World War II: Axis Expansion and Allied Victory
The World at War: The Expansion of the Axis Powers
In the early 1930s, fascist powers united in the “Comintern” covenant, which heralded the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis, and began an escalation of aggression:
- Japan invaded Manchuria and started the first phase of the Second World War by invading China.
- Italy conquered Abyssinia and Albania.
- Germany annulled the Treaty of Versailles and restored its army.
- The intervention of Hitler and Mussolini in the Spanish Civil War was the prelude to the Second World War.
The Policy of Appeasement
In 1938, Hitler annexed Austria, but the democracies did not prevent it. They adopted a policy of appeasement that had already been seen in Spain.
Encouraged by this, Hitler launched an offensive on Czechoslovakia. In September 1938, at the Munich Conference, France and Britain abandoned their ally, which was invaded by the Nazis. In 1939, when Poland was threatened with the annexation of the Danzig corridor, France and the UK realized that they had failed and gave their support to Poland.
The Invasion of Poland
In August 1939, Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact. Germany had achieved Russian neutrality.
On September 1, Hitler invaded Poland. France and the UK declared war.
Blitzkrieg
After crushing the Poles, Germany was ready to defeat their Western foes. In the spring of 1940, Hitler started the blitzkrieg. He conquered core countries such as Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
But his biggest success was the victory over France. While the French were protected in their fortifications, Hitler attacked from Belgium, thereby deceiving and defeating them. In two months, the resistance collapsed.
France requested an armistice, and a collaborationist regime headed by Pétain was installed in Vichy. Only General de Gaulle, supported by London, was proclaimed the head of Free France.
Battle of Britain and the War in the Balkans
After the defeat of France, Germany focused on the air battle of England. A concentration government headed by Churchill resisted.
Italy entered the war by attacking Greece and Egypt but was defeated. All of Europe was allied with Germany, who helped Italy in Greece, Yugoslavia, and Africa, while Japan took possession of the European colonies in the East.
The World at War: The Turning Point
The Invasion of the USSR
Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union in June 1941 was his big mistake. He thought it would crumble at the first assault.
Although the Soviets retreated and the Germans surrounded Leningrad and came near Moscow, the Third Reich had spread too far. Both space and time allied with the Russians, who mobilized all their resources. Furthermore, the brutality of the German occupation put the entire Soviet people against it.
U.S. Intervention
Since the beginning of the war, Roosevelt had helped England.
In December 1941, Japan made a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii, which led to U.S. entry alongside the UK and the USSR. The Japanese launched offensives, controlling much of the Pacific. The capture of Singapore in 1942 was a major blow to the British, who were threatening his empire. The colonized peoples saw the beginning of the end of European dominance in Asia.
The Battle of Stalingrad
In 1942, the Third Reich ruled from Africa to the Volga, but with the entry of the U.S. and the struggle in Russia, a quick end was unthinkable.
In 1943, the German defeat at the hands of the Soviets in the Battle of Stalingrad marked a turning point in Germany’s defeat.