HISTORY 12

CAUSES OF WORLD WAR IIPacific and Europe

NOTES

Ben LeporeApril 2, 2018(V2)

Causes of World War II in the Pacific

Japan and China

Republic of China

Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang 1927 General Chiang Kai-shek becomes leader of the Nationalists Party/

Kuomintang and Republic of ChinaMao Zedong and the Communist Party Mao Zedong lead the Communist Party who appealed to the peasantry Chiang attempts to destroy the communist and a civil war ensues between the

Nationalists and Communists

1931 Japan invades Manchuria

as Nationalist movement grew Japanese plotted to secure recognition of their claim to Manchuria before they became stronger and to this end went to war in 1931

Manchuria was crucial to Japan’s economic prosperity and it could not lose its remaining source of raw materials and markets without risking economic collapse

Depression caused an economic crisis and proved the army’s case that military expansion was essential to survival and conquest could end crisis in the economy

Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria in 1931 Chiang refused to use his army against the Japanese because he wanted to

maintain the pressure on Mao’s communist forces and instead he appealed to the League to take action against Japan > it appointed the Lytton Commission

the Commission recognized Japan’s economic interest in Manchuria and financial investments, permitted it to maintain military forces in Manchuria to guard against Chinese or U.S.S.R attack and named Japan as aggressor

Japan responded to the Lytton Report by withdrawing from the League which brought an end to any necessity of the League to take collective action

Roosevelt proposed a principle of non-recognition of any territorial changes made by aggression – Stimson Doctrine – making U.S. a potential enemy of Japan

significance: Japan’s actions undermined the League and rendered it ineffective against aggressive and expansionist nations

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1937 Japan invades China and Pacific War

July 1, 1937 Japanese patrol guarding Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing fired at Chinese Nationalist soldiers and Japanese army followed incident with an invasion

China’s coastal cities fell to the Japanese army and by December the capital of Nanjing was threatened but Chiang refused to surrender

Japanese invasion halted in front of the Yangtze gorges which was heavily defended and out of their aircraft range > the war entered into a six-year undeclared truce and major fighting would not resume until 1944

Chiang believed his allies (U.S., Britain) would defeat Japan and he would save his army’s strength to fight the communist

by 1939 Japan controlled most of eastern China which provided vast resources but its armies were unable to eliminate the Kuomintang and so to bring about their final defeat it planned to cut off their supply links

Japanese army supported a northern strategy and attacked the Soviet armies guarding Vladivostok but Soviet counter-attack was swift and the Japanese withdrew > army attacked Nomonhan in Mongolia but again were forced to retreat

Japanese navy supported an attack south across the Pacific Islands to capture the mineral wealth of Southeast Asia (especially oil) > admirals disguised their drive for hegemony in an anti-imperialist crusade known as the Co-Prosperity Sphere and “Asia for the Asians”

Britain and France were at war with Germany in Europe so timing favoured Japan

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Japan and the U.S. at War

spring 1941 Japanese convinced the U.S.S.R. would defeat Germany in a prolonged war and agreed to a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union > Stalin can now withdraw Siberian armies in Asia and move them west against Germans

July 1941 Japan seized French air bases in Indo-China and was now able to conduct air strikes against Malaya, Burma, and the Philippines

British and Americans respond to Japanese aggression and imposed economic sanctions restricting delivery of strategic war material and fuel oil

by summer of 1941 Japan faced a critical oil shortage and decided if a solution to the fuel problem was not found by the end of November a war would result > Japan would have to attack to seize oil resources in Southeast Asia

Americans demanded the Japanese respect the territorial integrity of China and withdraw from their occupation zones

November 25, 1941 Roosevelt issued an ultimatum demanding Japanese withdrawal from mainland Asia

November 26 Japanese attack fleet set sails for Hawaii December 7 Japanese attack Pearl Harbour December 8 U.S. declares war on Japan

Causes of World War II in Europe

General Causes - Underlying and Immediate Causes

1919 Treaty of Versailles

Germans resented the treaty as it was imposed (diktat) on them not negotiated and Germany was forced to sign or face invasion

Germans thought the terms were harsh and unfair > Article 231 (War Guilt clause) blamed Germany for starting the war

it contributed to Hitler’s rise to power

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Hitler violated the treaty (cancelled reparations, rearmed, occupied Rhineland) but the League of Nations did not stop him by enforcing the terms

League of Nations

purpose of the League was to prevent war through collective security (all members support a member attacked) but it was weak and ineffective for several reasons: the U.S. was not a member council members had the power of veto (cancel vote) Britain and France were the most powerful members of the League but were unwilling to enforce economic sanctions (economic restrictions) against aggressors

the invasion of Manchuria and Ethiopia are examples that demonstrate the League’s weakness to deal with aggressors 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria (China) and League did not impose sanctions 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia and although League imposed sanctions but many

important resources were excluded such as oil making sanctions ineffective

Great Depression

the Depression was a contributing factor to Hitler’s rise to power the Depression prompted Japan to pursue territorial expansion by conquest to

solve its economic problems caused by the Depression

1936-1939 Spanish Civil War

the civil war pitted the left-wing Republican government (coalition of Socialist, Communists, workers) against the right-wing Nationalist forces (General Francisco Franco, army, landowners, fascists, Church)

Hitler and Mussolini supported the right-wing Nationalists (army) while Stalin supported Republicans (government)

Hitler used the civil war to test his new air force, the Luftwaffe, and bombing strategy (bombing of cities and civilians)

Britain and France did not get involved in the war (non-intervention policy) Hitler learned Britain and France were unwilling to use force to stop aggressors historians refer to the civil war as a dress rehearsal for World War II

Hitler’s Policies and Aggression

Hitler wanted to expand German territory into Eastern Europe as part of his concept of lebensraum (living space) as indicated in his book Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

Hitler wanted to overturn the terms of the Treaty of Versailles March 1936 Hitler reoccupied the Rhineland (map #1) March 1938 Hitler annexed Austria (Anschluss or union) (map #2) October 1938 Hitler annexed Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) (map #3) March 1939 Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia (map #4) September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland (World War II begins) (map #5,6)

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Appeasement

appeasement was the policy adopted by British PM Chamberlain and supported by France in dealing with Hitler’s aggression

appeasement means to grant concessions in order to maintain peace and avoid war

the idea was that Hitler had certain reasonable demands and that if these demands were granted then he would be satisfied and a war would be avoided

the annexation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia by Germany October 1938 is an example of appeasement

Spanish Civil War 1936-1939

Spanish Civil War 1936-1939

Causes

workers demand better working conditions and redistribution of wealth of the Church and landowners and a republican form of government

peasants demand the breakup of large estates held by aristocracy Catalonia and Basque regions wanted self-government (autonomy)

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1931 elections brought a left-wing government (socialists and liberals) to power promising reforms > Church would have less control of education, provinces given powers of self-government and land reform

the nation was divided: cities supported the republic while rural areas supported the monarchy > 1931 King abdicated

the pace of change was too slow for many people and violent strikes, riots and church burnings were organized by the extreme left and shifted public support against the left and a right-wing government was elected in 1933

the left organized general strikes aimed at bringing down the government and were brutally suppressed by the army led by General Francisco Franco and as a result public opinion swung back to the left and a left-wing coalition government was elected in February 1936 called Popular Front (socialists, communists, anarchists)

government moved to break up the landowners' estates and it supporters went on a rampage plundering churches and abusing churchmen and women > propertied classes retaliated with equal violence and the streets became battlegrounds

June 1936 General Francisco Franco and the army moved in to restore order and overthrow republican government

thus began three years of civil war between the Republican government - Popular Front - and the Nationalists forces lead by the army

The Civil War: Republicans vs Nationalists

the Republicans were supported by socialists, communists, anarchists and any supporters of the existing government

Nationalists were supported by the army, landowners, Church, Falange (fascists) during the war the Nationalists dominated the south and rural areas while the

Republicans held the cities and Basque region both sides armed the workers and peasants changing the nature of the fighting

and extreme acts of violence and atrocities were committed

Republicans (left) Nationalists (right)

Popular Front Government(socialists, communists, anarchists)

Basque & Catalonia Cities International Brigade Soviet Union

Army (Franco) Church Landowners Falange (Fascists) Rural areas Germany Italy

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Foreign Intervention

the role of the major powers is important to the background to WW II because it pitted fascism against democracy and communism which would eventually become the alignment in WW II

Germany became involved because Hitler saw the war as an opportunity to give his armed forces some experience and test bombing strategies so he provided the Nationalists the support of the Luftwaffe > Hitler hoped to receive military support in WW II from Franco in return for his support of the Nationalists > Hitler also saw the war as a crusade against communism

Italy became involved because Mussolini saw the war as an opportunity to expand Italian influence in the Mediterranean so he provided 60, 000 troops > Mussolini also saw the war as a crusade against communism

U.S.S.R. became involved in part because it wanted mutual defence agreements with France and Britain to oppose Germany but when this did not happen the Soviets dropped their support for the Republicans which ultimately led to the Republicans defeat in 1939

France did not become involved and adopted a policy of non-intervention because Prime Minister Leon Blum was afraid that French involvement may provoke French fascists and start a civil war in France > there was also no public support for military intervention

Britain also adopted a non-intervention policy because it wanted to maintain good relations with Italy to prevent an alliance with Germany and did not want to be involved in a war and there was no public support for military intervention

International Brigades were composed of communists, socialists, idealists and others from various European countries, U.S. and Canada and joined the Republican army > winter 1937 the brigades were taken over by the Soviets

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Significance and Impact on European Affairs

Hitler Hitler learned that the democracies, Britain and France, were unwilling or unable

to use force to resist aggression by the Nazis and Fascists Mussolini Mussolini hoped to expand his influence in the Mediterranean but this would bring

him into conflict with Britain and France who also had interests in the Mediterranean so Mussolini hoped that his involvement in the civil war would bring

Italy and Germany established closer relations and formed an alliance called the Rome-Berlin Axis

Stalin Stalin learned that if Germany attacked the U.S.S.R. Britain and France would not

intervene Stalin did not achieve his objective and obtain mutual defence agreements with

France and Britain and this influenced Stalin’s decision to enter an agreement later with Hitler > 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact

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Hitler’s Aggression and Appeasement 1936-1939

Rhineland and Austria 1936-1938

1933 Geneva Disarmament Conference German representatives walked out of conference when it was decided Germany

could not have banned weapons and withdrew from the League of NationsJanuary 1934 German-Polish non-aggression pact Germany signed a non-aggression pact with Poland to undermine France's

influence in Eastern Europe Central and Eastern European nations entered into trade agreements and

adopted pro-German policiesJuly 1934 Anschluss (union) Austrian Nazis attempted to overthrow government of Chancellor Engelbert

Dolfuss who was killed but the revolt failed after Mussolini threatened to use Italian troops > Kurt von Schuschnigg became the new chancellor

March 1935 German Rearmament Goering announced the existence of the Luftwaffe (air force) and a week later

Hitler announced compulsory military service > it violated the Treaty of VersaillesApril 1935 Stresa Front Germany's violation of the Treaty of Versailles resulted in an agreement between

Italy, France and Britain to guarantee Austrian independenceMay 1935 French-Soviet Alliance/Franco-Soviet Pact February 1936 France and USSR and entered into an agreement of mutual assistance against

aggression aimed at Germany however the Soviets would have to go through Poland to strike Germany and

Poland was anti-Russian and would not support the Red Army entering PolandJune 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement Germany agreed to limit its naval forces to 35% of Britain’s Britain wanted to ensure that Germany's navy was smaller but it was

accomplished by violating the Treaty of Versailles and damaged the Stresa FrontOctober 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia League of Nations and British and French attempts to resolve the crisis failed and

Italy completed its conquest by May 1936 > the crisis ended the Stresa Front

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March 1936 Re-occupation of the Rhineland

German troops occupied the demilitarized area in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and 1925 Locarno Pact

France wanted to retaliate but the British did not support military action and without British support France was not willing to go it alone

British believed Hitler was retaking German territory that should not have been taken away in the Treaty of Versailles > first example of appeasement

significance: the Treaty of Versailles no longer applied as far as Germany was concerned, the last guarantee France had against Germany was removed, appeasement became the accepted policy to avoid war, France was unwilling to do anything without British support, and Hitler realized Britain and France were unwilling to act

Hitler’s Aggression in Europe 1936-1939 - Rhineland

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1936-1939 Spanish Civil War Nationalists defeated Republicans and General Franco established a dictatorship

October 1936 Rome-Berlin Axis partly as a result of their involvement in the Spanish Civil War Mussolini and Hitler

developed a closer relationship and after coming to an understanding over previous differences on Austria formed an “axis”

November 1936 Anti-Comintern Pact Germany and Japan agreed on a mutual non-aggression pact that did not include

any military commitments and was intended to halt the spread of communism Japan wanted German assurances of support for an attack on the USSR and

Germany wanted Japanese support in keeping Britain and the U.S. occupied in Asia and distracted from Europe > Italy joined November 1937

Britain was concerned because it linked together the aggressive nation - Japan - that may soon threaten their empire in the Far East with the power that started to undermine peace in Europe – Germany

July 1937 Japan and the Pacific War Japan invades China to crush Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists and starts Pacific War British concerned about their colonies in the Far East and when Italy joined the

Anti-Comintern Pact in November the British become even more concerned any attempt to halt Japanese expansion however required American support but

the U.S. remained isolationist

1938 Annexation of Austria - Anschluss

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February Hitler forced Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg to accept the Austrian Nazi leader, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, into his government

Schuschnigg was concerned about Austrian independence and seeking support to resist Hitler he called for a plebiscite on independence

Hitler threatened to invade if the plebiscite went ahead and as a result Schusnigg resigned and was replaced by Arthur Seyss-Inquart and the plebiscite was cancelled

March 12 German forces entered Austria and faced no resistance and on March 13 Hitler announced the Anschluss of Germany with Austria

significance: Austria no longer existed, it proved the effectiveness of Nazi methods, and Hitler now gave the impression that he was interested in conquest because he had to use force

the road to war began with the Anschluss of Austria

Hitler’s Aggression in Europe 1936-1939 - Austria

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Hitler’s Aggression and Appeasement 1936-1939

Czechoslovakian Crisis, Munich Conference and Poland

1938 Munich Conference – Sudetenland

Czechoslovakia was the cornerstone of the French security system as it was the strongest member of the Little Entente (alliance) that along with France was supposed to contain German expansion in Central Europe

September 12 1938 Hitler demanded self-determination for the Sudeten Germans prompting British PM Neville Chamberlain to meet with Hitler at Berchtesgaden on September 15 > Hitler told Chamberlain he would risk war to bring the Sudeten Germans into the Reich

alarmed at the possibility of a general war France, which had treaty commitments to defend Czechoslovakia, and Britain urged the Czechs to negotiate a settlement

September 18-21 Chamberlain and French PM Eduard Daladier persuaded Czech President Edward Benes to agree to give the Sudetenland to Germany

September 22 Chamberlain met Hitler at Godesberg to deliver Sudetenland but Hitler increased demands and announced German forces would occupy the Sudetenland October 1 and Czechs must also accept Polish and Hungarian claims to Czech territory

British and French were concerned because the Czech army would resist a military occupation and war would result

Mussolini proposed a conference to settle the crisis and France, Britain, Germany and Italy met in Munich on September 29

Munich Conference/Pact: it was agreed that German forces would occupy the Sudetenland by October 10 and other regions where the population was more than 50% German

September 30 Chamberlain returned to London and referring to the success of the conference proclaimed, "I believe it is peace for our time."

Hitler’s Aggression in Europe 1936-1939 – Sudetenland

March 1939 Czechoslovakia

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March 1939 the Czechoslovakian government dismissed the local Slovak government who wanted autonomy (Hitler encouraged Slovak independence) and the Czech army prepared to move in but on March 13 German forces moved into Moravia and Bohemia to assist the Slovaks

March 15 Hitler forced new Czech President Emil Hacha to agree to surrender Czechoslovakia's independence and after German troops march into Prague Hitler announced the creation of the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia on March 16; one week later Slovakia placed itself under the protection of the Reich

March 30 Chamberlain announced an official end to appeasement when he guaranteed Poland's independence

significance: Hitler lost credibility, appeasement was finished as the events of March proved Hitler was an aggressor

Hitler’s Aggression in Europe 1936-1939 - Czechoslovakia

Poland 1939

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Hitler demanded self-determination for the Germans in Danzig and the Polish corridor but Poland refused to negotiate

April 13 Britain and France guaranteed Romania and Greece's independence April 18 U.S.S.R. asked Britain and France to join them in a treaty of mutual

military assistance but the British refused because they were suspicious of Stalin's motives, unsure of the effectiveness of the Red Army because of Stalin's purges and could not persuade Poland to allow Soviet troops to enter Poland if war broke out

Stalin wanted to reclaim areas in Eastern Europe (i.e. Poland) lost in 1918 and Japan was a threat and he wanted to avoid a two front war so Stalin agreed to an non-aggression pact with Germany

August 23 Nazi-Soviet Pact Germany and the U.S.S.R. agreed not to fight one another in the event of war and divide Poland (secret part of the pact)

September 1 Germany invaded Poland September 3 Britain and France declared war on Germany

Hitler’s Aggression in Europe 1936-1939 – Poland

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Appeasement: Reasons Britain and France appeased Hitler

Britain and France saw Hitler as a defence against the spread of communism

Britain and France were democracies and could not declare war without public support and most people in Britain and France did not want war until 1939

the slaughter of World War I was still fresh and motivated Britain and France to avoid war

many British thought the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and Hitler’s demands were reasonable

the Depression was the primary focus for the British and French and the cost of rearmament meant higher taxes and difficult to justify during the Depression

Britain and France were military weaker than Germany and appeasement provided time to rearm

German bombing of cities in the Spanish Civil War - Guernica - demonstrated that British and French cities could also be subjected to German bombardment

Hitler’s remilitarization of the Rhineland was accepted by the British (and French) and he justified it on the grounds of national rights to security

Chamberlain believed negotiations can bring peace

Chamberlain believed Hitler could be appeased

Britain and France accepted the German annexation of Austria - Anschluss - on the grounds of self-determination

Hitler uses the argument of self-determination – which Britain and France accepted – to justify taking the Sudetenland

Hitler promised the Sudetenland was his last territorial demand after the Munich Conference and Chamberlain believed Hitler would keep his promise

Britain and France could not effectively provide military assistance to Czechoslovakia if Germany attacked because of its geographical location

Source: http://www.johndclare.net/

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