Though World War II officially started after Britain and France declared war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, its beginnings can be found many years earlier. The start of the war was actually in 1936, when on March 7 Germany annexed the Rhineland. The Rhineland was then owned by France, but had belonged to Germany before World War I and had been taken away in the Treaty of Versailles. Because of this, the French and British didn’t react as heavily and made a concession to the Germans, hoping to prevent further conflict. Two months later, Mussolini’s Italians troops entered Ethiopia.

Also, in 1936, civil war erupted in Spain. The Germans, among many other countries, got involved in the war and tested new weapons and strategies. Hitler continued to build up military forces in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1938, German troops occupied the Sudetenland, a western part of Czechoslovakia. At this time, the main German goal was to secure food supplies for the army, in preparation for an oncoming war. Occupation of the fertile Rhineland and Sudetenland aided this goal. Once again, a concession was made and an uneasy peace held. Also in 1938, the Germans announced union with Austria.

In 1939, German troops move throughout Czechoslovakia. The Nazis soon afterward signed pacts with Italy and with Russia. Also at this time, Britain and Poland signed a mutual assistance treaty. When the Germans and Russians both invaded Poland to split it up on September 1, 1939, Britain could no longer stand neutral. Two days later, Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand had all declared war on Germany. World War II had begun. Soon afterward, Warsaw surrendered to German forces. The Soviets, after splitting Poland, began to attack Finland. After this attack, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations.

Finland signed a peace treaty with the Soviets on March 12, 1940. During April of 1940, the Nazis invaded Norway and Denmark. During this time, the French had been preparing their defenses for a German invasion. Since World War I, they had been building a network of concrete bunkers that extended across central France, from the east to west. The French assumed that the Germans would enter France in the same way as in World War I, coming through Belgium and entering northern France. Therefore, in anticipation of a German invasion, the French divisions marched into Belgium, thinking to strike the Germans unprepared. However, the Germans broke French borders near the center of France, much further south, and were almost uncontested as they swept through central France. When the reached northeast France, the German armor divisions engaged the retreating Allied troops from the east, and German reinforcements, attacked from the west. The French eventually retreated and were able to escape from the northern French coastal town of Dunkirk.

Meanwhile, the German infantry divisions swept through central France. On June 22, the French government signed an armistice with the Germans, preventing further German attacks but securing the front line. By now, the Germans had taken northern France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

Also at this time, the Soviet Union began occupying the Baltic region, specifically Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Also, Hungary declares a union with Germany, and Italy begins attacking its neighbors as well as countries in North Africa. Near the end of 1940, both Hungary and Romania joined the Axis powers. Several months later, Bulgaria follows them.

In February 1941, Erwin Rommel, a celebrated German general, arrived in North Africa with his “Afrika Korps” and Panzer tanks to stop the Allied advance through North Africa. With Rommel’s command, the German troops advanced through much of North Africa.

At this time, the Germans were planning Operation Barbarossa (see top image at right), the German attack against their Russian allies. The Germans passed through the Baltic states and moved on to Russia. The Germans had not counted that the Russians would be planning to break the treaty as well. Contrary to German expectations, the Baltic states were already occupied with many Soviet troops.

The German plan for Operation Barbarossa put the main weight on three strategic cities: Leningrad, Moscow, and Kiev. Moscow was far from the German-Soviet border and could only be planned for as a secondary attack if the first battles should succeed. However, since troops already occupied the Baltic states, the projections of Nazi advancement were not met. Still, Kiev was captured after much difficulty on September 19, 1941. Also at this time, the Germans, who were unable to capture the city of Leningrad, began a costly siege.

By now, it was clear that Moscow could not be reached, especially as the bitter Russian winter drew nearer. The Germans began a retreat from the areas surrounded Moscow. At the same time, the Russians launched a counteroffensive against the Germans. The Russians signed a mutual defense treaty with the British. The Soviet Union had joined the Allies.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (see image second from top). This was an extremely important event in the war because the next day, the United States declared war on Japan. The attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines brought the United States into the war and quickly altered the balance of power in favor of the Allies. This incident would, in the end, drag us into the war in Europe, despite the isolationist policy. Because of the mutual defense agreement between Japan and Germany, the Germans declared war on the U.S. in another three days, setting in motion the chain of events that would eventually lead to German defeat.

In 1942, America began to get involved in the war in Europe. On January 26, the first American troops arrived in Great Britain. Also in 1942, Rommel began an offensive in Africa and advances. However, in the Battle of El Alamein, in Egypt, which took place in the month of July, the British gained their first decisive land victory. After the battle, Rommel was defeated several more times, mostly by the British General Montgomery, and was forced to begin a withdrawal from Egypt.

Also in 1942, the Germans began an offensive in the Crimea, in an attempt to capture the Russian city Sevastopol. They surrounded it, but it only surrendered after a three-month siege. Also, the Germans began a land campaign in an attempt to conquer Stalingrad. This would eventually lead to defeat, however. The year 1942 also saw the tables turn for the Allies. In June, Japanese naval airpower was destroyed by American forces in the battle of Midway.

In 1943, the battle of Stalingrad still raged. But on February 2, the German forces at Stalingrad surrendered. This was the first major defeat of Hitler’s powerful German army. This, along with the losses at El Alamein, was the first sign of an eventual Allied victory. At this time, the Germans began a withdrawal from Russia.

In Africa, Montgomery was pushing further and further. By May 7, he and the Allies had taken all of Tunisia, and by May 13, all German and Italian troops in North Africa had surrendered. Also, the Allies had landed on the Italian island of Sicily, and by August 17 had captured it. From there, aquatic landings were made against the shores of Italy. In Italy, however, the Fascist government was crumbling. Dictator Benito Mussolini was removed from command and a new government was formed, which quickly declared war on Germany. After rescuing Mussolini, the Germans were able to put him back in power, though his own people later hanged him.

In 1944, the Soviets began an advance through Poland. Also, on January 27, Leningrad was liberated after a nine hundred day siege. Also at this time, the Soviets recaptured Sevastopol and liberated the Crimea. But most importantly, the D-Day landings occurred in 1944 (see image third from top). On June 6, five landing parties beached on the shores of Normandy in northern France. Despite losses, the groups were able to link up and secured the beach. Although the Germans counterattacked, these attacks came too late to defeat the Allies. Reinforcements soon arrived and the Allies began a sweep through Europe. During that same year, France was liberated. The Allied troops now had a strong foothold on European soil. In a series of defeats, the German front was pushed further and further back. During December, however, the Germans concentrated all of their forces in the center of the Allied front and succeeded in pushing out a bulge in it almost to the ocean. This is known as the Battle of the Bulge. Had the Germans succeeded, they would have split the Allied forces in two and made an Allied victory much more difficult. The American General Patton pushed his army north, despite bad weather, and succeeded in liberating the city of Bastogne, where American troops had been trapped. This also effectively cut off the tip of the bulge. After the liberation of Bastogne, Allied troops were successful in pushing back the front.

In 1945, all the fronts were pushed into Germany. The Soviet troops reached Berlin on April 21, 1945. Nine days later, Hitler shot himself. On May 7, there was an unconditional surrender of all German forces. The next day was V-E-Day, or Victory in Europe Day. World War II in Europe had come to an end.

Originally, Allied plans had been to first defeat Germany and then Japan, defending against Japan while on the offensive against Germany. However, rapid production by the United States enabled an offensive in Asia by late 1942. By the time Germany had fallen, American troops had already taken most of the Japanese islands and was slowly preparing for an invasion. The Japanese were close to surrendering, their armies destroyed and American and the U.S.S.R. closing in, when the United States dropped the two atomic bombs "Fat Boy" and "Little Man" on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The Japanese quickly surrendered. The war was over.

Image Credits

Images from OnWar.com, http://www.onwar.com, Last Visited: August, 2001. (Public Domain, no copyright held)

Bibliography

Schoenherr, Steve. WWII Timeline. http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/start.html Last Visited: August, 2001.

U.S. Govt. Printing Office. Chronological History of World War II. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/events/ Last Visited: August, 2001.

The History Place. World War II in Europe. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/ Last Visited: August, 2001.

Shirer, William L. Various Sections. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960.