Position:Home>History> What exactly is world war 2 about?.. in layman's terms please!?

Germany had a bitter taste in their mouths after the loss of WW1!.!.!.!.
The germans were not only defeated, but they were humiliated and made to sign a treaty saying they were COMPLETELY responsible for the war and had to pay the bill!.!.!. which would have completely destroyed their economy

Hitler and his nazi {the socialist party} leaders decided to take matters into their own hands and tried to overthrow the government in what was called "the beer hall putsch" {in reference to the beer halls where people could vent their frustrations to anyone that would listen}
While it did not happen to work out the way Hitler hoped it would he managed to turn things in his favor and the public responded in kind

His "putsch" led to his detainment, but he used it to rise in power and through his words he gained the sympathy of all Germany {by proclaiming the german people superior}

Upon his success to office he quickly proclaimed himself Chancellor {self appointed dictator} and built up his army

He would make them all pay {his hatred aimed in particular at the jews}

The first step was Poland -- where he forced the jewish population into ghettos and completely took away their dignity

Then came the march into France - and with the help of Mussolini {fascist leader of Italy} France was out-gunned
The leader of France signed a peace treaty with Hitler

The US was trying to stay out of the whole affair - even though we were now part of the new league of nations alliance
{the alliance is a friendship between democratic countries}

The Japanese were also affected by the war - their economy on the brink of ruin
Military leaders took control of their government and forced
complete control of not only government, but their own people

Japan signed with Germany and Italy as the Axis powers after walking out of the league of nations {the allies}

as was the case of Germany - Japan was also looked upon in contempt by other countries !.!.!. racial discrimination and arrogance had a part in this

The Japanese saw a chance to invade China and succeeded in occupying the maincoast and also committed severe war attrocities on its people

Germany sought to rid itself of the "jewish menace" by what
what was called "the final solution"
the ghettos were destroyed by the nazi troops and the jews were shipped by trains to prison camps

millions of jewish faith lost their lives in many horrifying ways
by order of the gestapo {high ranking nazi officers}
this was called the "Holocaust"

with the German occupation of France , Hitler was not finished!.!.!. He wanted more

His next move was to invade England
an earlier peace treaty known as "the Munich Pact"{in order to appease the germans to keep them from invading poland and starting another war} was thrown out when germany broke that promise

Germany tried a direct attack on England called "Blitzkrieg"
{which means lightning attack}
Winston Churchill {the new prime minister} rallies the forces and unites England
The Germans were unsuccessful

US gets involved supporting the British with munitions and supplies!.!.!.

Japan decides to take their aggression out on the league of nations for their refusal of help from financial ruin

They look at the US as being the country to make an example of along with the British

They spot Pearl Harbor as being one of the largest military bases at that time!.!.!. and all of our fleets as sitting ducks

On December 7, 1941 !.!.!. the early morning
they send out a surprise attack against the US
with what they called "the divine wind"
zero fighters and kamikazes{suicide bombers}
American lives lost
President Roosevelt sends his address over the radio

"December 7, 1941!.!. A date that will live in infamy!.!.!.!."
The US involvement in the war becomes official

The US {although mourning the loss at Pearl Harbor}
decide to join forces with the allies and defeat Germany
as top priority!.!.!. The horror stories coming from war attrocities could not be ignored and Hitler viewed as main instigator

Japanese- Americans sent in droves to internment camps
as racial hatred comes to a boiling point
{this was a black mark on our history as many historical documents refuse to mention this happened}

The battle of Midway and the Coral sea becomes a turning point as the US is able to crush the Japanese fleet

The Germans make a monumental mistake as Hitler decides to advance into the Russian territory - in an attempt to conquer Stalingrad the germans lose many forces not only to the russian armies that refuse to give !.!.!.but in big part to the Russian winter which is extremely harsh and unrelenting
{the russians join the allies}

Allies crush the Germans in North Africa -- this is as much a victory for the British and the Aussies as well as the US

Guadalcanal -- this becomes a huge push for the ground troops against the japanese with heavy losses on both sides {the south pacific islands}


Allies offensive into Italy and Sicily becomes one of the largest attacks next to D-Day -- the Germans along with Mussolini and his fascist army make a hasty retreat!.!.

Italy surrenders and Mussolini is imprisoned by his own people -- later hanged and his body spat on
Italy liberated {freed from fascist rule}

D-DAY : June 6, 1944
The largest invasion of the war by the Allies as they land off the coast of Normandy with over 4600 ships !.!.!.
suffering large casualties
France is freed from german occupation

Battle of Leyte gulf -phillipines largest naval battle against the Japanese fleet with over 60 ships

Battle of the Bulge -- the final counterattack by the germans
as they are drove back at the german-belgian border
{the germans almost succeed until the Allies sent reinforcements and defeated the germans}

Americans take it to Tokyo with massive fire-bombing raids
literally destroying the city

April 1945 -- The Russians invade Berlin {the capital of Germany} but are too late as Hitler has already went underground in a massive furnished bunker and commits suicide

VE DAY - May 7, 1945 -- Germany surrenders

jewish prison camps left deserted except for the bodies of the dead

Okinawa - American losses are extremely heavy in caves
and bunkers -- suicide missions on american ships successful

Phillipines -- The Americans succeed in defeating japanese troops and sending them packing

Japanese are warned by the Americans to either surrender or face consequences ---

August 6, 1945 --

HIROSHIMA

180,000 killed, wounded, or missing after the first atomic bomb is dropped

Japanese are warned again by the Americans to surrender -
in a state of arrogance their leaders refuse

August 9, 1945 --

NAGASAKI

Second bomb is dropped !.!.
80,000 killed or missing


VJ DAY - September 2, 1945

Tokyo Bay onboard the U!.S!.S!. Missouri

Japan surrenders
Allies victorious

{ the internment camps broken up as japanese- americans are able to get their lives back as US citizens}

Nazi war criminals {high ranking Nazi officers} are apprehended and sent to Nuremburg in a publicised trial for crimes against humanity {the eradication of the jewish people}

the war to end all wars is over!.!.!.!.!.

**Www@QuestionHome@Com

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2 parts, main events + sides

1)Main Events:Germany invaded Poland (with Russian help), so Br, and France declared war on G!. (Because they'd let G!. get away with so much stuff before, G!. was awfully surprised when Br, and France declared war on G!.)

The United States got involved, because of Pearl Harbor!. The US had an embargo on Japan that was very harmful to Japan, and Japan thought that a quick strike could get US to drop her embargo!.

Russia got involved on the Allie's side, when G!. marched into Russia in June, 1942!.

2) SIDES:The 'Allies and Treaties' are a little harder to explain!. The war started with on one side, Br!., France, Poland,Canada!. US joined allies in 1941, after Pearl Harbor, Dec!. 7, 1941!. Russia had a Non-Agression pact with G!., lasted until 1942, when she joined the Allies!. !.!.!.The Axis side was G!., Japan!. Italy joined 10 months into the war, for Axis, then switched over to Allies in 1943!.

Other nations were involved because they were colonies!. (eg, with Britain, Australia, NZ!., India; with France, Algeria, Morroco!.) Other pro-Axis states were Bulgaria, Turkey!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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The United States was forced into war when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the reason being that the U!.S!. enacted an embargo on all oil supplies to Japan!. The reason for the embargo is because Japan was invading China!. The U!.S!. embargo cut-off 90% of Japans resources, which crippled their economy and most importantly military!. Russia helped the Allies defeated Nazi Germany, Operation Bagration contributed to the Allied landing which would not be possible because Hitler had to draw all his elite armored units from western front to eastern, to stop the russians, who were virtually on a rampage!. World War II had two factions: the Allies and the Axis!. The Allies consited of the British Empire, the Russians, the USA and China, France, Northen Ireland, and Poland!. The Axis consited of Nazi Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Thailand!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Germany invaded Poland, then France!. Later, they invaded Russia, bringing them into the war!. Japan was at war with the UK already because of British colonies in asia!. The Japanese knew they'd be at war with the US eventually, because they wanted the Phillipine, which was a US posession at the time!. So they attacked Pear Harbour to try to secure an early victory!. The Italians were allied with Germany, but did not perform terribly well as a combatant nation!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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The Nazi's were ideologues believing themselves to be a 'master race' destined for world domination!.

Japan wanted control of mush of east Asia for resources and influence!. They only had 1/10 of the US's industrial capacity, and knew they had put the US out of action for a while while they invaded much of the south west Pacific, proferable within a few months!. They knew the US would recover, but thought she would be too involved in fighting Germany to engage in a prolonged war with Japan!. The strategy did not work, partly because the four US carriers in the Pacific sailed out of Pearl harbor the night before the raid, and partly because of decisive US action in places like Midway!.

The USSR was intitally allied with Germany, signing a 'non-agression' pact just before the war!. The two countried divided up Poland!. But Hilter wanted oil and other resources in the USSR, and also 'living room' in the east, He invaded in June, 1941 and had initial success, but the Soviets faught back, eventually pushing the Nazis right back to Germany, as the US and Britain moved in form the west!. The Soviets lost about 20 million people in the war to do this (compared to less than 1 million dead for the US and Britain combined)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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OK this is a little rusty because I basically forget everything over the summer but I'll try!.
Basically!.!.!. there was a lot of tension left over from WWI and Germany was pissed!.!.!. Hitler made the Jews his scapegoat and people were ready to follow him because he promised prosperity!. It was so bad that money wasn't worth the paper it was made out of!. Stamps went from like 1/2 of whatever their dollar equivalent was to about 2,000,000!. Hitler began invading, breaking treaties and agreements left and right!. Italy was pissed because they didn't get anything for their hundreds of thousands lost in WWI so they went to Germany!. Russia was also allied with Germany I believe!. So pretty much Germany was plowing through Europe like nobody's business and Europe was being demolished in the process!. Britain, France, USA, and other countries allied together to defeat them!. Hitler pretty much had it in the bag until he back-stabbed Stalin in Russia, and then had to fight on two fronts!. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor because they were a giant and Pearl Harbor was a major military base and they wanted to cripple them before they came into the war full strength!. USA bombed the crap out of Japan and they surrendered!. Germany eventually lost through the invasion of Normandy (D-Day), where thousands of British, French, American, and other nations stormed the beaches of Normandy!. In the end Germany got screwed over again and the US ended up declaring the Marshall Plan which said they would donate a certain amount of money to help rebuild Europe!. Germany had to accept all blame for the war, and they had to repay massive war debts!. US also issued something else (I forgot the name, something like the Wilson Doctrine) which basically said the US would do anything and everything to stop the spread of communism!. Hence the Cold War which soon followed!.

OK that's pretty much all I remember from my class!. Some of it may be a little off because I haven't thought about anything school related for months!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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~In layman's terms, it was about blood and guts and gore!.

WWII, as it concluded, did not begin when the USSR and Germany invaded Poland!. It began in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria!. Things went kinda slow there for awhile, much like the Sitzkreig in Europe after the declarations of war by Great Britain and France!. However, with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, the war was in full bloom!. The US became involved immediately, but said they didn't!. That is a standard ploy used by Uncle Sam!. He says "I'm neutral" then gives aid to one side against the other and takes offense when the aggrieved party retaliates!.

In any case, among other provocations by FDR against the Japanese, the US started to send massive support (arms, munitions, money, supplies and advisers) to a group of, as they were called by the US at the time, 'freedom fighters' and patriots (you know, the same things we called Al Qiada the Taliban and Osama bin Laden when we were supporting them) known as the Viet Minh, who were led by Ho Chi Minh!. That was almost the last straw for Tojo and his cabinet but they waited!. When FDR created the USAFFE and parked 15,000 marines and the largest collection of US warplanes outside national borders astride vital Japanese trade and military routes in the Philippines, Yamamoto's plan to attack Pearl Harbor was implemented!.

The Japanese did not want war with the US!. They wanted to remove the US knife from their throats!. By taking out the Pacific Fleet in one fell swoop, the US would have had no choice but to at long last negotiate in good faith and actually become neutral!. Had Genda been allowed to launch the third wave, had Naguma gone after Midway and/or Guam on his way home or had the carriers been in port, the plan would have worked!.

Pearl was attacked because the Japanese believed it would end the provocations and acts of war against them that the US had been engaged in for more than 5 years!. At the very least, they hoped they could buy the 12 months they needed to secure the Malaysian oil and rubber and open steel markets that had been closed to them!. Yamamoto was instrumental in drawing up the plan!. When he presented it, in 1940, he said it would take more than a little luck to succeed and he recommended strongly to avoid outright war with the US!. Tojo agreed that Japan had no chance in a war against the US!. Both agreed that if US provocations continued, they would have no choice but to strike first, strike fast and strike hard!. Pearl was the obvious target and the entire world knew it!. The US ambassador to Japan advised Washington in January 1941 that the Japanese had developed and were training for an attack on Pearl!. The provocations not only continued, but accelerated!. Each time FDR upped the ante, he knew a response from Tokyo would come!. That's why he allied with the Viet Minh!. That's why he pulled MacArthur out of mothballs and put him in charge of a brand new army and air corps in the Philippines!. That's why he strengthened bases at Guam, Wake, Midway, Clark Field, Taiwan, Subic Bay and Luzon!. He backed Japan into such a tight corner that the Japanese had two choices: total submission to western demands (and after Matthew Perry and his Black Ships a century earlier, that wasn't going to happen again) or war!. FDR hoped for the latter!. That is why the Hull note was sent in November!. Bang bang, boom boom, Arizona go splat!. FDR's plan worked!.

In any event, after Pearl the US was officially in the war!. Now that occidentals were actively and overtly involved in the war in Asia, The Second Sino-Japanese War was elevated in status to the distinction of being a theater of WWII!. (Before that, it was just a war between slants and goooooks and it didn't merit the same accolades as did the war between the whites on the continent!. Such is Western history!.)

Russia certainly was involved!. So was the rest of the Soviet Union!. The USSR invaded Poland along with Germany!. Then, by agreement, the Red Army and the Wehrmacht split up Scandinavia and Eastern Europe!. Both Hitler and Stalin knew they would have to take each other on at some point!. Hitler made the first move!. When Operation Barbarossa was launched, the Soviets became the good guys and the western allies allied with Joe Stalin!. That made sense!. As Churchill told FDR, the only force on the planet that could take on the Third Reich in a war on the continent and have any chance of surviving, forget winning, was the Red Army!.

Churchill was right!. WWII was decided at Stalingrad, Lenningrad, Moscow, Smolensk, Kursk and Kiev!. Normandy, by comparison, a walk in the park!. How was "Russia" involved!? The USSR won the war and saved Europe from Nazism!. The Brits and US fought the third string Wehrmacht forces with their fourth rate equipment and weapons and inferior leaders (yeah, I mean Rommel and Von Rundstedt- their records speak for itself, especially when compared to his "peers" on the Eastern Front) and had all they could do to beat them, even though they usually enjoyed a manpower advantage of at least 2 1/2 to 1, a tank advantage of, at times, 5 to 1 (but I'd take a Panzer or a Tiger against 8 Shermans any day - but I'd want at least 3 Tigers to go up against one partially disabled T-34)!.

The US officially entered the war when Germany declared war on December 8, 1941!. However, FDR had led the US from the series of Neutrality Acts to Boats for Bases to Lend Lease and finally, on 9-11-41 to his fireside chat (a speech which should live in infamy) wherein he bragged to the world that he had ordered the 'neutral' US warships to fire on any German warship, "without provocation" which was sighted in "US defensive waters" (which he defined as the sea lanes from the coast of the US to the shores of the British Isles)!. He, and we, as neutrals, had been bending over backwards to send war materials to the Brits to be used against the Germans and FDR took umbrage over the fact that the Germans had the audacity to be offended and to sink the cargoes before they ended up in the streets of Bohn!. No sense of humor, Hitler and Frank!. One thing Roosevelt did accomplish!. Before he started sending aid to the Viet Minh, Germany had been on the side of the Chinese!. Because of the overt actions against the Japanese, and because the US continually stepped up its aid of the Brits and Soviets, Hitler switched sides and the Tripartite Act was signed!. Germany and Japan wanted to make it clear to the US that if the FDR finally admitted he was at war and went after one, he would have to face the other!.

If you use this for your homework, you'd best do the (extremely easy) research to back it up!. It is not politically correct to acknowledge that Pearl Harbor was reactive rather than proactive, and it is certainly not PC to acknowledge that the evil empire, virtually single-handedly, beat the Nazis!. It might not be PC, but it is damn well true and the record proves it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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