Second World War 2024 PDF

The First World War and its harsh peace treaties became the cause of the Second World War. World War 1 was fought between countries mainly with the intention of acquiring colonies or territories and of course resources. World War 2 was fought as a war of ideologies. Fascism, Communism...

The First World War and its harsh peace treaties became the cause of the Second World War. World War 1 was fought between countries mainly with the intention of acquiring colonies or territories and of course resources. World War 2 was fought as a war of ideologies. Fascism, Communism and Nazism were seen ideologies during this period. The damage caused by the Second World War surpassed all other wars. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II 1. Dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles: The First World War(1914-18) came to an end by The Treaty of Versailles. It created more problems than it solved. German territories were taken away for creation of many new States. This sowed the seeds of bitterness and conflict. All the German colonies were forcibly taken away from her and she was divided into two parts for the benefit of Poland. She was burdened with huge war indemnity which she could never pay. Her military power was reduced. This humiliation gave rise to the spirit of revenge and Germany started looking for a chance to do away with the harsh treaty. But this was not possible without an aggressive policy and armaments. Hence, the war became certain. Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu 2. Rise of Fascism and Nazism: The rise of extreme nationalism in Italy and Germany in the form of Fascism and Nazism, respectively contributed to the causes which led to the Second World War. Italy wanted to revive the glory of the Old Roman empire. She joined the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937 and formed a ten years alliance with Germany in 1939 to strengthen her position. Mussolini established dictatorship in Italy. He opposed the Treaty of Versailles. Italy attacked Abyssinia. The League of Nations failed to take any action against Italy, which showed the weakness of the League. In Germany, Hitler wanted to re-establish the prestige of Germany in the international field. He disobeyed terms of the Treaty of Versailles and declared re-armament. In 1938, he took over Austria and divided Czechoslovakia. In this way, Mussolini and Hitler drove the countries of the world towards another World War. 3. Policy of Appeasement: Appeasement is the act of calming something down. It refers to the policy of pacifying an aggressive power at the expense Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu of some other country. Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement towards dictatorial countries like Germany and Italy because they felt that the dictators had a real cause of grievance due to the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles and if their grievances were removed they would not disturb world peace. Further, they wanted to check the rising tide of Communism and Russian Bolshevism. Britain and France feared that Germany would divert towards Russian Bolshevism. 4. Japanese Invasion of China: Japan's ambitions rose after the First World War. She was determined to dominate the Far East. In 1931, Japan attacked Manchuria and set up a government there. Japan also started an undeclared war against China in 1931, China appealed to the League of Nations to declare sanctions against Japan. Britain and France, the leading members of the League did not pay any attention to the appeal. Japan joined the Berlin-Rome Axis to form the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis to further its policy of expansion and conquest. In 1933, Japan left the League of Nations and started occupying the British and American properties in China. Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement, thinking that the Japanese could be used to weaken China. 5. Failure of the League of Nations: The League of Nations was created after the First World War to prevent future wars. However, the League suffered an early blow when the USA did not join the League. Even those who joined the League were not interested in the principle of collective security. The League of Nations succeeded in controlling the threat of war in cases where the parties were small nations. The League did nothing when Poland captured a part of Lithuania in 1920. In 1923, there was a threat of war between Italy and Greece. Italy refused to submit to the League's intervention and the dispute was settled by direct mediation of Great Britain and France. Thereafter, in every crisis, the League was either defied or ignored. The authority of the League was disobeyed by Japan captured Manchuria; and by Italy when it conquered Ethiopia. The military power of the League was not adequate to perform the task given to it. The economic sanctions were of no use against a determined aggressor. Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu The League failed to maintain international peace and the countries of Europe lost faith in its usefulness. Thereafter, they themselves entered into mutual political and military alliances. 6. Hitler Invasion of Poland (Immediate Cause): Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939 for the following reasons: (i) By the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was divided into two parts in order to give a land-route to Poland upto the sea and the Port of Danzing was also given to Poland. Germany wanted to regain her lost territories. (ii) The city of Danzing was inhabited mainly by the Germans and by occupying Danzing Corridor, Germany could connect with East Prussia. (iii) Poland was accused of committing atrocities against Germans living there. On September 1, 1939, the German armies marched into Poland. France and Britain gave an ultimatum to Germany. In reply, Germany attacked France. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Thus the invasion of Poland marked the beginning of the Second World War. The German armies completed the conquest of Poland in less than three weeks so as to ensure that no aid reached Poland. EVENTS OF THE WAR Neutral countries were Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Turkey. Germany, Italy and Japan formed an alliance and were called the Axis Powers. Britain, France and the U.S.A. came to be known as the Allied Powers. Soviet Union attacked Eastern Poland, Finland the Baltic States of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Conquest of Norway, Denmark and Holland: Germany attacked Norway and Denmark on April 9, 1940 and within three weeks completed the conquest of these two countries. And captured Belgium and Holland before the end of May. Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu Fall of France: The German armies marched into France and by June 14, 1940, the capital city of Paris had fallen into German hands almost without a fight. The war conducted by Germany with great speed and force is known as blitzkrieg which means a 'lightning war." The Battle of Britain: The German Air Force began bombing raids on Britain in August 1940 with the aim of terrorizing her into surrender. The Royal Air Force of Britain conducted air raids on German territories in retaliation. The Battle of Stalingrad: In June 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviets were able to counter attack with fresh troops. The Germans suffered from frigid temperatures and unable to get fresh supplies. The starving Germans finally surrendered. The Battle for Berlin: The Germans were caught between the British and Americans on one side and the Russians on the other. Hitler committed suicide. German armies surrendered. May 8 was the Day of Celebration of Victory in Europe. ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOUR America followed a policy of strict neutrality. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked on the Pearl Harbour. The battleships were sunk and the important airfields were destroyed. 3700 people were killed. The Japanese made two crucial mistakes at Pearl Harbour-: 1. they did not destroy the ship repair facilities at the base 2. they seek out and destroy the US carriers. On December 8, 1941, the USA joined the War to stop the Japanese advance. BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI In 1945, the Japanese formed a special force called the 'kamikaze' (the suicide air corps). Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb ever to be used on humans, was dropped on Hiroshima. It destroyed half of the city killing thousands of people. On August 9, 1945, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally. After six long years, World War II was over. CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1. Defeat of Axis Powers: Up to the middle of 1942, the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) met with remarkable success and captured large territories in Europe, Africa and Asia. But by the end of 1942, the tide began to turn against the Axis Powers. In November 1942, the Allied forces (Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the USA) recaptured African territories lost by France. This was followed by their victory over Italy and then Germany. After the defeat of Germany, the Allied Powers turned their attention towards Japan. Japan had won and had occupied most of South East Asia. The British forces liberated Myanmar, Malaya, Philippines and Singapore. In the Potsdam Conference held on July 26, 1945, the Allied Powers asked Japan to surrender, but Japan refused. Consequently, America dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan offered to surrender on the terms of Potsdam declaration and the war came to an end. Thus, after the war, the Axis Powers had to face the following consequences: Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu  (i) At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into zones, each zone under the army of each of the Allied Powers. (a) The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) commonly known as West Germany was administered by UK, France and the U.S. with Bonn as the capital. It became part of the Capitalist bloc. (b) The German Democratic Republic (GDR), known as East Germany was administered by the Soviet Union with East Berlin as the capital. It became part of the Communist (or Eastern) bloc. (ii) Japan and Italy also became very weak. Unlike Germany, they were not divided into zones to be governed by conquering forces. The American army was to occupy Japan until 1952. After this period, the Japanese would resume sole control over their own affairs. Emperor Hirohito was left on the throne as a constitutional monarch and the Japanese Parliament retained some of its law making powers. All lands acquired or seized by Japan since 1895 were taken away. Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu 2. Formation of the UN: The horrors of the two World Wars and the failure of the League of Nations led to a meeting of the Big Three --Roosevelt (President of the USA), Churchill (Prime Minister of Britain) and Stalin (Premier of the USSR) at Yalta in February 1945. They resolved to convene a conference of the representatives of all nations at San Francisco to draw up the 'Charter of the United Nations. This led to the establishment of the United Nations Organisation on October 24, 1945. 3 Cold War: During the Second World War, the USA and the Soviet Union fought together in cooperation with each other. However, towards the end of the War, the apparent harmony between the USA and the Soviet Union declined and old suspicion and ideological differences came to the forefront. Though both the countries did not engage in actual fight against each other, there was a state of extreme political tension between the two. This state of tension between countries in which each side adopted policies designed to strengthen itself and weaken the other without armed conflict, is known as the 'Cold War.' Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu Cold War is defined as an atmosphere when there is no armed struggle. Thus, the USA and the USSR continued to maintain diplomatic relations and did not resort to overt clashes, but treated each other with hostility. This led to the division of the world into two power blocs. One bloc was led by the USA and the other by the erstwhile USSR. (i) The Democratic and Capitalist Bloc: The bloc led by the USA, called the Western bloc or the American bloc believed in liberal democracy based on Capitalism. This bloc comprised Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Greece, Pakistan, Turkey, etc. considered the political and social system of the USSR as objectionable and dangerous as it had no place for Parliamentary democracy and individual liberty. (ii) The Communist Bloc: The bloc led by the USSR, called the Eastern bloc or the Soviet bloc believed in Communism based on Marxist theory. The Soviet bloc countries considered the Western style democracy as a farce, meant only for the rich and upper middle class. Therefore, they wanted to spread Communism in the world and bring about a change in the social system of all the countries of the world. Thus, by 1948, governments which owed allegiance to Moscow were established in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia. Thus, the whole Europe was divided into two power blocs. Click here to buy Latest ICSE Class 10 Books-https://amzn.to/3xib8Bu