World War II

             World War II was simply the bloodiest war the world has ever known, killing some 60 million men, women and children. The war transformed America into a superpower that would influence events around the world for 50 years.
             When World War II began in 1939, Germany was the aggressor, it was later joined in June 1940, by Italy, and Japan in December 1941. But on the morning of September 1st 1939, the world was forever changed as Germany invaded Poland and executed its first "Blitzkrieg" or "Lightning attack", quickly crushing Polish resistance. In less than a month, Poland had been conquered. There followed an inactive period (dubbed the Phony War) that lasted until April 1940. From 1939 to 1945, Germany's military machine struck out and conquered most of Western Europe, however, the Allies gathered strength and eventually crushed the German Army and Axis powers with a display of brute force that has remained unmatched to this day.
             In 1938, the Munich Agreement is signed. In March of 1939, Hitler 'annexed' Austria and later occupied the Sudetenland. At this time, the US did not offer protest but was trying to remain neutral. On August 23, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Stalin in order to gain Russian help in the Polish invasion. On August 31, 1939, German SS men forced prisoners to stage a 'Polish' attack on German soil. This was to make it right for Germany to invade Poland. After Germany invades Poland, Britain and France declare war (September 3). However, neither country was truly committed to fighting a war and wanted to keep it from starting. Hitler was able to defeat and control Poland. It was only after Hitler invaded Poland that the US did anything. However, all that they did was to approve the sell of arms to France and Britain. The US was still trying to remain neutral. Then, despite Allied intervention, the Germans quickly seized Denmark and Norway. On May in 1940, the blitzkrieg struck the
             ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
World War II. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 22:55, April 18, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/32008.html