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End of WWII in Europe and the Asia-Pacific - Coggle Diagram
End of WWII in Europe and the Asia-Pacific
Strengths of the Allies
Importance of the U.S.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)
President of the USA
Became the president during the Great Depression, led the country in a time of worldwide economic crisis & world war
Optimism inspired the Americans during hardship
Worked closely with the Allies, especially Winston Churchill
Died just before victory was achieved
Economic and military power of the U.S.
Pre-pearl harbor -> U.S. reluctance + severe opposition to U.S. involvement
Post-pearl harbor -> opposition disappeared, people became supportive of U.S. involvement
America's vast resources were mobilised quickly
People, factories, shipyards, farms, Hollywood movie industry joined in the war effort
Within months, the U.S. was rebuilding its fleet and training troops, producing weapons and other essential equipment
Axis' war production never met the Allies', even at the height of Germany's victories in 1940
1942 onwards
U.S. supplied Allies with food, raw materials, industrial equipment, weapons and ammunition, troops, ships and aircraft
ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY
1941-1945, the U.S. produced:
250,000 aircraft
90,000 tanks
350 naval destroyers
200 submarines
5,600 merchant ships
By 1944, they were producing almost half of the weapons made globally, more than twice of the production of Germany and Japan combined
U.S. also supplied the GMD in China with money, weapons, and other aid to fight the Japanese
Also supplied resistance movements across Asia (Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army, Viet Minh)
Supplied British forces in Burma and New Guinea
However, main threat was still seen to be Germany -> most supplies and resources directed at Germany, aided the Britain and USSR who are across the Atlantic
Battle of the Atlantic (1939 - 1945)
Importance of the Atlantic Ocean and the ability to transport ships safely across the Atlantic
U.S. military had to cross the Atlantic to support its Allies (Britain, France)
What happened?
U.S joined the war in 1941 indirectly through Lend-Lease scheme, supplying food, fuel, equipment to help the British against the Germans
Shipped via merchant ships with naval escorts to be protected against German submarines (U-boats)
Initially, the U-boats were effective in sinking British merchant ships transporting the goods
However, British intelligence broke the secret codes used by U-boats and could allow the convoys to steer clear of the U-boats
U.S. industrial production was also effective, allowing more boats to be built than the U-boats could sink
Germans eventually called off the U-boat campaign as Allies managed to counter and sink the U-boats
Island-Hopping Strategy in the Asia-Pacific
Using air attacks and submarines to isolate Japanese-held areas, instead of trying to capture them
Allies would then conquer the poorly-defended islands and try to cut off ships that supplied the well-defended island
Cutting off some areas from their supplies of food, ammunition and other essentials
Successful
Allowed Allies to incur fewer casualties and come within striking distance of Japan itself in just a few years
Would have taken much longer through a direct attack
Use of Atomic Bombs
U.S. decided to use the newly developed atomic bombs without warning
Key reasons for Japanese surrender
Importance of Britain
British Empire
Immense manpower and resources from India
India -> 2.5 million men and women
80% of wealth to the Allied war effort
Ability to resist German invasion in 1940-1941
1940s -> politicians believed that right policy would be to reach an agreement with Germany
Lord Haliax
British Foreign Secretary
If his policy had been pushed, Britain would have been forced to surrender it's armed forces, esp the Royal Navy
However, British PM Winston Churchill refused to deal with Germany
Battle of Britain -> RAF's excellent fighter aircraft (Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane) were as good as Germany's
Factories able to keep producing more aircrafts to replace the damaged ones
British technology of radar -> used to detect and locate incoming enemy aircraft
Homeground fight -> tapping on their large reserves of spare parts for repair work & used less fuel for war production
Became a substantial military base
Troops from all over the empire were stationed there (Canada and Caribbean)
Britain also became the base for a massive U.S. Army presence
Made D-Day landing + Allied bombing campaigns possible
British's survival - Japanese would have had less resistance in the Asia-Pacific region
Japanese fought troops from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and African troops in the APAC region
Importance of the USSR
Reorganisation and Resistance
Stalin & the military leaders made use of the opportunity in the late 1941, when the Russians managed to halt German advances
Copied many Germany tactics and ideas and added their own
Specialist tank armies and air force
Effective new weapons (T-34 tank) which can be produced in huge numbers
Harsh discipline (Order 227) - FIght & die for the country
Specialist units created to listen in on German radio signals and disrupt them
Radio communications were implemented in all tanks and aircrafts (supplied by Britain and U.S.)
Officers in the Red Army given greater freedom and independence to act. Communist Party officials banned from interfering with military decisions
Battle of Stalingrad: Longest + bloodiest battle but Soviet victory
Resources and Production: The Soviet War Economy
To keep up with high demand, Soviets enacted harsh measures
Adults received no food unless they worked in some way for the war effort (both men and women)
Forced labour used + secret police closely monitored and controlled
Impact
Produced vast amount of a small range of reliable weapons
1942: Equalled and surpassed German war production
1943: Produced 1.5x as many aircraft & 2x as many tanks as Germans
Managed to shift its major industrial complexes even though Germans captured much of their agricultural and industrial capacity
25 million workers were forces to migrate east
Aid from Britain and U.S. (500,000 motor vehicles, 1,900 locomotives, rubber tyres, copper, food, raw materials, industrial equipment) fueled their war machine
Gave an advantage to the Soviets
Battle of Kursk (Jul 1943): Soviets had 10x as many tanks as the Germans. More artillery, aircraft and other weapons
Entry to the Asian-Pacific Theatre of War
USSR agreed to enter the war against Japan 3 months after the defeat of Germany at the Tehran and Yalta Conference
8 Aug 1945: Soviets declared war against Japan & launched their invasion simultaneously on three fronts of Manchuria
Defeated Kwantung Army and occupied northern Korea
Key developments in Europe (1939 - 1945)
The Germans had early successes after the invasion of Poland
Countries occupied by the Germans by 1940: Norway, Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, France
Biltzkrieg (lightning war)
Swift and focused attack using mobile forces (armoured tanks and air support) to overwhlem the enemies
Use of fast tanks and armoured vehicles to surprise the enemy + create opening for troops
Paratroopers who landed behind enemy lines to capture key infrastructures
Modern ground attack aircrafts to break up enemy forces and defences (damage roads, tanks, planes, rail and telephone lines)
Modern and powerful field radios to coordinate attacks
Why was blitzkrieg used?
German economy lacked important resources (copper, rubber and oil) which did not support long drawn-out campaigns and trench warfare
Avoid military stalemates
Fall of France (1940)
May 1940: Germany attacked France
France had a larger army and air force + supported by the British Expeditionary Force and Royal Air Force
However, they were unable to resist German attack
Late May 1940: British and French were surrounded and facing total defeat
Retreated to the Channel coast in the region around Dunkirk
Vulnerable + could have been destroyed by the Germans
However,
Some of Hitler's generals felt that there was a need to slow down to consolidate German forces to not leave themselves vulnerable to attacks
Hitler ordered the German forces to stop advancing at Dunkirk
June 1940 - France surrendered and fell into the hands of Germany
Germans saw it as a massive victory and revenge for its defeat in 1918
Miracle of Dunkirk (Dunkirk Evacuation)
Battle of Britain (1940)
After the French surrendered, Hitler turned his attention to the British
Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe (German air force) to focus on destroying the British Royal Air Force (RAF) to achieve air superiority
British -> formidable opponent because it could tap on resources from its empire to conduct the war
From September 1940 to May 1941, Germans turned to British cities, bombing them in a campaign known as the Blitz
The Blitz
Huge losses of life and great damages to houses, docks, warehouses and factories
However, British were unwilling to surrender and caused them to be more resolve to win the war
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
Previously, the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (Aug 1939) was signed
However, Hitler's goals were to destroy communism and expand German territory into Eastern Europe and the USSR -> reason? for oil
Operation Barbarossa -> Invasion into USSR (1941)
Initially, Operation Barbarossa was a success; Stalin was on the verge of abandoning Moscow in Sep 1941
However, the Germans were not able to overwhelm the USSR fast enough + harsh winter halted German advance
On the other hand, Stalin reorganised the Soviet war effort + extensive resources provided by US Lead-Lease -> USSR turned around the put up a strong resistance against the Germans on the Eastern Front
90% of German casualties in WW2 were on the Eastern Front
Operation Overlord: D-Day 1944
Allies sought to liberate France as Germans and Soviets were engaged in battles
However, Germans were in France since 1940 -> Strong fortifications
By then, the U.S. already joined the war so there was U.S. assurance of assistance
6 June 1944: D-Day
Combined Allied forces landed on France's Normandy region
Germany was all alone fighting against the Allies in Europe as Mussolini had fallen in Sept 1943
Was a success -> Had overwhelming resources and effective planning & leadership
130,000 Allied troops across the English Channel by sea + 23,000 by air
Tanks + Weapons + Ammunition
13,000 Allied aircraft (vs 400 German aircraft) pounded radar installations, rail links and bridges
Result: German forces in Normandy were cut off from reinforcements
Victory in Europe (1945)
German efforts
Germans fought hard and even launched a counterattack in December 1944 through the Ardennes Forest but were steadily drive back
New equipment -> guided missiles + jet aircraft
However,
Early 1943: Soviets were able to stop German advance + huge victory in Stalingrad
Jan 1945: Germany had to retreat & Soviet troops encircled Berlin
Hitler withdrew to his underground bunker and commanded from there
30 Apr 1945: Hitler committed suicide
8 May 1945: Germany surrendered
Key Developments in Asia-Pacific (1937 - 1945)
Quick Timeline
1931: Invasion of Manchuria
July 1937: Expansion into China (Shanghai, Wuhan, Nanjing) - Second Sino-Japanese War
Sep 1940: Japanese forces occupied French Indochina
Dec 1941: Pearl Harbour Attack + Attacks on Malaya, Philippines and Dutch East Indies (Borneo)
Jan to May 1942: Successfully invaded SEA
Aug 1942 - June 1945: U.S. pushed back Japanese forces
Aug 1945: Japanese surrender
Attack on Pearl Harbour (1941)
On the day itself
Devastating attack, total success for the Japanese as U.S. intelligence failed to warn the U.S. forces
Attacked for 90 mins and killed over 2,000 American personnel
U,S. lost 18 ships, including 5 battteships
After
3 days later, the Japanese sank the Prince of Wales and the Repulse (most powerful British battleships) in the Pacific region
Impact
U.S. able to recover quickly within a few months and retaliate against Japan
Outrage over the attack allowed President Roosevelt to rally the country
Allowed a united and organised U.S. to declare war on Japan
U.S. directed their resources at a war against Japan
Shipyards constructed new ships, especially aircraft carriers
Produced large numbers of superior carrier-based aircraft (dive bomber and F-4 Corsair)
U.S. actually still had their aircraft carriers because they were NOT at Pearl Harbor at that time
Battle of Midway (1942)
Decisive battle in June 1942
Japanese lost 4 of their Japanese carriers and three fourths of their experienced pilots
Affected naval and air defence capabilities
Weakened Japan as it could not match the output of U.S. shipyard and aircraft factories
Defeat of Japan and the Atomic Bomb
After Midway - U.S. and allies gradually drove the Japanese back across the Pacific from the territories taken (Island-hopping strategy)
Several key victories between 1942 - 1945
Weakened Japanese military
Japan's resources became overstretched and was not able to defend the entire empire
Japanese fought fanatically in the various territories
Pivotal stage of war - U.S. air raids on Japanese soil
April 1945: British and U.S. forces took Okinawa
Allies had to kill or capture every one of the 100,000 Japanese soldiers defending the island - none would surrender
Allied ships were badly damaged by Japanese kamikaze suicide bombers who deliberately crashed their planes into them
April 1945: President Roosevelt died and then-Vice-President Harry Truman assumed the Presidency
Truman's dilemma
1) continue conventional bombing of Japanese cities
2) invade Japan
3) demonstrate the atomic bomb on an unpopulated island
4) drop the bomb on an inhabited Japanese city
6 August 1945 - American bomber, Enola Gay dropped a five-ton atomic bomb "Little Boy" over Hiroshima
9 August 1945 - Second atomic bomb, "Fat Man" over Nagasaki
Impact
Cities reduced to ruins
Legacy of cancer and radiation-related diseases
Many injured and dead
Emperor Hirohito asked the army to surrender after Nagasaki
However, some of the military leaders disagreed and attempted to overthrow the Emperor
14 August 1945 - Japanese surrender
Weaknesses of the Axis Power
Germany's Military Weaknesses
Hitler's Mistakes
Germans made several critical errors due to ineffective command structure
German commanders had to constantly report back to Hitler who regularly intervened in military decisions
Problem:
Hitler had never been a senior military commander
Little military command experience at the highest level
E.g. Halting the advance of German forces towards Dunkirk
E.g. Siege of Stalingrad (German commanders wanted to withdraw from Stalingrad because it was not strategically valuable but Hitler wanted to take Stalingrad because the city was named after Stalin) -> pointless battle
Erroneously declaring war on the U.S. 4 days after Pearl harbour attack even though he did not have to (not under the terms of the Tripartite Pact)
Two-Front War
Attacks on both the Western and Eastern Fronts
Attack on the Eastern Front caused the Soviet Union to retaliate
Fatal mistake -> Germany had to divide its military and resources to fight on both fronts -> highly ineffective
Furthermore, the entry of USA boosted Allied efforts and morale as they provided additional support on the Western Front
Germany was essentially fighting against Britain, USSR and the U.S.
Result:
The war on two fronts quickly depleted Germany's resources as it could not keep up with the quickened pace of the war, contributing to the defeat of Germany
Poor Planning
Failures in planning for naval warfare:
Ineffective use of surface ships
Too much emphasis on building giant battleships and failed to build aircraft carriers
Failures in preparing air defence:
Germans never developed heavy bombers like the British RAF's Lancaster and US' B-17 bombers
German bombers were too small and could not carry enough bombs
Radars -> Germans never invested in it (British had radars)
Shortage of fuel, ammunition and spare parts
Japan's Military Weaknesses
Inter-Service Rivalry between the Army and the Navy
Long-term conflict between the army and the navy
Why?
Both had different strategic goals and ideas for how they wanted to seize territories to obtain resources to sustain their economy
Rivalry prevented the groups from sharing resources and exchanging military intelligence
Prevented them from coordinating their attacks and defences
Example:
1942: Army refused to provide troop support for an invasion of Australia and remained unresponsive throughout the Pacific War. Army was also late to recognize the threat of U.S. counter-offensive in late 1942
1943: Army refused to commit major reinforcements to the Pacific islands
Both also could not agree on where to set Japan's defensive perimeter against the Allied forces
Overstretched Empire
Japan had an expanded empire but the areas were stretched out
Rail and road communications were poor and it was difficult to deliver raw materials and workers efficiently
Large quantities of raw materials and finished goods (weapons, vehicles) had to be transported by sea
Difficult as compared to transportation by rail or road in Europe
Poor Planning
Failed to understand that the war at sea changed in 1941
Air power and aircraft carriers was far more important than traditional naval power like battleships
Pearl Harbour: Battleships were destroyed but aircraft carriers were not destroyed (Allowed U.S. navy to quickly recover)
Lack of local support
Brutal treatment of the locals in the land they conquered made the locals resist against the Japanese
Large-scale resistance movements (e.g. in Malaya) -> Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army
Guerilla Warfare (China under Mao Zedong, Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, North Koreans also joined the Chinese communists and also later in Korea)