|
World War II occurred during the years 1939 - 1945. It
was a war that involved virtually every part of the
world and cost the most deaths ever. The origin of the
war can be traced back to 1933 when Adolf Hitler became
the leader of Germany. He at once began secretly
preparing the German army to be a military super power.
Germany had suffered a humiliating defeat during World
War I (1914 - 1918) and Hitler wished for revenge. His
ambition was to advance German frontiers with the hop of
restoring the once mighty German empire.
In September 1939, under the leadership of Adolf
Hitler, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France came
to Poland's rescue and declared war against Germany two
days later. Russia, then an ally of Germany, attacked
Poland from the other side of the Polish border. Within
a month, Poland fell into the hands of the Germans and
the Russians.
The leaders of Italy and Japan also wanted to expand
their empires. The leaders of the two countries signed a
treaty with Hitler promising to help one another with
their expansion plans. the group called themselves the
Axis.
After the fall of Poland, Germany embarked on an
attacking spree and defeated Denmark, Norway, Holland,
Belgium and France. All these countries were conquered
within a span of a few months. The threat of the vast
combined German army, navy and air force, also enabled
Hitler to occupy Austria and Czechoslovakia without any
blood-bath. Adolf Hitler then became the supreme ruler
of almost the whole of Central and Western Europe.
Still hungering for more conquests, Hitler turned his
attention to Britain. Land invasion of the nation was
impossible because of the English Channel. So the German
air force tried to bomb Britain into submission but was
defeated by the Royal Air Force in the Battle of
Britain.
In the meantime, some countries on the side of the
British had joined hands to form the Allies. In June
1941, Hitler turned on Russia. this made the Russians
join the Allies. In 1943, the Allied forces won a major
victory over German troops in North Africa. The Russians
too were able to force the Germans to retreat from
Russia. Though weakened considerable, the German troops
still persevered in fighting. The eventual occupation of
Germany by the Allied troops between March - April 1945
finally brought the fighting in Europe to a stop. Hitler
committed suicide on 30 April 1945. Eight days later,
the German troops surrendered.
But World war II was not over yet. the war had spread
to South-Western Asia in 1941 when Japan attacked an
American naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This caused
the Americans to team up with the Allies in the war in
the Pacific region. the bombings of the Japanese towns
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 by the
Americans when tens of thousands of people were killed
or maimed for life signaled the close of World War II.
The Japanese signed the formal surrender on 2 September
1945. |
