Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany but took little action over the following months. InGermany launched its next initiative by attacking Denmark and Norway, followed shortly thereafter by attacks on Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. All of these nations were conquered rapidly.
The war began with the invasion of the Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy Regno d'Italiawhich was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant.
Spanish Civil War The bombing of Guernica induring the Spanish Civil Warsparked fears abroad Europe that the next war would be based on bombing of cities with very high civilian casualties When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to the Nationalist rebelsled by General Francisco Franco.
The Soviet Union supported the existing government, the Spanish Republic. Over 30, foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigadesalso fought against the Nationalists.
Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April ; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War II but generally favoured the Axis.
The Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanking in December After the fall of Nanking, tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese.
The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ronwhich emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time.
With the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol inthe ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War [50] and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets, this policy would prove difficult to maintain. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed a Neutrality Pact in Apriland Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ronpromoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward, eventually leading to its war with the United States and the Western Allies.
In MarchGermany annexed Austriaagain provoking little response from other European powers. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the counsel of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreementwhich was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands.
In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In MarchGermany invaded the remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client statethe Slovak Republic.
In August 23, when tripartite negotiations about a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom and Soviet Union stalled, [61] the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany.
Immediately after that, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland, and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum to Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, France, the United Kingdom, Australiaand New Zealand declared war on Germany.
The alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of a cautious French probe into the Saarland. The Polish counter offensive to the west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht.
Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw.During World War II, the U.S. government created dozens of posters to help enlist Americans in the war effort and communicate the importance of civic involvement.
In small groups. Fire-Power: British Army Weapons and Theories of War, (), by Shelford Bidwell and Dominick Graham, is a seminal and important book, tracing changes in military doctrine from the perspective of the artillery arm from World War I through World War II. Mar 10, · Watch video · Rosie the Riveter was the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defense industries during World War II, and she became perhaps the most iconic image of working women.
American. World War II In this depth study, students will investigate wartime experiences through a study of World War II. Th is includes coverage of the causes, events, outcome and broad impact of the confl ict as a part of global history, as well as the nature and extent. World War II Summary.
Several sing-song stanzas extol the war as a time of revelry before an "echo" asks if anybody died. World War II Analysis.
This poem applies the structural doubleness of the blues and applies it to a topic not commonly treated by blues musicians: war. A short summary of History SparkNotes's World War II (–).
This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of World War II (–).