World War Two Explained: The Key Battles and Dates

the second world war was the biggest most destructive bloodiest war in history every continent was touched by the war yes even the Antarctic there was military activity in China France Hawaii Iceland Somalia Sri Lanka the Arctic and far beyond it was fought in trenches on Horseback in the air under the Seas it was fought for the first time ever in space and with nuclear weapons World War II changed the world the European Empires of Britain France Holland and others never recovered the rest of the 20th century would be dominated by the superpowers the USA and the Soviet Union in Asia the war led eventually to the victory of the Chinese Communist party it also caused the partition of Korea into two zones and the birth of India as an independent country so when was it what happened and who fought where this is all you need to know when did World War II start well that depends on your point of view World War II was caused by the desire for Empire for territory for power for wealth and resources three dictatorships Germany Italy and Japan known as the Axis powers had spent the 1930s expanding their Empires Germany in Europe Japan in northern China Italy in Africa Japan and China have been locked in a huge struggle since 1937 at least some people think this should count as the start of the war the Americans were actually dragged into this Pacific region war in December 1941 when Japan attacked the American Navy in Pearl Harbor Hawaii so it started for the USA in 194 1 Europeans Canadians Australians Indians and anyone else in the European Empires which at that time was nearly everyone count the start of the war from September 1939 at the start of that month Adolf Hitler the German dictator invaded Poland at that point lots of countries declared war on Germany and the second world war in Europe was underway when the war ended that's a little clearer Germany and Japan were catastrophically defeated and occupied in 1945 so why does September 1939 matter in Europe Adolf Hitler's Nazi party had seized power in Germany he' done away with democracy he was a dictator he has started the persecution of political opponents of Jews of other minorities He is building concentration camps his aim expand ing Germany he wanted to seize back all the territory that Germany had lost after it been defeated in the first world war in 1918 so in 1938 he sees Austria then parts of Czechoslovakia but he wanted more he wanted an empire in the East the rich farmlands of Ukraine the oil of the Caucasus he dreamed of a vast German Empire so he's grabbing bits of Europe that he claims have always really been part of Germany he's returning Germany to Greatness and his next Target is Poland Western Poland used to be part of Germany until defeating the first world war Hitler thinks it should be part of Germany again so he does a deal with the Communist dictator Joseph Stalin in Russia or the USSR as it was properly known at the time and they decide they're going to invade Poland and split it between them 1st of September 1939 boom we're off German troops in vain Hitler thought Britain and France would let him do it they'd reluctantly agreed to allow him to snap up Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia over the previous couple of years but this was a step too far they declared war on Germany Hitler has got himself into another world war what now he asked his foreign minister with Britain and France come some mighty Empires Canada India Nigeria South Africa New Zealand Australia and lots beside all now in the fight so what happens buckle up pretty quickly Germany and the Soviets divide up Poland the British and French aren't much help the French do launch a little invasion of Western Germany but only Advance a couple of Miles their heart wasn't in it they withdraw once German troops flooded back flush from their victory in Poland the Soviets have less success with an invasion of Finland which ends in an embarrassing defeat although the following year they try again and do take a bit of territory on the oceans German submarines and ships try to destroy Britain's trade and cut off supplies a German uboat or submarine sinks a passenger ship the athenia within hours of the war starting this is known as the battle of the Atlantic and it will rumble on until the last days of the second world war further a field any German naval ship on the high seas is hunted down and destroyed a British Force sank the German Cruiser Admiral graph in the battle of the River Plate off the coast of South America back in Europe though there was a standoff both sides eyeballing each other across the French German Border in Britain at this time more people were killed in road traffic accidents because street lights were were blacked out then members of the Armed Forces were killed in combat but that would change in April 1940 both the allies and the Germans decided to invade Norway to secure its precious resources the iron oil which was exported to Germany through the Norwegian Port of narik was essential for German steel production the Germans moved North through Denmark conquering it in the space of hours they also sent a fleet to invade Norway which managed to avoid the British Navy partly due to bad we the Allies attempted to move troops into Norway to bolster Norwegians but the Germans were too strong by the end of May the final Allied troops were evacuated along with the Norwegian royal family this was very embarrassing for the British and French allies and after huge criticism in Parliament of the way the war was being run the British government collapsed iname a new prime minister you might have heard of him Winston Churchill he didn't have long to ease himself into the the job the very day he went to see the king and move into Downing Street the Germans launched the invasion of Western Europe a massive German Force crossed into Luxembourg Holland Belgium and France What followed was one of the most dramatic upsets in the history of war the Germans used tanks aircraft and vehicles to Surge through enemy territory surrounding and surprising while the Allies moved to counter the German troops marching through Belgium as they had in the first world war the Germans completely surprised them with another thrust through the Woody hilly Arden region which most planners had thought was impossible this thrust caught everyone off balance and within just 10 days the Germans were at the English Channel all the Allied troops that had marched North into Belgium to stop the Germans were now cut off from the rest of their forces in France the British and French had been SL I in half the surrounded forces in Belgium had no choice they had to head to the coast and hope the Royal Navy would rescue the Allies retreated to a defensive perimeter around the town of Dunkirk the Navy frantically organized ships to go to their rescue including eventually little boats rivercraft barges and Yachts which could pick soldiers up directly from the beach rather than rely on limited Port facilities many of which had been ruined by German bombing the British hoped to evacuate 45,000 men in the two days before the Germans captured duner but Hitler called his forces to a halt he was concerned that his tanks and men were stretched and needed to consolidate the Germans were worried also the ground around Dunkirk was too boggy for heavy tanks this gave the British a precious window over a week an astonishing 340,000 Allied soldiers were rescued some called it a miracle Britain had rescued its Army even if they left nearly all their heavy weapons behind Hitler's axis partner Italy thought the writing was on the wall and chose this moment to jump into the war Italian troops launched an invasion of Southern France after Dunkirk German forces were free to turn South and concentrate on the rest of the French army within weeks France fell Hitler visited Paris for some gloating shots for social media Germany now dominated Western and Central Europe inspired by Winston Churchill the British and their empire Beyond the Seas made the firm decision not to give in Hitler had a British problem he needed to make peace with Britain or defeat Britain totally or they'd make a nuisance to themselves when Hitler turned East to fulfill his real dream that huge Empire stretching off into the Russian States so Hitler told his army to draw up plans to invade while he used his Air Force to try and force Britain to the negotiating table What followed was the Battle of Britain the first battle fought in history predominantly in the skies German bombers flew over Britain striking military targets they focused at first on the Royal Air Force trying to knock them out so Germans could control the sky and forced the British government to yield through bombing but the RAF proved tenacious German raids were pounced on by RAF hurricane and spitfire Fighters German bombers were shot down in unsustainable numbers the RAF had invented an ingenious system to identify and attack German raids pioneering radar was used to spot German aircraft the information was then passed to groups of fighter aircraft who could Dash up into the sky and shoot them down as the summer went on the RAF seemed unbreakable the Germans switched tactics and started pounding London hoping to force the British to change their minds and sue for peace it was the start of what Brits call The Blitz the systematic bombing of civilians in cities by the Germans but by the middle of September it was clear that the Germans have been defeated in the air the RAF was still a formidable presence and the bombing of London was taking far too higher toll on German aircraft and crew Hitler admitted he would not be able to knock Britain out of the war he certainly couldn't launch an invasion with the RAF undefeated and the Royal Navy ready to pounce on any German invasion Fleet Germany switched to bombing British cities at night but the invasion plans were shelled while Britain had been fighting for survival it also had to fight the Italians in the Mediterranean where their Empires rubbed do alongside each other in North and East Africa the British seized Italian Ethiopia but the fighting in Libya and Egypt would prove much tougher 1941 would be a big year as fighting between the axis and the British Sea sword in North Africa the Italian invasion of Greece which they launched right at the end of 1940 was going badly wrong the Italians were forced into humiliating treats they turned to Hitler to bail them out well he couldn't stand by and let his allies embarrass him so he invaded Southeast Europe overrunning Yugoslavia and Greece pretty quickly but that wasted valuable time and resources for the axis because that summer they had a big plan the invasion of the Soviet Union One of history's most terrible struggles was about to begin in June Hitler shocked his former Ally Stalin by launching the most massive invasion in history nearly 4 million men 3 and a half th000 tanks over 8,000 other vehicles and thousands of aircraft plus over half a million horses the Soviets were completely outclassed millions of men were killed or captured and sent to camps where most of them stared to death even Stalin's son was among the prisoners who would perish by December German spearheads were at the outskirts of Moscow but ferocious Soviet resistance and shocking cold weather stopped them in their tracks and the Soviets launched a Counterattack that was even able to push them back Hitler had believed as he put it that by kicking in the front door the whole rotten structure would come crashing down instead the Soviets had retreated but they hadn't collapsed they were still in the fight the stage was set for a long terrible struggle while the Germans were falling just short of taking Stalin's Capital thousands of miles away another surprise attack was about to take place Japan was struggling to win its War in China they needed raw materials Rubber and oil these could be found in Southeast Asia places like Malaysia the Japanese thought the United States would stop them from invading these territories so they decided to strike first knock out the American Navy in the Pacific then they could seize all the territory they liked so in early December 1941 six Japanese aircraft carriers headed for Hawaii on the 7th of December 1941 the Japanese struck bombs and Torpedoes rained down on the US Pacific Fleet headquarters at P Harbor on aahu eight battleships were sunk or damaged 2 and a half th000 Americans were killed President Roosevelt called it a day of infamy and declared war on Japan then remarkably Adolf Hitler declared war in America the USA was in the war with both Japan and Germany the war in Europe and the war in Asia was now a global one the Japanese didn't just attack the Americans they also put into plan their attempt to secure the resources of Southeast Asia at the same time those bombs were falling on Pearl Harbor the Japanese invaded British controlled Malaya then Indonesia and the Philippines within months all of them would fall to Japan 1942 would be the decisive year 1942 started with axis advances but ended in terrible defeats the Japanese continued to expand across Asia and the Pacific they captured Burma they arrived at the gates of India they bombed Australia and Sri Lanka the Germans and their axis allies charged through Ukraine into Southern Russia by late summer they'd reached the city of Stalingrad but their momentum stopped as they struggled to secure the city in the face of house to house fighting that summer too the Japanese suffered a catastrophic defeat the Americans had broken the Japanese Naval codes which allowed them to Ambush the Japanese Fleet off Midway Island US Naval dive bombers destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers ripping the heart out of the Japanese Navy the tide had turned the tide also turned in Africa as well an impressive axis Advance had taken their forces deep into Egypt threatening the entire British position in the Middle East but the British attacked at El alamain in October and forced the axis back it was the start of a long retreat days later the Americans arrived in the western theater for the first time in the war they and the British landed in Morocco in Algeria threatening to crush the axis between them and the British army advancing from Egypt in November 1942 the Soviets launched a massive Counterattack on the German troops at Stalingrad within days they were surrounded the Germans held out desperately but by February 1943 the final Remnant surrendered it was a devastating defeat in 1943 the allies really turned the screws in the skies of Europe fleets of bombers smashed German cities and factories night after night a daring raid in May saw British bombers strike at German dams disrupt hydroelectric and Water Supplies in the industrial region of the r in the Soviet Union the Germans attempted one last big offensive they attacked the Soviets around the city of KK but the British had br broken German codes and gave Stalin detailed intelligence the Soviets built massive defenses which took a terrible toll on the Germans and then struck back at them sending them reing back the Germans would know only Retreats from this point forward in the Atlantic British American Canadian other Allied ships and planes developed techniques to overcome the threat of German submarines in a series of battles Allied ships sunk German submarines in such large numbers the German Admirals suspended all operations they would never again enjoy the upper hand in the spring of 1943 axis troops surrendered in North Africa and in July the invasion of Italy began with Landings in Sicily the first Allied boots on the home turf of an Axis power later that month the fascist leader musolini was ousted from power and arrested the Allies then invaded the Italian mainland in early September Italy agreed to surrender but German forces in Italy seized control and ensured that the Allies would have to fight their way right up the Italian peninsula in the Pacific the Americans were on the offensive they hoed from Island to Island in two main thrusts there was a Southern Drive in which New Guinea and its surrounding Islands would be captured then there was a Thrust up through the Central Pacific with attacks on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands the axis were on the retreat they now had no chance of winning the war as the situation worsened for the Germans their genocidal campaign against Europe's Jews and other groups accelerated millions of Jews were killed in industrial murder camps across Germany's shrinking Empire the walls really closed in on the axis powers in 1944 the Soviets launched offensive after offensive millions of men surging forward driving the axis forces before them vast numbers of people were now locked into bloody destructive awful Fighting by the end of the year the Soviets were on German soil in the Pacific the USA inflicted defeat after defeat on the the Japanese most their Navy was wiped out in massive battles like the Philippine Sea and the late Gulf they captured Island after Island cipan tinian Guam all fell from these islands American bombers could now reach the Japanese home islands and unleash terrible destruction the Japanese attempted a pathetic attempt to strike at America they released Balloons with explosives tied onto them one of them killed six civilians in Oregon the only Americans killed in the continental US by Axis powers during the second world war the Japanese also tried to invade India but were held at battles at kohima and infal before falling back the Americans British Canadians and their allies launched their invasion of Western Europe on the 6th of June 1944 D-Day in just 24 hours around 150,000 men were landed in Normandy some drop from aircraft but the majority coming across the channel in 7,000 ships and boats and storming up the beaches hours of savage fighting were needed to get off some of the beaches as the German Defenders Unleashed a storm of machine gun fire from concrete bunkers but by the end of the day the Allies had penetrated this defensive wall and cleared the beaches and huge numbers of men and vehicles would land in the coming days German reinforcements rushed to Normy and a brutal attritional battle followed it wasn't until early August that the Allies defeated the German forces comprehensively and they raced across northern France liberating Paris at the end of the month it seemed like the end of the war might be near the Allies launched an ambitious attempt to seize the bridge across the rine at arnam but the Germans were not defeated yet they fought back and frustrated the plan the war would drag on through another terrible winter and at midwinter Hitler would launch his last offensive with snow thick on the ground the Germans struck at Allied troops in Luxembourg and Belgium they bent back the Allied line into a bulge but could not break through massive reinforcements were rushed to the region and this Battle of the Bulge Ended as another German defeat they'd lost men tanks and fuel they could not afford it was all over in 1945 but the axis fought hard to the end causing huge unnecessary hardship trauma and loss of life as the Snows melted in the spring of 1945 the Allies swept through Northern Italy finally completing the Liberation on their Western Front the Germans blew up one of their biggest dams causing flooding to slow the Allied advance but in March the Western allies gained footholds on the east side of the the mighty River rine and advanced across Germany by April they were just 50 mi from Berlin in the East the Soviets rampaged across Poland and East Germany nearly 2 and a half million men proved far too much for the German Defenders Stalin was desperate to get to Berlin the enemy's Capital first and he pushed his generals to beat the Western allies to it they succeeded Berlin was surrounded by Soviet troops by late April on the 30th of April Hitler married his longtime partner Eva Brown then killed her and committed suicide the third reich's short-lived second furer Admiral donits surrendered unconditionally a week later on the 7th of May the war in the west was over 43 million had died 2third of Europe's Jewish population had been murdered cities had been erased Treasures destroyed a continent lay in Ruins Japan remained in the fight for the moment its cities were incinerated its Empire humbled American forces moved ever closer to the home Islands they captured islands like iojima and Okinawa after horrific fighting which saw suicidal yet hopeless Japanese defense plans were made to invade Japan itself but then the USA stunned the world a single plane dropped the most powerful weapon in history a miracle weapon the atomic bomb a top secret massive industrial and scientific effort had been underway in America to harness the power of the atom and create a bomb of hitherto unimaginable strength in July 1945 there had been a successful test which had turned a patch of New Mexico desert into glass in August the new American President Truman who had succeeded after the death of Roosevelt in April took the decision to drop the bomb on Japan to force their unconditional surrender on the 6th of August a single bomb was dropped on Hiroshima followed by a second bomb 3 days later on Nagasaki hundreds of thousands of people were killed or suffered horrific injuries in the two strikes at the same time the Soviet Union finally entered the war in the Pacific the day after Hiroshima Stalin launched a massive offensive against Japanese forces in northern China bowing to the inevitable the Japanese government surrendered the official ceremony took place on the 2nd of September 1945 on the American battleship in Tokyo bay the second world war was over the world was transformed in Europe the eastern part of the continent was now under Soviet communist occupation Germany was divided in two the East occupied by the Soviets the west by the Western democracies nuclear armed America was now a global superpower totally replacing the British and the French Empires which were weakened by the exertions and the expense of war in Asia Japan was occupied and rebuilt by the Americans Korea was divided like Germany between the democracies who controlled the South and so forces who installed a communist regime in the North Vietnam had thrown off the French Imperial yoke during the war and began its independent struggle as the French arrived back to take control China was devastated by the war and the Communist forces there redoubled their efforts to seize power by 1949 mainland China was in the grip of the Chinese Communist party in so many ways we are still living in a world forged by World War [Music] II thanks for watching this video on the history Hit YouTube channel you can subscribe right here to make sure you don't miss any of our great films that are coming 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Channel: History Hit

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Id: hUDYd8LAvD8

Length: 28min 25sec (1705 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 20 2023