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Timeline 1939 Germany invades Poland 1940 Germany conquers Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and France Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of Britain Battle of Britain War in North Africa 1941 Germany conquers Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania Germany invades Russia Japan attacks American, British, Dutch and Portuguese colonies in Far East 1942–43 turning points of Stalingrad, Midway and El Alamein 1943 Battle of Kursk invasion of Italy by Allies; Mussolini falls 1944 D-Day invasion Russian forces enter Eastern Europe 1945 battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa fi rst and only use of atomic weapons conferences at Yalta and Potsdam Germany and Japan surrender 2 Nature and practice of the Second World War 100 Key questions • What was the nature of the Second World War? • What were the main events and how were they infl uenced by new technology and tactics? • What was the signifi cance of the home front? • What was the importance of resistance? Overview • The Second World War was the greatest of the 20th century’s total wars. The First World War had been a prolonged confl ict, bringing the total resources of the major participants to bear in a huge exertion of force. When the Second World War came, states, peoples and armies knew that once again war would be unlimited – that it would use every resource available. All industrial and human resources, all modern technology, and the whole power of the state would be applied to ensure a total victory. • More than any previous confl ict, this was a war between peoples and against peoples. The line between soldier and civilian was blurred – the great industrial cities and their factory workers kept the war effort going and so were targets for destruction. Some of the nations involved had grand plans for the annihilation of whole peoples they considered a threat to their existence. Ordinary men, women and children, therefore, became the enemy on an unprecedented scale. • Modern weaponry grew even more destructive than it had been in the First World War, and huge casualties made a peaceful settlement even more diffi cult to achieve. In the end, the war was won only with the most enormous application of force against the total population of the enemy – whether or not they served in uniform. • The state power of the participating countries exerted a control over all aspects of life. War was an all-consuming activity and became a fi ght for national survival which could not be abandoned until there was no alternative. In Germany’s case, this point was reached when enemy forces occupied most of the country and its leader, Adolf Hitler, committed suicide. In Japan’s case it came when the most destructive weapon ever used – the atomic bomb – wiped out two major cities, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 101 2 Nature and practice of the Second World War What was the nature of the Second World War? What differentiated the Second World War from the First was its general mobility and periods of rapid and decisive movement. Like the First World War, the Second World War: • depended heavily on industry and the mobilisation of a range of resources by powerful states with a great deal of control over their populations • technical developments came to be increasingly important. Unlike the First World War, however, the development of air warfare and fl uid fronts in which tank warfare predominated meant that successful leadership depended on movement, logistics and managerial-type planning. As this type of warfare also depends on civilian workers and a strong industrial base, the home front was just as important as the battlefi eld. Civilians were seen as essential targets for destruction to prevent war materials reaching the front lines, and to injure the morale and even national existence of the enemy. The racial element in this war meant that ethnic groups were regarded as enemies of the state who should be attacked and killed. This had occurred in the First World War – for example with the Turkish massacre of an estimated one million Armenians in 1915 – but not to the same extent. One historian called the Second World War ‘The War against the Jews’, but in fact persecution included several ethnic minorities during and immediately after the war in many countries. What were the main events and how were they infl uenced by new technology and tactics? For the purposes of study, the Second World War can be divided into three main phases. 1 Blitzkrieg and rapid advances, 1939–42 The initial phases of the war were characterised by rapid attacks which were far more successful than their equivalents in the First World War. Poland fell within weeks of the German invasion, as did Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. In contrast, between 1914 and 1918, sustained heavy fi ghting prevented decisive conquests. Axis forces quickly conquered the Balkans, and Russian forces overran eastern Poland and the Baltic States. Where Britain was able to attack in North Africa, it also achieved rapid victories over Italian forces – only to face equally swift defeats at the hands of the German Afrika Corps. After June 1941, Germany conquered vast areas of Russia until the onset of winter slowed the advance. Japan achieved quick victories by a series of attacks on US and European colonies from December 1941 to February 1942, and rapid conquest everywhere continued throughout the year. This period became known as the Blitzkrieg, or ‘lightning war’. 2 Counter-attacks from 1942 At the end of 1942, the situation began to reverse. The Allied powers mounted a series of successful counter-attacks. Russia began the long drive to expel Germany by a victory at Stalingrad. British forces drove the Germans back at El Alamein in North Africa. The Americans held the Solomon Islands in the Pacifi c, and, after the naval victory at Midway, the US was able to begin the long struggle to recapture lost territory. The British turned the tide of German U-boat success. By 1943, the initiative had passed to the Allies and the Axis powers found themselves on the defensive. Axis The name given to German, Italian and Japanese forces from the Rome–Berlin Axis agreement of 1936. It became the Rome–Tokyo–Berlin Axis in September 1940. Fact The Battle of Midway, 4–7 June 1942, occurred when the Japanese hoped to lead the US fl eet into a trap by attacking the island of Midway in the Pacifi c. However, US planes operating from aircraft carriers infl icted great damage on the Japanese fl eet. This battle is seen as the turning point of the Pacifi c War, forcing Japan on to the defensive. 102 3 The heavy and costly fighting in the later part of the war The Axis powers realised that victory was growing increasingly remote, but there was little they could do to end the war. The later stages were therefore characterised by costly and extensive campaigns designed to wear down the opposition. Civilian casualties increased and the element of attrition grew. The rapid successes of the German Blitzkrieg in Europe and of the Japanese general Isoroku Yamashita’s invasion of Malaya and Singapore gave way to a large-scale industrial war. Massive resources were assembled and maximum force applied, regardless of casualties. Technical innovation, including widespread aerial bombing, became a key feature of the closing years of the war, and culminated in the use of atomic weapons. Initial attacks and the theory of Blitzkrieg The opening campaigns of the Second World War were similar to the closing ones of the First World War. The Germans were anxious to avoid more trench warfare and to build on the experiences of 1918, when they had relied on small groups of storm troops and sudden applications of force rather than extended bombardments involving large battalions. They also learnt lessons from the Allied counter-attacks of 1918, in which tanks, artillery, aircraft and infantry were combined to avoid costly frontal attacks and to keep the battlefield moving. Blitzkrieg made use of fastmoving tanks and motor vehicles, which pushed as far and as fast as possible into enemy territory. These assaults were supported by air attacks and followed up by infantry, backed up by artillery. Everything was done to create a sense of chaos among the enemy – cities were bombed, refugees attacked, false radio messages sent, rumours of spies encouraged. This rapid movement bewildered the defenders and cut them off from their supply bases. The German Stuka dive bombers were particularly effective in this kind of warfare, but the essence was maximum application of force at key points, followed by swift drives forward by mechanised troops. The theory for Blitzkrieg had been provided by military writers like Captain Basil Liddell Hart and by the German Heinz Guderian, who led an armoured division into Poland. 3 The Second World War The German Stuka dive bomber was effective in creating panic and disruption in initial Blitzkrieg attacks in Poland, France and the Low Countries 103 2 Nature and practice of the Second World War Poland Between 1 and 17 September 1939, the Polish armies were encircled by two powerful German and Russian thrusts from north and south. Despite some brave resistance, when Russia invaded eastern Poland on 17 September Poland was forced to surrender. This victory seemed to prove the value of Blitzkrieg tactics, which deployed highly trained forces capable of acting on their own initiative. Far from being dominated by orders from above, the German army was so well trained that even the middle ranks could take over in an emergency and make decisions about how to react to attacks. The commanders set broad objectives, but implementation was flexible, allowing strong points to be abandoned if it was deemed necessary and an overall rapid advance to go ahead without every unit waiting for support or reinforcements. Polish forces were spread over a huge frontier of nearly 3000 km (1860 miles), and the Polish high command did not consider the possibility of concentratin