Each item of clothing cost a certain number of coupons. German forces in Italy surrendered to the Allies. The “Final Solution” was an euphemism for Nazi Germany’s plans to solve what they called the “Jewish problem” by annihilating the Jewish population. The Distinguished Service Cross was awarded junior naval officers. Unlike other European countries, Britain had always relied on volunteers to fight in times of war. German and Italian troops attacked Yugoslavia, Greece and the island of Crete. Never seriously contemplated, Sledgehammer was a contingency measure in the event of impending defeat of the Soviet Union. The French capital of Paris was liberated from the Germans. The leading Allied ace of the entire war was RAF ace, James ‘Johnnie’ Johnson with 38 kills. This figure however conflicts with that of the Central Defense Ministry Archive, which published about 14 million military men’s names. During World War II the British Commonwealth had some 10,570,000 personnel on active duty; the 182 VCs represented one in fifty-eight thousand individuals, compared to one in about thirty-five thousand Americans awarded the Medal of Honor. The most senior recipient was Brig. Enemy dead should be collected quickly and protected from robbery. An air-raid siren warned people when a raid was about to begin. This became known as the Battle of Britain. Anderson shelters were made out of corrugated iron and were very strong. World War II was one of the most devastating wars in the history of mankind and took place between 1939 and 1945. The Knight’s Cross (Ritterkreuz) was Germany’s top military decoration with nearly seven thousand recipients from 1939 to 1945, including some 1,600 noncoms and other enlisted men. Because the Germans were expecting an attack at Pays de Calais, that area was very well defended and the Nazis concentrated their forces there. All rights reserved. The Home Guard or Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) was formed in 1940 when there was a real risk that Hitler might invade Britain. The total of 749 dead was a toll unequaled in the U.S. military for any wartime training loss. A proposed plan for British and American landings in France during the latter part of 1942. While people were celebrating in Europe, however, Japan still kept fighting. This article is a comprehensive list of World War 2 facts, including the primary actors in the war, causes, a comprehensive timeline, and bibliography. The overall strategy that led to D-Day and other WW2 operations was part and parcel of multiple strategies of World War Two. In World War II some 4,900 DSOs were presented in addition to 560 second or third awards. The reality of WW2 was very different. During the Great War, 6,068 DSCs were awarded, as well as 111 Oak Leaf Clusters for subsequent acts by initial recipients. Going out at night could be dangerous during the blackout; cars crashed into each other and pedestrians, people walked into each other, fell off bridges or fell into ponds. KS2 History learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers organised by topic. Rotterdam was bombed almost to extinction. By the 8th of May, Winston Churchill announced that the War had come to an end in Europe by announcing Victory in Europe, a date that is still celebrated today. Held in close confinement e.g. However, by the end of September 1939 only 1.5 million people had been evacuated and most of those returned to their homes when there were no bombing raids. It didn’t stop there: the Germans could muster 2,439 tanks while the French had 3,254, most of which were bigger, better armed and armoured than the German panzers. Field Marshal Alexander was known to every Britain in the country by the war’s end, but he is less well known today. Being an island this means that goods come into the country by ship or air. Almost half had been presented for actions in the First World War. Stalin immediately signed a mutual assistance treaty with Britain and launched an Eastern front battle that would claim 20 million casualties. Most of the men had full time jobs and trained in the evenings. Hitler launched his blitzkrieg (lightning war) against Holland and Belgium. Approximately 280 men won DSCs for D-Day actions, including noncommissioned officers and enlisted men. There seems to be a problem, please try again. There are however scholars who say that this description is not accurate as fascism also incorporates certain leftist beliefs. Briefly stated, its goal was to deliver Allied armies to the D-Day beaches, where the ground phase— Operation Overlord—would begin at the water’s edge. They gradually closed in on the Germans. The figures below are believed to be reasonably accurate. The following films show rationing throughout the war and the effect it had on peoples lives. In the war, Britain alone built 132,500 aircraft, a staggering achievement – especially when considering that Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain never had more than 750 fighters. The atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively on the 6th and the 9th of August, however forced the Japanese Emperor to also surrender. World War II has been the bloodiest war in human history, killing over 60 million people. In 1859 a Swiss man, Henry Dunant, was horrified to see thousands of wounded soldiers after a battle being abandoned with no one to offer them aid or help. The distinction between Medal of Honor and DSC awards is often difficult to discern, as some DSC recipients probably deserved the greater honor. Scroll down to learn more. Neville Chamberlain broadcast the announcement that the country was at war. However, right up until the spring of 1944, the priority for manpower in the UK was not the navy, RAF, army, or even the merchant navy, but the Ministry of Aircraft Production. At that time the Japanese were advancing on China and French Indochina and, because they imported 90% of their oil, they became desperate. In the early morning of the 28th, five LSTs from Plymouth and three from Brixton embarked some four thousand troops, many attached to the Fourth Infantry Division. Following several delays, Cobra was launched on 25 July beneath a crushing carpet of bombs. President Roosevelt died. Maj. Stanley Elton Hollis belonged to the Sixth Battalion of the Green Howards, which landed with the Fiftieth Division on Gold Beach. Cockade postulated an invasion of Occupied Europe in 1943. Convoys, for the most part, were pretty safe, even though a few suffered terribly. The country’s demand for food from occupied territories led to a lot of hunger for a lot of people, including the urban French. World War Two triggered independence movements throughout the third world, but much of Africa and southeast Asia did not gain formal independence until the 1960s. Key perpetuators of the Nanking Massacre were tried in front of the International Military Tribunal of the Far East, as well as the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal, found guilty and executed. Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact which included secret clauses for the division of Poland. Hitler decided to make the bombing raids at night to increase the ‘fear factor’ and also to make people weaker by not allowing them to sleep properly. Four Medals of Honor were awarded for D-Day actions. It is always assumed that during the Second World War the Germans bludgeoned their way to victory with a highly modern and mechanised army and Air Force that was superior to anything the Allies could muster in May 1940. Prior to the Second World War, European powers controlled most of the surface of planet earth. In July 1940, Hitler put his plan into operation. It was established in February 1919 and remained third highest of the navy decorations until August 1942, when it was elevated beyond the Distinguished Service Medal. Medical equipment must not be deliberately destroyed and medical vehicles should not be attacked or damaged or otherwise prevented from operating. Scott Michael Rank, Ph.D., is the editor of History on the Net and host of the History Unplugged podcast. The US gave $30 billion in munitions; Canada also gave aid. The Royal Airforce took to the skies and there were many battles between British and German planes over the Channel and South Coast. Several historians and Japanese nationalists have claimed that it has either been fabricated or highly exaggerated for war propaganda. Montgomery attacked the German-Italian army in North Africa with a massive bombardment followed by an armoured attack. He persuaded Congress in November 1939 to repeal the arms embargos that were part of the neutrality law and pass the Fourth Neutrality Act, which allowed him to trade arms with countries whose defence he would seem to be vital to the security of the United States. German field Marshall Erwin Rommel led the axis powers back to North Africa. The naval equivalent of the DSC was the Navy Cross, awarded to members of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, and occasionally to Army personnel for operations under naval control. The leaders agreed that a “Committee on Dismemberment of Germany” had to be established. Germany, on the other hand, introduced rationing before the war and struggled to feed its armed forces and the wider population from start to finish. The troops waited, under merciless fire, to be taken off the beaches. The losses were largely replaced in the next five to six weeks. Evacuation was introduced to move school children, teachers, mothers with children under the age of five and disabled people out of the cities to the countryside where there was little risk of bombing raids. Click here to see more articles in this category. As the war continued men from the other registered age groups received their ‘call-up’ papers requiring them to serve in the armed forces. At the same time a list of ‘reserved occupations’ was published. He also suggested that there should be an international agreement to protect the wounded from further attack. Perhaps three hundred thousand (figures vary widely) were presented throughout the war. Men who were too old, young or not completely fit joined the Home Guard, known as Dad’s Army. Winston Churchill lost the election to Clement Atlee’s Labour Party. Hitler invaded and occupied Denmark and Norway to safeguard supply routes of Swedish ore and also to establish a Norwegian base from which to break the British naval blockade on Germany. Bibi Hartmann was the leading ace of all time with 352 ‘kills’. Lesser awards established in World War I were the Military Cross for junior army officers and the Military Medal for noncoms and enlisted men. Members of the public were asked to donate any rifles, pistols or shotguns that they might have to provide the Home Guard with weapons. When the war began in September 1939 the government knew that large cities would be the target for German bombs and that casualties would be high. In the first two years of the war, America remained politically neutral, but president Franklin was working hard to prepare the Americans for what he regarded to be an inevitable conflict. You're now subscribed to our newsletter. The massacre happened over six weeks in December of 1937 and is considered the worst atrocity committed during the World War II era. After May 1941, the bombing raids became less frequent as Hitler turned his attention to Russia. Among many examples was Brig. The Japanese, who were already waging war against the Chinese, attacked the US pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, as a preliminary to taking British, French and Dutch colonies in South East Asia. Britain and the United States declared war on Japan. Although a variety of different factors caused World War Two, the main event and the trigged for what started WW2 was Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939. The issue is still a stumbling block in Japanese relations with China and other Asian nations. The number of retroactive awards frequently changes, as regulations regarding the statute of limitations are being waived with increasing frequency. It rejects conservative views, yet often paints the past in a romantic light to inspire “national rebirth.” Fascists believe in having a mixed economy, with the goal of achieving national independence and self-sufficiency. The Treaty of Versailles, signed at the end of WW1, placed some very harsh restrictions on Germany, which created a feeling  of resentment among the Germans. The government tried to confuse the German bombers by enforcing a ‘blackout’. The evacuation was ordered on May 26th and if not … The US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Hitler’s invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939 marked the beginning of WW2 in Europe. Although it was the men who went off to fight the war, the people left behind at home also had a part to play in the war. Established during the Civil War, it has been awarded more than three thousand times, including some 450 for World War II actions. This surrender happened on the 15th of August, but the surrender documents were only signed on 2 September 1945, on the deck of the USS Missouri, officially marking the end of the war. Conscription was by age and in October 1939 men aged between 20 and 23 were required to register to serve in one of the armed forces. The third-ranking combat decoration was established in 1932 to replace the Citation Star, which often went to Distinguished Service Cross nominees who did not receive the DSC. Early prototypes of each were pretty evenly matched in terms of speed and rate of climb and both the Me109E, as Messerschmitt’s fighter became, and the He112E had speeds of more than 350mph. German forces in north west Germany, Holland and Denmark surrendered to Montgomery on Luneburg Heath. The Iron Cross I Class was a black Maltese cross worn on the left breast, usually awarded for three or more notable actions. More importantly, however, such comparatively low numbers of motor vehicles meant there were fewer factories, fewer workshops, fewer petrol pumps and fewer people who knew how to drive. On 15 August, South France was invaded during Operation Dragoon and France was liberated by 25 August. Despite Royal Navy patrols in the English Channel, nine E-boats from Cherbourg penetrated the exercise area and launched a brief, devastating torpedo attack. A call went out to all owners of sea-worthy vessels to travel to Dunkirk to take the troops off the beaches of Dunkirk. Russia declared war on Japan and invaded Japanese-ruled Manchuria. It had to be carried by a ‘mother’ plane to get within range, then once released would glide towards the target – usually a ship – before the pilot would fire the rockets and hurtle in at up to 600 mph. Imperialism, political violence and war are all seen as a way to achieve national rebirth and many fascists claim that there is nothing wrong with displacing other, weaker nations by expanding your territory. However, they were beaten back by the allies. In coordination with the Dutch and the British, the U.S. was running a very successful oil embargo against Japan. It was paid for by high taxes, by selling off assets, and by accepting large amounts of Lend Lease from the U.S. and Canada. Most of those evacuated had no idea what their life as an evacuee would be like nor when they would see their parents again. However, the U.S. Army had announced the event in August 1944, four months after it occurred and just two months after Overlord. Fascism rejects the liberal thinking of a representative government and individual rights, while at the same time advocating for public participation in politics and making use of parliamentary channels. More than 3,600 were presented in World War II, including 2,661 to navy personnel, 946 to marines, and six to Coast Guardsmen, with the balance to individuals of the U.S. Army and the Allies. USSR – Would only agree to the terms of the Hague Convention that did not allow prison camps to be inspected, prisoners to receive correspondence, or for notification of prisoners taken. A lesser decoration was the Bronze Star, a ground combat or support award roughly equivalent to the Air Medal. Alfred Palmer, February 1943. They all wore name tags and had to carry their gas mask as well as their belongings. 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