Beginning of World War II in the context of "Tanks in World War II"

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⭐ Core Definition: Beginning of World War II

World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were put on trial for war crimes.

The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in the aftermath of World War I, the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan. Key events preceding the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the Spanish Civil War, the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland. World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland, after which the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In 1940, the Soviet Union annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania. After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany, now assisted by Fascist Italy, and the British Empire, with fighting in the Balkans, Mediterranean, and Middle East, the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz, and the naval Battle of the Atlantic. Through campaigns and treaties, Germany gained control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy, Japan, and other countries. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains.

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Beginning of World War II in the context of Invasion of Poland

The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union, which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty.

The aim of the invasion was to disestablish Poland as a sovereign country, with its citizens destined for extermination. German and Slovak forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west the morning after the Gleiwitz incident. As the Wehrmacht advanced, Polish forces withdrew from their forward bases of operation close to the Germany–Poland border to more established defense lines to the east. After the mid-September Polish defeat in the Battle of the Bzura, the Germans gained an undisputed advantage. Polish forces then withdrew to the southeast where they prepared for a long defence of the Romanian Bridgehead and awaited expected support and relief from France and the United Kingdom. On 3 September, based on their alliance agreements with Poland, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany; in the end their aid to Poland was very limited. France invaded a small part of Germany in the Saar Offensive, and the Polish army was effectively defeated even before the British Expeditionary Force could be transported to continental Europe.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Invasion of Poland ← Invaded Poland ← German invasion of Poland ← September Campaign ← Invasion of Poland (1939) ← Nazi invasion of Poland ← Polish September Campaign
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
World war → Coalition → Allies of World War II → Axis powers → World War II by country → Total war → Tanks in World War II → Air warfare of World War II → Strategic bombing → Nuclear weapon → List of wars by death toll → World War II casualties → Genocide → The Holocaust → Allied-occupied Germany → Allied-occupied Austria → Occupation of Japan → Division of Korea → War crime → Causes of World War II → Aftermath of World War I → Fascism in Europe → Japanese militarism → Japanese invasion of Manchuria → Spanish Civil War → Second Sino-Japanese War → Anschluss → Munich Agreement → Nazi Germany → Adolf Hitler → Invasion of Poland → United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939) → French declaration of war on Germany (1939) → Soviet Union → Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact → Occupation of the Baltic states → Winter War → Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina → Battle of France → Fascist Italy → British Empire → Balkans campaign (World War II) → Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II → Battle of Britain → The Blitz → Battle of the Atlantic → Continental Europe → Tripartite Pact → Empire of Japan → Operation Barbarossa → Eastern Front (World War II) →