World War II

World War I was "The War to End All Wars," and as we have seen, that is clearly not the case. This was despite the attempts of some people, especially British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, to avoid war at all costs. Even as France was outraged at the militarization of Germany under Adolf Hitler, Britain continued to appease Germany. As Germany restarted a military draft, expanding their army from 100k to 550k, built a new air force, the Luftwaffe, and re-militarized the Rhineland, France continued to desire revenge and counters; however, Britain believed this was making up for the poor treatment of Germany as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.

The greatest example of appeasement at work was Munich, where the fate of the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia was determined by Britain, France, and Germany. The Czechs were forced to give up the Sudetenland, which was home to approximately 3 million ethnic Germans. Upon entering the Sudetenland, the Nazi troops continued through Czechoslovakia and captured the capital city of Prague in March, 1939.

World War II officially begins with the invasion of Poland. Before invading Poland, Germany had formed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union, making them allies. Quickly, Germany rolls through Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium. By June 1940, France had fallen and all that remained against Germany was Britain. In May of 1940, before France had been defeated, Neville Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchill as British Prime Minister.

Other aspects of World War II to know:
1: Germany calls off the attack on Britain and declares war on the Soviet Union. The Germans launched a massive attack on the Soviet Union. Three-pronged attack with almost 4 million men in total.

2: The United States does not enter World War II until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. On December 8, FDR claimed that December 7 was "a date which will live in infamy."

3: The turning point in the Pacific Theater was the Battle of Midway. A great documentary of Midway is below. Following the victory at Midway, the United States begins an islandhopping campaign through the Japanese possessions of the Pacific Ocean.

4: The turning point in Europe was the Battle of Stalingrad. The Military Channel has a brief description of the Stalingrad Soviet counter.

5:The Holocaust -- one of the greatest tragedies in the Western World was Hitler's Final Solution. Hitler used four different models: the Ottomans implementation of the Armenian Genocide, the forced marches and reservations in the United States upon the American Indians, British India, and concentration camps used in the Boer War. The death camps, most known being Auschwitz, were utilized in 1942 until the end of the war. The overall casualties from the "Final Solution" are staggering -- approximately 6 million Jews and 10 million people total, lost their lives to the Holocaust.

6:June 6, 1944 -- the beginning of the invasion at Normandy on D-Day -- remember, this was the beginning of a 2 month project. 3 million troops did not land on 5 beaches in one day. Combined with the Soviet offensive from the East and the Allied invasion through Italy, the move from France began the final squeeze on Nazi Germany. In April 1945, Hitler committed suicide and the Germans surrendered. The official surrender was signed on May 8, 1945 -- V-E Day.

7: The war between Japan and the United States continued after the European theater. The Japanese fought tooth and nail and did not believe in a system of surrender. This is one of the reasons that their pilots, when flying a crippled plane, began utilizing kamikaze tactics. One does not have to look much past the slide on Iwo Jima for other examples.

8: The United States, under President Harry Truman (FDR died April 1945), decide, as to not risk American lives, to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Three days later, having not received a surrender from Japan, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15, 1945, the Japanese surrendered and WW2 was finished.