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Allies

Allies

When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries that fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis Powers in World War II. :For more information, see the related articles: Allies of World War I and Allies of World War II.

Other uses

In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. In general English usage, those who share a common goal and whose work toward that goal is complementary may be viewed as allies for various purposes even when no explicit agreement has been worked out between them. Similarly, when the term is used in the context of war or armed struggle, a formal military alliance is not required for being perceived as an ally — co-belligerence, to fight alongside someone, is enough. According to this general usage, allies become allies not when concluding an alliance treaty but when struck by war. In the context of diversity politics, an ally has been defined as "a person of one social identity group who stands up in support of members of another group; typically a member of dominant group standing beside member(s) of a group being discriminated against or treated unjustly; e.g., a male arguing for equal pay for women." (This definition is adapted from one developed by the [http://www.asu.edu/provost/intergroup Arizona State University Intergroup Relations Center]). Yet another meaning of allies is found in the books of Carlos Castaneda, describing a race of non-human but human-appearing beings which inhabit the earth, and only infrequently interfere with human endeavors. Similar beings exist in various other fictional (and possible non-fiction) works including the book The Holy by author Daniel Quinn, in which one character refers to these beings as "you-whos". These beings may also be related or identical to descriptions of demons or nephilim. The term is generally used in the generic sense of "all who opposed the enemy". In addition, it is usually used in a strict dichotomy of them vs. us, reflecting wartime propaganda, with no account taken of nuances of countries that were occupied as neutrals, changed sides or participated in concurrent wars. In previous major European wars, e.g., those against the declarers of war Louis XIV of France, Louis XV of France, and Napoleon, the term coalition was used because these were not considered total wars, and the sovereign nations could enter and leave belligerency with diplomatic agreements with the enemy. Category:Diplomacy ko:연합국 ja:連合国

Central Powers

in green.]] The Central Powers (German: Mittelmächte) were the nations of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria, which fought aganist the Allies during World War I. They are called this because they all were located between Russia in the east and France and the United Kingdom in the west. Germany and Austria-Hungary became allies on 7 October 1879, being joined subsequently (20 May 1882) (see Triple Alliance) by Italy, which however undertook secretly in 1902 not to honour its alliance commitments against Germany's principal adversary France. Italy entered WWI on May 23, 1915 — in alliance with Britain. After the WWI, however, the fascist regime in Italy would go back to the old agreement and instead ally with Nazi Germany. Following the outbreak of European war in August 1914, the Ottoman Empire intervened at the end of October against Russia, provoking declarations of war by the Triple Entente powers - Russia, France and Britain. Bulgaria, still resentful after its defeat in July 1913 at the hands of Serbia, Greece, Romania and Turkey, was the last nation to enter the war against the Entente, invading Serbia in conjunction with German and Austro-Hungarian forces in October 1915. Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies on 29 September 1918, following a successful Allied advance in Macedonia. Turkey followed suit on 30 October in the face of British and Arab gains in Palestine and Syria. Austria and Hungary concluded ceasefires separately during the first week of November following the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire, and Germany signed the armistice ending the war on the morning of 11 November after a succession of advances by Belgian, British, French and US forces in north-eastern France and Belgium.

Axis Powers

The Axis Powers were those participants in World War II opposed to the Allies. The 3 major Axis powers, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan, referred to themselves as the "Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis". At their zenith, the Axis powers ruled empires that dominated large portions of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, but they were ultimately defeated in the end of World War II. Like the Allies, membership of the Axis was fluid, and some nations entered and later left the Axis during the course of the war.
- Major Axis powers
- Nazi Germany, under Führer Adolf Hitler (and in the last days of the war, President Karl Dönitz)
- Japan, under Emperor Hirohito, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo (and in the last days of the war, Kuniaki Koiso and Kantaro Suzuki).
- Italy (until September 8, 1943), under Prime Minister Benito Mussolini & King Victor Emmanuel III.
- Lesser Axis powers
- Bulgaria (until August 1944)
- Hungary (until April 4, 1945)
- Romania (until August 1944)
- Italian Social Republic (Republic of Salò), under Benito Mussolini
- Countries in active coalition with the Axis
- USSR (until June 22, 1941, Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)
- Finland (Anti-Comintern Pact 1941; June 26, 1944 – July 31, 1944, Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement)
- Independent State of Croatia (until May 1945)
- Thailand, under Field Marshal Luang Phibunsongkhram.
- Provisonal Government of Free India, under Subhas Chandra Bose.
- Under direct internal Axis control
- Manchukuo (Manchuria; until August 1945)
- Mengjiang (until August 1945)
- Reformed Government of the Republic of China (until August 1945)
- Vichy France (until August 1944)
- Slovakia (until 1944-45)
- Lokot Republic (until 1943)
- Belarusian Central Rada (until 1944)
- Reichskommissariat Ostland (until 1944)
- Reichskommissariat Ukraine (until 1943-44)
- Neutral countries with good relations with the Axis
- Spain (until 1945)
- Portugal (until 1945). At the same time, it held a secular alliance with Britain.
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Turkey (until 1945) receiving certain military equipment,also poses political and commerce link with Axis for sometimes
- Argentina (pro-Axis neutrality until March 27 1945 when declared war against Germany and Japan under American pressure.) See also these articles: Native pro-Axis leaders, governments and Axis direct control of occupied countries; Axis plans for expansion and attacks and; Expansion operations and planning of the Axis Powers.

Origins

On September 18, 1931, Manchuria was an object of Japanese invasion during the Mukden incident. Italy, facing opposition to its war in Abyssinia from the League of Nations, forged an alliance with Germany, which had withdrawn from the League in 1933. The term was first used by Benito Mussolini, in November 1936, when he spoke of a Rome-Berlin axis in reference to the treaty of friendship signed between Italy and Germany on October 25 1936. The two countries would form an "axis" around which the other states of Europe could revolve. Later, in May 1939, this relationship transformed into an alliance, dubbed the "Pact of Steel". The Axis was extended to include Japan as a result of the Anti-Comintern Pact of November 25th 1936 and the Tripartite Treaty of September 27, 1940. The alliance was subsequently joined by Hungary (November 20 1940), Romania (November 23 1940), Slovakia's puppet government (November 24 1940) and Bulgaria (March 1, 1941). The Italian name Roberto briefly acquired a new meaning from "Roma-Berlino-Tokyo" between 1940 and 1945.

Lesser Axis nations

Hungary

The first and most willing of the Central European Axis allies, Hungary started its collaboration with the fascist states of the Axis in 1927 signing a treaty with Italy. Formal and informal ties with Germany throughout the 1930s lead to Hungary's active participation in subduing and dismantling of the Czechoslovak state, from which it obtained a number of territories. Hungary formally signed the tripartie pact on November 20, 1940

Romania

Joined the Axis in on November 23, 1940 after Russia occupied half of one of its provinces (Moldova, June 28, 1940) and Germany and Italy forced it to relinquish half of another (Transylvania) to Hungary on August 30, 1940.

Bulgaria

Joined the Axis in November 1940.

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia joined on March 25, 1941, but a British-supported coup d'état two days later put Yugoslavia's participation in question (although King Peter II of Yugoslavia actually declared his adherence to the treaty), leading to a German occupation of Yugoslavia in April. When Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, several nationalist groups used this to their advantage. The territory roughly consisting of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was made into a puppet state called the "Independent State of Croatia". Other parts of Yugoslavia were either annexed, governed directly by the coalition forces, or by other locals (e.g. general Milan Nedić in Serbia). On April 10, 1941, the extreme-right nationalist Ustaše organization proclaimed the "Independent State of Croatia" on parts of occupied Yugoslav territory. The leader of the state was Ante Pavelić. The state was largely founded on nationalist aspirations due to the mistreatment of Croats and other South Slavic people within Yugoslavia because of the Royal Yugoslav government's policy of pro-Serb bias. Fascist forces subsequently sent thousands of Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and dissenting Croats and others to the concentration camps where most of them died. In 1941 Ivan Mihailov's Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) welcomed Bulgaria's renewed control of Vardar Macedonia which was populated basically with ethnic Bulgarians. There was hardly any resistance in this area till 1944. In the beginning of September 1944, when the Bulgarian government left the Axis and declared war on Nazi Germany, Berlin offered Mihailov to declare Macedonia's independence with Berlin's support but he declined. The Yugoslav Partisan forces under the command of Josip Broz Tito, a Croat, fought a guerrilla war throughout Yugoslavia and the ISC since mid-1941. By 1943 they became a major opponent, and in 1945 they were joined by the Red Army and the Bulgarian army and expelled the fascists. Croatia and other territories were then reincorporated into the second Yugoslavia.

Italian Social Republic

The Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana in Italian) was established in 1943 following Italy's defeat at the hands of the Allies. On July 25 1943, King Victor Emmanuel III stripped Benito Mussolini of his powers and had him arrested upon leaving the palace. Several months later, in a spectacular raid led by Otto Skorzeny, Mussolini was freed, declared his dismissal a coup, and proclaimed it put down on September 23 1943. On that same date he assumed control in the northern half of Italy, which he proclaimed to be the Italian Social Republic with its capital at Salò. The Republic came to an end in 1945 when Allied forces ousted the Germans from Italy.

Middle East

Iraq under the control of Rashid Ali al-Kaylani tried to join the Axis but there was internal resistance. When Kaylani was again appointed prime minister in 1940, King Ghazi had just passed away and the new four-year-old King Faisal II assumed the throne, with his uncle Emir Abdul-Illah serving as "acting monarch." While Abdul-Illah supported the British in the war, Kaylani was strongly opposed to them and refused to allow troops to cross through Iraq to the war front. Kaylani was also opposed to those calling for him to break off ties with the Fascist government in Italy. He subsequently sent his Justice Minister, Naji Shawkat, to meet with the then German ambassador to Turkey, Franz von Papen, to win German support for his government. At a later meeting, in which the Mufti's private secretary acted as the representative for the Iraqi government, Kaylani assured Germany that his country's natural resources would be made available to the Axis Powers in return for German recognition of the Arab states' right to independence and political unity, as well as the right to "deal with" the Jews living in Arab lands. When Britain found out about these dealings, sanctions were immediately placed on Iraq. The last chance for Iraqi entrance on the side of Germany slipped away when the Italians began to lose control of their territory holdings in North Africa. On January 31 1941, Kaylani was forced to resign from the post of Iraqi Prime Minister due to British pressure. The Japanese had some contact with Islamic leaders in Southeast Asia and Middle East areas, such as British Malaya, Dutch Indies, Afghanistan or Sinkiang, before and during the war. Among these leaders were the Sultan of Johore, Afghan Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan, and Uiguir leader Ma Chung-ying. They coordinated some actions with Japanese agents, but these contacts did not result in significant action during the war. Certain Italian agents arrived to Persia and Afghanistan with similar purposes, but received little assistance..

South East Asia

During Axis operations in French Indochina, Japanese agents maintained contact with the Vichy France governor, Admiral Decoux. At the same time, these agents kept in contact with local Vietnamese chief Mandarin Tran Trong-kim, installing him as prime minister of the Vichy puppet regime. This ended with the Japanese invasion of Vichy Indochina, which Germany decided to ignore. The Philippines was not officially or technically an Axis member. However, the Japanese military installed a puppet government which governed from 1943 to 1945. The government was compelled to cooperate with the Japanese. (However, the Philippine Commonwealth government-in-exile, led by President Manuel Quezon, and a significant Filipino guerrilla movement were opposed to the Japanese.) Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 the United States had declared war against the Empire of Japan. Japan had been annexing East Asian territory for nearly ten years before bringing the U.S. into the war. Following Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded the Philippine Islands. In 1943 most high government officials had fled off the islands but a justice of the Filipino Supreme Court by the name of José P. Laurel was instructed to remain in Manila by President Manuel Quezon. Quezon went into exile to Bataan and then to the United States. It is because Laurel was such a critic of the United States that he fell in favor with the senior members of the Japanese occupying force. He was appointed President of the Philippines on October 14, 1943. Attempts were made at Laurel's life by Filipinos trying to resist the Japanese. Laurel was shot on two occasions but recovered. Laurel was instrumental in intervening in protecting Filipinos against the harsh Japanese wartime rule and policies. During the Second World War, the Japanese massacred many Filipinos, and raped and molested Filipinas. In Burma before the conflict, Japanese agents maintained contacts with Ba Maw (Saw), the indigenous Prime Minister in Burmese British administration. For this, British authorities arrested him, but the Burmese leader was liberated when Axis forces arrived. He conformed one Autonomous Pro-Japanese Government in Burma with Japanese advisers and supported by Japanese forces until 1944-45 when arriving American, British, and Chinese forces invaded and liberated the country. In British Malaya (Malaysia), the Japanese sustained some contacts with the Islamic local leader, the Sultan of Johore. This leader visited Japan in 1934, received the Tenno, the Decoration of Rising Sun Great Cord and established relationships with the Japanese administration. When Japanese Forces invaded Dutch Indies, during their 1942-45 occupation, they promised total political independence and proposed the organization of "Nation Defenders Army", under the guidance of Ahmed Sukarno, the local leader. He founded since 1927 the "Indonesian Nationalists Party", which during Japanese occupation received ideological support.

Countries in active or passive coalition with the Axis

Finland

After being attacked by the Soviet Union in the Winter War (1939–1940), the democratic Finland was a co-belligerent of Nazi Germany during the Continuation War (1941–1944), seeking to regain its lost territory and conquer East Karelia. Some Finns tended to view (and still do) these two conflicts as separate from World War II. In Allied usage, Finland was often referred to as an Axis country, which is often deplored as an effect of Soviet propaganda depicting the Finns as fascists in disguise.This conflicts with Finnish self-perception, which considers Finns acting only for self-preservation. It is interesting to note, however, that unlike Great Britain and France, the United States did not declare war on Finland during World War II. American perceptions of Finland were generally more favorable than the rest of the Allied powers. The Finnish government was very careful to nurture this political separation. Finland was never a signatory to the Tripartite Treaty, and Finns refused to put Finnish army under the joint command with Germans. Also Finnish high command refused to implement German wishes which it considered too damaging to Finnish interests, like attack to Leningrad or cutting Murmansk railroad at Louhi. The relation did more closely resemble a formal alliance during the six weeks of the Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement, which was presented as a German condition for much needed help with munitions and air support as the Soviet offensive coordinated with D-day threatened Finland with complete occupation. In the Lapland War (1944–1945), Finland as a co-belligerent of the Soviet Union pushed the German Wehrmacht out of Finnish territory to then-occupied Norway.

Thailand

Japanese forces began invading Thailand at nine points on the morning of December 8, 1941. Resistance to the Japanese invaders was swift and courageous, but Field Marshal Luang Phibunsongkhram, the prime minister, ordered the cessation of resistance. On December 21 a military alliance with Japan was signed and on January 25, 1942 Thailand declared war on Britain and the United States of America. The Thai ambassador to the United States, Seni Pramoj did not deliver his copy of the declaration of war, so although the British reciprocated by declaring war on Thailand and consequently considered it a hostile country, the USA did not. The Seri Thai was established during these first few months. Thai forces conducted their biggest offensive of the war in May 1942, taking Kengtung in northern Burma from the Chinese 93rd Army. Parallel Seri Thai organisations were established in Britain and inside Thailand. Queen Ramphaiphanee was the nominal head of the Britain-based organisation, and Pridi Phanomyong, then regent, headed its largest contingent, which was operating within the country. Aided by elements of the military, secret airfields and training camps were established while Allied agents fluidly slipped in and out of the country. As the war dragged on, the Thai population came to resent the Japanese presence. In June 1944, Phibun was overthrown in a coup engineered by the Seri Thai. The new civilian government attempted to aid the Seri Thai while at the same time maintaining cordial relations with the Japanese. After the war, US influence prevented Thailand from being treated as an Axis country, but Britain demanded three million tons of rice as reparations and the return of areas annexed from the British colony of Malaya during the war and invasion. Thailand also had to return the portions of British Burma, French Cambodia and French Laos that had been taken.

Soviet Union

In order to gain strength before the inevitable all-out war, under secret provisions in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union invaded several eastern European nations, which were previously part of the Russian Empire for centuries, on September 17, 1939. Poland was partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Baltic States capitulated to the Soviets on September 28. The Soviets invaded another part of former Russian Empire, Finland, on November 30 and seized minor parts of its territory. Relations with the Germans deteriorated after disagreements and mutual suspicions. Hitler never intended to continually honour the pact and invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 thus ending the treaty.

Free India

The Provisional Government of Free India was a shadow government led by Subhas Chandra Bose. It operated only in Japanese-controlled areas outside India. Bose was an Indian nationalist who did not believe in Gandhi's peaceful methods for achieving independence. Several key factors were vital in Bose's rise to power. The first was that even though India was a colony its army was largely autonomous. The second factor was that with Britain at war with Germany, an uprising could not be put down as easily as in years prior. The third and most important factor was the advance of the Japanese Empire through Asia. The Japanese Empire had earlier established Manchukuo (Manchuria) as independent in 1932 and later Indonesia and Vietnam independent without the approval of the latter two's European colonial masters. Bose led several units in mutiny against the British government and had come into alliance with the invading Japanese Empire to India's east. Bose and A.M.Sahay, another local leader, received ideological support from Mitsuru Toyama, chief of the Black Dragon Society along with Japanese Army advisers. Other Indian thinkers in favour of the Axis cause were Asit Krishna Mukherji, a friend of Bose and husband of Savitri Devi Mukherji, one of the women thinkers in support of the German cause, and the Pandit Rajwade of Poona. Bose was helped by Rash Behari Bose , founder of the Indian Independence League in Japan. Bose declared India's independence on October 21 1943. With its provisional capital at Port Blair on the Nicobar Islands, the state would last two more years until August 18 1945 when it officially became defunct. In its existence it would receive recognition from nine governments: Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Italy, Independent State of Croatia, Reformed Government of the Republic of China, Thailand, Burma (under Ba Maw), Manchukuo, and the Philippines under de facto (and later de jure) president José Laurel.

Spain

Although Spain under Generalissimo Francisco Franco stayed neutral throughout the war, the country was ideologically aligned with the Axis powers (the Nationalists had received considerable military support from Germany and Italy during the Spanish Civil War). Franco did allow Spaniards to volunteer for what was described as a struggle against Bolshevism, and eventually over 40,000 Spanish volunteers fought on the Axis side during World War Two (primarily on the Eastern Front) under the auspices of the Blue Division.

Under direct internal Axis control

Manchukuo (Manchuria)

Manchukuo, meaning Manchuria, was a puppet state set up by Japan on February 18, 1932. The country's independence was not recognized by the League of Nations causing Japan to withdraw from the League. Italy, Germany and the Japanese-puppet government of China under Wang Jingwei were the only major governments to recognize the Japanese backed state. In the following order, these other states later recognized the existence of this nation: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ba Maw Burmese Nation, Thailand, the Indian government of Subhas Chandra Bose, and The Vatican. Manchuria met its dissolution in 1945 following Japan's defeat ending World War II. In Manchukuo there were also some anti-Communist White Russians leaders known as the "Duce" Konstantin Vladimirovich Rodzaevsky and General Kislistin. They sought to persuade the Imperial Japanese Army to invade Russian Siberia, for the purpose of establishing an anti-Soviet pro-Axis Russian government in the Russian Far East.

Mengjiang

Mengjiang (Mengchiang) was a client state organized by Japan on February 18 1936. The country's independence was merely theoretical, since principal political power remained firmly with "local" Japanese establishment. The local leader under the Japanese administration was the Mongol Prince Demchugdongrub. The Japanese Army's ostensible purpose there was an eventual invasion of Soviet Siberia, during which it would advance the frontiers of Menchiang to Soviet Outer Mongolia. This was an attempt to exploit Pan-Mongol nationalist spirit and promise a future unified great Mongol nation. Mengjiang vanished in 1945 following Japan's defeat ending World War II and the invasion of Soviet and Red Mongol Armies.

Nanjing puppet state

Reformed Government of the Republic of China is a term applied to a puppet state in central China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). This short-lived state was founded March 29 1940 by Wang Chingwei, who became Head of State of the Japanese supported collaborationist government based in Nanjing. Its flag was similar to that of the Republic of China, whose flag is still flown in Taiwan. On September 9 1945, following the defeat of Japan in World War II, the area was surrendered to General Ho Ying-ching, a Nationalist General loyal to Chiang Kai-shek. Additionally, Japanese forces organized other minor "independent" nations or political entities in occupied lands on the Chinese mainland, from the Inner Mongolia to Guangdong.

Vichy France

Following the successful invasion of France by German forces and the capture of Paris, France surrendered to Germany on 24 June 1940. Germany divided France into occupied and non-occupied zones with the latter under the leadership of the Vichy government, which was the de facto government of France led by prime minister Henri Philippe Pétain. The occupation resulted in a divided French state splintered into Vichy France and France. Charles de Gaulle directed forces called the Free French Forces in exile; The United States recognized Vichy France as the legitimate de jure government until 1942. The Allies feared that Vichy French-controlled colonies around the world would be used by Axis forces as bases, and many were attacked by Allied forces, beginning with the destruction of the Vichy French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir on July 3, 1940. Vichy forces often fought back vigorously, and were occasionally assisted by German, Italian or Japanese forces. Perhaps the most notable example of a Vichy-controlled colony used as an Axis base was French Indochina, which became the starting point for the Japanese invasions of Thailand, Malaya and Borneo. The Vichy government ceased to exist on September 3 1944 following the victory of Allied forces and restoration of the French Republic over all Vichy territories, colonies, and land holdings.

Lokot Republic

During the Axis actions of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, alongside occupation plans in Reichskommissariat Ostland and Reichskommissariat Ukraine, Axis forces developed a political and administrative experiment in the so-called Lokot Republic. This territory of one little anti-Soviet Russian pro-Axis local administration under Axis direct control, lead at first by Constantine Voskoboinik and later succeeded by Bronislaw Kaminski, himself also commander of native anti-communist forces of Russian National Liberation Army or RONA. The idea of liberation from the Bolsheviks found noticeable support in Russian-occupied areas, and this state is one example of collaboration between natives and Axis forces. Another Russian anti-communist leader with similar thinking was Andrey Vlasov and his local anti-Stalinist pro-Axis force of Russian Liberation Army (ROA). The Republic's life came to an end in 1943, soon after the war on the Eastern Front changed course at the Battle of Stalingrad.

Belarusian Central Rada

In Axis forces occupation period, theirs attempted to establish a similar puppet state in Belarus with local government under the name of Belarusian Central Rada (BCR), with similar state symbols of ancient Belarusian nation. (The chairman of the BCR was Radasłaŭ Astroŭski). This "nation" vanished after the Axis defeat in the Eastern Front in 1944.

Reichskommissariats of Ostland and Ukraine

In Axis direct military administration in Reichskommissariat Ostland and Reichskommissariat Ukraine, theirs managed the political control along some native collaborators, and permit at lasts certain rights and support local culture in purpose for gaining local friendship. In Ukraine exist some local nationalists why proposed to Axis military authorities nominal independence or autonomy. Inclusive military authorities joining natives suggest and permit some military volunteers units between Axis forces in occupied territories. At contrary, the Axis civil administration, assigned at Schleshwig-Holstein Gauleiter Heinrich Lohse (for Ostland) and East Prussia Gauleiter Erich Koch (for Ukraine) are very hard, with massive exploitation of natural resources, local workers deportations, measures for Jews, etc., during yours all administrative period. Alfred Rosenberg, previously at commenced of Axis Eastern Front campaign, suggest the some administrative organization in future USSR conquest lands in next Reichskommissariats: Ostland (Baltic States),Ukraine,Kaukasus (Caucasia lands) and Moskau (Moscow and the rest of Russian European areas surrounding). This territories extended from European frontier to Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line. Mentioned proposes stay in line with "Lebensraumpolitik" and "Lebensraum im Osten" (the creation of more living space for Germans in the east) geopolitical strategies for future German east provinces expansion in benefits of "Aryan" generations in next centuries. These military and civil administrative policies in territories previously mentioned and respectives geopolitical and expansionist ambitious plans if maintaining until when Axis military situation turning in Stalingrad and Kursk during 1943-1944.

White Russian Client State in Soviet Far East

Axis forces in North Asian lands during Pacific War pretend the organization of Client State in Soviet Far East, similarly at Far Eastern Republic. In accord with Hakko Ichiu Geopolitical doctrines, between Japanese strategic planning for mainland Asia (1905-1940), also theirs ideed, in eventually of land invasion in Siberia, the foundation of some political entity in Russian Far East, possibly leading by White Russian chief Konstantin Vladimirovich Rodzaevsky and General Kislistin, under orders of Axis direct administration, in similar form of ancient Japanese administration in Baikal, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok during 1918-1922, also included Kamchatka, occupied for theirs in 1918-1927. These leaders poses orders to establishing one "counterrevolutionaire antisoviet" pro Axis movement and new order government. These political entity served too how "Bulwark" along Chosen and Manchukuo, against Russian Soviet influence. The excuse for such political entity are why at Japan poses debt to establish "order" in Siberia, debt at "chaos" provoked by suppose Soviet defeating for victorious Axis Forces in European Eastern Front and prevent eventual American aid to Soviet demoralized Government, finding refugee in these territory. At the same time, this areas, served how "springboard", for next anti-Stalinist operations in nearest Siberian lands, along Outer Mongolia. Axis commanders, considered at Red Army detachment in Far East, how "easy prey" under these situation, theirs expected your total defeating in December 1941. These plans, originally ideed during 1929-1939 Russo-Japanese Incidents, more later retaken in 1941-1942 period, during European Eastern Front fight (Operation Barbarossa), for less needed of Axis forces arriving to Volga river at finish of July 1941, time chosen for commenced operations in the area, the "Kantouken Plan" or "Othsu or B Operation". This project to definitively stopped when occurred Stalingrad Axis defeat in 1943.

Summary

Of the lesser Axis powers, six would become defunct by the end of the war: Vichy France, the Independent State of Croatia, Slovakia, Manchukuo, the Italian Social Republic, and Provisional Government of Free India. Of the six, only three would reemerge, under entirely separate governments. These were:
- India (1947),
- Croatia (1991), and
- Slovakia (1993).

Secondary Sources

- Gerhard L. Weinberg. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II.(NY: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2005) is the best scholarly overview.
- I. C. B. Dear and M. R. D. Foot, eds. The Oxford Companion to World War II. (2001) is the best reference book, with encyclopedic coverage of all military, political and economic topics.

External links

- [http://www.axishistory.com/ Axis History Factbook] Category:World War II politics ko:추축국 ja:枢軸国 simple:Axis countries

World War II

, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. From top going counterclockwise: Allied landing on D-Day 1944, the Nuremberg Rally 1936, the Nagasaki atom bomb 1945, the Soviet flag over the Reichstag in Berlin 1945 and the Gate of Auschwitz.]] World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th Century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest continuous war in human history. It was the first time that a number of newly developed technologies, including nuclear weapons, were used against either military or civilian targets. World War II resulted in the direct or indirect death of anywhere from 50 to 60 million or more people, over 3% of the world population at that time. It is estimated to have cost more money and resources than all other wars combined: about 1 trillion US dollars in 1945 (adjusted for inflation; roughly 10.5 trillion in 2005), not including subsequent reconstruction [http://www.historychannel.com/worldwartwo/?page=triumph5]. The outcomes of the war, including new technology and changes to the world's geopolitical, cultural and economic arrangement, were unprecedented. The conflict began by most Western accounts on September 1 1939 with the German invasion of Poland (the Pacific war is taken to have started on July 7 1937 with the Japanese attack on China) and lasted until mid-1945, involving many of the world's countries. Virtually all countries that participated in World War I were involved in World War II. Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939 and Canada followed on September 10, 1939. The United States entered the conflict in December of 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Summary

Attributed in varying degrees to the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression, and the rise in nationalism, racism, fascism, National socialism, Japanese imperialism, and militarism, the causes of the war are a matter of debate. The war was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allies. The Axis initially consisted of an alliance between Germany and Italy, which later expanded to include Japan and Eastern European countries such as Romania and Bulgaria. Some of the nations that Germany conquered sent military forces, particularly to the Eastern front. Among the expeditionary forces that joined Germany were forces from Vichy France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain (though Spain was itself a neutral country) and armies of Russians and Ukrainians under the command of the general Andrey Vlasov. The Allies were initially the United Kingdom, including the Commonwealth, France and Poland, later joined by the USSR, the United States of America and China. Fighting occurred across the Atlantic Ocean, in Western and Eastern Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, the Middle East, in the Pacific and South East Asia, and it continued in China. In Europe, the war ended with the surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945 (V-E and Victory Days), but continued in Asia until Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945 (V-J Day). At least 50 million people died as a result of the war. This figure includes acts of genocide such as the Holocaust and General Ishii Shiro's Unit 731 experiments in Pingfan, incredibly bloody battles in Europe and the Pacific Ocean, and massive bombings of cities, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan and the firebombing of Dresden (and even worse but less known) of Pforzheim in Germany. Few areas of the world were unaffected; the war involved the "home front" and bombing of civilians to a new degree. Atomic weapons, jet aircraft, rockets and radar, the blitzkrieg, or "lightning war", the massive use of tanks, submarines, torpedo bombers and destroyer/tanker formations, are only a few of many wartime inventions and new tactics that changed the face of the conflict. Post–World War II Europe was partitioned into Western and Soviet spheres of influence, the former undergoing economic reconstruction under the Marshall Plan and the latter becoming satellite states of the Soviet Union. This partition was, however, informal; rather than coming to terms about the spheres of influence, the relationship between the victors steadily deteriorated, and the military lines of demarcation finally became the de facto country boundaries. Western Europe largely aligned as NATO, and Eastern Europe largely as the Warsaw pact countries, alliances which were fundamental to the ensuing Cold War. In Asia, the United States' military occupation of Japan led to Japan's democratisation. China's civil war continued through and after the war, resulting eventually in the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The war sparked a wave of independence for colonies of European powers, who were exhausted from fighting the war. There was a fundamental shift in power from Western Europe to the new superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, though there were few actual boundary changes. __TOC__

Causes

People's Republic of China]] Main articles: Causes of World War II, Events preceding World War II in Europe, Events preceding World War II in Asia The causes of World War II are naturally a debated subject, but a common view, particularly among the allies in the early post-war years, ties them to the expansionism of Germany and Japan: Germany had lost wealth, power and status following the First World War and the expansion was to make Germany great again.
- In Germany there was a strong desire to escape the bonds of the World War I Treaty of Versailles, and eventually, Hitler and the Nazis assumed control of the country. They led Germany through a chain of events: rearmament, reoccupation of the Rhineland, a merger with Austria (Anschluss), incorporation of Czechoslovakia and finally the invasion of Poland.
- In Asia, Japan's efforts to become a world power and the rise of militarist leadership (in the 1930s the government in Japan was undermined as militarists rose to power and de facto gained totalitarian control) led to conflicts with first China and later the United States. Japan also sought to secure additional natural resources, such as oil and iron ore, due in part to the lack of natural resources on Japan's own home islands.

Participants

iron ore and Joseph Stalin, during the Yalta Conference in 1945]] Main article: Participants in World War II The belligerents of the Second World War are usually considered to belong to either of the two blocs: the Axis and the Allies. A number of smaller countries participated in the war, though often under occupation or as proxies of one of the large powers. The Axis Powers consisted primarily of Germany, Italy, and Japan, which split the Earth into three spheres of influence under the Tripartite Pact of 1940, and vowed to defend one another against aggression. This replaced the German-Japanese Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936 that Italy had joined in 1937. Spain's fascist government led by Francisco Franco was a great asset in trade to the Axis powers during the war. A number of smaller countries were counted among the Axis powers. Among these were Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, and arguably Finland. Among the Allied powers, the so-called Big Three were the United Kingdom (from September 3 1939), the Soviet Union (from June 1941) and the United States (from December 1941). China had been at war with Japan since 1937. 1937 On August 23, 1939, just before the war broke out, the USSR and Germany signed the non-aggression Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which, among other things, divided Eastern Europe into regions of influence. But Germany violated the pact when it invaded the USSR in 1941. Similarly, the US had the (much older) unilateral Monroe Doctrine, which stated that Europe should not interfere in the Americas and in turn the U.S. would not interfere in European affairs (including wars). But the U.S. entered the war after first Japan and then Germany declared war on it and launched direct attacks on its navy, shipping and other interests. Many other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Thailand and Yugoslavia are also considered important Allies, although some of these were conquered and occupied by Axis forces or even officially joined the Axis as a result of coercion. Countries that attempted to remain neutral in the conflict were often viewed with suspicion by the participants, and often pressured to make contributions to the most influential power in their neighbourhood. Sovereignty was often difficult to maintain as many countries that did not directly participate in the conflict nevertheless held vested interests in seeing a particular side prevail. For example, neutral Switzerland was generally considered to be "Allied-friendly", while neutral Spain was considered "Axis-friendly", despite the fact that neither country openly proclaimed any alliances. Such situations allowed neutral countries to become hotbeds of espionage. It is important to note as well, that Sweden's participation in the war was negligable due to specific relations with the German state at the time.

A debated starting date

On which date World War II started is a debated subject; historians do not all agree on which event signified the start of the war. The most common date used is 1 September 1939, marking the German invasion of Poland which resulted in the British and French declarations of war two days later. Other candidates include the Japanese invasion of China on 7 July 1937 (the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War) or the entry of Hitler's armies to Prague in March 1939. Some historians argue that the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (The Second Italo-Abyssinian War) which lasted seven months in 1935-1936 was the actual start of World War II. There are some historians that argue the war started on the start of the Manchurian Incident on 18 September 1931.

Chronology 1937-45

Main articles: European Theatre of World War II, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II, Pacific War, End of World War II in Europe

1937: Second Sino-Japanese War

On 7 July 1937, Japan, after occupying northeastern China as Manchuria in 1931, launched another attack against China near Beijing (see Marco Polo Bridge Incident). Rather than retreating swiftly as in engagements with the Japanese before, the Chinese government declared war on Japan, marking the official start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, which would soon become part of the World War. In December 1937, the capital, Nanking (now Nanjing), fell and the Chinese government moved its seat to Chongqing for the rest of the war. Surprised by the unanticipated level of resistance from China, the Japanese forces committed brutal atrocities against civilians and POWs when Nanking was occupied (see Nanjing Massacre), killing up to 200,000 civilians within a month. In Europe, the peace was uneasy, with Germany annexing Austria and Czechoslovakia, and taking apparent aim at Poland.

1939: War breaks out in Europe

Poland]] Main articles: Polish September Campaign, Phony War War broke out in Poland on 1 September 1939, with the German invasion of Poland. France and the United Kingdom honoured their defensive alliance of March 1939 by declaring war two days later on 3 September. Australia and New Zealand declared war the same day, although through the quirk of the international date line, New Zealand then Australia were the first to declare war on Germany. Canada followed a week later, on 10 September. Only partly mobilised and with troops inadequately equipped with largely outdated weapons (which included large numbers of horse-mounted cavalry), and without the anticipated support of French or British forces, Poland unsurprisingly fared poorly against the Wehrmacht's superior numbers and "blitzkrieg" tactics. In accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Red Army invaded Poland from the east on 17 September. Hours later, the Polish government escaped to Romania. The last Polish Army unit was defeated on 6 October. As Poland fell, the British and French were either caught unaware of German intentions or had not allowed themselves to believe that Germany would invade Poland. Germany paused to regroup during a period that would be termed "the Phony War", or the "Sitzkrieg", which lasted until May 1940. Polish forces continued to fight the Axis powers after their country fell. A prominent example was the assistance of Polish pilots during the Battle of Britain. The Soviet Union, due to its treaty relationship with Nazi Germany, did not fight the fascists: Stalin was happy to have those he felt were his natural and true enemies—the capitalist West and Nazi Germany—fight each other. Indeed, the Soviets had their partisans in the U.S., working alongside Nazi sympathisers, advocate that the U.S. remain neutral in the war, a position that the majority of Americans, reluctant to join in what they saw as "someone else's war," welcomed. Battle of Britain There were isolated engagements during the "Phony War" or "Sitzkrieg" period, including the sinking of HMS Royal Oak in the anchorage at Scapa Flow and Luftwaffe bombings of the naval bases at Rosyth and Scapa Flow. The Kriegsmarine pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee was sunk in South America after the battle of the River Plate. The Tripartite Pact was signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan on 27 September, 1940, formalising their alignment as the "Axis Powers". The Soviet Union invaded Finland on 30 November 1939, beginning the Winter War, which lasted until March 1940 with Finland ceding territory to the Soviet Union.

1940: The war spreads

Winter War Main Articles: Norwegian Campaign, Battle of France, Battle of Britain, North African Campaign, Balkans Campaign Europe: Germany invaded Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940, in Operation Weserübung, ostensibly to counter the threat of an Allied invasion from the region. Heavy fighting ensued on land and at sea in Norway. British, French and Polish forces landed to support the Norwegians at Namsos, Åndalsnes and Narvik, with most success at the latter. By late June, all Allied forces had been evacuated, and the Norwegian Army surrendered. France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were invaded on 10 May, ending the Phony War and beginning the Battle of France. The Allies had hoped to establish a static continuous front and were ill-prepared for the German Blitzkrieg tactics. In the first phase of the invasion, Operation Yellow, the Wehrmacht's Panzergruppe von Kleist bypassed the Maginot Line and split the Allies in two by driving to the English Channel. Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands fell quickly against the attack of Army Group B, and the British Expeditionary Force, trapped in the north, was evacuated at Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo. German forces then invaded France itself, in Operation Red, advancing behind the Maginot Line and near the coast. While some units from the French army were still fighting, a number of top politicians and military leaders decided that it would be better to surrender given the situation; France signed an armistice with Germany on June 22 1940, leading to the establishment of the Vichy France puppet government in the unoccupied part of France. In June 1940 the Soviet Union occupied Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and annexed Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from Romania. Not having secured a rapid peace with the United Kingdom, Germany began preparations to invade with the Battle of Britain. Fighter aircraft fought overhead for months as the Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force fought for control of Britain's skies. The Luftwaffe initially targeted RAF Fighter Command but turned to terror bombing London. The Luftwaffe was not successful, and Operation Sealion, the proposed invasion of the British Isles, was abandoned. Similar efforts were made, though at sea, in the Battle of the Atlantic. In a long-running campaign, German U-Boats attempted to deprive the British Isles of necessary Lend Lease cargo from the United States. The U-Boats reduced shipments considerably; however, the United Kingdom refused to seek peace, with Prime Minister Winston Churchill stating that "We shall never surrender". President Roosevelt announced a shift in the American stance from neutrality to "non-belligerency". The Mediterranean: Italy invaded Greece on 28 October 1940, from bases in Albania. Although outnumbered, Greek forces successfully repelled the Italian attacks and launched a full-scale counter-attack deep into Albania. By mid-December they had liberated one-fourth of Albania. The North African Campaign began in 1940; Italian forces in Libya attacked British forces in Egypt. The aim was to make Egypt an Italian possession, especially the vital Suez Canal. British, Indian and Australian forces counter-attacked (see Operation Compass), but this offensive stopped in 1941 when much of the Commonwealth forces were transferred to Greece to defend it from German attack. However, German forces (known later as the Afrika Korps) under General Erwin Rommel landed in Libya and renewed the assault on Egypt. Italian troops invaded and captured British Somaliland in August 1940. On the other hand, the Italian declaration of war challenged the British supremacy of this sea, a supremacy hinged on Gibraltar, Malta and Alexandria. While Gibraltar was never under direct attack, Alexandria and to a deadlier degree Malta were hit repetitively by Axis attacks, the thrusts towards the Suez Canal for the former, and the 1940/42 Blitz for the latter, which made the island of Malta the most heavily bombed place on earth. Asia: In 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina (Vietnam) upon agreement with the Vichy Government, despite local Free French, and joined Axis powers Germany and Italy. These actions intensified Japan's conflict with the United States and the United Kingdom, which reacted with an oil boycott.

1941: The war becomes global

Main articles: Eastern Front, Continuation War, Attack on Pearl Harbor Europe: Attack on Pearl Harbor Yugoslavia's government succumbed to the pressure of Italy and Germany and signed the Tripartite Treaty on 25 March 1941. This was followed by anti-Axis demonstrations in the country and a coup which overthrew the government and replaced it with a pro-Allied one on 27 March 1941. Hitler's forces then invaded Greece and Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941. Hitler reluctantly sent forces to assist Mussolini's forces in their attempt to capture Greece, principally to prevent a British build-up on Germany's strategic southern flank. With these new troops the Axis succeeded in driving the Greek forces back. British troops were diverted from North Africa to assist with the defence but failed to prevent Greece's capture. On 20 May 1941, the Battle of Crete began when elite German paratroopers and glider-borne mountain troops and some 1300 aeroplanes launched a massive airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete. Crete was defended by an group of about 43,000 Greek, New Zealand, Australian and British troops, not all of them fully equipped. The Germans attacked the island simultaneously on the three airfields. Their invasion on two of the airfields failed, but they successfully captured one, which allowed them to reinforce their position by landing reinforcements. After a week it was decided that so many German troops had been flown in that there was no way to defeat them, and about 17,000 Commonwealth soldiers were evacuated. However, over 10,000 Greek and 500 Commonwealth troops remained at large and caused problems for the German occupiers. The Germans may have suffered well over 15,000 casualties. So heavy were the losses that Hiler decided never to launch an airborne invasion again. General Kurt Student would later say, "Crete was the grave of the German parachutists". The Allies, on the other hand, came to the conclusion that every major invasion should be supported by paratroopers. Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the largest invasion in history, commenced on 22 June 1941. The "Great Patriotic War" (Russian: Великая Отечественная Война, Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna) had begun with surprise attacks by German panzer armies, which encircled and destroyed much of the Soviet's western military, capturing or killing hundreds of thousands of men. Soviet forces came to fight a war of scorched earth, withdrawing into the steppe of Russia to acquire time and stretch the German army. Industries were dismantled and withdrawn to the Ural mountains for reassembly. German armies pursued a three-pronged advance against Leningrad (modern-day St Petersburg), Moscow, and the Caucasus. Having pushed to occupy Moscow before winter, German forces were delayed into the Soviet Winter. Soviet counter-attacks defeated them within sight of Moscow's spires, and a rout was only narrowly avoided. Some historians identify this as the "turning point" in the Allies' war against Germany; others identify the capitulation of the German Sixth Army outside Stalingrad (modern-day Volgograd) in 1943. The Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union began with Soviet air attacks shortly after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, on 25 June, and ended with an armistice in 1944. The Soviet Union was joined in the war by the United Kingdom but not by the United States. The Mediterranean again: In June 1941, Allied forces invaded Syria and Lebanon, capturing Damascus on 17 June (see Syria-Lebanon campaign). Meanwhile, Rommel's forces advanced rapidly eastward, laying siege to the vital seaport of Tobruk. Australian and other Allied troops in the city resisted all until relieved, but a renewed Axis offensive captured the city and drove the Eighth Army back to a line at El Alamein. Asia: The Sino-Japanese War El Alamein Main article: Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) A war had begun in Asia years before World War II started in Europe. Japan had invaded China in 1931. By 1937, war had broken out as the Japanese sought control of China. Roosevelt signed an unpublished (secret) executive order in May 1940 allowing U.S. military personnel to resign from the service so that they could participate in a covert operation in China: the American Volunteer Group, also known as Chennault's Flying Tigers. Over a seven-month period, Chennault's Flying Tigers destroyed an estimated 600 Japanese aircraft, sunk numerous Japanese ships, and stalled the Japanese invasion of Burma. With the United States and other countries cutting exports to Japan, particularly fuel oil, Japan planned a strike on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, 7 December 1941, to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet while consolidating oil fields in Southeast Asia. It is hard to determine whether the Japanese intended to release an advance declaration of war, however, as means of coordinating secret directives with public communication, particularly during a weekend in the U.S., were limited. Despite what warning signs remained, the attack on Pearl Harbor achieved military surprise and dealt severe damage to the American Fleet's battleships, though the primary targets, aircraft carriers, remained safely at sea. The next day, Japanese forces arrived at Hong Kong, which later led to the surrender of the British colony on Christmas Day (known to locals as 'Black Christmas'), as well as launching numerous attacks on British and American outposts across the Pacific. Asia: The United States enters the war
Main article: Attack on Pearl Harbor Attack on Pearl Harbor On 7 December 1941, Japanese warplanes commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo carried out a surprise air raid on Pearl Harbor, the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific. The Japanese forces met little resistance and devastated the harbour. This attack resulted in 8 battleships either sunk or damaged, 3 light cruisers and 3 destroyers sunk as well as damage to some auxiliaries and 343 aircraft either damaged or destroyed. However the attack failed to strike targets that could have been crippling losses to the US Pacific Fleet such as the aircraft carriers which were out at sea at the time of the attack or the base's ship fuel storage and repair facilities. The survival of these assets have led many to consider this attack a catastrophic long term strategic blunder for Japan. The following day, the United States declared war on Japan. Simultaneously to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan also attacked U.S. air bases in the Philippines. Immediately following these attacks, Japan invaded the Philippines and also the British Colonies of Hong Kong, Malaya, Borneo and Burma with the intention of seizing the oilfields of the Dutch East Indies. In a matter of months, all these territories and more fell to the Japanese onslaught. The British island fortress of Singapore was captured in what Churchill considered one of the most humiliating British defeats of all time. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the United States on 11 December 1941, even though it was not obliged to do so under the Tripartite Pact of 1940. Hitler made the declaration in the hopes that Japan would support him by attacking the Soviet Union. Japan did not oblige him, and this diplomatic move proved a catastrophic blunder which gave President Franklin D. Roosevelt the pretext needed for the United States joining the fight in Europe with full commitment and with no meaningful opposition from Congress. Some historians mark this moment as another major turning point of the war with Hitler provoking a grand alliance of powerful nations, most prominently the UK, the USA and the USSR, who could wage powerful offensives on both East and West simultaneously.

1942: Deadlock

Franklin D. Roosevelt] Main articles: Battle of Stalingrad, Operation Torch Europe: In 1942, an aborted German offensive was launched towards the Caucasus to secure oil fields, and German armies reached Stalingrad. The siege of Stalingrad continued for many months, with vicious urban warfare leading to high casualties on both sides. At night, the Soviet forces were resupplied from the east bank of the Volga, and the Wehrmacht forces were eventually ground down; especially after Hitler diverted the armour of the Sixth Army to the Caucasus. In November a Soviet offensive encircled Sixth Army. By early February 1943, it was clear that the Sixth Army would have to surrender. Hitler promoted General Friedrich Paulus, who was in charge of the German forces, to Field Marshal in the vain hope it would deter him from surrendering. It did not, and he surrendered completely on 2 February. The results were the destruction of the city, millions of casualties, and the collapse of Germany's Sixth Army as a viable fighting force. Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels responded with his Sportpalast speech to the German people. Some historians cite this as the European war's "turning point". The Mediterranean: Sportpalast speech Sportpalast speech (432nd Squadron) damaged by flak somewhere over Algeria during the North African Campaign in 1942.]] The First Battle of El Alamein took place between 1 July and 27 July 1942. German forces had advanced to the last defensible point before Alexandria and the Suez Canal. However, they had outrun their supplies, and a Commonwealth defence stopped their thrusts. The Second Battle of El Alamein occurred between October 23 and November 3, 1942, after Bernard Montgomery had replaced Claude Auchinleck as commander of the Commonwealth forces, now known as the Eighth Army. Erwin Rommel, German commander of the Afrika Corps, known as the "Desert Fox", was absent for this battle because he was recovering from jaundice back in Europe. Commonwealth forces took the offensive, and although they lost more tanks than the Germans began the battle with, Montgomery was ultimately triumphant. The western Allies had the advantage of being close to their supplies during the battle. In addition, Rommel was getting little or no help by this time from the struggling Luftwaffe, which was now more tasked with defending Western European air space, and fighting the Soviet Union, than providing Rommel with support in North Africa. After the German defeat at El Alamein, Rommel made a successful strategic withdrawal to Tunisia. During the Arcadia Conference from December 1941 to January 1942, the Allied leaders concluded that it was essential to keep Russia in the war. This consideration led to the overall strategy "Germany First"; i.e. giving priority of knocking out Germany before Japan. This decision resulted in a long debate as to where and when to open a Second Front against Germany. The American Chiefs of Staff favoured a cross-channel (France) amphibious operation in the summer. The British opposed this because of insufficient landing craft and logistical problems. It was also thought that American forces were in a process of expansion, organisation and exercise, not capable yet of fighting an experienced German army. Only if Russia collapsed would they approve a main landing in France. Churchill put forward the idea of a small invasion in Norway or landings in French North Africa. The plan for landings in Africa was approved in July 1942. Operation Torch was headed by General Dwight Eisenhower. The aim of Torch was to gain control of Morocco and Algiers through simultaneous landings at Casablanca, Oran and Algiers, followed a few days later with a landing at Bône, the gateway to Tunisia. The operation was launched on 8 November 1942. The first wave was almost entirely American troops, because it was thought that the French would react more favourably to Americans than British. It was hoped that the local forces of Vichy France would put up no resistance and submit to the authority of Free French General Henri Giraud. In fact, resistance was stronger than expected but still sporadic. In Algiers, 400 members of the French resistance captured much of the city, though it was retaken before Allied forces could arrive. The Vichy commander, Admiral Darlan, negotiated an end to hostilities, against orders from the Vichy government. He was allowed to retain local control by the Allies, to the annoyance of Free French leaders. Hitler invaded and occupied Vichy France in response. Rommel's Afrika Corps was not being supplied adequately because of the loss of transport shipments caused by Allied—mostly British—navies and air forces in the Mediterranean. This lack of supplies and air support destroyed any chance of a large German offensive in Africa. Ultimately, German and Italian forces were caught in the pincers of a twin advance from Algeria and Libya. The withdrawing Germans continued to put up stiff defence, and Rommel defeated the American forces decisively at the Battle of Kasserine Pass before finishing his strategic withdrawal back to the meagre German supply chain. Inevitably, advancing from both the east and west, the Allies finally defeated the German Afrika Corps on May 13 1943. Some 250,000 Axis soldiers were taken prisoner. Asia: 1943]] In May 1942, a naval attack on Port Moresby, New Guinea, was thwarted by Allied navies in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Had the capture of Port Moresby succeeded, the Japanese Navy would have been within striking range of Australia. This was both the first successful opposition to Japanese plans and the first naval battle fought only between aircraft carriers. The two sides suffered roughly equal losses. A month later the invasion of Midway Island was prevented by decoding secret Japanese messages, and hence alerted U.S. naval leaders that Midway was the Japanese target. American pilots sunk four Japanese carriers, which the Japanese industry could not replace swiftly. The loss of many planes and skilled pilots (many of them took part in Pearl Harbor) was also difficult to redress. The Americans lost one carrier and fewer planes. It was a complete victory for the Americans, and the Japanese Navy was now on the defensive. However, in July an overland attack on Port Moresby was led along the rugged Kokoda Track. This was met with Australian militia, many of them very young and undertrained, fighting a stubborn rearguard action until the arrival of Australian regulars returning from action in North Africa, Greece and the Middle East. But amazingly, the outnumbered and untrained Australian 39th battalion defeated the 5,000-strong Japanese army. This was one of the most significant victories in Australian military history. Even prior to the American entry to the war, the Allied leaders had agreed that priority should be given to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Nonetheless, U.S. forces began to attack captured territories, beginning with Guadalcanal Island, against a bitter and determined Japanese defence. On 7 August 1942, the United States assaulted the island. In late August and early September, while battle raged on Guadalcanal, an amphibious Japanese attack on the eastern tip of New Guinea was met by Australian forces at Milne Bay, and the Japanese land forces suffered their first conclusive defeat. On Guadalcanal, the Japanese resistance failed in February 1943. A substantial element of the Asian campaign was played out, starting in 1942, in the Aleutian Islands. For detailed information, see World War II: Aleutian Islands.

1943: The war turns

World War II: Aleutian Islands Main articles: Battle of Kursk, Italian Campaign Europe: Russia: After the victory at Stalingrad, the Red Army launched a series of eight offensives during the winter, many concentrated along the Don basin near Stalingrad, which resulted in initial gains until German forces were able to take advantage of the weakened condition of the Red Army and regain the territory it lost. In July, the Wehrmacht launched a much-delayed offensive against the Soviet Union at Kursk. Their intentions were known by the Soviets, and the Battle of Kursk ended in a Soviet counteroffensive that threw the German Army back. Italy is invaded: Newly captured North Africa was used as a springboard for the invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943. On 25 July Mussolini was fired from office by the King of Italy, allowing a new government to take power. Having captured Sicily, the Allies invaded mainland Italy on 3 September 1943. Italy surrendered on 8 September, but German forces continued to fight. Allied forces advanced north but were stalled for the winter at the Gustav Line, until they broke through in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Rome was captured on 5 June 1944. Mid-1943 brought the fifth and final German Sutjeska offensive against the Yugoslav Partisans before the invasion and subsequent capitulation of Italy, the other major occupying force in Yugoslavia. Partisans, Louisville (CA-28), Portland (CA-33) and Columbia (CL-56) into Lingayen Gulf, Philippines, January 1945.]] Asia: (1943–45) Australian and U.S. forces then undertook the prolonged campaign to retake the occupied parts of the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies, experiencing some of the toughest resistance of the war. The rest of the Solomon Islands were retaken in 1943, New Britain and New Ireland in 1944. As the Philippines were being retaken in late 1944, the Battle of Leyte Gulf raged, arguably the largest naval battle in history. The last major offensive in the south-west Pacific Area was the Borneo campaign of mid-1945, which was aimed at further isolating the remaining Japanese forces in South East Asia and securing the release of Allied POWs. Allied submarines and aircraft also attacked Japanese merchant shipping, depriving Japan's industry of the raw materials it had gone to war to obtain. The effectiveness of this stranglehold increased as U.S. Marines captured islands closer to the Japanese mainland. The Nationalist Kuomintang Army, under Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communist Chinese Army, under Mao Zedong, both opposed the Japanese occupation of China but never truly allied against the Japanese. Conflict between Nationalist and Communist forces emerged long before the war; it continued after and, to an extent, even during the war, though more implicitly. The Japanese had captured most of Burma, severing the Burma Road by which the Western Allies had been supplying the Chinese Nationalists. This forced the Allies to create a large sustained airlift, known as "flying the Hump". U.S. led and trained Chinese divisions, a British division and a few thousand U.S. ground troops cleared the Japanese forces from northern Burma so that the Ledo Road could be built to replace the Burma Road. Further south the main Japanese army in the theatre were fought to a standstill on the Burma-India frontier by the British Fourteenth Army (the "Forgotten Army"), which then counter-attacked, and having recaptured all of Burma was planning attacks towards Malaya when the war ended.

1944: The beginning of the end

British Fourteenth Army, 6 June 1944]] Main articles: Battle of Normandy, Operation Bagration, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge On "D-Day" (6 June 1944) the western Allies invaded German-held Normandy in a pre-dawn amphibious assault spearheaded by American (82nd and 101st), British (6th) and Canadian paratroops, opening the "second front" against Germany. The allies suffered large casualties during the beach assault. German artillery batteries pounded the beaches. But the airborne divisions took out the guns from the rear, enabling the seaborne troops to break inland. Hedgerows aided the defending German units, and for months the Allies measured progress in hundreds of yards and bloody rifle fights. An Allied breakout was effected at St.-Lô, and the most powerful German force in France, the Seventh Army, was almost completely destroyed in the Falaise pocket while counter-attacking. Allied forces stationed in Italy invaded the French Riviera on 15 August and linked up with forces from Normandy. The clandestine French Resistance in Paris rose against the Germans on 19 August, and a French division under General Jacques Leclerc, pressing forward from Normandy, received the surrender of the German forces there and liberated the city on August 25. By early 1944, the Red Army had reached the border of Poland and lifted the Siege of Leningrad. Shortly after Allied landings at Normandy, on 9 June, the Soviet Union began an offensive on the Karelian Isthmus that after three months would force Nazi Germany's co-belligerent Finland to an armistice. Operation Bagration, a Soviet offensive involving 2.5 million men and 6,000 tanks, was launched on 22 June, destroying the German Army Group Centre and taking 350,000 prisoners. Finland's defence had been dependent on active, or in periods passive, support from the German Wehrmacht that also provided defence for the chiefly uninhabited northern half of Finland. After the Wehrmacht retreated from the southern shores of the Gulf of Finland, Finland's defence was untenable. The Allies' armistice conditions included further territori

Allies of World War I

in red.]] The Allies of World War I are sometimes also referred to as the Entente Powers or Entente Forces. The main allies were France, Russia, the British Empire, Italy and the United States. France, Russia and Britain entered World War I in 1914, as a result of their Triple Entente alliance. Many other countries later joined the allied side in the war - see