Chapter 6: End of WW2 in Europe and Asia-Pacific

pure history can eat my ass

(Defeat of Germany) Strengths of the Allies - Contribution of economic resources and manpower

-Largest producer of goods — able to convert to factories for military production at a faster rate than any of the Axis Powers

-From 1942 onwards, US supplies the Allies with food, raw materials industrial equipment, weapons, etc.

USA Lend-Lease Scheme

• introduced in 1941

  • Lent about US$31.4 bil woth of war materials to Britain and US$11.3 bil of war materials to USSR

Impacts:

• Contributed troops and military supplies to the struggling Allied war effort

• Solved Allied problem of shortages and allowed them to continue their war effort against Germany

• Germanu’s limited army could not cope with the Allied sustained attacks → started losing key battles

(Defeat of Germany) Strengths of the Allies - Collaboration with Allies on military strategies

Sept 1939 - May 1945: Battle of the Atlantic

• German U-boats sank many British convoys carrying military supplies and armaments

  Turning point (1943):

• US were building more cargo ships than the U-boats could sink

June 1944: D-Day

• Combined Allied forces landed on Normandy to liberate France

• Brought 130,000 Allied troops by sea and 23,000 by air

Impacts:

• Allied strategies were greatly bolstered by USA → strengthened Allied military campaigns against Germany

• Won control of the air and sea

• Made Germany lose key battles

(Defeat of Germany) Strengths of the Allies - Allied strategies and resistance

Britain - Sept 1940 - May 1941: Battle of Britain

• Able to resist German invasipn

• Had new technology of radar to detect incoming enemy aircraft

Impacts:

• Britain refusal to surrender eventually drained Germany’s war resources

• Prevented Germany from securing a decisive victory over Britain

• Made Germany lose morals

USSR:

Reorganisation and Military strategies

• Specialist units created to disrupt German radio signals

Soviet War Economy

• Surpassed German war production in 1942

1942-43: Battle of Stalingrad

• Turning point: Soviets used their harsh winter to their advantage to reorganize their military

Impact:

-Enabled USSR to continue resisting Germany forces

-Further wore out German army, who was eventually unable to fight on the Eastern front

(Defeat of Germany) Germany’s military weaknesses - Ineffective command structure

• Hitler had little military experience and made several tactical mistakes

May 1940: Dunkirk

• Hitler went against the advice of his experienced generals

• Ordered to halt the advances of German forces which gave the surrounded Allied troops a chance to escape

Impacts:

• Weakened Germany’s war efforts due to tactical mistakes

• Caused Germany to lose key battles in the war

(Defeat of Germany) Germany’s military weaknesses - Two Front War

June 1941: Operation Barbarossa

• Faced Britain and France in the Western Front successsfully.

• Made the mistake of invading USSR in 1941 - opened up the Eastern Front

• Shortage of essential equipment and weapons like winter clothing

• Weakened the German army considerably

Impact:

• A mistake as it strained and overstretched Germany’s army and resources

• Prevented Hitler from concentrating his efforts on a single front

• German army could not keep up with the Allied military productions

• Difficult to secure victories against the Allies

(Defeat of Germany) Germany’s military weaknesses - Poor Planning

Failures in planning Naval warfare:

• Use of surface ships was less effective

• Too may resources spent on building giant battleships

• Failed to build aircraft carriers

July 1940: Battle of Britain and Wealnesses of Luftwaffe:

• RAF and US Air Force bombed Germany using heavy bombers → did severe damage

Impacts:

• Inappropriate use of resources

• Weakened its military production during the war

• Undermined the effectiveness of the German army

(Defeat of Japan) Strengths of the Allies - Contribution of economic resources and manpower

• Japan di not have such a strong industrial foundation to support their war efforts → less food and resources as the war dragged on

June 1942: Battle of Midway

• US sunk 4 Japanese aircraft carriers and ¾ of their experienced pilots

• Caused Japan’s limited resources to be further crippled

• Could not recover their losses due to lack of a strong industry

Impacts:

• US’s strong industrial capability boosted the Allies’ war machinery

• Enabled the Allies’ war machinery

• Enabled the Allies to sustain their war effort for long

• Japan could not fight a long-drawn war due to its weakening economy

(Defeat of Japan) Strengths of the Allies -Military and Naval strength

Dec 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbour

• Japan failed to destroy the US naval fleet completely → aircraft carriers were out at sea

• US was able to recover quickly within a few months and retaliate against Japan

Provided supplies to resistance movements across Asia

• Supplied Guo Min Dang in China with money and weapons

• Also supplied the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA)

Impacts:

• Could supply resources and weapons to Allied powers → helped boost Allies’ morale

• US military and naval strength also prevented Japan from expanding southward to secure a decisive victory

• Undermined Japan’s war effort

(Defeat of Japan) Strengths of the Allies - Allied strategies and resistance

British empire

• Armies from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, African colonies

Island-hopping strategy

• Air and submarine attracts to isolate Japanese-held areas

• Cut off some areas from their supplies of food and ammunition→ then conquer them when they are poorly defended

Impacts:

• Inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese and weakened their ability to continue defending their empire effectively

• Struggled to keep up →so Allies could fight back and recapture some territories

• Japanese could not endure the long-drawn war

Dropping of atomic bombs:

• Japan had no intentions of surrendering → US wanted to reduce casualties and hence was forced to use a stronger warning

• Dropped 2 atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Aug 1945

• Massive destruction →caused the Japanese emperor to finally announce Japan’s unconditional surrender

Impacts:

• Destroyed most of the city and killed much of the population

• Caused Japan’s morale to decrease rapidly

• Japanese leaders were afraid that more bombs would be dropped → decided to surrender

(Defeat of Japan) Japan’s military weaknesses - Overextension of empire

• Japan had occupied whole of SEA by 1942 → too large for Japan to control effectively

• Japan’s limited resources were overstretched

• Had to manage fighting the war in China and against the Allies in SEA

Impacts:

• Lack of resources to protect their territories made Japan vulnerable to the Allied powers

• Military was weakened due to its stretched resources and was unable to recover from Allied attacks fast enough

• Could not endure the long-drawn war with the Allies

(Defeat of Japan) Japan’s military weaknesses - Poor planning

• Failed to understand that the war at sea had changed by 1941 → aircraft carriers become more important

• Still depended on traditional naval power like battleships

  Dec 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbour:

• Did not destroy any US aircraft carriers

• Enabled the US Navy to recover from the attack quickly

Impacts:

• Wasted scarce resources on outdated and inefficient war machinery

• Was at a severe disadvantage compared to the Allies

• Unsustainable drawn-out war with the Allies

(Defeat of Japan) Japan’s military weaknesses - Lack of local support

• Brutally treated the locals → abused and forced into slave labour

• Vietnam: Viet Minh carried out guerilla campaign that gradually worn down the Japanese

• Malaya: Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army carried out sabotage attacks

Impacts:

• Caused the Japanese to be unable to consolidate their rule over their territories properly

• Unable to make the best use of their empire

• Repeated attacks caused the Japanese to lose morale