World War 2: Great Wars of the World

By History Nerds

World War 2 began on September 1st, 1939, and from its very first fiery shots, it dictated the tempo of this new and modernized form of warfare. It was a war unlike any other. It was the modern war. It superseded the Great War of the early years of the 20th century and overshadowed its scale and complexity.  In the following book, we will cover the essential moments of World War 2 – those defining events of modern history, whose magnitude dictated the fate of the entire globe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: History Nerds
• Release date: Nov 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393590576

History Nerds

History books need to be enjoyable, easy to read and educational. At History Nerds we bring you history in a way that avoids dulling it down while still bringing you all the important facts in a concise way.

Book preview

Introduction: Learn More About the Second World War

IT IS A SAD FACT – one that we struggle to make peace with - that the 20th century was marked by ravaging and lasting global conflict. In a world of shifting socio-economical positions which was still recovering from the devastating effects of the Great War, things were far from ideal.  Even before the scars healed, Europe descended into a new and far more vicious disaster: The Second World War.

As we attempt to tackle this global conflict, more than 70 years after its end, we need to realize that it is still a stinging wound for many around the world. A wound that simply will not heal, and whose ache spread its root deep. 

The effects of the Second World War were many and significant, and have in numerous ways shaped the lives we lead today. It is because of this that we must take a neutral, critical stance as we go into detail about this dark page from the history of the world. A bystander’s view, one in which there are no political and religious affiliations, only a thorough understanding of the pain, suffering, and the universal mindlessness of a global war.

In the following book, we will cover the essential moments of World War 2 – those defining events of modern history, whose magnitude dictated the fate of the entire globe. So it was, that merely two decades after the end of the Great War, whose scale and devastation were never before seen in the world, Europe was once again on the brink of conflict. The state in which our continent was left after the Armistice of 1918 was still rife with unsolved issues and unanswered questions, and saw the world’s major powers once again competing for wealth and influence. With new political movements, with old wounds still gaping wide open, and with the thirst for power still unceasing, war was an ever-looming threat. It was the slow building rhythm of intrigue and politics, which rose steadily through the 1930’s and grew into a deafening crescendo of war.

World War 2 began on September 1st, 1939, and from its very first fiery shots, it dictated the tempo of this new and modernized form of warfare. It was a war unlike any other. It was the modern war. It superseded the Great War of the early years of the 20th century, and overshadowed its scale and complexity. Taking the revolutionary new technologies developed in that war to end all wars, the second global war morphed them into something entirely different. Something devastating, and something infernal. Devastation reigned unchecked, death triumphant – every step of the way. This is the sad story that still echoes in the minds and hearts of many. The sad story that blemished Europa and culled so many of its sons and daughters. This is the story of the Second World War.

A World Tumultuous: Background and Causes of the Second World War

THE FIRST WORLD WAR wreaked havoc on the then-traditional Europe and its struggling nations. It was an enormous shift from one era into another, and sadly a very violent one at that. Only just experiencing the rise of the industry and all the new technologies that it brought, the world could not keep pace with the great yawning gap between the old and the new. Military tactics were outdated, and warfare updated – the friction between the two had a devastating effect on the common soldier. And in the wake of the Great War, Europe emerged thoroughly changed. Gone were the venerable Empires of old: and gone for good. New nations were formed on their ruins, and an entirely new economic, social, and political picture was formed. For these new changes to consolidate themselves and gain coherence, time was needed above all. But Europe had no time to spare.

When the Great War ended in 1918, the armistice achieved was a severe punishment for the vanquished Germany and its allies. Extremely limiting in every regard, it kept Germany in check – in every aspect. Their military industry was nearly erased, with only minimal abilities and manpower allowed. As a nation, its fighting power was reduced to nothing. Needless to say, the economic toil on Germany – and most other nations of Europe as well – was catastrophic. Its resources exhausted to fuel the furnaces of war, the path that lay ahead was marked with crisis and poverty. And on the ashes of the German Empire arose a new nation, the Weimar Republic. Great discontent arose in this nation in the post-war years, as it struggled with paying reparations to the victors of the great war. Nationalism was still on the rise across Europe, as it was before the Great War. One would think that a conflict so devastating as was the First World War would bring sense into the folk of Europe, and would quell their fiery patriotic passions. But alas – it served only to deepen the pre-existing hatreds that neighbors harbored, and made the new generations well aware of the pains of their fathers – the due was not yet paid.

To make matters worse, the entire world was facing an entirely new crisis. As if waking from an ugly and difficult dream, the world sought to heal its wounds by debauchery and extravagance. The roaring twenties were marked by new and exciting trends in fashion and culture, by economic growth and artistic boom. Perhaps seeking to forget the blood, the mud, and the unforgettable pain and death of the Great War, the Western society plunged itself headfirst into a blinding whirlwind of indulgence and hedonism, as if seeking to numb its senses. Known as the Jazz Age, it blossomed in the United States, from where the trends soon spread throughout Europe and the world. But those mesmerized by the blinding lights of the night life and the dazzling orchestras would soon get a new wake up call. For whenever you attempt to soar high, you abruptly fall back to the ground when the dopamine wears off. The major stock market crash in America, the so-called Wall Street Crash of 1929, ushered the West into a widespread economic crisis, and promptly wiped away the smiles that the Roaring Twenties cemented on the faces of so many. The 1930’s were coming, and were entirely different.

Usually agreed to have started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930’s, the Great Depression was the decade so completely opposite to the one that preceded it. Spreading from the United States to every other corner of the globe, this severe economic depression brought the world to a standstill. A rapid and intense decline in the global economy such as this one was never before seen in the world. The worldwide GDP (Gross Domestic Product) fell about 15% and more, and international trade fell about 50%. Unemployment soared around the globe, and in many European countries was as high as 33%. In Germany, the situation was growing dire with each year. The economic hardships and the depression placed a high strain on both the society and the government, and the nation was torn between the left and right political spheres. But even as early as 1919, Germany’s right was beginning its slow rise to power, headed by a new figure in its politics – Adolf Hitler. His determined rise began when he joined the political party known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, DAP (German Worker’s Party). In the very next year, 1920, that name was changed into Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeitpartei, NSDAP (National Socialist German Worker’s Party). It was the right half of the fragmented picture of Germany – a totalitarian, hard right movement, opposed to Marxism and greatly bruised by the injustices of the armistice after the Great War. Hitler quickly rose to prominence, gaining followers with his zealous, fiery speeches, and ideas that attracted the common hard working and impoverished German citizen.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler orchestrated the so-called Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, a coup d’etat attempt by the now NSDAP party leader.  Between 8th and 9th November 1923, he sought to seize power with around two thousand of his National Socialist followers. At this point, the earliest form of the later Nazi image was formed – the recognizable uniforms, stalhelms, and the red and white swastika armbands. The putsch was a failure, and Hitler was arrested and charged with treason. His subsequent 24-day trial was subject to enormous media coverage that echoed around the world, and he became the center point of German public. His views and policies which he propagated during his trial gained him many new followers across country, and even outside its borders. Sentenced to five years in prison, he was released after just nine months of his served sentence, after which he continued his rise to power, albeit through legal means, and he became the leading force in German politics.

Elsewhere in Europe, totalitarian and far right regimes were also on the rise. In Italy, Benito Mussolini was even ahead of Hitler in his own rise to power. Also displeased by the effects of the Great War, the Italians felt great resentment towards the British and the French, as they failed to