The Axis Powers of World War II

Also, the Brazilian Navy and Air Force acted in the Atlantic Ocean from the middle of 1942 until the end of the war. Brazil was the only South American country to send troops to fight in the European theatre in the Second World War. Territories controlled by the Colonial Office, namely the Crown Colonies, were controlled politically by the UK and therefore also entered hostilities with Britain’s declaration of war.

Canada was an important contributor to the Allied war effort

Throughout the early to mid-1930s, Chiang’s anti-communist and anti-militarist campaigns continued while he fought small, incessant conflicts against Japan, usually followed by unfavorable settlements and concessions after military defeats. It is generally accepted that World War II began on September 1, 1939, when German troops invaded Poland, prompting the leaders of France and Britain to declare war two days later. However, as this conflict expanded, it merged with existing hostilities between Japan and several other countries in Asia.

New Zealand contributed troops and supplies to the Allies

The Nazis also aimed to occupy and colonize non-German territories in Poland, the Baltic states, and the Soviet Union, as part of the Nazi policy of seeking Lebensraum (“living space”) in Central and Eastern Europe. The Orthodox Church and others convinced King Boris to not allow the Bulgarian Jews to be exported to concentration camps. The king died shortly afterwards, suspected of being poisoned after a visit to Germany.

However, the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 compelled Vargas to revise his strategic calculations. The British naval blockade effectively eliminated Germany as a trading partner for Brazil, so to maintain the economy, Vargas needed to find new markets for Brazilian goods and sources of investment for Brazil’s nascent industrialization. Forced to reconsider his country’s warm relations with Germany, he turned towards the Allied cause.

Only hours after the invasion, Prime Minister Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram ordered the cessation of resistance against the Japanese. The Thai ambassador to the United States, Mom Rajawongse Seni Pramoj, did not deliver his copy of the declaration of war. Therefore, although the British reciprocated by declaring war on Thailand and considered it a hostile country, the United States did not. Two days later, Antonescu forced the king to abdicate and installed the king’s young son Michael (Mihai) on the throne, then declared himself Conducător (“Leader”) with dictatorial powers. The National Legionary State was proclaimed on 14 September, with the Iron Guard ruling together with Antonescu as the sole legal political movement in Romania.

Countries on the Axis side in WWII

• The Allies would formalize their union with the Declaration of United Nations, which was signed by the Four Powers on January 01, 1942, and 22 more countries on January 02.
• However, the United States instituted an embargo against Japan in 1941 because of the continuing war in China.
• It was mostly Greek Cypriot volunteers and Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of Cyprus but also included other Commonwealth nationalities.
• In some Aegean islands, German garrisons were left behind, and surrendered only after the end of the war.

This French rule ended on 9 March 1945, when the Japanese officially took control of the government. Soon after, Emperor Bảo Đại voided the 1884 treaty with France and Trần Trọng Kim, a historian, became prime minister. Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Finland were severed on 1 August 1941, after the British Royal Air Force bombed German forces in the Finnish village and port of Petsamo.

Japan

• This article provides an overview of the countries on the Axis side of the war, some of the key leaders, and the major events that shaped the political landscape of the war.
• Over 70,000 Royal Italian Army troops and 20,000 of Albanian and Muslim irregulars were deployed to suppress the rebellion.
• The Ustaše government declared war on the Soviet Union, signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941, and sent troops to Germany’s Eastern Front.

The United States opposed Japan’s invasion of China in 1937 that it considered an illegal violation of China’s sovereignty, and offered the Nationalist Government diplomatic, economic, and military assistance during its war against Japan. On 2 September 1944, as the Red Army approached the Bulgarian border, a new Bulgarian government came to power and sought peace with the Allies, expelled the few remaining German troops, and declared neutrality. These measures however did not prevent the Soviet Union from declaring war on Bulgaria on 5 September, and on 8 September the Red Army marched into the country, meeting no resistance. This was followed by the coup d’état of 9 September 1944, which brought a government of the pro-Soviet Fatherland Front to power.

The Allied countries were led by the “Four Powers,” which consisted of the “Big Three”—the United Kingdom, United States, and Russia—as well as China. The Allies would formalize their union with the Declaration of United Nations, which was signed by the Four Powers on January 01, 1942, and 22 more countries on January 02. The declaration would become the United Nations Charter with the formal launch of the United Nations in 1945. On 8 May 1945, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held, debating whether to establish the holiday on 8 May (proposed by Marshal Michał Rola-Żymierski) or 10 May (proposed by the government).20 Finally, the “National Day of Victory and Freedom” was established on 9 May by decree. Several countries observe public holidays on the day each year, also called Victory Over Fascism Day, Liberation Day, or Victory Day. In the UK, it is often abbreviated to VE Day, a term which existed as early as September 1944,1 in anticipation of victory.

Under King Michael I and the military government of Antonescu, Romania signed the Tripartite Pact on November 23, 1940. German troops entered the country on 10 October 1941, officially to train the Romanian Army. Victor Emmanuel III dismantled the remaining apparatus of the Fascist regime and appointed Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Prime Minister of Italy. On 8 September 1943, Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile with the Allies, ending Italy’s war with the Allies and ending Italy’s participation with the Axis powers.

The strategic importance of Brazil in the Battle of the Atlantic was immediately apparent to all sides. Brazil’s coastline stretches for 4,600 miles; warships and planes operating from bases on the Brazilian coast would be able to patrol the entirety of the central and south Atlantic. The word “allies” encapsulates a rich tapestry of meanings, emphasizing collaboration, mutual support, and sometimes the complexities of such relationships.

The puppet regime never commanded any real authority, and did not gain the allegiance of the people. It was somewhat successful in preventing secessionist movements like the Aromanian Roman Legion from establishing themselves. By mid-1943, the Greek Resistance had liberated large parts of the mountainous interior (“Free Greece”), setting up a separate administration there. After the Italian armistice, the Italian occupation zone was taken over by the German armed forces, who remained in charge of the country until their withdrawal in autumn 1944. In some Aegean islands, German garrisons were left behind, and surrendered only after the end of the war. Yugoslavia was largely surrounded by members of the pact and now bordered the German Reich.

to August 1939

In 1931, Japan invaded the Chinese region of Manchuria allies of world war ii and established a puppet state called Manchukuo. Japan’s expansion in the east would inevitably target European colonial possessions in the region. In addition, both Germany and Japan were avowedly anticommunist, both had banned the Communist Party domestically, and both might be physically threatened by the Soviet Union.

Boots Down: The Brazilian Expeditionary Force in Italy

The Soviets pushed further west, retaking Ukraine and eventually launching an unsuccessful invasion of eastern Romania in the spring of 1944. Romanian troops then fought alongside the Soviet Army until the end of the war, reaching as far as Czechoslovakia and Austria. Romanian troops fought their way into the Crimea alongside German troops and contributed significantly to the Siege of Sevastopol. Later, Romanian mountain troops joined the German campaign in the Caucasus, reaching as far as Nalchik.99 After suffering devastating losses at Stalingrad, Romanian officials began secretly negotiating peace conditions with the Allies.

China

The Japanese invasion and occupation of parts of China resulted in numerous atrocities against civilians, such as the Nanjing Massacre and the Three Alls Policy. The Japanese also fought skirmishes with Soviet–Mongolian forces in Manchukuo in 1938 and 1939. Japan sought to avoid war with the Soviet Union by signing a non-aggression pact with it in 1941. Brazil was not prepared for this assault, and throughout the first half of 1942, dozens of its ships were sunk by Axis submarines, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Brazilians reacted with outrage, and protests filled Brazil’s major cities demanding that Vargas formally declare war on the Axis powers. Bolsonaro and his allies, including his former defence minister Walter Braga Netto, are also accused of encouraging Bolsonaro’s allies to attack the armed forces commanders on social media for not joining in the coup plan.

Cooperation between Japan and Germany began with the Anti-Comintern Pact, in which the two countries agreed to ally to challenge any attack by the Soviet Union. At its peak, Japan’s Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere included Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, large parts of China, Malaysia, French Indochina, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, Burma, a small part of India, and various Pacific Islands in the central Pacific. Reichskommissariats were established in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway, designated as places the “Germanic” populations of which were to be incorporated into the planned Greater Germanic Reich. By contrast the Reichskommissariats established in the east (Reichskommissariat Ostland in the Baltics, Reichskommissariat Ukraine in Ukraine) were established as colonies for settlement by Germans. Relations between Germany and Italy recovered due to Hitler’s support of Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, while other countries condemned the invasion and advocated sanctions against Italy. Hitler viewed Brazil’s decision to allow the Americans to operate bases in its territory and sever diplomatic relations as a hostile act and responded by unleashing U-boats on Brazil’s shipping.