The Stages / phases of World War II Can be divided into 9, from the invasion of Poland and other countries by the Germans in 1939, until the fall of the atomic bombs in 1945.
Although each historian thinks differently, these stages are representative and explain the most important events that defined the course of the war.
Disembarkation of Normandy, June 6, 1944
It is considered that the Second World War began with the German invasion of Poland on September 3, 1939.
During the early stages, the conflict was mainly confined to Europe, but later spread to the rest of the world following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which led the United States to enter the war.
The war mobilized the economic and industrial resources of all belligerents and killed some 50 million people, most of whom were civilians.
The war ended with the fall of Berlin by the Red Army in May 1945 and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945.
The main phases of World War II
The fake war or lightning war - September 1939 to May 1940
Churchill called it lightning warfare. This was the phase of the war after the collapse of Poland and its surrender on 27 September. With limited exceptions, there were no military operations in continental Europe.
The only military confrontations for many months were along the French border and at sea, especially in terms of the toll required by German ships, and the Soviet invasion of Finland in November 1939 which led to the Finnish surrender in March 1940.
Although the Germans invaded Denmark and Norway on 9 April, the fake war is considered complete with the German invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France on 10 May.
The Fall of France and the Battle of Brittany - May 1940 to October 1940
During this phase, the military situation of the allies deteriorated rapidly in continental Europe with the surrender of the Netherlands and Belgium before the end of May and the British evacuation of France at Dunkerque between 27 May and 4 June.
The German army entered Paris on June 14 and France signed an armistice on June 22, while Italy declared war on the allies on June 10. Between 10 July 1940 and mid October 1940 the German army carried out a series of bombings in Britain during what became known as the Battle of Britain.
Hitler declared a blockade of Great Britain and in early September had made plans for the invasion of Great Britain, but these plans were suspended in mid-October.
However, German air strikes continued after October while the Allies had also started bombing incursions into Germany including Berlin (first bombed in August 1940).
The war on several fronts and the attack on the Soviet Union - November 1940 to August 1941
The Germans invaded Yugoslavia and Greece, and then occupied Crete after the largest invasion of paratroopers throughout the war.
In May, the British ship Hood was sunk by the Bismarck, which in turn was sunk by the British navy.
On 22 June Hitler launched the invasion of the Soviet Union and in mid-August the German army was in Leningrad.
The war in the Soviet Union and the war in the Pacific - August to December 1941
By early October, the Germans had begun their foray into Moscow, while the British aircraft carrier was sunk in Gibraltar. At the end of November, the Russians launched a great counter-offensive and the Germans began to withdraw.
In November, in the Pacific the Australian cruise ship Sydney was sunk by the Germans. On December 7, the Japanese launched their attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor: the United States and Britain declared war on Japan the next day and Germany declared war on the United States on Dec. 11.
The Japanese march to the south and the battles of the Coral Sea - December 1941 to June 1942
On December 8, the Japanese invaded Malaya, Thailand and the Philippines and on December 11 invaded Burma. Shortly afterwards, the Dutch East Indies were invaded.
On February 19, the Japanese had also launched their first bombing attack on Darwin and US forces under MacArthur left the Philippines on February 22.
In Burma first Rangoon and Mandalay were captured, the latter in early May before the Battle of the Coral Sea. This battle, and more significantly the Battle of Midway in June, intensified Japanese participation in the war.
In Europe, German air raids against Britain intensified, but were accompanied by British and US bombing of Germany.
German defeats in the Soviet Union and North Africa - July 1942 to February 1943
During the second half of 1942 the war continued with the German advance in both North Africa and the Soviet Union until the Battle of Stalingrad.
In November, the Russians launched a counter-offensive in Stalingrad and in early February 1943 the German backlash occurred.
Meanwhile, in October 1942 Montgomery launched its counterattack in El Alamein and on November 4 the Germans were defeated and other cities in North Africa were retaken during the following weeks and months.
At the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, the Allies announced that the European war could only end with the unconditional surrender of the Germans.
The opening of a second front in Europe - February 1943 until June 1944
By mid-1943 the Germans had been expelled from North Africa and in July the Allies invaded Sicily.
After a long campaign the Allies entered Rome in June 1944. A month earlier, in May 1944 the Germans finally surrendered to the Russians in the Crimea.
The landing of Normandy and the end of Nazi Germany - June 1944 to May 1945
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference in 1945.
The allies landed on the beaches of Normandy, opening a second front in the West. It took eleven months for allied forces to advance from the west and the Soviet troops from the east to force the German surrender, the liberation of France and the Netherlands.
The Russians arrived in Berlin and Hitler committed suicide in late April, a week before the final surrender. During their advance, the Russians expelled the Germans from a number of Eastern European countries that later became part of the Communist bloc for several decades.
The Fall of Atomic Bombs and Japanese Surrender - July to August 1945
The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and the second on Nagasaki on August 9. The Japanese surrendered on August 15 and delivery documents were signed on September 2.
Passive phase and active phase of World War II
Other historians divide the war into two phases: The passive phase (1939-194 ) Or ideological warfare and the active phase (Late 1941 and 1945). In this case, the decisive moment that divides the stages is the German offensive to the Soviet Union and the Japanese offensive in Pearl Harbor.
These events motivated the United States and the Soviet Union to join the United Kingdom in the struggle against the Axis.
Passive war or " G Wars extra Na " is the term between September 1939 Y May 10 from 1940, When the troops Anglo-French and German They did not attack each other despite the war being declared .
Germany used this period to to get better The combat ability of their armed forces. The use of different methods of"psychological warfare" In Germany was one of the t Most used at this stage.
The Opinion in many European countries was disoriented. to , the Which intensified the activities of Pro-German forces within allied countries .
Use on a large scale from Demagogy and propaganda with lies about the Peaceful intentions of Germany Made common citizens in allied countries doubt their leaders.
In the meantime The aggressors Azis Were preparing his Military campaign in Western Europe. In the spring of 1941 Begins the German offensive, ie begins the active phase of the war.
Facts that marked the course of World War II
Another of the problems most discussed by historians is the crucial fact that changed the course of World War II and that could be considered as the end of the prima phase and the beginning of the second.
Western historians consider crucial the day Of the Disembarkation of allied troops in Normandy, while Russian historians consider the battle in S Stalingrado and la Battle of Kursk Or Operation Citadel.
Some historians highlight the Tehran Conference between Iosif Stalin , Winston Churchill Y Franklin D. Roosevelt Held in 1943, Since in this one the Allies agreed on the Operac Overlord ion.
The Overlord Operation
It began on 6 June 1944 with the landing of the Allies in Normandy. At the start of the operation, one hundred and sixty thousand soldiers entered French territory, and by August allied troops had more than three million soldiers in France.
On the other hand, the Battle of Stalingrad, present Volgograd was developed between the 23 of August of 1942 and the 2 of February of 1943. The city was totally destroyed, but the Red Army was able to defeat the Nazis.
This battle was not only a struggle of military strategy, but the German defeat evidenced that they were not able to supply their army and that they had problems with the logistics, whereas the Soviet machine of production worked to produce resources for the army of way More effective.
The Battle of Kursk is considered one of the greatest battles in the history of mankind. Russian historians consider it a victory of great importance, since this was the first offensive battle that the Nazis lost On the West Front .
In Kursk, the Germans lost almost all their technical and human resources and then This battle Begins the Soviet offensive that did not stop until taking the Reichstag Together with the Allies on May 9, 1945.
The war in Asia
L The campa In New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Battle of Midway In 1942 and 1943 they detained the Japanese forces and marked the beginning of the allied counterattack.
It played a very important role The Solomon Islands Campaign, which was occupied by the Japanese in the early months of 1942. These islands were strategically important, since they contained the energy supply lines of the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
In order to defend their supply lines, the Allies landed on several islands: Solomon Islands, New Georgia Islands, Bougainville And Guadalcanal. These campaigns were carried by land, air and sea. The loss of these islands demoralized the Japanese.
Also, the Battle of Midway is considered one of the most important moments, which changed the course of the war in the Pacific. The attempt by the Japanese to invade the Midway Atoll was stopped by the Americans.
This point was strategic for the Japanese expansion plans and their defeat was a hard blow to the commanders of the Japanese army. In analyzing these facts we can conclude that the events of 1942 and 1943 were decisive in changing the course of the war.
The war in Africa
It is also important to highlight the stages of the War in Africa, where allied forces and forces of the Axis also faced.
North Africa
In this area, World War II began on June 10, 1940 and ended on May 13, 1943 with the victory of the allied forces. From September 1940 until October 1942, the Axis forces, mainly the Italians successfully fought in North Africa.
Already in 1942, the eighth British Army, commanded by General Montgomery, managed to defeat Axis forces and went on an offensive tactic to expel the Axis of Africa completely.
Stands the Battle in El Alamein , Where the allies managed to take the initiative. At the same time, in Casablanca (Morocco) and Algiers (Algeria) the United States troops under the command of the general Eisenhower Disembarked
Italian-German troops were cornered in Tunisia and finally surrendered on the Bon Peninsula on 13 May 1943.
Sub-Saharan Africa
L World War II began in August 1940 and ended Or in November 1942. On August 3, 1940, Italian troops launched their offensive in Ethiopia and Somalia.
In Somalia, the British managed to expel them, but Ethiopia was occupied. In Sudan, the Italians managed to occupy the city of Kassala, Gallabat, Kurmuk, but were soon arrested.
In the French colonies the battles between the forces of the Government of Vichy and the free France were intense. In September 1940 the army of free France along with British, Dutch and Australian units were defeated in Senegal.
In January 1941, British forces in East Africa counterattacked and expelled the Italians from Kenya and Sudan. By March, the British liberated the part of Somalia, which was occupied by the Italians and invaded Ethiopia.
On 6 April 1941 the British, South African and Ethiopian troops entered Addis Ababa. The Italians were completely defeated.
He May 5, 1942 The troops of France free And British troops invaded Madagascar, which was The food base of Japanese submarines in the Indian Ocean. In November 1942 the island was released completely.
Further information on World War II
The American continent was not the scene of World War II battles, although German submarines and spies operated to destroy the merchant fleets of countries that sent resources to the Allies and also to steal information about operations.
Some historians, such as José Luis Comellas , They study World War II as part of an era beginning in 1914 and ending in 1945.
The inevitability of World War II was predetermined. to by N Washington State System -Versalles, which determined International relations and the World order, whose foundations were laid at the end of the First World War.
He Treaty of Versailles and the from The Washington Conference Took into account only the interests of the victors in the First World War, Without taking into account the interests of the Defeated newly formed countries (Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) And Germany .
The execution of a new world order in Europe was complicated by the Russian Revolution and chaos in Eastern Europe.
References
- Comellas, José Luis The European Civil War (1914-1945). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Davis, Norman Europe at war 1939-1945: Who really won World War II? Barcelona: Planet, 2014.
- Dear, Ian C. B. Foot, Michael; Daniell, Richard, eds. The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Fusi, Juan Pablo The Hitler effect: a brief history of World War II. .
- History of World War II 1939-1945 in 12 volumes. Moscow: Boenizdat, 1973-1976. (Russian language).