Understanding the Key Events of World War II

Understanding the Key Events of World War II World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, was a war fought primarily between the Axis Powers (Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States). Although World War II was started by Nazi Germany in their attempt to conquer Europe,it turned into  the largest and the bloodiest war in world history, responsible for the deaths of an estimated 40 to 70 million people, many of whom were civilians. World War II included the attempted genocide of the Jewish people during the Holocaust and the first use of an atomic weapon during a war. Dates: 1939 - 1945 Also Known As: WWII, Second World War Appeasement Following World War I After the devastation and destruction caused by World War I, the world was tired of war and was willing to do almost anything to prevent another from starting. Thus, when Nazi Germany annexed Austria (called the Anschluss) in March 1938, the world did not react. When Nazi leader Adolf Hitler demanded the Sudeten area of Czechoslovakia in September 1938, the world powers handed it to him. Confident that these appeasements had averted a total war from occurring, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stated, I believe it is peace in our time. Hitler, on the other hand, had different plans. Completely disregarding the Versailles Treaty, Hitler was ramping up for war. In preparation for an attack on Poland, Nazi Germany made a deal with the Soviet Union on August 23, 1939, called the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. In exchange for land, the Soviet Union agreed to not attack Germany. Germany was ready for war. The Start of World War II At 4:45 a.m. on September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. Hitler sent in 1,300 planes of his Luftwaffe (German air force) as well as more than 2,000 tanks and 1.5 million well-trained, ground troops. The Polish military, on the other hand, consisted mostly of foot soldiers with old weapons (even some using lances) and cavalry.   Needless to say, the odds were not in Poland’s favor. Great Britain and France, who had treaties with Poland, both declared war on Germany two days later, on September 3, 1939. However, these countries could not gather troops and equipment fast enough to help save Poland. After Germany had waged a successful attack on Poland from the west, the Soviets invaded Poland from the east on September 17, per the pact they had with Germany. On September 27, 1939, Poland surrendered. For the next six months, there was little actual fighting as the British and French built up their defenses along France’s Maginot Line and the Germans readied themselves for a major invasion. There was so little actual fighting that some journalists termed this â€Å"the Phoney War.† The Nazis Seem Unstoppable On April 9, 1940, the quiet interlude of the war ended as Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. Having met very little resistance, the Germans were soon able to launch Case Yellow (Fall Gelb), an offensive against France and the Low Countries. On May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The Germans were heading through Belgium to enter France, bypassing France’s defenses along the Maginot Line. The Allies were completely unprepared to defend France from a northern attack. The French and British armies, along with the rest of Europe, were quickly overpowered by Germany’s new, swift blitzkrieg (â€Å"lightning war†) tactics. Blitzkrieg was a fast, coordinated, highly-mobile attack that combined air power and well-armored ground troops along a narrow front in order to quickly breach an enemy’s line. (This tactic was meant to avoid the stalemate that caused trench warfare in WWI.) The Germans attacked with deadly force and precision, seeming unstoppable. In a bid to escape total slaughter, 338,000 British and other Allied troops were evacuated, starting on May 27, 1940, from the coast of France to Great Britain as part of Operation Dynamo (often called the Miracle of Dunkirk). On June 22, 1940, France officially surrendered. It had taken less than three months for the Germans to conquer Western Europe. With France defeated, Hitler turned his sights to Great Britain, intending to conquer it as well in Operation Sea Lion (Unternehmen Seelowe). Before a ground assault was to begin, Hitler ordered the bombing of Great Britain, beginning the Battle of Britain on July 10, 1940. The British, emboldened by Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s morale-building speeches and aided by radar, successfully countered the German air attacks. Hoping to destroy British morale, Germany began bombing not just military targets but also civilian ones as well, including populated cities. These attacks, which began in August 1940, often occurred at night and were known as â€Å"the Blitz.† The Blitz strengthened the British resolve. By the fall of 1940, Hitler canceled Operation Sea Lion but continued the Blitz well into 1941. The British had stopped the seemingly unstoppable German advance. But, without help, the British could not hold them off for long. Thus, the British asked U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt for help. Although the United States was unwilling to fully enter World War II, Roosevelt agreed to send Great Britain weapons, ammunition, artillery, and other much-needed supplies. The Germans also got help. On September 27, 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact, joining these three countries into the Axis Powers. Germany Invades the Soviet Union While the British prepared and waited for an invasion, Germany began to look east. Despite signing the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Hitler had always planned to invade the Soviet Union as part of his plan to gain Lebensraum (â€Å"living room†) for the German people. Hitler’s decision to open a second front in World War II is often considered one of his worst. On June 22, 1941, the German army invaded the Soviet Union, in what was called Case Barbarossa (Fall Barbarossa). The Soviets were taken completely by surprise. The German army’s blitzkrieg tactics worked well in the Soviet Union, allowing the Germans to advance quickly. After his initial shock, Stalin rallied his people and ordered a â€Å"scorched earth† policy in which Soviet citizens burned their fields and killed their livestock as they fled from the invaders. The scorched-earth policy slowed the Germans for it forced them to rely solely on their supply lines. The Germans had underestimated the vastness of the land and the absoluteness of the Soviet winter. Cold and wet, the German soldiers could barely move and their tanks became stuck in mud and snow. The entire invasion stalled. The Holocaust Hitler sent more than just his army into the Soviet Union; he sent mobile killing squads called Einsatzgruppen. These squads were to search out and kill Jews and other â€Å"undesirables† en masse. This killing started out as large groups of Jews being shot and then dumped into pits, such as at Babi Yar. It soon evolved into mobile gas vans. However, these were determined to be too slow at killing, so the Nazis built death camps, created to kill thousands of people a day, such as at Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor. During World War II, the Nazis created an elaborate, secretive, systematic plan to eradicate Jews from Europe in what is now called the Holocaust. The Nazis also targeted Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, the disabled, and all Slavic peoples for slaughter. By the end of the war, the Nazis had killed 11 million people solely based on Nazi racial policies. The Attack on Pearl Harbor Germany was not the only country looking to expand. Japan, newly industrialized, was poised for conquest, hoping to take over vast areas in Southeast Asia. Worried that the United States might try to stop them, Japan decided to launch a surprise attack against the United States’ Pacific Fleet in the hopes of keeping the U.S. out of war in the Pacific. On December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes wreaked havoc on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In just two hours, 21 U.S. ships had either been sunk or badly damaged. Shocked and outraged at the unprovoked attack, the United States declared war on Japan the following day. Three days after that, the United States declared war on Germany. The Japanese, aware that the U.S. would probably retaliate for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, preemptively attacked the U.S. naval base in the Philippines on December 8, 1941, destroying many of the U.S. bombers stationed there. Following their air attack with a ground invasion, the battle ended with U.S. surrendering and the deadly Bataan Death March. Without the air strip in the Philippines, the U.S. needed to find a different way to retaliate; they decided upon a bombing raid right into the heart of Japan. On April 18, 1942, 16 B-25 bombers took off from a U.S. aircraft carrier, dropping bombs on Tokyo, Yokohama, and Nagoya. Although the damage inflicted was light, the Doolittle Raid, as it was called, caught the Japanese off guard. However, despite the Doolittle Raid’s limited success, the Japanese were dominating the Pacific War. The Pacific War Just like the Germans seemed impossible to stop in Europe, the Japanese won victory after victory in the early part of the Pacific War, successfully taking the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Burma. However, things began to change at the Battle of Coral Sea (May 7-8, 1942), when there was a stalemate. Then there was the Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942), a major turning point in the Pacific War. According to Japanese war plans, the Battle of Midway was to be a secret attack on the U.S. air base on Midway, ending in a decisive victory for Japan. What Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto did not know was that the U.S. had successfully broken several Japanese codes, allowing them to decipher secret, coded Japanese messages. Learning ahead of time about the Japanese attack on Midway, the U.S. prepared an ambush. The Japanese lost the battle, losing four of their aircraft carriers and many of their well-trained pilots. No longer did Japan have naval superiority in the Pacific. A number of major battles followed, at Guadalcanal, Saipan, Guam, Leyte Gulf, and then the Philippines. The U.S. won all of these and continued to push the Japanese back to their homeland. Iwo Jima (February 19 to March 26, 1945) was a particularly bloody battle as the Japanese had created underground fortifications that were well camouflaged. The last Japanese-occupied island was Okinawa and Japanese Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima was determined to kill as many Americans as possible before being defeated. The U.S. landed on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, but for five days, the Japanese did not attack. Once the U.S. forces spread out across the island, the Japanese attacked from their hidden, underground fortifications in the southern half of Okinawa. The U.S. fleet was also bombarded by over 1,500 kamikaze pilots, who caused major damage as they flew their planes directly into U.S. ships. After three months of bloody fighting, the U.S. captured Okinawa. Okinawa was the last battle of World War II. D-Day and the German Retreat In Eastern Europe, it was the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943) that changed the tide of war. After the German defeat at Stalingrad, the Germans were on the defensive, being pushed back toward Germany by the Soviet army. With the Germans being pushed back in the east, it was time for the British and U.S. forces to attack from the west. In a plan that took a year to organize, the Allied forces launched a surprise, amphibious landing on the beaches of Normandy in northern France on June 6, 1944. The first day of the battle, known as D-Day, was extremely important. If the Allies could not break through the German defenses on the beaches this first day, the Germans would have time to bring in reinforcements, making the invasion at utter failure.   Despite many things going awry and an especially bloody fight on the beach codenamed Omaha, the Allies did break through that first day. With the beaches secured, the Allies then brought in two Mulberries, artificial harbors, which allowed them to unload both supplies and additional soldiers for a major offensive on Germany from the west. As the Germans were on the retreat, a number of top German officials wanted to kill Hitler and end the war. Ultimately, the July Plot failed when the bomb that exploded on July 20, 1944 only injured Hitler. Those involved in the assassination attempt were rounded up and killed. Although many in Germany were ready to end World War II, Hitler was not ready to admit defeat. In one, last offensive, the Germans tried to break the Allied line. Using blitzkrieg tactics, the Germans pushed through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium on December 16, 1944. The Allied forces were totally taken by surprise and desperately tried to keep the Germans from breaking through. In so doing, the Allied line began to have a bulge in it, hence the name Battle of the Bulge. Despite this being the bloodiest battle ever fought by American troops, the Allies ultimately won. The Allies wanted to end the war as soon as possible and so they strategically bombed any remaining factories or oil depots left within Germany. However, in February 1944, the Allies began a massive and deadly bombing attack on the German city of Dresden, nearly demolishing the once-beautiful city. The civilian casualty rate was extremely high and many have questioned the reasoning for the firebombing since the city was not a strategic target. By the spring of 1945, the Germans had been pushed back into their own borders on both the east and west. The Germans, who had been fighting for six years, were low on fuel, had barely any food left, and were severely low on ammunition. They were also very low on trained soldiers. Those that were left to defend Germany were the young, old, and wounded. On April 25, 1945, the Soviet army had Berlin, Germany’s capital, completely surrounded. Finally realizing that the end was near, Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The fighting in Europe officially ended at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945, a day known as V-E Day (Victory in Europe). Ending the War With Japan Despite the victory in Europe, World War II was still not over for the Japanese were still fighting. The death toll in the Pacific was high, especially since Japanese culture forbade surrender. Knowing that the Japanese planned to fight to the death, the United States was extremely concerned about how many U.S. soldiers would die if they invaded Japan. President Harry Truman, who had become president when Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 (less than a month before the end of WWII in Europe), had a fateful decision to make. Should the U.S. use its new, deadly weapon against Japan in the hopes that it would force Japan to surrender without an actual invasion? Truman decided to try to save U.S. lives. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and then three days later, dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The devastation was shocking. Japan surrendered on August 16, 1945, known as V-J Day (Victory over Japan). After the War World War II left the world a different place. It had taken an estimated 40 to 70 million lives and destroyed much of Europe. It brought about the splitting of Germany into East and West and created two major superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. These two superpowers, who had tenuously worked together to fight back Nazi Germany, became pitted against each other in what became known as the Cold War. Hoping to prevent a total war from ever happening again, representatives from 50 countries met together in San Francisco and founded the United Nations, officially created on October 24, 1945.

Ethical implications of Sixth Sense Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical implications of Sixth Sense - Assignment Example As an inventor, Mistry did well. However, the invention might put the security and privacy of people at risk. This brings us, then, to the third dimension and third and fourth steps, which consider and link the principles to the associated applicable values (Backus and Ferraris 226). One ethical philosophy to be considered is the utilitarianism theory. Will the gadget bring happiness to the majority? The answer is most probably "no," because not everyone can afford such gadgets. Another ethical philosophy to be considered is the natural law. Will the SixthSense cause individual to respect others, or will the gadget cause an individual to do what is not naturally good and then suffer with his or her conscience? Owning such a powerful device can easily lure individuals to do things that could hurt another individual’s privacy and security. Finally, as according to the fourth dimension of the Potter Box, loyalties should be considered. Should one choose to be loyal to the majorit y? Is the public (majority) deserving of loyalty? The answer to both questions is â€Å"yes.† While it is true that progress should be supported, this progress should be for the betterment, and not the detriment, of the whole

I Am Legend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

I Am Legend - Essay Example Neville keeps sending radio messages to track any survivors as he continues with his research, his only companion being his German shepherd. The vampires keep hunting for him but he eventually manages to trace two more humans that are normal and finds an antidote for the virus. This paper is a review of the film Am a Legend directed by Francis Lawrence and scripted from Richard Mathesons 1954 novel  bearing the same title. The film shows some unwillingness to venture preceding happenings and offers limited portrayal of issues like bioethics. The film somehow portrays the  dangers  that modern scientific research practices may pose to the future of humankind. Most current researchers especially in the medical division carryout a lot of drug trials using human subjects as guinea pigs believing that such actions cannot result in pandemic since the researches are meant to help people. To them, the film is mere fiction and full of utopian ideologies. However, the movie can be considered both utopian and dystopian at the same time. It is Utopian when it depicts Neville as a legend who is immune to the disasters that wipe out everybody else. The dystopian aspect is demonstrated by the unimaginable circumstances faced by the actors, or the entire New York (Matheson 22-30; Scott Web; Jolin Web). The movie somewhat puts forward the impacts that modern medical practices such as genetically modified crops which are susceptible to gene mutation could cause. Pandemics such food insecurity, which could result are capable of wiping out a large percentage of the population like in the film, which is not fiction (Adams Web). Other researches such as in biotech which entail experimenting with human genome in the attempt to create drugs aimed at altering human genome so as to cure diseases could result into a dystopian world (Adams Web). The film depicts a lot about our future. Human might not turn

Leisure Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leisure Industry - Essay Example These are usually the amusement parks or theme parks such as Disneyland, casinos, Spas, entertainment and recreation, health clubs, restaurants and other activities that involve recreations (Leisure Industry Definition). The continuous influx of customers in leisure areas and the increasing growth of the industry in United Kingdom can be attributed to the following reasons: there has been increased time in the leisure time of the employees. They are required with lesser time in the office therefore increasing their time in leisure. Another reason is that employees have higher incomes thus they can pay for leisure activities from their extra money and spend to whatever leisure activities they want to engage with. Thirdly is the cheaper and more affordable transport. This makes the travel time lesser and going to more places during their holidays and vacations especially outside the city. And lastly, customers have the wider choice in leisure activities since the government is trying to put different leisure activities from all sectors (Leisure Industry Definition). The incessant growth benefited not only the companies but the government as well. The increasing demand meant increase in investment and revenues and employment industry. Alongside with the demanding nature of the leisure activities there had been increase in employment and job orders in the country. More and more job seekers prefer this kind of work because they get to be paid while enjoying what they wanted to do (Luque, 2002). This has lead also to increasing demand of courses and training in colleges. Based on the reports of the Institute of Sport and Leisure Management, The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management, The Fitness Industry Association and Sport England there are 1,000 students enrolled in leisure management or related courses that tackle this kind of industry. It was seen that the leisure industries involve a wide range of employees including permanent and seasonal paid staff, freelance workers, consultants and volunteers. It ranges from cook, hotel attendant, driver, tourist guide, sports analyst and trainer and among others who are connected to this leisure industry. As a result, there had been increase in the diversity of the labor force especially with this kind of industry. Since the employees come from different life experiences they construe things in different manners. This should be taken in action with the management team in order to guide the employees and make the company more competitive with other booming companies all over the world (Treven, 2000). Every person has the unique skills and capabilities as an individual. Working in a different environment with different people of different perspectives in life and dealing everyday with people of diverse culture can be stressing but this can be avoided if the management team of a particular company will address to this problem immediately. A skilled manager will be responsible in making a team work so that there will not be a difficulty in dealing with different types of persons in the workplace (Treven, 2004). The increasing competition of companies and influx of customers in a leisure industry developed strategies for managers to be highly competitive with others. One of the managers of UK's BT Global services said that there had been a slight decrease in the number of visitors and travelers in UK after the bombings but they had made their way to attract

Interpretation Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Interpretation Methods - Essay Example Scholarship and research are the basic requirements to achieve this goal.Many of England's museums were mainly established to promote learning. Although there are several other ways of learning but still, learning through objects is the most beneficial way. It is an interactive approach that can encourage the imagination stimulating an urge for discovery. The cumulative impact of museums on the lives of individuals as well as society is simply enormous. Many museums have already worked in partnership with a wide range of organizations in order to develop a better approach for learning programs. Most of the times, these activities take place inside the museum premises. But sometimes the museums take their collections and expertise out into public venues, residential homes, social gatherings, hospitals, prisons and schools. This can help us understanding the powerful impact of museum-based learning. In the last ten years, living history is becoming more and more popular not only among museum professionals but the historic house visitor. This process is well established and flourishing in the USA. The use of live interpretation in Britain is lacking both the status and methodology in comparison with the other side of the Atlantic. In short, it is in its infancy. The living history technique is still having a long way to go before its acceptance by many British museum professionals, as a valid and effective technique of Social History Interpretation, instead of a simple approach just for children or special events. This acceptance mainly depends on exploring the potential educational and learning experience offered to all the visitors. Living History Living history can be defined as being a direct form of live interpretation, first person interpretation. Drama and Theatre is excluded in the field of Education because that they do not necessarily require a factual or historical basis. Whereas guiding, demonstration of a craft and the third person interpretation are historically and factually based, but they do not require any mark able performance skills. Battle re-enactments are excluded because this form of presentation frequently has no educational object. It has no historical context and is not linked to any performance skills. It should be noted that only first person interpretation requires an interesting combination of historical knowledge, performance skills and educational objectives. History The first use of living history method was in Europe less than one hundred years ago. Artur Hazelius (1833-1901), who is remembered for the Open Air Museum, founded Skansen, the Museum of Scandinavian Folklore in Stockholm. It was started in 1873. Although the museum gained popularity, he

Hospitality Group Developing your Managerial Skills Essay

Hospitality Group Developing your Managerial Skills - Essay Example 10 Relate Management Skill 10 Compare and Contrast 10 Conclusion 11 References 12 Bibliography 15 Introduction This reflective essay aims to present a brief of my professional development with respect to international and cultural employability skills along with my team development and planning and organising skills which I believe to be quite helpful in deriving better career prospects in hospitality industry. The essay will cover a theoretical explanation of the employability skills I could develop from my previous academic experiences and draw towards a critical review of my learning in these particular areas. In the current phenomenon, diversity is often regarded as one of the vital aspects within the hospitality industry which creates a direct influence on the tastes and preferences of the customers along with the level of commitment and expectations of the employees. The presence of cultural diversity both the internal and the external market of hospitality industry is quite ap parent as compared to the other industry structures. Today, it has widely been argued that managing diversity within the workforce is important as well as a difficult task for managers in the hospitality industry by which organizations can generate greater cultural awareness while operating within international marketplaces. Contextually, the significance of generating cultural awareness and other intertwined employability skills such as team development and planning and organising have often been argued as a crucial facet of hospitality industry. Review of 3 Employability Skills Employability Skill 1: International & Cultural Awareness Literature Review According to Quappe & Cantatore (2005), cultural awareness imposes a direct impact on the communication system of an organisation which comprises the capability of creating consciousness towards the cultural values, beliefs and perceptions in different contexts. In this regard, it has been observed that different cultural groups eva luate and interpret situational components applying different perspectives, which further essentialists the obtainment of cultural awareness among modern day professionals (Quappe & Cantatore, 2005). As explained by Whitelaw & et. al. (2009) cultural diversity is quite apparent in the modern day hospitality sector in the both the dimensions of internal organisational culture (employees/workforce) and external organisational environment (customers/marketplaces). It is in this context that professionals need to continuously enhance and develop their efficiencies in this particular dimension so as to satisfy the contemporary needs of the hospitality industry (Whitelaw & et. al., 2009). According to Hall (2003), cultural awareness is often professed as an attitude which can be obtained from his/her learning experiences by an individual when interacting with various cultural groups. It has further been implied in this context that culture can be distinguished as the big ‘C’ of material culture and smaller ‘c’ of shared culture within an organisation (Hall, 2003). Based on a similar context, Moss (2002) revealed that when students and other academic professionals are engaged with the learning of cultural aspects, they will able to comprehend the

Interpretation Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Interpretation Methods - Essay Example Scholarship and research are the basic requirements to achieve this goal.Many of England's museums were mainly established to promote learning. Although there are several other ways of learning but still, learning through objects is the most beneficial way. It is an interactive approach that can encourage the imagination stimulating an urge for discovery. The cumulative impact of museums on the lives of individuals as well as society is simply enormous. Many museums have already worked in partnership with a wide range of organizations in order to develop a better approach for learning programs. Most of the times, these activities take place inside the museum premises. But sometimes the museums take their collections and expertise out into public venues, residential homes, social gatherings, hospitals, prisons and schools. This can help us understanding the powerful impact of museum-based learning. In the last ten years, living history is becoming more and more popular not only among museum professionals but the historic house visitor. This process is well established and flourishing in the USA. The use of live interpretation in Britain is lacking both the status and methodology in comparison with the other side of the Atlantic. In short, it is in its infancy. The living history technique is still having a long way to go before its acceptance by many British museum professionals, as a valid and effective technique of Social History Interpretation, instead of a simple approach just for children or special events. This acceptance mainly depends on exploring the potential educational and learning experience offered to all the visitors. Living History Living history can be defined as being a direct form of live interpretation, first person interpretation. Drama and Theatre is excluded in the field of Education because that they do not necessarily require a factual or historical basis. Whereas guiding, demonstration of a craft and the third person interpretation are historically and factually based, but they do not require any mark able performance skills. Battle re-enactments are excluded because this form of presentation frequently has no educational object. It has no historical context and is not linked to any performance skills. It should be noted that only first person interpretation requires an interesting combination of historical knowledge, performance skills and educational objectives. History The first use of living history method was in Europe less than one hundred years ago. Artur Hazelius (1833-1901), who is remembered for the Open Air Museum, founded Skansen, the Museum of Scandinavian Folklore in Stockholm. It was started in 1873. Although the museum gained popularity, he