “perceived” humiliations that were suffered by the German people.  In Mein Kampf (1925), Hitler’s autobiography and future plans, Hitler had expressed his contempt and hatred toward the Jews.

The intent of Hitler was clear in his autobiography that he desired to force the Jews out of German cultural, intellectual and political life. In public he did not speak or write as much about his desire to exterminate the race, however as early as 1922, it was reported that he told Maj. Joseph Hell, who was a journalist at the time, that his first task when in power would be the “annihilation of the Jews, hanging them in the gallows in Munich row after row, until they stink.”

History World War 2:

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is considered by many as a vital naval encounter that gave the United States a much needed break in the war against Japanese forces in the Pacific. This battle, which was fought in the early part of June 1942 at the island of Midway in the Central Pacific helped derail the plans of the Imperial Army to embark a full offensive against the islands of Samoa, Fiji, and New Caledonia. Moreover, the defeat of Japanese forces in this battle was a turning point for the Allies, mainly the US, to initiate offensive operations to free territories in the Pacific that had already fallen to Japanese Imperial Army’s control.

Before the Battle of Midway, Japanese troops were able to invade a lot of countries and territories in the Pacific with ease. From the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Imperial Army seemed to be invincible as they attacked nation after nation. The Japanese started with the capture of the Philippines, Malaysia, Dutch East Indies and other islands located at the western and central parts of the Pacific. By January to March of 1942, the Japanese easily seized the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and isolate India and Australia. However, with the interception of vital information from the Japanese, the US was able to stop the Imperial Army from proceeding to the third phase of their Pacific Invasion plan.

So what happened at the Battle of Midway? In essence the US Navy was able to defeat naval forces of the Japanese through brilliant tactics, efficient interception of information, as well as some bit of luck. The Japanese naval forces did not expect the US offensive so they were largely caught off guard. Because of the determination, courage and sacrifice of the crew and pilots of the three main US aircraft carriers, the Japanese lost not only four aircraft carriers (which were also the ones involved in the Pearl Harbor attack), but also over 100 irreplaceable well-trained pilots. In this battle, the US lost only one aircraft carrier.

After a series of defeat in the Pacific, the news of the victory of the US at the Battle of Midway boosted the morale of other Allied forces. Knowing that Japan suffered tremendous losses at Midway, the US and other Allied forces started their attacks on Japanese-occupied nations, which helped seal the eventual downfall of the Imperial Army. Also this battle was crucial because it not only prevented the Japanese from seizing other islands in the Pacific, but more importantly it averted another Japanese attack in Hawaii.

History World War 2:

Battle of Stalingrad

photo credit: John Griffiths

Battle of Stalingrad is famous not only for being the bloodiest battle of all time, but also because its outcome was considered as one of the key points that contributed to the victory of the Allied Forces against the Axis Powers during the Second World War. Casualties from both sides totaled over 1.5 million in this battle alone. Unlike the Battle of Kursk which was relatively short, that of Stalingrad was comprised of a series of operations with the Red Army fighting soldiers from several members of the Axis Powers which began on July 17, 1942 up till February 2, 1943. Also, this battle was one of the large-scale losses of the German army during World War II.

Operation Barbarossa launched on June 22, 1941 was the precursor to the Battle of Stalingrad. German operatives as well as their allies attacked the Soviet Union, rapidly moving forward to gain control of the territories of the Soviet Union.

In December of that year, the Red Army launched a counter offensive and was able to drive away the Nazis from neighboring towns of Moscow in what is called the Battle of Moscow. The offensive and counter-offensive conducted by the Axis Forces and the Red Army, respectively, continued on until the end of 1942.

Eventually, the poor weather situation and the tenacious Red Army resistance inside Stalingrad was what ended the German offensive. The Soviets were able to win the Battle of Stalingrad against exhausted Nazi forces through good counter-attack planning and the use of deceptive means to trap and defeat not only Germany’s 6th Army, but other Axis forces surrounding the city as well.

Also, Adolf Hitler’s proclivity in capturing Stalingrad was probably what led to the eventual defeat of the Axis Powers in the Soviet Union. Heeds for replenishment and reinforcement to beef up the German flanks outside the city landed on Hitler’s deaf ears. In the end, Nazi forces were unable to fully recover after their ignominious defeat at Stalingrad.

So, what made Hitler want to capture Stalingrad so badly? The answer to this question is very simple. First, the city is strategically positioned on the Volga River, which is an important transport route between the northern parts of Russia and the Caspian Sea. The capture of Stalingrad will help make an offensive at the Caucasus region, which incidentally is rich in oil, easier. The other reason for Hitler’s desire to win the Battle of Stalingrad is to dampen the morale of the Red Army because the city is named after Hitler’s enemy Joseph Stalin.

History World War 2:

D Day: Allied Air Power over Europe

General Dwight D. Eisenhower and the combined forces understood that the success of the D Day invasion would be contingent upon air superior Allied air power over the Germans.

In past air combat with the Nazi’s, air strategists knew to avoid hostile air conflict above the battlefront.  The allies found it opportune that in early 1944, the Luftwaffe had been decimated by air combat with the British and the Allied Forces. The Allied airplanes responsible for these heavy loss to the Luftwaffe, was the North American P-51B Mustang that began its missions in December of 1943, and the Republic P-47 Thunderbolts that were outfitted with long-range “drop” tanks. These two exceptional aircraft worked in tandem with each other to inflict severe damage on German Fighters in and around Germany.

During the 5 months before D-Day 2,262 German fighter pilots were killed in action, and the Luftwaffe aircraft were efficiently smashed. With the great triumph of the Allied bombing campaign on German aircraft, it was a large determinate in the success of the Allies during D-Day. Months of concentrated air warfare had given the Allies not only air superiority, but air supremacy as well.

More then 25 percent of German’s fighter force (averaging 2,283 aircrafts ) were destroyed. In May alone, no less than 25 percent of Germany’s total fighter pilot force (which averaged 2,283 at any one time during this period) perished.

During Big Week, American air forces targeted the German aircraft industry for special treatment; while production continued, the fighter force took staggering losses. In March 1944, fully 56 percent of the available German fighters were lost, dipping to 43 percent in April (as the bomber effort switched to Germany’s petroleum production), and rising again to just over 50 percent in May, on the eve of Normandy. No wonder, then, that the Luftwaffe could contribute less than a hundred sorties to the defense of Normandy. Months of concentrated air warfare had given the Allies not only air superiority, but air supremacy as well.

Basically, the Allied air campaign for the invasion of Europe consisted of three phases. First, Allied fighters would attempt to destroy the Luftwaffe. The second phase called for isolating the battlefield by interdicting road and rail networks. And once the invasion began, Allied air forces would concentrate on battlefield interdiction and close air support.

The requirements to keep the landing sites, secret, particularly the deception to encourage the Germans to devote their greatest attention in the region of the Pas de Calais-complicated the air campaign. Strike planners had to schedule vastly more operations across the sweep of likely landing sites rather than just at the true site of Overlord. For example, rocket-armed Royal Air Force Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers of the Second Tactical Air Force (2 TAF) attacked two radar installations outside the planned assault area for every one they attacked within it.

History World War 2:

Hitler’s Use of Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg was an extremely successful strategic military tactic utilized by Adolf Hitler and the German army to conquer much of Europe and almost occupy Russia.

The word blitzkrieg means “lightning war” and includes surprise attacks and consisted of massive air attacks and lighting fast rapid advances of the tanks and the infantry into enemy territory. The German Blitzkrieg sudden strikes were responsible for most of the great battles victories that Germany won in the early part of the war.

Early after World War 1, Germany was severely handicapped by the Treaty of Versailles, and had to develop new military strategies. The German’s were limited with the forced restrictions that were placed upon them by the World War 1 treaty in the number of tanks and aircraft they were allowed to build and place into action. This however did not impede their progress in understanding the concept and strategies of blitzkrieg war.

Germany utilized much of British military theoreticians understanding of lightening war and especially Basis Liddell-Hart, who published articles and books, on new strategies for deep armor protection and rapid advancement as an innovated approach to future land war. Hitler saw these blitzkrieg war tactics as the opportune strategy for his future battle plans in war and wanted to make sure that Germany did not repeat the same mistakes as they did in World War 1.

Hitler had a keen military mind although he only advanced to the level of corporal in World War 1. With Germany’s strength in industry and military professionalism Hitler believed that any future war would have a much different outcome than in World War 1. He wanted to fully develop and implement this strategy of Blitzkrieg or lighting war to ensure that Germany would never again be humiliated as they were in World War 1. Hitler now had his military operation of Blitzkrieg to accomplish his goals of world domination.

With Hitler’s full support Germany worked on combined efforts to increase their panzer tank divisions and by 1938 there were great quantities of blitzkrieg type weapons that were at Hitler’s disposal for use in the battlefield. Upon implementation of this military tactic, and with superior military weaponry, Blitzkreig lightning type warfare strategies enabled Hitler for a period of time to conquer most of Europe and advance within miles of occupying Moscow and most of Russia.

The only weapon that stopped the blitzkrieg of Germany was the very severe Russian winter. The same winter that ended Napoleon’s hope of Russian conquest over a century and half before Hitler’s attempt. German and Hitler’s blitzkrieg military strategies were considered to be one of the most successful military tactics ever implanted in the history of warfare.

History World War 2:

History of Blitzkrieg

In World War 1 (1914-1918) the war was fought in the trenches with machine guns and artillery fire, which made mobile ground warfare extremely difficult, very slow and quite deadly for the infantry. 

However two new ground-breaking weapons were developed to speed up the pace of the fighting. The combat aircraft and armor tanks were very well protected from machine gun and artillery fire and extremely effective in speeding up the pace of land war. These two weapons changed the face of warfare forever, and were fully utilized in the next world war.

When the war was over, these two new weapons systems were studied and the great potential of both were being developed. The incredible military power of both systems was not overlooked by military strategists. The next advance came when aircraft were placed on large ships, and the aircraft carrier emerged as a super weapon in the sea. The big gunned battleships were totally surpassed by the aircraft carrier with its much improved capacity for a much greater geographical strike range.

The new military aircraft also were implemented, enabling the infantry troops to become extremely mobile as air borne troops called paratroopers could be dropped over enemy lines. This strategic breakthrough continued to be impressive as aircraft carrying troops became much larger and faster in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Greater numbers of troops could be dropped behind enemy lines at night without the enemy being aware of the presence of the troops. Although, in subsequent wars some paratroopers were killed during their assent to earth on a parachute, many were able to land successfully and fight on.

The armored tank also was further developed after World War 1, and then became faster and better suited to be protected from machine gun fire and heavy artillery, with improved armor. These tanks also became much faster and lighter, and with the improved armor they were better able to repel enemy fire. Russia and Britain, worked especially hard after World War 1, to develop extremely well fortified, light, fast tanks with the ability to make land war much quicker.

History World War 2:

D-Day Invasion:

D-day was the massive Allied invasion along the beaches of Normandy. These invasions were known as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord. This vast operation popularly referred to as “D-day” invasion of Normandy was initially postponed 24 hours because of the weather, but was finally implemented on the next day, June 6, 1944, and the hour referenced as “H hour” was 6:30 a.m. when the invasion commenced. The operation of D-day had been planned for over two years before the actual execution of the D-day invasion of Normandy.

Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff approved the general strategic plan for the invasion in August 1943. This operation was named Overlord and General Dwight D. Eisenhower would be responsible for implementation of this daring military action. Eisenhower wanted to establish a beachhead between Le Havre and the Cotentin Peninsula by utilizing amphibious and airborne forces. Eisenhower’s desire was to establish adequate ports to drive along the lines of the Loire and the Seine rivers into the heart of France, by freeing France and destroying the German strength.

There were two phases to the operation: an air invasion of American, British and Canadian airborne troops behind the German front lines of Normandy that started shortly after midnight and then an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armored divisions on the coast of France. The soldiers and material were shipped from the United Kingdom by ships and troop carrying aircraft.

The Allied European Supreme Commander Eisenhower and the combined forces understood that the success of the D-day invasion would be contingent upon air superiority of Allied air power over the Germans.

In past air combat with the Nazi’s, air strategists knew to avoid hostile air conflict above the battlefront. The allies found it opportune that in early 1944, the Luftwaffe had been decimated by air combat with the British and the Allied Forces. The Allied airplanes responsible for these heavy loss to the Luftwaffe, was the North American P-51B Mustang that began its missions in December of 1943, and the Republic P-47 Thunderbolts that were outfitted with long-range “drop” tanks. These two exceptional aircraft worked in tandem with each other to inflict severe damage on German Fighters in and around Germany.

Originally the allies feared strong Nazi resistance with the Invasion of Normandy, however were pleasantly surprised that once ground forces had cut through the seemingly weak lines of the bridgehead at Saint-L6, inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans, the Nazi resistance vanished. When the German’s retreated, American and British armies went north and east with ease bringing them to the defenses of the Siegfried Line and the German frontier.

History World War 2:

The Great Depression

During the years after the First World War, the American economy showed various fluctuations, but recession was prevented easily by the intervention of the government. It seemed that the US economy would remain stable and strong. However, on October 29, 1929, which is more popularly known as the Black Tuesday, the crash of the stock market in the US shook the world and ushered a new period called The Great Depression.

Although the depression started in the US, the economy of the whole world was affected. Both the developing and developed countries at the time felt the effects of the economic slump. Aside from slowing down International trade, the crisis hit incomes, prices, profits and tax revenues so hard.  In fact, countries that were dependent on the manufacturing sector and heavy industry suffered the most. Unemployment surged while the prices of agricultural produce plummeted by as much as 60%. By 1933, almost 25% of the people in the US were jobless and a lot of people also lost their homes.

The Great Depression, considered the worst financial collapse experienced by the whole world, was instigated by various problems. One of the main reasons that brought the problem was the uneven distribution of wealth. As few wealthy people made more money, majority of the people in the US were entrenched in debts and were spending more than what they earned.

After the stock market crash, banks and financial institutions made it more difficult for ordinary people to take out loans, mortgages and other types of debts. Moreover, companies also started to lay off workers to help them survive the difficult times.

Another reason was the decline in the income of farmers that represented one fourth of the economy of the US during the era. At the same time, the effects of the World War 1 had taken their toll on the economies of big nations in Europe.

President Herbert Hoover tried to allay the situation, but he intervened too late so the crisis was not abated. One of the things that helped improve the economy and the situation of the people of America was the “New Deal” that was sponsored by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Under this program, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) was created by Congress in order to provide financial aid and relief to the people most affected by the financial woes.

Although President Roosevelt’s program was very helpful in improving the lives of the people, the involvement of the US in World War 2 was actually what ended the Great Depression. War-related investments and earnings, which mainly involved the production of military equipment and arms, spurred the economy.

History World War 2:

The Treaty of Versailles

Of all the treaties that were signed after the conclusion of the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles was one of the most popular and the most controversial. Although the main goal of the treaty was to maintain peace throughout Europe and the world, the events that took place from 1939 to 1945 proved that the treaty was not effective in preventing Germany from starting another world war. In fact, many historians believe this treaty may have played a vital role in causing World War II.

In order to fully comprehend the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on June 28, 1919, it is best to know the major players that made it possible. In the Paris Peace Conference, the Big Four, or the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and the United States, were the ones who decided the fate of Germany. A lot of people, including the Germans, believed that the Big Four, which are composed of American President Woodrow Wilson, British Prime Minister David Lloyd-George, French Prime Minister George Clemenceau, and Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando, had their own specific agenda when they decided on what articles to include in the treaty. Revenge may had been what both France and Britain thought about, while Italy wanted to expand its territory and America wanted to make sure the League of Nations would be set up to prevent another war.

According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was the only nation that should be blamed for the First World War. Thus, the terms of the peace treaty was geared towards making sure that that nation would not be able to stage another armed conflict in Europe. Even the Americans felt that the terms of the treaty were too harsh and Germany was not treated fairly.

Some of the main terms of the pact included Germany’s payment of GBP 6.6 billion for the damage caused by the first war, giving up colonies and territories to the League of Nations or to other countries involved, reduction of army size to 100,000, and the acknowledgment of guilt.

Although Germany felt that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were unfair, the nation did not have a choice but to sign and agree to its terms. Ordinary Germans felt resentful and bitter so when a person such as Adolf Hitler was willing to unite the country and bring back the glory of the nation at all cost, they were all too eager to follow his lead.

History World War 2:

Appeasement

Appeasement is a policy of yielding to the demands of an assailant or aggressor in order to prevent bloodshed or armed combat. The most famous of such policy is the Appeasement of Hitler by Britain and France.

After the World War 1, leaders of several nations were willing to do almost anything to ensure peaceful resolution of conflicts, particularly after the collapse of the League of Nations. After all, who wants another war when what it brought was financial crisis, death and suffering? Thus, when the 1938 Sudeten Crisis emerged, France and Britain were all too willing to give in to Hitler’s demands in order to prevent an escalation of war.

The crisis started when the leader of Sudeten Nazis, who were Germans that were living at the borders of Czechoslovakia, demanded that the Sudetenland where they live be a part of mainland Germany. However, the Czechoslovakian government did not agree, instead a martial law was enforced. Because of this, Adolph Hitler threatened to go to war.

 Negotiations between the two parties fell, even with the help of then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. In order to prevent the escalation of the crisis into a full-fledged war, the Munich Pact was signed as an appeasement of Hitler by Britain and France. In this pact, both France and Britain gave Sudetenland to Germany.

Although many did not agree with the Appeasement of Hitler by Britain and France, there were some valid reasons why Prime Minister Chamberlain acceded to Hitler’s demands. First, war was not something that the British people would have readily backed in 1938. Also, many think that the British wanted to make Germany stronger in order to prevent the further spreading out of communist Russia. Furthermore, the armed forces of Britain were not really that strong at the time. Lastly, Hitler’s complaints, especially with regard to the articles of the Treaty of Versailles seemed to be sensible during that period.

It is a known fact that the Appeasement of Hitler by Britain and France was unsuccessful. Still, Hitler eventually staged war against many countries in Europe in an attempt to expand his power. However, the policy was not totally made in vain.

For one, Britain and other countries in Europe were able to strengthen their armed forces; although Hitler also did the same in Germany. Another good thing that came out of the appeasement policy was that the British people realized that war was unavoidable so they supported their armed forces all the way.

History World War 2:

1939

• Germany invades Poland. The beginning of World War 2.
• Britain and France declare war on Germany.
• President Franklin Roosevelt of United States sends an appeal to Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, urging them to refrain from aerial bombing of civilian populated cities.
• Russia invades Poland.
• Poland surrenders to German troops.
• Russia invades Finland on three fronts.

1940

• Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
• Germany invades France, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg. Winston Churchill becomes Britain’s prime minister.
• German forces reach the British Channel.
• Evacuation of British and French forces to Britain at Dunkirk begins.
• Norway falls.
• Italy declares war on the collapsing France and on Britain.
• German troops march into Paris.
• Russia invades Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
• France surrenders.
• Germany bombs RAF air base
• The Battle of Britain air campaign begins.
• Berlin bombed by the British.
• Italy invades British-held Egypt from Libya, the North African campaign begins.
• Japan joins The Axis.
• Italy invades Greece.
• British carrier aircraft sink Italian fleet in Taranto’s harbor.
• Hungary and Romania join the Axis.
• British forces in Egypt attack the Italians.
• German U-boats sink US/Canadian convoys to Britain.

1941

• Ethiopia invaded by the British.
• Italy pushed into Albania by Greece.
• Bulgaria joins The Axis. The Axis-Russian border now stretch from the Baltic sea to the black sea.
• Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece
• After military clashes, Japan and Russia sign non-aggression pact.
• Yugoslavia surrenders. German troops occupy Athens.
• German battleship Bismark destroyed by Britain’s Royal Navy.
• British forces in Crete surrender.
• Germany invades Russia.
• The Luftwaffe bombs Moscow.
• Japan invades French Indo-China (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)
• Hermann Goering orders the SS to murder the millions of European jews.
• The German siege of Leningrad begins.
• The final German attack towards Moscow begins (operation Typhoon).
• Russian government leaves Moscow, the Germans occupy Odessa.
• General Tojo becomes Japan’s prime minister.
• Japanese Navy attacks Pearl Harbor and the Phillipines, and the US joins the war.
• With the German failure to defeat Russia, which is marked by their failure to take Moscow, and with the United States joining the war a day later, This date marks the main turning point of World War 2.
• Germany and Italy declare war on the US.

1942

• Manila and Phillipines falls to the Japanese.
• Japanese forces occupy Malaysia.
• Japanese land in The Netherlands.
• US troops begin to arrive in Britain.
• Singapore surrenders to the Japanese
• Murder of jews by poison gas begins in Nazi death camps.
• US bombers bomb Tokyo.
• Battle of the Coral Sea.
• The German spring offensive in southern Russia begins.
• The battle of Midway.
• German troops seize Tobruk.
• British defeat Germans at El Alamein.
• US forces land in Guadalcanal.
• The German 6th army reach Stalingrad, the battle of Stalingrad begins.
• The German advance in Stalingrad is stopped.
• Allied forces land in western North Africa.
• Russian counter attack around Stalingrad begins.
• The Germans fail to break the encirclement of their army in Stalingrad.

1943

• German troops at Stalingrad surrender.
• Allies wins Battle of Bismark.
• The battle of Kursk begins.
• The Allies invade Sicily.
• Mussolini is replaced and arrested.
• The Allies invade Italy’s mainland
• Italy signs armistice with Allies.
• US troops land on Bougainville Island.
• The Marines land in Tarawa.

1944

• Soviets break the siege of Leningrad.
• Eisenhower becomes supreme commander of western allies forces.
• Allies land in Italy.
• D-Day. American, British, Canadian forces invade France at the beaches of Normandy.
• 1st German missile attack on Britain.
• US beat Japan in the Battle of the Phillipine sea.
• US defeats Japanese Fleet in Battle for Leyte Gulf.
• Allies defeat Germans at the Battle of the Bulge.

1945

• Allied troops invade the Philippines.
• Hungary declares war on Germany.
• US forces cross the Rhine on the Remagen bridge.
• The battle of Iwo Jima ends.
• Battleship Yamato is sunk on its way to a Kamikaze fight in Okinawa.
• The Allies occupy Hannover.
• The Allies liberate the Buchenwald death camp.
• President Roosevelt dies.
• Russians enter Vienna.
• Russians begin final advance to Berlin.
• German defense in northern Italy collapses.
• Mussolini is executed by the Italian resistance.
• The Allies liberate the Dachau death camp.
• Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin. He appoints Admiral Doenitz as his successor.
• German troops surrender in Italy. The war in Europe ends.
• Battle of Okinawa ends.
• United States bomber drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
• Japan surrenders. World War 2 finally ends.

History World War 2:

Introduction to World War 2

In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland without any warning igniting the start of World War Two. A few days after, Britain and France were at war with Germany.

The two large opposing military forces were the Allies and Axis powers. The major axis powers consisted of Germany, Japan and Italy. The allies included the United States, Great Britain and Russia, with most of the global countries fighting along their side.

The war involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread in history. This conflict was the deadliest war ever waged with upwards of 70 million casualties most of them civilians. Most of Europe and Asia were lying in ruins at the end of the war, and the negative impact on the world was devastating. The war came to a sudden end with the surrender of Japan, after the United States dropped 2 atomic bombs in August 1945.