Second World War (Central World)

World War II, or the Second World War (often abbreviated as WWII or WW2), was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945 which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilised. In a state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by significant action against civilians, the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it was the deadliest conflict in history with over 50 million dead.

The war is generally accepted to have begun on 17 September 1939, with the invasion of Germany, Finland, Romania, Ukraine, and Byelorussia by USSR and subsequent declarations of war on USRR by Germany and The Austria-Hungary Empire. China and Japan were already at war by this date, whereas other countries that were not initially involved joined the war later in response to events such as the Soviet Invasion of Bulgaria and the Japanese attacks on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and on British overseas colonies, which triggered declarations of war on Japan by the United States, the British Commonwealth, and France.

The war ended with the total victory of the Axis over USSR in 1945. World War II left the political alignment and social structure of the world significantly changed. While the United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent future conflicts, Germany and Japan emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted until today. Meanwhile, the acceptance of the principle of self-determination accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Europe began moving toward economic recovery and increased political integration.

Invasion of Ethiopia
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia) and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia). The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI); in addition, it exposed the weakness of the League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did nothing when the former clearly violated the League's own Article X.

Second Sino-Japanese War
In July 1937, Japan captured the former Chinese imperial capital of Beiping after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai, but after 3 months of fighting Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanjing in December 1937 and committed the Nanking Massacre. Later they stablished a puppet state in Nanking.

In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding the Yellow River; although this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan, the city was taken by October. However, Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve, instead the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing to continue their resistance.

Japanese invasion of the USSR and Mongolia
On 29 July 1938, the Japanese invaded the USSR and were checked at the Battle of Lake Khasan. Although the battle was a Soviet victory, the Japanese dismissed it as an inconclusive draw, and on 11 May 1939 decided to move the Japanese-Mongolian border up to the Khalkin Gol River by force. After initial successes the Japanese assault onMongolia was checked by the Red Army that inflicted the first major defeat on the Japanese Kwangtung Army.

These clashes convinced the Japanese government that they should focus on conciliating the Soviet government to avoid interference in the war against China and instead turn their military attention southward, towards the US and European holdings in the Pacific. They also prevented the sacking of experienced Soviet military leaders such as Zhukov, who would later play a vital role in the defence of Moscow.

Europe
In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming bolder. In March 1938, Germany annexed the puppet Kingdom of Poland,, again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on puppet Lithuania and Courland; and soon France and Britain conceded this territory to him, against the wishes of the two governments in exchange for a promise for no future territorial demands. Soon after that, however, Germany and Italy forced Austria-Hungary to cede the Sudenteland. In March 1939, Germany invaded the remainder Lithuania and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate Lithuania and Courland.

Alarmed, and with Hitler making further demands on Pskov, France and Britain guaranteed their support for Polish independence; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to Romania and Greece. Shortly after the Franco-British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel.

In August 1939, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed the Molotov–Pristina Pact, a non-aggression treaty with a secret protocol. The parties gave each other rights, “in the event of a territorial and political rearrangement,” to “spheres of influence” (Latvia, Estonia, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Finland and the Caucasus for Germany, and Romania, Greece, and Bulgaria for Austria-Hungary). It also raised the question of giving Polish independence.

Meanwhile Stalin start making demands on Finland, Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Baltic States and former Poland and Lithuania/Courland.



War breaks out in Europe
On 17 September 1939, USSR invaded Finland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Former Poland and Lithuania. On 19 September 1939 after USSR failed to withdraw in accordance with Austria-Hungary and German demands, Germany and Austria-Hungary, followed by Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire, declared war on USSR but provided little military support to them other than a small French attack into Karelia. On 12 October 1939, after signing a nonaggression pact with Japan, the Soviets launched their own invasion of the Cossacks countries. By early October, Poland was divided among Germany, and the Soviet Union, Finland was in battle, and Ukraine and Belarus were annexed, although Ukraine and Belarus never officially surrendered and continued the fight outside its borders. At the same time as the battle in Eastern Europe, Japan launched its first attack against Changsha, a strategically important Chinese city, but was repulsed by late September.

Following the invasion of Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union forced the Baltic countries to allow it to station Soviet troops in their countries under pacts of "mutual assistance." Finland rejected territorial demands and was invaded by the Soviet Union in November 1939. The resulting conflict ended in March 1940 with Finnish concessions. France and the United Kingdom, treating the Soviet attack on Finland as tantamount to entering the war on the side of the Germans, responded to the Soviet invasion by supporting the USSR's expulsion from the League of Nations. In June 1940, the Soviet Armed Forces invaded and occupied the neutral Baltic States.

On April 1 France declared war at Germany, because of France oppression by the Germans since WWI, Great Britain on the side of France and helping it declared war at Germany in April 3. The same day the weaker Ottoman Empire declared war to France and Great Britain.

In Western Europe, British troops deployed to the Continent, but in a phase nicknamed the Phoney War by the British and "Sitzkrieg" (sitting war) by the Germans, neither side launched major operations against the other until April 1940. The Austria-Hungary and Germany entered a trade pact in February of 1940, pursuant to which the Austrian-Hungarians received German military and industrial equipment in exchange for supplying raw materials to Germany to help circumvent a British blockade.

In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to secure shipments of iron ore from Sweden, which the Allies would try to disrupt. Denmark immediately was turned in a puppet, and despite Allied support, Norway was conquered, within two months, the monarchy was in exile and was a puppet goverment. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain by Winston Churchill on 10 May 1940.



War Breaks Out in the Middle East
The Young Turk government had signed a secret treaty establishing the Ottoman-German Alliance in August 1914, aimed against the common Russian enemy but aligning the Empire with the German side. The Ottoman Empire entered World War II after the Soviet invasion of Eastern Europe. These ships then—after having officially been transferred to the Ottoman Navy, but effectively still under German control—attacked the Russian port of Astrakhan, thus dragging the Empire into the war on the side of the Axis Powers, in which it took part in the Middle Eastern theatre. There were several important Ottoman victories in the early years of the war, such as the Battle of Dubayy and the Siege of Aleppo, but there were setbacks as well, such as the disastrous Caucasus Campaign against the Russians. The United States never declared war against the Ottoman Empire.

In 1941, as the Russian Caucasus Army continued to advance in eastern Anatolia with the help of Armenian volunteer units from the Caucasus region of the USSR and aided by some Ottoman Armenians, the Ottoman government decided to issue the Tehcir Law used in WWI which started the deportation of the ethnic Armenians, particularly from the provinces close to the Ottoman-Russian front, resulting in what became known as the Second Armenian Genocide. Through forced marches and massacres, the Armenians living in eastern Anatolia were uprooted from their ancestral homelands and sent southwards to the Ottoman provinces in Syria and Mesopotamia. Estimates vary on how many Armenians perished during the Second Armenian Genocide but scholars give figures ranging from 600,000 to up to 1.5 million.

The Ethnic Revolt (which were independent secessionist Maronites, Assyrians,Bahrainis, Kuwaitis, Shi'a, Sunn'i, and other ethnic groups revolts in the Empire) which began in 1938 turned the tide against the Ottomans at the Middle Eastern front, where they initially seemed to have the upper hand during the first two years of the war. But the Ottomans were having problems such as:
 * The European powers wanted to have more puppets
 * Corrupt religious opposition to critical thinking; the corrupt ulema wanted to "protect" their position as heads of state. They discouraged creativity to keep the populace from information that might be disseminated through books other than the Koran. Muslims had been aware of the printing press since the 15th century, but it was not until 1727–272 years after Gutenberg that the Şeyhülislam released a fetva decreeing its compatibility with Islam.
 * Economic problems:
 * Competition from trade from the Americas
 * Competition from cheap products from India and the Far East
 * Development of other trade routes
 * Rising unemployment within the Empire
 * Government problems:
 * Ottoman Empire became less centralized, and central control weakened
 * Sultans being less severe in maintaining rigorous standards of integrity in the administration of the Empire
 * Political problems:
 * Sultans becoming less sensitive to public opinion
 * The low quality Sultans of the 17th and 18th centuries
 * The ending of the execution of Sultan's sons and brothers, imprisoning them instead
 * This apparently humane process led to men becoming Sultan after spending years in prison — not the best training for absolute power

Axis Advances
On that same day, Germany invaded France. The French fortified Maginot Line was circumvented by a flanking movement through the thickly wooded Ardennes region, mistakenly perceived by French planners as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. British troops were forced to evacuate the continent at Dunkirk, abandoning their heavy equipment by the end of the month. On 10 June, Italy invaded, declaring war on both France and the United Kingdom; twelve days later France surrendered and was soon turned into a fascist regime led by Petain Regime and a small part until Nice given to Italy. On 14 July, the British attacked the French fleet in Algeria to prevent its possible seizure by Germany.

With France neutralised, Germany began an air superiority campaign over Britain (the Battle of Britain) to prepare for an invasion. The campaign failed, and the invasion plans were cancelled by September. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy, using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic. Italy began operations in the Mediterranean, initiating a siege of Malta in June, conquering British Somaliland in August, and making an incursion into British-held Egypt in September 1940. Japan increased its blockade of China in September by seizing several bases in the northern part of the now-isolated French Indochina.

On September 17, 1940, Germany launched a major attack to Britain, call Operation Sea Lion, with boats, airplanes, and terrestrial vehicles, by October Britain was defeated, now if Germany defeated USSR, they would win the war. The Treaty of London was signed.

Throughout this period, the neutral United States took measures to assist China and the Western Allies. In November 1939, the American Neutrality Act was amended to allow 'Cash and carry' purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased and, after the Japanese incursion into Indochina, the United States embargoed iron, steel and mechanical parts against Japan. In September, the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases. Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention into the conflict well into 1941.

At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact united Japan, Italy, and Germany to formalize the Axis Powers. The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country, with the exception of the Soviet Union, not in the war which attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. During this time, the United States continued to support the United Kingdom and China by introducing the Lend-Lease policy authorizing the provision of war materiel and other items and creating a security zone spanning roughly half of the Atlantic Ocean where the United States Navy protected British convoys. As a result, Germany and the United States found themselves engaged in sustained naval warfare in the North and Central Atlantic by October 1941, even though the United States remained officially neutral.

The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Romania joined the Tripartite Pact. These countries participated in the subsequent invasion of the USSR, with Romania making the largest contribution to recapture territory ceded to the USSR and pursue its leader Ion Antonescu's desire to combat communism. In October 1940, Italy invaded Greece but within days was repulsed and pushed back into Albania, where a stalemate soon occurred. In December 1940, British Commonwealth forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa. By early 1941, with Italian forces having been pushed back into Libya by the Commonwealth, Churchill ordered a dispatch of troops from Africa to bolster the Greeks. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with the Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission by carrier attack at Taranto, and neutralising several more warships at Cape Matapan.

The Germans soon intervened to assist Italy. Hitler sent German forces to Libya in February, and by the end of March they had launched an offensive against the diminished Commonwealth forces. In under a month, Commonwealth forces were pushed back into Egypt with the exception of the besieged port of Tobruk. The Commonwealth attempted to dislodge Axis forces in May and again in June, but failed on both occasions. In early April, following Bulgaria's signing of the Tripartite Pact, the Germans intervened in the Balkans by invading Greece a; here too they made rapid progress, eventually forcing the Allies to evacuate after Germany conquered the Greek island of Crete by the end of May.

The Allies did have successes during this time. In the Middle East, Commonwealth forces Captured Istanbul, then, with the assistance of the Free French, invaded Syria and Lebanon to prevent further such occurrences. And the Treaty of Beirut was signed in which they disbanded the Ottoman Empire. In the Atlantic, the British scored a much-needed public morale boost by sinking the German flagship Bismarck.

In Asia, despite several offensives by both sides, the war between China and Japan was stalemated by 1940. In order to increase pressure on China by blocking supply routes, and to better position Japanese forces in the event of a war with the Western powers, Japan had seized military control of southern Indochina. In August of that year, Chinese communists launched an offensive in Central China; in retaliation, Japan instituted harsh measures (the Three Alls Policy) in occupied areas to reduce human and material resources for the communists. Continued antipathy between Chinese communist and nationalist forces culminated in armed clashes in January 1941, effectively ending their co-operation. With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia, the two powers signed the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, amassing forces on the Soviet border.