Second World War: Causes, Allied Counteroffensive, Axis Defeat, and Wartime Economy

Posted on Jan 26, 2025 in History

Vocabulary

Great Depression: Severe economic crisis that began in 1929.
League of Nations: International organization created after the First World War to keep peace.
Anti-Comintern Pact: Alliance against the organization supporting world communism.
Blue Division: Volunteer troops from Francoist Spain.
Repatriate: To return someone to their own country.
Armistice: Agreement between opposing armies to suspend fighting and establish the terms for peace.
Demoralize: To make someone lose hope.
Non-Aggression Pact: Agreement not to attack each other.
Scorched Earth Policy: Destroying anything the enemy could use as forces retreat.
Embargo: Prohibition of the movement of products into another country.
Gulag: Soviet forced labor camp.
Ration: Limit due to lack of supply.
Black Market: Illegal buying and selling of goods.
Blitz: Period of 57 nights of bombing by the Germans.
Displacement: When someone is forced to abandon their home.
Suppress: To defeat.
Sabotage: Destruction of property to weaken the military.
Harassment: Repeated attacks.
Enlistment: Joining the armed forces.
Treason: Acts someone commits that betray their country.
Abduct: To take a person by force.
Ghetto: Guarded area where the Jews were forced to live.
Beg: To depend on charity.
Orphan: To leave without living parents.
Moving: Causing strong emotions.

In the USSR: The Germans still held the city of Leningrad, but the Soviet troops carried out a counterattack in Moscow, and the Germans attacked Stalingrad.
In Africa: In 1942, the Afrika Korps advanced towards Cairo, but due to exhaustion and a lack of supplies, they were unable to reach the Suez Canal.
In Italy: From North Africa, the Allies advanced to Sicily in July 1943 and occupied the island.
In the Atlantic: The Germans used U-boats to prevent supplies from reaching the Allied armies and to isolate the United Kingdom.
In Asia: In April 1942, the US bombed Tokyo. The Japanese weren’t prepared for this because the US air bases were very far away.

In Italy: After the Italian government signed the armistice, Hitler occupied northern Italy, freed Mussolini, and made him head of a new state: the Italian Social Republic.
In the West: The Allied offensive began with the Normandy Landings in France in June 1944. The Germans offered fierce resistance but were forced to retreat.
In the East: After recovering Stalingrad and Leningrad, the Red Army advanced to Poland. They were met with resistance from the local population, who wanted to maintain their independence.

The Overexploitation of Natural Resources: The warring countries needed food, raw materials, and energy sources to produce arms and supply their troops.
The Development of Heavy Industry: The war forced countries to prioritize heavy industry over the production of consumer goods.