On september 1, 1939, Germany began their invasion of Poland and started one of the most devastating wars. Several nations from around the globe declared war on each other. One of the nations that declared war was Great Britain, which was led by Winston Churchill.
Winston Churchill was a British politician that helped the Allies win The Second World War. He was the prime minister of the United Kingdom during the war. One of Churchill’s important contributions was during the Battle of Britain. This was also known as The Blitz. The Blitz was a campaign by the Germans where they sent bombers to raid different areas in the United Kingdom. These raids occurred during the night, which made it hard for the British to defend against. The German bombers attacked many important places such as factories, air fields, military bases, shipping centers, and other important facilities. Later on, the bombers began to raid cities and caused a large amount of civilian casualties. Things started to change when the British increased the production of anti aircraft weapons and positioning them in strategic areas. Winston Churchill decided to get revenge on the Germans. Churchill used the German’s tactics against them. The British bombers bombed the city of Dresden and caused a large amount of civilian casualties. This was a questionable act by Churchill. One of the possible reasons on why he did this was so he can shorten the war. Another possible reason on why he bombed the city is because he wanted to lower the German morale. Another one of his important contributions is the Dunkirk evacuation. Churchill managed to save a lot of troops and soldiers that were stuck on the beaches of Dunkirk. These soldiers were under constant enemy attack. Because of this, Churchill gave out many speeches. Churchill was famous for giving speeches. His speeches worked effectively to persuade the people, boost their morale, and encouraged others to be in the military. Before World War 2, Winston Churchill served in the government during world war 1. During his position in the government he ordered an attack at the Dardanelles. This was a massive failure that caused many casualties. He was forced to resign from the government and decided to serve for the military. During this time, he was positioned on the western front. This military experience and his past mistakes he gained from World War 1helped him change into a better leader during the second world war.
The Germans played an important role in the war. They were led by the dictator Adolf Hitler. Hitler made many important contributions to the war. One of his first contributions was the invasion of poland. After signing a treaty with the Russians, Hitler began its invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The Russians joined the invasion with Germany a couple days later. This military campaign stopped and the entire nation of Poland was annexed. The territory was split between Germany and Russia. France was an ally toward Poland. A couple days after the invasion of Poland, France declared war on Germany. This caused the Germans to launch an offensive against France. During this invasion of France, the Germans used their newly developed airforce and maintained air superiority over France. They sent several different panzer or tank divisions to France. The German forces avoided the Maginot line. This was a defensive line that was located in between the borders of Germany and France. The German troops went around the line and invaded France. This invasion was successful. Because of this, Germany took over France and controlled a lot of territory. This was one of Germany’s first major victories in the war. The Germans used a military tactic known as blitzkrieg throughout the war. This is when they send a lot of troops, including tanks and airplanes, into a small area and pushing through. This was very effective and helped Germany win a lot of its battles. Another important contribution that Hitler made was the creation of Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe is the German air force. This airforce played an important role because it allowed them to gain air superiority and win most battles. One important use of the air force was during the blitz. The blitz took place in Great Britain, and was a military operation where German bombers aimed for important and strategic areas such as factories, airfields, shipping ports, fortifications and more. Eventually, the bombers aimed for populated cities. This caused thousands of civilian casualties and many lost their homes. Another event that Hitler is infamously known for is the Holocaust. During this event, millions of Jewish people were captured and placed into concentration camps. In these camps, the jewish people worked hard everyday and were given almost no food. The people that were too weak and unable to work were killed. They had very horrible living conditions and were treated very poorly. Because of this, many nations were angry. Even before the war, when Hitler gained power from the Enabling Act, the jewish people were segregated and treated poorly.Hitler created the Schutzstaffel which is also called the SS. During one night, the SS invaded the businesses of jewish people and destroyed almost everything. This event was called the Night of Broken Glass or Kristallnacht. Hitler’s discrimination against the jewish people and his invasion of Poland was one of the main reasons why World War 2 started. Just like Winston Churchill, Hitler fought during the first world war. His hatred and military experience turned him into what he was during World War 2.
Another nation that played an important role in the war was Italy. During this time, their leader was Benito Mussolini. Before the war, Mussolini was a politician and journalist. He believed in what is known as Italian fascism. He gave speeches to the people in public to gain their trust. Benito Mussolini formed an army and overthrew the Italian government. This turned Italy into a totalitarian state and turned Mussolini into a dictator. During this time, he abolished all of the political parties and formed the National Fascist Party. His actions and contributions inspired Hitler to take over Germany. After Hitler gained power in Germany, Mussolini proposed the Four Power Pact with Britain, France and Germany. Mussolini showed interest for Austria and threatened Germany with war if they took over Austria. Italy has a conflict with Ethiopia which caused Mussolini to invade and take over Ethiopia. Britain and France disapproved of Mussolini's actions which forced him to form an alliance with Germany. Italy played an important role in the war. The allied powers attempted to take over Italy to control of the Mediterranean Sea. Controlling the Mediterranean Sea would also control the Middle East and Egypt. This caused Germany to form a plan to takeover Italy if the allied powers managed to succeed. The series of battles of Italy was called the Italian campaign. The Invasion of Sicily was one of the first battle in the Italian campaign and was important because the victory would allow the allies to advance. The Battle of Sicily was an amphibious assault. The Americans were under control of Dwight D. Eisenhower. This was an important battle and led to an advance toward Italy. The next step in this campaign is the Invasion of Continental Italy. The allies took over southern Italy. Hitler believed that this was not important. The allies then advanced to Rome which led the allies to another important battle. The allied began to invade northern Italy. This eventually caused the allies to take over Italy and cause the Italians to switch sides against Germany.
Dwight D. Eisenhower played an important role in the second world war. His military career started during the first world war. Eisenhower requested an overseas assignment to the Philippines. He was denied this request and served as infantry throughout various camps. Later on, the U.S. entered the war, and Eisenhower requested another assignment overseas to France but was denied again. Eisenhower was assigned to serve the continental U.S. He trained several tank crews and started to get noticed. They saw how well organized he was. At the end, he never saw action during the first world war. Between the wars, Eisenhower served with different talented generals. He served with Fox Conner and John J. Pershing. Conner was Eisenhower’s mentor. He taught Eisenhower various things such as his military thinking. Later on, Eisenhower was assigned to work on the American Battle Monuments Commission with Pershing. Soon after, Eisenhower worked with George Moseley and Douglas MacArthur. During his time with Moseley, he made the national defense policy and studied mobilization and the importance of industry in the government. After serving Moseley, He served with Douglas MacArthur and accompanied him to train the Philippine army. The attack on Pearl Harbor followed the entrance of the United States in the war. Eisenhower was immediately assigned to the war plans division. During World War 2, Eisenhower fought in many battles. He served as a general throughout the operations in the Mediterranean and served in the Italian Campaign. One of the important battles he fought in was in the invasion of Normandy. After the war, Eisenhower ran for president and won the election. He played a role in different wars such as the Korean war and the Cold war. He intervened with the Korean war to stop the fighting. Tensions began to increase with the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Both nations started to have an arms race and built many nuclear weapons. In the ebook, State of the Union Addresses of Dwight D. Eisenhower, he said, “First, while determined to use atomic power to serve the usages of peace, we take into full account our great and growing number of nuclear weapons and the most effective means of using them against an aggressor if they are needed to preserve our freedom.” He then manages to stop the conflict.
Another important person in the war is Douglas MacArthur. Douglas MacArthur served as a general during World War 2 and was positioned at the Philippines. He was stationed there to help train the Phillippine army. MacArthur helped with several different battles at the Pacific. Before the war, MacArther served the military during the first world war. He was apart of the Champagne-Marne Offensive, Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and the Battle of Saint Mihiel. Between the wars, he served as a military general. During this time he worked with people such as Dwight Eisenhower. The second world war started and MacArthur was stationed in the Philippines. The attack on Pearl Harbor forced the United States into the war. During this time, the japanese people were expanding towards the southeast asia which included the Philippines. This led to the Philippines campaign. During this time the japanese invaded the Philippines. Douglas MacArthur had to retreat from the Philippines and in to Australia. While he retreated, the japanese took over all of the Islands. Later on, MacArthur returned to the Philippines with some of the Australian army to liberate it from japanese opposition. MacArthur was also apart of the New Guinea campaign. This campaign was a major loss for the japanese.
Another important person during the second world war is Hideki Tojo. Before the war, Tojo served in the military during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This was a war between China and Japan. Japan wanted to expand its influence politically and grow its military to gain resources. After the First World War The Great Depression swept across the globe. This caused the Japanese to invade China for their resources. During this war, Tojo helped invade and control Manchuria which is a northeastern part of China. Later on, Tojo went to invade and conquer islands in the pacific. In order to prevent the United States from interfering with their actions to take over Southeast Asia, Tojo ordered an attack towards a naval base in Hawaii. This event was called Pearl Harbor. After this attack, the Japanese achieved several different victories during their invasion of Southeast Asia. Tojo began to want to annex several different places. The war continued and Tojo got more victories. However, one of the turning points in the war was during the Battle of Midway. This battle was the first major victory for the United States in the Pacific and caused heavy damage to the japanese navy. Tojo began to receive opposition in the government. After this, Tojo and the Japanese started to lose more and more battles. With the increasing threat in China and the slow advance of the U.S. army in the Pacific, Tojo tried to make peace with China but failed. In order to win the war, Tojo launched an offensive called the U-Go offensive. This offensive would free a lot of soldiers that are imprisoned in China, and it would take over India. This plan would also defeat the U.S. fleet at the Marianas. Tojo believe that these victories would force the U.S. to surrender and make Japan win the war. The battle of Saipan was a defeat for the Japanese. This made it clear that the Japanese would not win the war. This forced Tojo to resign and caused him to get arrested and executed later on.
