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STUDY
REPORT NO
K. J. SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Sion, Mumbai - 400022.
WORLD WAR – II
PREPARED FOR: TERM WORK
DATE: 27 June 2017
World War II
Project No:
Report No:
Report On
Prepared For
K. J. SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
As part of Term Work
For the Subject
Presentation and Communication Techniques
Subject In Charge
Ms. VAISHALI GHADYALJI
GROUP LEADER
JAY SHAH
Prepared By
Name
Roll Number
PARSHVA DUGAD
CHINTAN RUDANI
JAY SHAH
ADITYA GHUSHE
DEVENDRA DHANGAR
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World War II
Preface
This project is been selected on the basis of uniqueness and simplicity. This helps to understand
the causes and effects of the war on the entire world.
Our project is ethical and based on the real time event. We have studied the entire topic in depth
and tried to cover the entire aspect of the war, which marked the era of new technologies and the
end of dictatorship practiced by Hitler.
This project also explains how the war affected the entire world and the life of the people who
were affected by that war. It also shows those hero’s who were forgotten during the course of
time, who are still known by the people of those countries as the UNFORGOTTEN HERO’S.
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World War II
Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge our sincere thanks to Principal for granting us the usage
of the college library facilities for the purpose of reference for this project.
We would like to thank our Head of the Department for the usage of computer labs and
internet facilities.
We would also like to thank our Subject In charge Ms. VAISHALI GHADYALJI for her
valuable guidance and assistance in preparing this report.
We are deeply indebted to our families for their moral support and encouragement
because of which this project has been completed in the true sense. Their patience and cooperation in the course of report writing helped us synergize our efforts and thus give our best.
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World War II
Abstract
Our report, ‘WORLD WAR II’ tries to cover the incident that took place in the 1930’s that
changed the map of the world. It is that part of our world history that should not be forgotten by
us. Since ‘WORLD WAR II’ is a much known topic, we have, in our report, tried to reveal the
facts and mysteries that many of us might not know.
Our Report on ‘WORLD WAR II’ is divided into chapters, so that it is easier for the reader to
understand the 3 basic ‘W’s’ i.e. Who, What, Why about ‘WWII’.
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World War II
Summary
There had been an immense destruction of lives, homes, industries and communications both in
Europe and Asia. At least 30 million people were killed with over half of them Russians. 21
million people were left homeless, as many had been taken to Germany as laborers placed in
concentration camps or forced to flee before invading armies. This left the victorious
government with the problem of sending these people to their country of birth or citizenship.
The UNO emerged as the successor to the League of Nations to try to maintain world peace;
overall, it has been more successful than its unfortunate predecessor has.
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World War II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topics
Page No
PREFACE ----------------------------
I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --------------------
II
ABSTRACT ---------------------------
III
SUMMARY ----------------------------
IV
1. INTRODUCTION
 About World War II.
10
 Effects of World War I on World War II.
11
 About Hitler & Mussolini.
15
2. ALLIED AND AXIS
 Axis Powers.
17
 Allied Powers.
19
3. WAR TECHNOLOGIES
 European Sea Battles.
21
 U Boat’s Menace.
22
 Blitzkrieg.
22
4. ANALYSIS OF WAR
 Time Line of the War.
26
 Phases of the war.
29
5. AFTERMATH OF THE WAR
 Existence of Superpowers.
34
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APPENDIX
LIST OF REFERENCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY
INDEX
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Introduction to World War II
Never has there been a war
that could have been avoided
more easily than the one that
has just destroyed (1939 1945) whatever was left of the
world
after
the
previous
confrontation (1914 -1918).
World War II began in 1939,
Germany, later joined in June
1940, by Italy, and Japan in
December 1941 formed the
major Axis nations, and each
had their own strengths and
Note the great increase in civilian deaths in the second world
war..
weakness.
From 1900 until the late 1930s the world had believed that huge infantry charges, heavy
artillery, and static defenses would rule in any battle. However, on the morning of September 1st
1939, this opinion changed as Germany executed its "Blitzkrieg" or "Lightning attack",
overwhelming the Polish forces completely.
From 1939 to 1945, Germany conquered most of Western Europe, the deserts of North Africa
and much of the hinterlands of Russia. The conquest of Germany was short-lived as the Allies
consisting mainly of British and Americans combined their resources and man-power to
overcome the German and the Axis powers. This combination, till this day remain a force not to
be reckon with and is also responsible for the maintenance of world peace. What started out as a
war based on military technical tactics and blitzkriegs later became a war reliant on industry and
mass production?
War is one of the most tragic things in our world today. It is even sadder that usually it comes
around at least once in our lifetime. In the 20th century alone we have already had two huge
wars.
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The Effects of World War I on World War II
Many historians see the World War II as the second part of the
uncompleted story of World War I even though both the wars are
different in their own aspect. It can also be say that they are two
sections of the same war.
Let us first discuss how World War I had affected the occurrence of
the Second World War. The people in Europe were speculating on
what the peace settlement should involve when World War I halted
in November 1918. In Britain, leaders were thinking about how to
increase British colonial power. In France, many wanted to
permanently punish the Germans, partly in revenge for Germany's
aggression in World War I, but also, perhaps subliminally, for the
Franco-Prussian war in 1871.
In Germany, citizens were worried about how radical changes after the war could affect their
day to day lives. At last, in the United States, President Wilson was already concocting a system
capable of permanently preserving European peace. All these biases, worries, plans, and ideas
came together in Paris in 1919, with the Treaty of Versailles, establishing the post-war peace in
Europe. The treaty, signed on the 28th of June 1919, was mainly orchestrated by David Lloyd
George, representing Britain and Georges Clemenceau, representing France.
The Treaty of Versailles focused on two main issues:
Firstly, Germany's post war territory and also the
amount of reparations Germany had to pay. In the
East, Germany was literally split into two parts. The
Allies decided that the nation of Poland should be
given access to the sea, so they formed the "Polish
Corridor." Poland gained a lot of territory from
Germany, including a port on the Baltic, Dazing
(Gdansk in Polish.)
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World War II
This isolated the region of Germany known as Eastern Prussia, which includes the city of
Kongsberg. In the Western part of Germany, more changes were made. France gained the much
sought after region of Alsace-Lorraine. The northern part of Schleswig was given to Denmark,
an area that had been contested since the time of Bismarck. Belgium also gained the provinces
of Eupen and Malmedy. The Rhineland was to be occupied heavily by allied forces, giving them
control of such major cities as Cologne, Bonn and, Frankfurt, and putting troops at the gates of
Dortmund and Stuttgart.
In regard to its colonial and imperial power, Germany was also punished. All German
assets in other colonies were immediately given back in whole to the current government of
those colonies. The Treaty mandated that Germany's standing army could be no larger than
100,000 men. In addition, their Navy was reduced, and according to Article 198, "The armed
forces of Germany must not include any military or naval air forces.” This treaty had in fact
rendered Germany's army useless and without an air force, the Allies hoped that Germany would
be permanently unable to wage war. It was what which struck the Germans economically that
caused it to bear grudge increasing hostility towards Britain and France. Leading economist of
the time John Maynard Keynes said of this, "The policy of reducing Germany to servitude for a
generation, of degrading the lives of millions of human beings, and of depriving a whole nation
of happiness should be abhorrent and detestable . . . . Nations are not authorized, by religion or
by natural morals, to visit on the children of their enemies the misdoings of parents or rulers."
Despite not given to opportunity to rebut
verbally, Germany had made several counter
proposals dealing with the territorial adjustments
and the reparations. Germany was willing to give
up Alsace-Lorraine, the province of Posen, and
Northern Schleswig. They also agreed to pay in
full the reparations but wanted to have their
economy preserved by retaining their merchant
fleet and keeping their colonies. The Allies
Planes Preparing To Take Off
For War
immediately censored these proposals, showing
no sign of sympathy and not giving Germans the
benefit of mercy.
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World War II
German aggression was greatly aroused by the ridiculous and often mistaken territorial
adjustments made by Britain and France. Germany had a significantly greater population than
Poland in almost every territory taken away from them, and the allies probably knew this. What
greater way of creating animosity is there than taking masses of people from their country? The
Allies were perhaps unwise in this case, maybe not taking into account the fact that by doing
this, they were brewing hatred all throughout Germany by taking territories that were almost
certainly belonging to Germans away from Germany. This incident showed that Clemenceau
was out for other purposes but not seeking true peace. For France, the settlement was in reaction
to not only 1914, but also more importantly 1871.
The peace treaty completed by Britain and France was full of loopholes which will
instead of generating peace, but however increase German aggression, and would drive
Germany to desperate measures. The economic impacts and the territorial changes worked in
tandem to do this. Germany had no capacity to pay the reparations, without having their
territories and colonies. If Germany refused to pay the reparations, even more territory would be
occupied. This gave Germany reason to rearm and aggressively retake their territories such as
the Saar Basin and the Rhineland.
In addition, the political situation in Germany easily allowed the rise of radical ideas.
With the inflation, the Weimar Republic, which was governing Germany in the early 20s,
collapsed and socialist revolts and strikes in cities like Kiel caused total political upheaval. In
addition, the hatred of Britain and France for taking Germans away from their nation in places
like Danzig and Alsace-Lorraine created even more instability. All these factors, ignored by
those who created the treaty, easily allowed Adolf Hitler to come to power. In this way, World
War II can be seen as Hitler's and Germany's quest to avenge the wrongs done by the Socialists
and the Jews in World War I. Hitler himself said that, if elected, he would close the book on
World War I by ending the struggle against France, England, and Russia. If he is elected, he
would end the "legacy of war and defeat." In order to carry on the struggle that he joined in
World War I, Hitler launched World War II.
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World War II
THE AXIS LEADERS
ADOLF HITLER
Adolf Hitler was born in 1889, not German but of Austrian birth. Failing as an art student in
Munich he became a member of the German Army. During World War One he was wounded
and later decorated upon his return to Germany. He found that he could succeed in a political
career in the extremist politics of Germany's Weimar Republic. He joined a nationalist sliver
group called the National Socialist German Workers party and quickly made his way to the top.
Hitler became the leader of his party through his powerful and griping oratory and his patriotic
visions. He attempted to take over Germany in the Beer Hall putch and place his party in power
during the decline of the republic. The revolt was quickly suppressed by the army and Hitler was
put in jail for nine months. During that time in prison, Hitler composed his credo in a book,
Mein Kampf (My Struggle). From this Adolf Hitler emerged as the Fuhrer of the Nazi party and
was idolized by his followers.
Hitler spoke of German superiority and the greatness of the Aryan race, saying everyone else
were beneath them. He also told of the power and greatness of the Fatherland that is Germany.
He condemned the Treaty of Versailles, the communist, and the rich. He blamed the troubles of
Germany on the Jewish race and in his mind the blame was ever increasing. This was probably
due to the fact that centuries of persecution made them an easy target and Hitler himself had
deadly fixation on them. Hitler developed a flair for the dramatic, giving empowering speech
during fantastic rallies, parades, and marches. His ability to manipulate the people and draw
them into his thinking was amazing. By the 1930 elections, the Nazi party took 18% of the
popular vote. Hitler ran for president of Germany in 1932 and won 30% of the vote. In 1933
Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg. Hitler had become
so popular among the people that the president felt a large amount of pressure to appoint Hitler
as chancellor by German politicians. This picture shows the burning of the Reichstag which
helped to bolster support for the Nazis and condemn the Communists.
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World War II
BENITO MUSSOLINI
Benito Mussolini began hi career as left-ing socialist
before World War One, urging socialist organizations,
mass revolution, and the abolishment of the state. After
the war Mussolini's ideals drastically changed. Italy's
demand for territories they felt rightfully belonged to
them but was held by Austria and Yugoslavia turned
Mussolini from the left to a strong right becoming an
outspoken nationalist. Mussolini organized the Fascist
party in 1919 and responded with deadly force against
his former comrades. Using his army nationalistic war
veterans, or the squadristi (the Black Shirts), Mussolini
was soon crashing Socialist party meetings, destroying
left-wing news presses, and raiding industrial and
agricultural unions. This won the favor of the factory
owners, landowners, and business owners, the same
people who fought him before the war. As the
weakening democracy of Italy fell, as would later in
Germany, Mussolini gain control, taking over Rome
Hitler and Mussolini-The
setup his government. The Totalitarian state controlled
Masterminds of the war
all aspects of one life. Politics, economics, and
education were all under Fascist control. Mussolini
became Il Duce (the Leader). The photo here shows
Mussolini (and Hitler) at Munich in 1933.
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World War II
Brief Outline of the Various Axis/Allied Powers
The Major Axis Powers
Germany
Among major Axis Powers, Germany was the most deadly army which marched across Europe.
With Germany producing nearly 80,000 armored vehicles, there was no country that could
match their tactical expertise or vehicle quality, not even Russia's 70,000 T-34 tanks and an
attack from Allied tanks on all fronts. From 1939 to 1940, the Germans were able to deal with
Poland or Holland with light armored tanks. From the period 1941 to 1943, better armor and
armament like the T-34's and the Shermans was produced but they were still vulnerable to most
Allied tanks. Until 1943, only had the Panthers and Tigers tanks gave the Germans a technical
edge over the Allies but they were still outnumbered by the increasing population of the Allied
tanks.
Italy
A combination of over-eagerness and bad timing had Italy join the Axis. Poor military
leadership and equipment handicapped Italy's efforts in the war, but the Italian Army made
valuable contributions to the Axis. From the desert of North Africa to the snow-covered plains
of Russia. The Italian infantry soldier was a man with no morale and lackluster. The whole
Italian tank production during WW II was nearly 3.500 tanks, under gunned with poor armor.
The artillery was perhaps the best troops fielded in the war, well-trained, using 100+ guns, most
75mm field gun or 80mm mortar.
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World War II
Japan
In World War 2, the Japanese Army was mostly an infantry-based army. They had expanded
their tank program in the mid 1930's, about 6,000 armored vehicles of all types. At that time,
there was a rivalry in the army between the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and the Imperial
Japanese Navy (IJN), their war industry produced separate models of planes, tanks and ships for
each branch. Due to limited industrial resources and capacity, the Japanese army had to win the
war quickly or stand to lose everything.
At that time, the Japanese were the best soldiers
in the war, with an unlimited devotion to duty, high morale and a never-say-die attitude towards
the enemies. They believed in the all-out charge attack with bayonets and taking positions by
pure force. However, because of insufficient automatic and anti-tank weapons, the infantry was
only armed with rifles and grenades; they seemed to be fighting a suicidal battle. The Japanese
tanks were mostly deployed in dense, heavily wooded terrain. Their opponents in the Pacific and
Asian had only little or no armor so to overcome them the Japanese tanks were only lightly
armored and under gunned in the war.
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The Major Allied Powers
France
The French army was thought to be the best after the First World War In 1939, the French army
that marched into the war was totally different from the one in 1914 as France had been racked
by civil disorders and strikes, the entire political system was separated and the division power
had affect the army severely. Soon, with the French army lacking proper discipline started to
lose their morale and with an out-of-date tactical doctrine led to a defeat in 1940. For defensive
roles, the properly equipped French soldiers were the most ideal but of lesser quality than the
German. The France made several types of tanks, all in great designed and well-armored.
However, the doctrines were out-dated and the tanks were mostly used for support of the
infantry than exploitation roles. This had been a great mistake coupled with the failure to use
tanks in groups. At that time, French Artillery had old pieces of the 75mm Howitzer from World
War One and very modern guns. Due to its effective design, their 81mm Mortar was used by
almost every nation.
Great-Britain
In World War One, the British Army was the first who used tanks but at the beginning of World
War Two, Britain was far behind in tank tactics. However, the British Empire, Navy and LendLease (by borrowing military equipment from the USA) managed to withstand the Germans
until the Americans joined the war. In World War Two, the British soldiers were able to
withstand their opponents, the Germans with stoicism, steadfastness reinforced by extreme
cautious in using troops in battle, superbly trained and well disciplined (lack of aggressiveness),
despite lacking the numbers.
Russia
Russia was well-known for its countless surviving from invasions and repelling invaders, with
heavy losses. In the 1930’s, the Red Army was one of the greatest armies in the world. Although
great in strength, they had numerous weaknesses. Firstly, seventy percent of its officer corps of
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World War II
the great army of the early 1930's were either killed or exiled to Siberia, causing the Red Army
to control nothing, than weak men who had either less eagerness or lack of tactical skills.
Similarly, the Red Air Force had thousands of fighters and tanks, but most of them were
ineffective in a modern war which ended up in a failure. Most people do not understand how
close the German invasion of Russia came to a victory.
United States
Before the US joined the war in December 1941 and dealt the Axis a great blow, the effects of
US's war production were being felt. With a production of 90,000 tanks, over 2,200,000
transport vehicles and 240,000 planes in just a short period of time, the Allies an advantage over
its rivals. In November 1942, an inexperienced US army landed in North Africa with the first
offensive action. The US infantry were not the best soldiers as the army consisted of mostly
volunteers or draftees and new officers which were unlikely to produce good results. The
American soldiers were all well-supported, for every soldier at the front, eight rear echelons
supported him and every soldier was good equipped with rifles and automatic weapons enjoying
heavy firepower.
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Technology in the War
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European Sea Battles
As the European war grew into a global war in 1941 more and more fighting took place at sea,
especially the Atlantic Ocean, between the British and German navies. The aim of the Germans
was to sink ships taking food and raw materials to Britain, and so starve the British into
surrender. The aim of the British was to keep their shipping routes open at all costs.
Up to 1941 there were no great sea battles between the German and British fleets. German
warships concentrated their attacks on British merchant shipping and did not try to confront the
Royal Navy. The only major sea battle in the early stage of the war took place in December
1939, when three British warships trapped the German pocket battleship Graf Spee in the River
Plate in South America, forcing the ship's captain to scuttle her.
In May 1941 the Germans decided to create a squadron of powerful warships based in the
occupied French port of Brest. Their aim was to attack British convoys deep in the Atlantic. This
meant bringing their only battleship, the Bismarck, and the battle cruiser Prinz Eugen from the
Baltic Sea to the Atlantic to join the cruisers Gnetsenau and Scharnhorst that were already active
there.
The two ships sailed out of the Baltic on 18 May but a British aircraft spotted them as they
sheltered in a fjord in Norway. A Royal Navy fleet of seventeen ships was sent to chase them.
When they engaged the German ships in battle on 24 May, a single shot from the Bismarck
penetrated the weak deck armour of HMS Hood and blew it up, killing all but three of its 1400
crew.
The British sent all their available warships to hunt the Bismarck as it escaped into the Atlantic.
On 26th May, a torpedo from one of the carrier Ark Royal's aircraft damaged the Bismarck's
steering gear, forcing it to drop speed. On 27 May British ships caught up with the Bismarck and
destroyed her with gunfire and torpedoes. The blazing wreck went to the bottom with all but 110
of its 2300crew.
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U-Boat’s Menace
Even more dangerous to British ships were German submarines, the U-boats (Unterseeboten)
which could hunt ships unseen beneath the waves and destroy them with torpedoes.
German U-boats had shown how dangerous they were from
the very start of the war. A single submarine penetrated the
Royal Navy's harbor at Scapa Flow and sank the battleship
Royal Oak while it was at anchor in October 1939. The
menace of the U-boats increased after the fall of France in
July 1940, for they could now use French ports as bases for
attacks on ships far out in the Atlantic.
As protection against U-boat attacks, ships traveled in convoys, guarded by Royal Navy
destroyers and corvettes. The Germans, however, took to hunting in 'wolf packs' of fifteen to
twenty U-boats, which waited in a line across likely convoy routes, ready to attack.
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BLITZKRIEG
In World War two blitzkrieg, the German for 'lightning war’ became one of the main ways of
fighting. In World War, one mass of infantry (foot soldiers) had kept on attacking lines of
trenches and thousands of men were lost- dead and wounded. The tank was seen as the way to
attack the enemy's trenches without such huge casualties. It was a vehicle, which could crush
barbed wire and slowly rumble over the trenches. Its armor, made of steel plate, protected it
from rifle and machine-gun fire. It could make a gap in the enemy trench line for the infantry to
break through. This was how the British and French armies expected to fight World War Twowith infantry supported by slow-moving tanks ('Infantry' or '1' tanks).
The German army was a step ahead. Blitzkrieg was a different idea altogether. This was fast
moving warfare, which made use of both the tank and aircraft. Its essence was speed and
surprise. The air force would attack first, bombing enemy defenses. Then the main force would
move in large numbers of tanks traveling at speeds of up to 30,40 km per hour, with infantry
following in motor trucks ('motorized infantry').
Motorcyclists with machine-guns in sidecars would fan out to front and sides looking for
signs of enemy counter-attacks. Later in the war, armored cars would do this. Throughout the
attack, the air force would support the ground forces, dive-bombing enemy strong points so that
the tanks and infantry could move in. The dive-bombers used are usually the Stuka.
Many in the High Command of the German Army before the war had little interest in the idea of
blitzkrieg. However, Heinz Guderian, with Hitler's support, created the deadly 'panzer'
(armored) divisions, which proved so successful during the early stages of the war.
The British and French did not adopt blitzkrieg immediately, and the Germans did well at first
because they used the new ideas and their enemies did not. This changed as the war went on.
Both sides came to see the value of anti-tank guns and rockets. The tanks had to rely on infantry
carried in armored half tracked vehicles, to attack and destroy these dangerous anti-tank
weapons. Tanks, infantry and artillery (guns) worked together in teams, each depending on the
others.
In battle, tanks made use of folds in the ground. In the 'turret-down' position, only the tank
commander could see over the ridge. Advancing to the 'hull-down' position the tank gun could
fire while the ridge hid the rest of the tank. The low-velocity gun, usually of 37 to 55 mm
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World War II
caliber, fired its shot in a curved path. The high velocity gun, of 50 to 75 mm caliber or bigger,
could aim directly at the target without having to find its range.
TACTICS
An army was made up of several divisions with between 10000 and 20000 men in each division.
There were several regiments in a division. The regiment had a distinct identity, sometimes with
a long history. In each regiment, there were a number of battalions. There were usually five
companies in an infantry battalion, each of 100 to 150 men with about 5 officers.
An armored (or panzer) division had several tank regiments, infantry, artillery, engineers for
building bridges or demolishing obstacles and its own transport, medical, signals and servicing
units, all following the tanks. The divisional commander led from near the front, controlling his
forces by radio. There were usually nine battalions in an infantry division, with one or more
artillery regiments and battalions of tanks or armored cars, engineers, transport and other
services. Some infantry divisions were 'motorized'. Several divisions made up an army corps,
two or three corps formed an army and several armies an army group.
The German tanks were called panzerkampfwagen ('armored fighting vehicles'), or 'panzers' for
short. (Panzer is the German word for 'armor'.) The Panzer Mark II was a very light tank, which
was used in large numbers early in the war. The PZ IV could maintain a good speed, had
armored protection and excellent firing power with its high-velocity 75 mm gun. It could 'stand
off' and shoot at most enemy tanks from beyond the range of their guns. The PZ Ill, with thinner
armor and equipped with only a low velocity 37 mm gun, had to get close to the enemy in order
to fire, when its thinner armor could be holed. When a shot pierced a tank's armor, red-hot metal
flew around inside, causing fires and explosions, called the 'brewup', and if the crew were not
killed, they would suffer terrible injuries. The PZ Ills and lVs were later given thicker armor and
bigger guns. The Russian T34 tanks were more powerful than these panzers and in response the
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World War II
Germans produced what was called the 'second generation' of panzers: the Tiger, fitted with the
highly successful 88-mm gun, and the Panther.
The British tanks in 1939 were either too slow such as the Matilda 'I' tank or they were simply
too light. The British never caught rip with the Germans, although the Cromwell, with a 75-mm
gun, proved successful. They had to depend mostly on American tanks, which were improved in
the light of British experience. The American car industry produced the Sherman in great
numbers-nearly 50000. At 33 tones, it was much lighter than the German 43 tonne Panther and
68 tonne Tiger, but the Americans had to ship their tanks overseas and most cranes could not lift
more than 40 tones. The Americans hoped to swamp the enemy with numbers.
In modern warfare, a great deal of oil and petrol is required for vehicles, aircraft and ships.
Obtaining enough of these fuels was a constant worry for all the powers during World War 2.
ULTRA
More technology was developed in World War 2 than ever before. Communication systems
became increasingly complex. For communicating orders and information in the armed services,
radio had advantages over the landline telephone, the wire of which had to be unreeled by hand.
However, the enemy could pick up the radio signals. Both sides therefore put their messages in
code. The Germans used a machine called 'Enigma' for this. Fortunately for the Allies (Britain,
France, the USSR and the USA), the Polish Secret Service managed to smuggle one of these out
of Germany before the war.
The Germans changed their codes every day but a British Secret Service team used new
electronic methods to crack the codes. The German navy code was the most difficult and the
British only managed to work it out on average one day in four.
From the radio messages, the Allies learnt a mass of information about the German and Italian
forces, although not all-important messages were sent by radio. The information was called
'Ultra Secret' or 'Ultra' and was given to a very small number of Allied commanders, who had to
use it very carefully; in case the Germans realized that, their messages were being decoded.
Ultra was kept secret for thirty years after the war.
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World War II
The Germans also managed to crack some of the British naval codes, and the Americans
decoded the Japanese radio messages.
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World War II
WORLD WAR II TIMELINE
Mar 1938 Austria forced to
submit to Germany
Oct 1938
Germans march into
Mar 1939
1
Sept
1939
north-western Czechoslovakia
Germans conquer
Czechoslovakia
Germans invade Poland
Sept 1939 Britain & France declare
war on Germany
Hitler became ruler of
1939
almost whole of Central
& Western Europe
1940
Sept 1940
Britain stood alone
Germany, Italy & Japan
sign treaty of friendship
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World War II
1940-1941 Germany attack western Soviet Union;
Italy conquer Greece & Egypt
7 Dec 1941 Japan raid Pearl Harbor
1942
Germany is defeated in the battle of El
Alamein by British troops
Germans driven out of Soviet Union
1943
June 1944 Italy fell to the Allies;
D-Day battle - France retaken
Allies & Russians march into Germany
Mar 1945
Germany surrenders after
7
May Hitler commits suicide
1945
6th
1945
9th
1945
Aug Atomic bomb first dropped
on Japan's Hiroshima
Aug 2nd Atomic Bomb dropped
on Nagasaki; Japan surrenders
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World War II
THE WAR
The First Phase: Dominance of the Axis
Invasion of Poland
On the morning of September 1, waves of German bombers hit the railways and hopelessly
snarled the Polish mobilization. Hitler and Stalin shocked the world by becoming allies. By
September 20, practically the whole country was in German or Soviet hands. The last to
surrender was the fortress at Kock, on October 15.
Denmark and Norway
Hitler invaded Norway and Denmark on April 2. He was worried that the British will cut off the
valuable shipments of iron ore from Sweden in Norway's port of Narvik by using explosives.
The Defeat of France
The drive into France began on June 5 and picked up on June 9. Italy declared war on France
and Britain on June 10. On June 17, Marshal Henri Phillippe Pétain, the World War I hero asked
for an armistice which signed on June 22. That gave Germany control of northern France and the
Atlantic coast.
28
World War II
The Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940, Hitler dominated Europe from
the North Cape to the Pyrenees. His one remaining
active enemy - Britain, under a new prime minister,
Winston Churchill - vowed to continue fighting. In June
1940, began the Battle of the Atlantic. The Battle of
Britain was fought in the air, not on the beaches. In
August 1940, the Germans failed to reckon with a new
strategy led the Germans to switch their attacks from
RAF airfields to London and other cities, beginning the
Blitz. On September 17, 1940, Hitler postponed the Churchill In Pressure
invasion, conceding defeat in the Battle of Britain.
The Second Phase: Expansion of the War
In the year after the fall of France, the war moved towards a new stage - world war.
US Aid to Britain
The United States entered the war in January 1941.
The German invasion of the USSR
The war's most massive encounter began on the morning of June 22, 1941, when slightly more
than 3 million Axis troops invaded the USSR. Although German preparations had been visible
for months and had been talked about openly among the diplomats in Moscow, the Soviet forces
were taken by surprise. Stalin, his confidence in the country's military capability shaken by the
Finnish war, had refused to allow any cunteractivity for fear of provoking the Germans. Initially,
Germany appeared to be heading for victory. Then, they made mistakes. Hitler’s generals
wanted to press on to Moscow. However, Hitler overruled them. Instead, he reinforced the
German armies heading north towers Leningrad and south towards the Crimean Peninsula on the
Black sea. While the Germans wasted time transferring troops, Stalin brought in new troops. The
Germans advance slowed in September though they took the city of Kiev in the South. Heavy
rain fell in October and German tanks and artillery became bogged down in mud. By Nov.1941,
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World War II
Germans encircled Leningrad and Moscow in early December where temperature plunged to 40. A severe soviet winter had begun and the Germans lacked clothing and suffered from
frostbite. Tanks and weapons were bitter cold. Winter saved the Soviet Union. In spring 1942,
Germans attacked again. By Sept., German and Soviet forces were fighting hand in hand in
Stalingrad. With winter approaching, Hitler refused to pull back his troops. As supplies were
little, thousands of soldiers froze or starve to death. On Feb 2 1943, German surrendered.
The Beginning of the War in the Pacific
December 7, 1941 the Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The bombing was a
great success for Japan at first. It disabled much of the American fleet and destroyed many
aircraft. However, the attack proved disastrous for Japan as it propelled the US in the war on
December 8 - and brought it in determined to fight to the finish. Germany and Italy declared war
on the United States on December 11.
Japanese conquests in Asia and the Pacific
In the vast area of land and ocean, they had marked for conquest. The Japanese seemed to be
everywhere at once. Before the end of December, They took British Hong Kong and the Gilbert
islands (now Kiribati) and Guam and Wake Island (US Possessions) and they had invaded
British Burma, Malaya, Borneo and the American-held Philippines. Britain, her naval resources
stretched by the war in Europe, managed to send a naval squadron to Singapore in early
December: it was caught by Japanese planes and destroyed. British Singapore, long regarded as
one of the world greatest fortresses, fell to them in February 1942 in one of the greatest
humiliations in British military history, with the British garrision surrendering to a much smaller
Japanese force. In March, they occupied the Netherlands Indies and landed on New Guinea. The
American and Philippine forces surrendered at Bataan on April 9 and resistance in the
Philippines ended with the surrender of Corregidor on May 6.
The Third Phase: Turn of the Tide
In the late December 1941, Roosevelt, Churchill, and their chief advisers met in Washington.
They reaffirmed the strategy of defeating Germany first. The war against Japan became almost
solely a US responsibility, On January 1, 1942, the United States, the USSR, and 23 other
countries signed the United Nations Declaration in which they pledged not to make a separate
peace. The United Nations (UN) became the official name for the anti-Axis coalition, but the
term used more often was the Allies, taken over from World War I.
30
World War II
The Invasion of Italy
In the meantime, Mussolini had been stripped of power on July
25; the Germans rescued Mussolini from prison and set him up
as ruler of the short-lived Republic of Salo in the south. Allied
forces marched into Casino and some of the most brutal fighting
of WWII occurred there. They finally broke through German
defenses in Italy in May 1944; Rome fell on June 4.German
forces surrendered on May 2, 1945. Mussolini had been captured
and shot by Italy resistances fighters on April 28.
The Fourth Phase: Allied Victory
The Normandy Invasion (D-day)
On June 6, 1944, D-day as it was known. 2700 ships carrying landing craft and 176000 soldiers
crossed the channel. Allied troops stormed ashore on a 100km front in the largest seaborne
invasion in history. D-day took the Germans by surprise but they fought back fiercely. All five
Allied landing beaches were secure by the end of the day.
Liberation of France
On July 24, 1944, Allied bombers blasted a gap in the German front near Saint Lo. The US first
and Third armies under General George S.Patton drove through the hole and hounded the
retreating Germans. On August 25, the Americans, in conjunction with Free French and
Resistance forces liberated Paris. On August 15, American and French forces had landed on the
southern coast of France and were pushing north along the valley of the River Rhine.
Victory in Europe
The Allies began their final assault on Germany in early 1945. British, Canadian, American and
Soviet forces swept the surround German forces into Northern German and crushed them. The
capture of Berlin was left to Soviet forces. By April 25 1945, Soviet troops had surrounded the
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World War II
city. Hitler commanded his army from a bunker deep underground. However, he committed
suicide on April 30
The Defeat of Japan
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber called the
Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb devised by Albert
Einstein on the city of Hiroshima. The explosion killed
from 70,000 to 100,000 people. After the Japanese failed to
respond to the bombing, the US dropped another one in
Nagasaki on August 9. It killed 40,000 people. Later,
thousands died from injuries and radiation from the 2
bombings. On Sept 2, 1945, Japan surrendered. The Allies
declared Sept 2 as V-J day or victory over Japan day.
The "Mushroom"
WWII had ended.
How World War II led to the formation of Distinguishably Powerful Nations
It is often wondered how the superpowers achieved their position of dominance. It seems that
the maturing of the two superpowers, Russia and the United States, can be traced to World War
II.
To be a superpower, a nation needs to have a strong economy, an overpowering military,
immense international political power and, related to this, a strong national ideology.
It was this war, and its results, that
caused each of these superpowers to
experience such a preponderance of
power. Before the war, both nations
were fit to be described as great
powers, but it would be erroneous to
say that they were superpowers at that
point.
A Tank Hit and In Flames
32
World War II
To understand how the Second World War affected these nations so greatly, we must examine
the causes of the war. The United States gained its strength in world affairs from its status as an
economic power. In the years before the war, America was the world's largest producer. In the
USSR at the same time, Stalin was implementing his 'five year plans' to modernize the Soviet
economy. From these situations, similar foreign policies resulted from widely divergent origins.
Roosevelt's isolationism emerged from the wide and prevalent domestic desire to remain neutral
in any international conflicts. It commonly widely believed that Americans entered the First
World War simply in order to save industry's capitalist investments in Europe. Whether this is
the case or not, Roosevelt was forced to work with an inherently isolationist Congress, only
expanding its horizons after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He signed the Neutrality Act of 1935,
making it illegal for the United States to ship arms to the belligerents of any conflict. The act
also stated that belligerents could buy only non-armaments from the US, and even these were
only to be bought with cash. In contrast, Stalin was by necessity interested in European affairs,
but only to the point of concern to the USSR.
Russian foreign policy was fundamentally Leninist in its concern to keep the USSR out of
war. Stalin wanted to consolidate Communist power and modernize the country's industry. The
Soviet Union was committed to collective action for peace, as long as that commitment did not
mean that the Soviet Union would take a brunt of a Nazi attack as a result. Examples of this can
be seen in the Soviet Unions' attempts to achieve a mutual assistance treaty with Britain and
France. These treaties, however, were designed more to create security for the West, as opposed
to keeping all three signatories from harm. At the same time, Stalin was attempting to polarise
both the Anglo-French, and the Axis powers against each other. The important result of this was
the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, which partitioned Poland, and allowed Hitler to start the
war. Another side-effect of his policy of playing both sides was that it caused incredible distrust
towards the Soviets from the Western powers after 1940. This was due in part to the fact that
Stalin made several demands for both influence in the Dardanelles, and for Bulgaria to be
recognized as a Soviet dependant.
The seeds of superpowerdom lie here however, in the late thirties. R.J. Overy has written,
"Stability in Europe might have been achieved through the existence of powers so strong that
they could impose their will on the whole of the international system, as has been the case since
1945...." At the time, there was no power in the world that could achieve such a feat. Britain and
France were in imperial decline, and more concerned about colonial economics than the stability
of Europe. Both imperial powers assumed that empire building would necessarily be an
33
World War II
inevitable feature of the world system. German aggression could have been stifled early had the
imperial powers had acted in concert. The memories of World War 1 however, were too
powerful, and the public would not condone a military solution at that point. The aggression of
Germany, and to a lesser extent that of Italy can be explained by this decline of imperial power.
They were simply attempting to fill the power vacuum in Europe that Britain and France
unwittingly left. After the economic crisis of the 1930's, Britain and France lost much of their
former international standing-as the world markets plummeted; so did their relative power. The
two nations were determined to maintain their status as great powers however, without relying
on the US or the USSR for support of any kind. They went to war only because further
appeasement would have only served to remove from them their little remaining world standing
and prestige. The creation of a nonaggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany can
be viewed as an example of imperial decline as well. Stalin explained the fact that he reached a
rapprochement with Germany and not one with Great Britain by stating "the USSR and
Germany had wanted to change the old equilibrium... England and France wanted to preserve it.
Germany also wanted to make a change in the equilibrium, and this common desire to get rid
of the old equilibrium had created the basis for the rapprochement with Germany." The common
desire of many of the great European powers for a change in the world state system meant that
either a massive war would have to be fought; or that one of the great powers would need to
attempt to make the leap to superpower status without reaping the advantages such a conflict
could give to the power making the attempt. Such benefits as wartime economic gains, vastly
increased internal markets from conquered territory, and increased access to resources and the
means of industrial production would help fuel any nation's drive for superpowerdom. One of
two ways war could have been avoided was for the United States or Russia to have taken
powerful and vigorous action against Germany in 1939. Robert A. Divine holds that
"superpowerdom gives a nation the framework by which a nation is able to extend globally the
reach of its power and influence." This can be seen especially as the ability to make other
nations (especially in the Third World) act in ways that the superpower prefers, even if this is
not in the weaker nation's self interest.
The question must then be raised, were the United States and Russia superpowers even
then, could coercive, unilateral actions taken by them have had such significant ramifications for
the international order? It must be concluded that, while they were not yet superpowers, they
certainly were great powers, with the incredible amount of influence that accompanies such
status. Neither the United States nor the Soviet Union possessed the international framework
necessary to be a super power at this time. It is likely that frameworks similar to NATO or the
34
World War II
Warsaw Pact could have been developed, but such infrastructures would have necessarily been
on a much smaller scale, and without influence as the proposed Anglo-American (English
speaking world) pact was. At this time, neither the United States nor Russia had developed the
overwhelming advantages that they possessed at the end of the war.
The United States, it seems, did not become a superpower by accident. Indeed, Roosevelt
had a definite European policy that was designed from the start to secure a leading role for the
United States. The US non-policy which ignored Eastern Europe in the late thirties and forties,
while strongly supported domestically, was another means to Roosevelt's plans to achieve US
world supremacy. After the war, Roosevelt perceived that the way to dominate world affairs was
to reduce Europe's international role (vis-à-vis the United States, as the safest way of preventing
future world conflict), the creation of a permanent superpower rivalry with the USSR to ensure
world stability.
Roosevelt sought to reduce Europe's geopolitical role by
ensuring the fragmentation of the continent into small, relatively
powerless, and ethnically homogenous states. When viewed in
light of these goals Roosevelt appears very similar to Stalin who,
in Churchill's words, "Wanted a Europe composed of little
states, disjointed, separate, and weak." Roosevelt was certain
that World War Two would destroy continental Europe as a
military and economic force, removing Germany and France
from the stage of world powers. This would leave the United
States, Great Britain, and the USSR as the last remaining
Tanks Of War
European world powers.
In order to make it nearly impossible for France to reclaim her former world position,
Roosevelt objected to De Gaul taking power immediately after the war. Roosevelt defended the
Allies "right [to] hold the political situation in trust for the French people." He presented General
Eisenhower control of France and Italy for up to a year, in order to "restore civil order." As
British foreign minister Anthony Eden stated, "... Roosevelt wanted to hold the strings of
France's future in his hands, so that he could decide that country's fate." It seems inexcusable
that Roosevelt desired to hold an ally's nation in trust, comparable to Italy, who was a
belligerent. It could be argued, however that they were taking the reigns of power, not from the
resistance, but from the hands of the Vichy French.
35
World War II
It might be asked why Roosevelt did not plot the fall of the British Empire as well. A
cynical answer to this is that Roosevelt understood that the United States was not powerful
enough to check the Soviet Union's power in Europe by itself. It made sense that because the
United States and Britain are cultural cousins, the most commodious solution would be to
continue the tradition of friendliness, set out in the Atlantic Charter earlier. As far as economic
or military competition, Roosevelt knew that if he could open the British Empire to free trade it
would not be able to effectively compete with the United States. This is because an imperial
paradigm allows one to sell goods in a projectionist manner, finding markets within the Empire.
This allows a nation to have restrictive tariffs on imports, which precludes foreign competition.
A nation, which is primarily concerned with finding markets on the other hand, is in a much
better position for global economic expansion, as it is in its interest to pursue free trade. The
more generous and likely the correct interpretation is that Roosevelt originally planned to have a
system of three superpowers, including only the US, the UK, and the USSR.
This was modified from the original position which was formed before the USSR joined
the allies, which held for Great Britain to take a primary role in Europe, and the United States to
act as a custodial in Asia. Later, after it was seen that either the Germans or the Russians would
dominate Eastern Europe, the plan was forced to change. The plan shifted from one where the
US and Great Britain would keep order in Europe, to one where Great Britain and the USSR
would keep order in Europe as local superpowers, and the US would act as an impartial, world
wide mediator. Roosevelt hoped for the creation of an Anglo-American-Russo world police
force. However, Roosevelt underestimated the power of the Russian ideology. He believed that
the Russians would back away from communism for the sake of greater stability and union with
the West. Roosevelt saw the Soviet Union as a country like any other, except for her
preoccupation with security (the safety corridor in Eastern Europe that Stalin insisted on), but he
thought that that this could be explained by the cultural and historical background of Russia. It
was not thought unreasonable to request a barrier of satellite states to provide a sense of security,
given that Russia and the USSR had been invaded at least four times since 1904.
It was felt that granting the Soviet Union some territory in Eastern and Central Europe
would satisfy their political desires for territory. It was only after experiencing post World War
II Soviet expansion, that the Soviet quest for territory was seen to be inherently unlimited.
Roosevelt felt that the position in Eastern Europe, vis-à-vis the Soviet Union, was analogous to
that of Latin America, vis-à-vis the United States. He felt that there should be definite spheres of
influence, as long as it was clear that the Soviet Union was not to interfere with the governments
of the affected nations. The reason that Roosevelt did not object to a large portion of Eastern
36
World War II
Europe coming under the totalitarian control of the Soviet Union was that he believed the
weakness in the Soviet economy caused by the war would require Stalin to seek Western aid,
and open the Russians to Western influence.
Many historians feel that Roosevelt was simply naive to believe that the Soviet Union would act
in such a way. Arthur Schlesinger saw the geopolitical and ideological differences between the
United States and the Soviet Union. He stressed however, the ideological differences as being
most important. "The two nations were constructed on opposite and profoundly antagonistic
principles. They were divided by the most significant and fundamental disagreements over
human rights, individual liberties, cultural freedom, the role of civil society, the direction of
history, and the destiny of man."
Stalin's views regarding the possibility of rapprochement between the USSR and the
West were similar. He thought that the Russian Revolution created two antipodal camps: AngloAmerica and Soviet Russia. Stalin felt that the best way to ensure the continuation of communist
world revolution was to continually annex the countries bordering the Soviet Union, instead of
attempting to foster revolution in the more advanced industrial societies. This is the underlying
reason behind the Soviet Union's annexation of much of Eastern Europe, and the subjugation of
the rest. The creation of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe did not come as a total surprise.
Roosevelt thought that America's position after the war, vis-à-vis the rest of the world, would
put him in a very good position to impose his view of the post-war world order. The Joint Chiefs
of Staff however, predicted that after the German defeat, the Russians would be able to impose
whatever territorial settlement they wanted in Central Europe and the Balkans.
World War II caused the USSR to rapidly evolve from a military farce, to a military superpower.
In 1940 it was hoped that if the Soviet Union was attacked, that they could hold off the Germans
long enough for the West to help fight them off with reinforcements. In 1945 the Soviet Army
was marching triumphantly through Berlin. Was this planned by Stalin in the same way that
Roosevelt seems to have planned to achieve world supremacy? The answer to this question must
be a somewhat ambivalent "no." While Stalin desired to see Russian dominance in Europe and
Asia if possible, he did not have a systematic plan to achieve it. Stalin was an opportunist, and a
skillful one. He demanded that Britain and America recognize territory gained by the Soviet
Union in pacts and treaties that it had signed with Germany, for instance. Stalin's main plan
seemed to be to conquer all the territory that his armies could reach, and create to socialist states
within it. From this it can be seen that one of the primary reasons for the superpower rivalry was
Roosevelt's misunderstanding of the Soviet system. Roosevelt and his advisors thought that
37
World War II
giving the Soviet Union control of Central and Eastern Europe would result in the creation of
states controlled somewhat similar to the way in which the United States controlled Cuba after
the Platt Amendment. The State Department assumed that the USSR would simply control the
foreign policy of the satellite nations, leaving the individual countries open to Western trade.
This idea was alien to Soviet leaders. The post war plan that he had created was dependant upon
the creation of an open market economy, and the prevailing nature of the dollar. He was
convinced that the Soviet Union would move westward and abandon its totalitarian political
system along with its policy of closed and internal markets.
When seen from such a perspective, Roosevelt's agreement to let the Soviet Union dominate
half of Europe does not seem as ludicrous. His fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of
the Soviet state can be forgiven, once it has been allowed that an apparently peaceful nature was
apparent at the time, and that it had existed for a relatively short time. While the United States
wanted to "eschew isolationism, and set and example of international cooperation in a world ripe
for United States leadership," the Soviet Union was organizing its ideals around the vision of a
continuing struggle between two fundamentally antagonistic ideologies.
"The decisive period of the century, so far as the eventual fate of democracy was concerned,
came with the defeat of fascism in 1945 and the American-sponsored conversion of Germany
and Japan to democracy and a much greater degree of economic liberalism...." Such was the
result of America attempting to spread its ideology to the rest of the world. The United States
believed that the world at large, especially the Third World, would be attracted to the political
views of the West if it could be shown that democracy and free trade provided the citizens of a
nation with a higher standard of living.
As United States' Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, "To
the extent that we are able to manage our domestic affairs
successfully, we shall win converts to our creed in every
land." It has been seen that Roosevelt and his
administration thought that this appeal for converts would
extend into the Soviet sphere of influence, and even to the
Japanese
Mission..
Planes
On
Another Kremlin itself. The American ideology of democracy is not
complete without the accompanying necessity of open
markets.
38
World War II
America has tried to achieve an open world economy for over a century. From the attempts to
keep the open door policy in China to Article VII of the Lend-Lease act, free trade has been seen
as central to American security. The United States, in 1939, forced Great Britain to begin to
move away from its imperial economic system. Cordell Hull, then Secretary of State, was
extremely tough with Great Britain on this point. He used Article VII of the Lend-Lease, which
demanded that Britain not create any more colonial economic systems after the war. Churchill
fought this measure bitterly, realizing that it would mean the effective end of the British Empire,
as well as meaning that Great Britain would no longer be able to compete economically with the
United States. American leadership of the international economy-thanks to the institutions
created at Bretton Woods in 1944, its strong backing for European integration with the Marshall
Plan in 1947 and support for the Schuman Plan thereafter... (Both dependent in good measure on
American power) created the economic, cultural, military, and political momentum that enabled
liberal democracy to flourish in competition with Soviet communism.
It was the adoption of the Marshall Plan that allowed Western Europe to make its quick
economic recovery from the ashes of World War II. The seeds of the massive expansion of the
military-industrial complex of the early fifties are also to be found in the post war recovery.
Feeling threatened by the massive amount of aid the United States was giving Western Europe,
the Soviet Union responded with its form of economic aid to its satellite counties. This rivalry
led to the Western fear of Soviet domination, and was one of the precursors to the arms-race of
the Cold War.
The foundation for the eventual rise of the Superpowers is clearly found in the years leading up
to and during World War II. The possibility of the existence of superpowers arose from the
imperial decline of Great Britain and France, and the power vacuum that this decline created in
Europe. Germany and Italy tried to fill this hole while Britain and France were more concerned
with their colonial empires. The United States and the Soviet Union ended the war with vast
advantages in military strength. At the end of the war, the United States was in the singular
position of having the world's largest and strongest economy. This allowed them to fill the
power gap left in Europe by the declining imperial powers.
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World War II
It is this, the global dimension of their political,
military and economic presence that makes the
United States and the USSR superpowers. It was the
rapid expansion of the national and international
structures of the Soviet Union and the United States
during the war that allowed them to assume their
roles as superpowers.
Millions Of Soldiers Died..
40
World War II
Appendix.
 Appendix A
Atomic Bomb
Karl Compton wrote in the Atlantic Monthly "I believe, with complete conviction, that
the use of the Atomic Bomb saved hundreds of thousands - perhaps several millions of lives,
both American and Japanese, " Official estimation put the number of 46,000 as the likely
casualties in the unlikely event of a full invasion in 1946.
 Appendix B
The Blitz
In the last stage of the Battle of Britain, which the British called the 'Blitz', the Germans
concentrated on the night- time bombing, first of London, then of other cities. They sent about
150 to 250 bombers at a time and the British had little effective defense
against them until night-fighters (planes which could fly by night)
appeared in 1941. The German bombers had more advanced radio
navigational systems than the RAF. They used these very successfully in
the great raid on Coventry. Radio beams from near Cherbourg guided
'pathfinder' planes towards Coventry, and other radio beams from near
Calais triggered the dropping of marker flares over the city.
Unfortunately, because of a mistake, British 'jamming' (distortion) of the
radio beams did not work that night and the Germans carried out a
massive bombing raid.
41
World War II
Conclusion
Thus while going through this project report we realized that world war II was one of the most
destructive era in the history of mankind. Countries and people participating in the war were
adversely affected by its outcome.
The Second World War brought about massive losses in terms of life, wealth, property etc. that
shook the back bones of the countries all over the world. Super powers like USSR and USA too
suffered heavy loses and took a long time to recover.
The most deadly part of this war was the use of Atom Bomb, over the city of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, which has its effects still today. We still see children getting birth with abnormalities.
One thing that was proved all over again was the dominance of the USA over the world. Even
after such a devastating war it emerged out as a super power and continued to rule throughout
through its financial stability. United Nations was developed to bring about peace all over the
world and that helped small countries to develop fast.
42
World War II
Bibliography
 Book – Mein Kampf written by Adolf Hitler
 Book – The Forgotten Hero’s Of World War
 Book – World War 2
 Book – War in Pacific
43
World War II
List Of References
Online References :
www.thinkquest.org
www.worldwars.com
www.library.org
www.webreference.com
www.worldwar2history.info
www.amazon.com
44
World War II
Glossary
Treaty of Versailles, establishing the post-war peace in Europe. The treaty, signed on the
28th of June 1919, was mainly orchestrated by David Lloyd George, representing Britain
and Georges Clemenceau, representing France.
Mein Kampf (My Struggle) it is an autobiography written by Adolph Hitler the founder
of Nazism community.
The Fascist Party: Mussolini organized the Fascist party in 1919 and responded with
deadly force against his former comrades.
U-boats (Unterseeboten) which could hunt ships unseen beneath the waves and destroy
them with torpedoes.
Blitzkrieg: Blitzkrieg was a different idea altogether. This was fast moving warfare,
which made use of both the tank and aircraft. Its essence was speed and surprise. The air
force would attack first, bombing enemy defenses. Then the main force would move in
large numbers of tanks traveling at speeds of up to 30,40 km per hour, with infantry
following in motor trucks ('motorized infantry').
45
World War II
Index
Adolf Hitler
12
Marshall Plan
37
Axis leaders
12
Nazi party
12
Axis powers
14
Polish Corridor
9
Allied powers
15
Panzerkampfwagen
20
Benito Mussolini
13
Panzer Mark II
20
'Brewup',
20
Italy
14
Blitzkrieg
18
Russia
16
European Sea Battles
17
Royal Navy
17
'Enigma'
21
Squadristi
13
Fascist party
13
Second Phase
25
France
15
Soviet Union
30
First Phase
24
Treaty of Versailles
9
Fourth Phase
28
Tactics
19
Germany
14
Timeline
22
Great-Britain
16
Third Phase
27
Japan
15
United States
16
Mein Kampf
12
U-boats (Unterseeboten)
18
Mushroom
29
Ultra
22
46
World War II
47