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why did australia become involved in the vietnam war?

2006-03-07T23:01:17-05:00

Why did Australia become involved in the Vietnam War? How did the Australian Government

Overlord: Invading the Atlantic Wall (High School)

2004-12-12T02:51:53-05:00

The date was June 6, 1944; the time, 6:30 A.M., designated as “H-Hour” (Oliver). The Allied invasion of the French province of Normandy was beginning, under the campaign Operation Overlord (Hanson). Within minutes, thousands of troops stormed the beaches, facing heavy German resistance resonating from Adolph Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” (Ambrose). Although the attack was coordinated and planned to every minor detail, the pre-invasion measures the Allies had taken to ensure a safe landing of infantry had largely failed. More than 13,000 planes of the Allied Air Corps had swept the German defenses along the shoreline, yet because of heavy fog and pilot error, many had missed their targets completely. Naval barrages sailed clear of their intended targets; mortars landed harmlessly in the ocean. Perhaps the most complicated of matters was the fact that many troops came ashore in the wrong sector, or on the wrong beach altogether, driven off-course by the stormy waters of the English Channel. Even with these flaws, the invasion was an overwhelming success. Only about 2,500 Allied soldiers were killed, far less than the preparatory estimate of around 10,000. With so many blunders, how did the Allies pull off such a stunning victory? Many feel that the answer lies in several key points. First, every scholar or historian will agree that the Allied invasion was pulled off with a varying degree of luck. Second of all, the misguided beach landings and the disorganized drops of airborne infantry duly confused the German defenders. And third, the German chain of command may bear some responsibility for the failure of the German defenses; no German officers were one hundred percent sure who was in command of the forces. Three officers (Field Marshals Gerd von Runstedt and Erwin Rommel, along with Supreme Chancellor Adolph Hitler) all claimed command. This was surely a confusing and complicated situation for the Germans, who were unsure, even after the invasion was underway, whom they were to obey. Allied soldiers landing on the five beachheads (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) faced murderous fire from the German defenders, making the beaches a living hell (Ferguson). On the two American beaches, Utah and Omaha, casualties were horrendous (Chinn), while the two British landings on Gold and Sword were less bloody. Canadians landing on Juno fared best, slashing their way through the defenses and

Invasion Of Normandy/ D-Day

2002-09-16T14:00:00-04:00

On June 6, 1944 the largest amphibious assault in history took place. On the morning of the Invasion of Normandy, beaches in the area of Cotentin, France, were bombarded with over 5,000 tons of bombs, destroying anti-invasion equipment and de-mining many areas. The official British history says: “Never has any coast suffered what a tortured strip of French coast suffered that morning.” Following the bombardment over 100,000 soldiers swam ashore (Normandy), and 11,700 paratroopers were dropped (D-Day) to secure Normandy Beach. The casualties for the invasion were extensive. Five thousand, four hundred and thirty-six paratroopers were either killed or wounded (D-Day). Fifty-seven thousand prisoners were taken and only 4,000 French and 2,700 American lives were lost (Kemp). After two months of battle, Allied troops marched into Normandy on August 24th, 1944 (5). The Invasion of Normandy not only was the turning point of the World War II, but also directly led to the liberation of Western Europe from the Nazi regime. Deception of the Germans was an important factor in the preparations for D-Day. Although the actual attack was to take place near Cotentin, German forces were misled into believing that the attack was to take place at Pas de Calais. First, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, created a mythical 1st Army Group, which would be based in Dover, just across the channel from Pas de Calais. An array of inflatable tanks and vehicles were placed in Dover, and a harbor containing an armada of inflatable rafts was constructed in the area. In command of the phantom 1st Army group was Patton, the Allied General for whom the Germans held the highest regard. Known enemy spies were informed of the supposed state of Patton’s forces. Naval maneuvers were performed off the area’s coast by the allies, and radio trafficking was manipulated so that German intelligence would suspect a major military force was organizing. Before the invasion, more bombs were dropped on Pas de Calais than anywhere else off the coast of France. By the time the invasion took place, the German’s were so convinced that the invasion would take place at Pas de Calais that even after a few hours of the Normandy invasion they still believed the main invasion would be there. Because of these efforts, 19 enemy divisions did nothing on the day of the attack (Normandy). The efforts of the French Resistance also helped make

World War II - The Axis Powers

2002-09-13T14:00:00-04:00

Almost everyone knows of The Axis Powers. They were enemies of The Allied Powers in World War II. They are synonymous with The Holocaust because Adolf Hitler was the man who started The Holocaust and he ws the dictator of Germany. The Axis Powers originally was the alliance between Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy. Italy did not do much during the war though. The goals of The Axis Powers clearly emerged in the Italo-Germany Pact. It was a pact that was signed in May of 1939 in which Italy and Germany promised to help each other in the time of war. Germany also signed another pact because Hitler believed that Germany had lost World War I due to the fact that Germany had to fight on two sides. The pact was a ten-year, non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany. The pact was later abolished when the USSR began to help the Allied Powers fight Germany. Hitler wasn't well known during World War I. As a matter of fact, Hitler was a private during the war and ended up gaining power because he appealed to a large number of German people. He appealed to them by a combination of an effective and well-practiced style of speaking with what looked like undoubtable sincerity and determination. This helped Hitler find a large audience for his program of national revival, racial pride in Germanic values, hatred for France and of the Jewish and other un-German races, and despise for the Weimer Republic. With the way he spoke, Hitler convinced the people of Germany to believe that a dictatorship was the only thing that could save Germany from the problems it was having. Hitler's views only changed a little in the years to follow; yet he still managed to draw an increasing number of people to his speeches. On September 30, 1938, France and Great Britain agreed to let Nazi Germany have a piece of Czechoslovakia. Hitler told the British and French that it would be his last demand for territory in Europe. Hitler ended up breaking this pact when he took over Prague. During that same year, Germany attacked Poland and defeated them in one month. Poland was then split into two parts with Hitler's Nazi Germany taking part and Stalin's Communist USSR taking the other part. The invasion was what started World War II. Japan entered the war a while later, when on

Explain the meanings and discuss the concepts and origins of Samurai and Bushido code

2002-08-03T14:00:00-04:00

“Explain the meanings and discuss the concepts and origins of Samurai and Bushido code, then relate these concepts towards the modern Japanese Soldier and Leader during World War 2 and show evidence to support that the Japanese soldier treated enemy prisoners exploiting Samurai and Bushido traditions.”

Bushido – 武士道- the feudal-military Japanese code of behavior; the way of the warrior [samurai] Japanese chivalry [knighthood] In order to understand bushido and its traditions, a comparison must be made between the ‘traditional’ bushido (idealistic) and the bushido code which was adopted into the Japanese military during World War II. The Japanese justified that the reason they treated the prisoners in a form of such brutality is because it’s a part of their way of life, the concept of ‘no one surrenders’. However if so surrendered then your life is pretty much hell, and according to the Japanese custom your family back home is brought shame. With the evidence from source material though, it seems that the Australians and very likely other nations in there prison camps understood what was going on around them. Indeed the Japanese breached the Geneva convention but what is it exactly, did the other countries follow it accordingly? The Japanese method of dealing with Allied prisoners was seen through the ‘western eyes’ as brutality, scum and inhumane. Yet by the same according to source material some Australian soldiers recognized that the Japanese did what they did, and in some cases they exploited the true meaning of bushido or did they? To understand if the Japanese soldier and leaders in particular abuse the code of bushido, the traditional bushido must be looked at. "Do not give up under any circumstances"

The Traditional background on bushido

In Japan there exists a mindset which, in various forms, has existed for over 2000 years, and has been frequently misinterpreted by other countries. This way of life is known as Bushido. It basically sums up the moral and religious ideas of Japan. Also known as kokoro, "the heart within", it has been called "the soul of Japan". Bushido, which translates to "way of the warrior" in its more common form, was originally developed as a way to maintain controlled relations between a warlord and his samurai. It is difficult to describe the samurai in Western terms. The word "samurai" comes from the verb "to attend upon a noble". They were soldiers whose sole purpose in life was to serve

Women in World War II - Far From Dormant

2002-03-25T13:00:00-04:00

When the war across seas broke out in 1939 Canada was called to the front as a part of the British Empire. Canada’s work force was now severely depleted. Everyone remembers the prestigious men and women of Canada for their effort in the war helping the Allied side defeat the German enemy. We must remember though that the soldiers were not a self sufficient army, navy, and air force but rather part of the larger war machine that was Canada. When Canadians think of the war they must remember the country that stood behind our soldiers in Europe. As Canadians we must especially remember the women who stayed home and were major contributors to holding together the labour force. As well their volunteering in society helped push Canada through the War. By temporarily assuming non-traditional roles in the labour force and in society, Canadian women became an important part of the war effort from 1939-1945. In 1939 the war broke out in Europe. Canada was still fighting the struggle to rebuild their economy from the depression of the 1930's . A great number of Canadian Women were affected both directly and indirectly. As more then a million of our full time service men and Militia went across seas to fight the war many women were left home alone with no husband’s, son’s, brother’s or any other male relatives . The Depression sported more the 900,000 Canadians out of work, and 20 per cent of these were women . The Military Recruitment and the new war industry put an end to the Depression, and the widespread unemployment that accompanied it. By 1941 the population of women in the labour force had already jumped by 100,000. The employment of women was now highly evident in almost all of Canada . It is obvious now in retrospect that for the most part the Second World War divided Canada’s men and women. But to fully understand this we have to first know why men and women, in most aspects of the war, were given this sexual division. We must also get a good scope of what was accepted and expected of men and women before the war broke out. From the first natives in Canada to the industrializing society of today men and women have had different gender roles in society. These have reflected the norms, values, and beliefs of our culture that have been

D-day

2002-03-05T13:00:00-05:00

I think the reson the d-day operation was sucsessfull was because of deception. It was 1944, and by this time the united states had been "in the war" aginst germany for threee years and the british had been in for almost six years. Alot of people dont know that there were many beachs that were seiged that same day that usaully dont get meantioned. the two that were the most importante that most people focuos on were the Omaha and utah beach beacuase of so many american solgers flooded those beachs and they had alot of casulties. Most of the other beachs were tackin with minamal casulties. over the next couple of hours the men on the beachs had to go though hell. The "allied invaders" had to tack these beach they played a huge role in the over all sucsees of the operation. Before the landing the german beachs had to be preped by bombing by air by the united states bombers that with 1,000 ships droped 5,000 tons of bombs. The beachs were also softened up by the united states battel ships bombarding the beachs. Although fewer Allied ground troops went ashore on D-Day than on the first day of the earlier invasion of Sicily, the invasion of Normandy was in total history's greatest water to land operation, involving on the first day 5,000 ships, the largest "armada" ever assembled; 11,000 aircraft (following months of preliminary bombardment); and approximately 154,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers, including 23,000 arriving by parachute and glider. The invasion also involved a long-range deception plan on a scale the world had never before seen and the clandestine operations of tens of thousands of Allied resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied countries of western Europe. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named supreme commander for the allies in Europe. British General, Sir Frederick Morgan, established a combined American-British headquarters known as COSSAC, for Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander. COSSAC developed a number of plans for the Allies, most notable was that of Operation Overlord, a full scale invasion of France across the English Channel. Eisenhower felt that COSSAC's plan was a good operation. After reviewing the disastrous hit-and-run raid in 1942 in Dieppe, planners decided that the strength of German defenses required not a number of separate assaults by relatively small units but an intense concentration of power in a single main landing. The invasion site

Cold War: A Post-Revisioninst View of the Origins

2002-02-28T13:00:00-05:00

Sorry no bib on this; it was an in-class handout. This got me a 40/40 in AP History. There are three main schools of thought that trace the origins of the Cold War. The Orthodox view is that “the intransigence of Leninist ideology, the sinister dynamics of a totalitarian society, and the madness of Stalin” (Doc 1) cause the Cold War. The Revisionists claim that “American policy offered the Russians no real choice…[and] the United States used or deployed its preponderance of power” (Doc 2) and these actions caused the Cold War. The Post-Revisionist position is that the Cold War was initiated both by the United States and the USSR. Through the analysis of documents and other sources, the actual cause of the ‘war’ lies with both powers. Both powers caused the Cold War because, although the US and the USSR were allied during World War Two, the USSR and US had different ideologies and aims of the war that conflicted after the war was over and the threat that each power imposed on the other. The primary cause of the Cold War is the exceedingly bipolar systems of government that the USSR and the US were administered under. The US had a democracy and had, in April of 1945, just said farewell to one of the most liberal presidents that ever had been elected. By making many social reforms, President Roosevelt pulled the US out of the crippling depression and into on of the most prosperous decades ever. The aims of the US are evident in the ‘Atlantic Charter’, which was signed by Churchill and Roosevelt in August of 1914. According to the Charter, the US would “seek no aggrandizement…. respect the rights of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live…. bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations…. [and seek] the abandonment of the use of force” (Doc 4). While still early in the war, the ‘Atlantic Charter’ was later adopted by the United Nations and remains, to this day, one of the cornerstones of the western world. However, the other power that emerged still ‘intact’ after the war, the USSR had a very different way of government and dissimilar aims of the war. The USSR was a communist nation and had Stalin its dictator. “From the Soviet perspective, extending the borders of the USSR and dominating the formerly independent states of eastern Europe

Pearl Harbor - The United States Should Have Anticipated the Attack

2002-02-28T13:00:00-05:00

Many have compared the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. They argue that both attacks were just as astonishing, unwarranted and unpredictable. The World Trade Center buildings in New York City still lie in ruin, an icy reminder of the terrorist attack. Both the U.S.S. Arizona and the U.S.S Utah remain on the floor of Pearl Harbor, each a ghostly, decaying tomb reminding all of the thousands that gave their life on that fateful day, also, they are both reminders of seemingly how easily the attack was carried out and of how America, the world’s big brother and perhaps the most powerful nation in the history of the world, was caught with 'its guard down.' The attacks are also similar in that, generally, those who lived through them divide time: time before the attack and time after. After Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan, and thus Germany and Italy with the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact and latter the Tripartite Pact, and after was slingshot into the Cold War, and after the September 11 attack, concepts that may have been unthinkable before the attack are being considered such as torturing detainees and racial profiling and, arguably, security has been further fortified in airports and other public places. Both attacks were turning points in American history; they had and will have profound effects on life after them. The details of the September 11 attack are still buried in distant lands while the on Pearl Harbor happened over 60 years ago; therefore most of the documents and information concerning the attack have been released. When analyzing the documents and accounts of the Pearl Harbor attack, historians are not able to avoid the fact that many warning signs of the approaching attack existed. The neglect of these signs can, in most cases, be attributed to some sort of human error in dealing with those signs. Although human error played a large part in the reason that those in power did not take further advantage of those signs, it was not the only reason. Most of the signs were neither tangible nor very specific of the location, date or degree of ferocity at which Japanese would attack. Another reason is that for years before the attack, a feeling of isolation and thoughts that the United States

War

2002-01-29T13:00:00-05:00

The war between Japan and the United States did not have to happen. It could have been prevented by diplomacy in 1941. The United States was Japan’s principle supplier of scrap metal and oil. In 1940 Japan signed a treaty with the government of France for the establishment of airbases in French Indochina. A proposal was made for a German/Italian/Japanese alliance against America. When America found out about that they were not happy, so they decided to take action. On September 26, America put an embargo on iron; steel scrap and oil shipments to the Far East to try to show their economic force to stop them, but it didn’t work. The three “axis” signed their treaty the

Flying Tigers

2001-11-09T13:00:00-05:00

Flying Tigers is the name of a mercenary group of American pilots that helped defend China and the Burma Road from the bombing of the Japanese during World War II. The name of their planes was Tomahawks, but the Chinese called them Fei Hu for the sharks teeth painted on their planes. Flying Tigers were known as the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force. The Flying Tigers did not see combat until December 1941 when the Japanese started bombing China. Jim Gordon, the leader of the Flying Tigers, was running short on pilots after the war had started so he began searching for new pilots. Blackie, one of the volunteers, wanted to be part of the Flying Tigers, but Jim didn’t want Blackie. So his wife begged Jim to let Blackie into his group. One day during the Japanese bombing, Blackie’s plane caught on fire. He jumped out attached to his parachute, but one of the Japanese planes saw him and shot him. Another volunteer, Woody, joined the Flying Tigers, he wanted to prove to Jim Gordon that he was an expert at flying planes. During the first attack, Jim wouldn’t let Woody fly, but Woody flew anyway. When he was aiming for a soldier, he noticed that his plane didn’t have bullets and was nearly killed. After that happened, Jim thought Woody would one day be a good pilot because he was brave enough to take on three Japanese planes all by himself with no bullets. When the day of December 7, 1941 hit, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced on the radio that Pearl Harbor was bombed which was, “A Day of Infamy,” and when Jim heard on the radio he was very disappointed. The next day he decided to bomb Japan to help defend his country by himself, but Woody pretended to be the pilot flying the plane because he wanted to help Jim. When they got to Japan, they were aiming for a train full of Japanese soldiers. They started firing at them and when their plane caught fire, Jim and Woody decided to jump out. Then, all of a sudden, Woody pushed Jim out of the plane and flew the plane directly into the train and sacrificed his life to help Jim and his country. The movie demonstrated the need for teamwork and participation. At first, Woody cared more about his paycheck than any of

Evacuation Of Children WW2

2001-10-29T13:00:00-04:00

During World War 2, many children were moved from areas that were at risk from bombing. The children had to leave their families and go to live with strangers in less dangerous parts of the country. This was called “evacuation”. Foster parents usually took their children. However, many discovered that life away from home was no picnic. Some thought it would be fun and exciting, like an adventure. All the younger boys thought it was a holiday, but not sure why the women and girls were crying. The first school children were evacuated on the 1st September, 1939 - the day Germany invaded Poland. In the first three days of September 1939, nearly 3,000,000 people were transported to the countryside, these were mostly children. They thought that they would be home before Christmas. It was usually the poorer children were not used to travelling. The wealthier family children were not upset on a average compared to the others. This was because they were used to travelling and being long distances away. Some parents even visited their children at weekends! Within a week, a quarter of the population of Britain would have a new addresses. At the start of the war schools were moved together. The children wore identity labels, gasmasks hanging from their necks and a small suitcase full of clothes and food for the day. They left in the early hours of the morning when it was dark. The majority were schoolchildren, who had been sent away were labelled like pieces of luggage, separated from their parents and accompanied by new people and teachers. They were just numbers in older peoples view! Most parents tried not to cry, some parents couldn't let go. Parents gave instructions to their children these were to not complain, Grin and smile however you feel, look after your brother or sister…… and not forgetting to write home. The teachers or supervisors kept the children happy and told them not to worry. Kids were in good moods……. That was before they left. Children were transported by trains. These trains were more often than not dirty. The children were all packed together. Most of the kids weren't used to long distances and by the time they got out they were hot, bothered, tired and dirty. After they had arrived they were promptly sent to village or church hall. The village or town, officers lined the children up against a wall or on a stage

World War II

2001-10-16T14:00:00-04:00

The Treaty of Versailles faltered to heal the bitter mess that formed between countries in World War I. It left Germany in a terrible position and gave them a desire for dictatorship. Germany had been ordered to disarm its military and put strict rules on when and how the Germans could rearm. In 1931, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. He later rejected the treaty and establish military conscription. Mussolini also became dictator of Italy, while this was occurring. He decided to invade Ethiopia in 1935. Since Ethiopia had lesser power than that of Italy’s, they became under complete Italian control. The news of Germany’s rearmament soon reached France. Hitler then became interested in joining the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in order to protect its security. He then pushed his plan for lebensraum and annexed Austria by force in 1938. Following this, Hitler threatened Czechoslovakia, ordering persecution of the German minorities there. Hitler and Mussolini agreed to the Germans occupation of Sudentenland in September 1938. Then in March 1939, peace broke down when Hitler conquered the rest of Czechoslovakia. He soon afterward started to make orders to Poland, but they resisted at every turn. Notwithstanding the conflict with Britain and France, Hitler decided to invade Poland. In return, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Hitler made an announcement to start a pact with the Soviet Union. As the Germans occupied Poland, the Soviets invaded the eastern part of the country with plans to take Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania in 1940. They also took Finland in 1941 and disgrace the Russian military. Japan was also changing things in the Pacific. They had plans to conquer China and expand the Japanese Empire into southeast Asia. As this was happening, the Germans took on an approach of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Since the Germans had no old weapons to deal with, they could easily outfit their troops with the best of weapons. Hitler then attempted to gain air control over the British Royal Air Force and prepare for an invasion, but the British successfully defeated the German air forces. Overturned with his downfall to take Britain, Hitler turned to the Soviet front, but was defeated as well in 1942. In 1941, the Japanese thought it was the right time to expand into Greater East Asia. The attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines brought the

The Battle of the Bulge

2001-10-08T14:00:00-04:00

The purpose of this speech for the class is to gain better knowledge of one of the most tragic and devastating battles of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge. To Better understand The Battle of the Bulge I will explain to you the cause of the battle, location of the battle, when it took place, who was the battle fought between, the number of soldiers involved, and the number of casualties. The prelude to the Battle of the Bulge began on a winter day in mid-December of 1944. Three powerful German divisions, were the last German offensives in the west at that time during World War II. They began after the Normandy invasion in June 1944. Allied had forces swept rapidly through France but became stalled along the German border earlier that year in September. On December 16, 1944 taking advantage of the weather, which kept the Allied aircraft on the ground, the Germans launched a counteroffensive through the semi-mountainous and heavily-forested Ardennes region in Germany, and advanced 31 miles into Belgium and northern Luxembourg near the Meuse River. Their goal was to trap four allied armies, divide the Americans and the British to force negotiated peace along the western front, and retake the vital seaport of Antwerp in Belgium. Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive, American staff commander chose to keep the thin line, so that manpower might concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes known as the “bulge” in the Allied lines. These American lines were thinly held by three divisions in the Allied Army and part of a forth division, while fifth division was making a local attack and the sixth division was in reserve. Division sectors were more than double the width of normal defensive fronts, therefore there were more men scattered along a larger area. The German advance was halted near the Meuse River in late December. Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, nowhere did the American troops give ground without a fight. Within three days, the determined American stand and the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the ambitious German goal was far beyond reach. In snow and sub-freezing temperatures the Germans fell short of their interim objective- to reach the rambling Meuse River on the edge of the Ardennes. But they managed to avoid being cut off by an Allied Pincer movement. The

Hindenburg

2001-09-18T14:00:00-04:00

Was the "Hindenburg disaster" a result of sabotage committed by the opponents of the Nazi organization? Did a bolt of lightning strike the zeppelin? Or was one of the most devastating accidents in aviation history nothing but a cunningly planned insurance fraud? Over 60 years ago, airships were the "queens of the skies." In the early 1900s, a stubborn, yet brilliant German count, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, took keen interest in balloon flights and was devoted to the design and construction of airships. At first, he had many difficulties and setbacks but soon his airships were able to accommodate passengers as well. This lighter-than-air vehicle will later be known as a zeppelin. Blimps and zeppelins were very different. For example, blimps did not have an internal frame; whereas the zeppelin had a "skeleton" which supported the gas bags. During the first World War, German zeppelins were used to bomb London from the air. Thus, they earned the name of "monsters of the purple twilight." Although their bombs damaged English cities, the zeppelins would often fly off course, miss their targets or be shot down by British planes. By the end of the war, so many German zeppelins have been lost that these high altitude warships were declared useless as war machines. To boost spirit, the Germans even made a song for it. Of course, I can't read German so I'll just read off the translation: Zeppelin, flieg, Hilf uns im krieg, Flieg nach England, England wird abgebrannt, Zeppelin, flieg. Zeppelin, fly, Help us win the war, Fly against England, England will be burned, Zeppelin, fly. The Hindenburg, also known as LZ-129, was one of Nazi Germany's finest airships and was the first airship to provide air service across the Atlantic. In fact, it is the largest and most luxurious zeppelin ever built. It represented the greatness of the Third Reich and its leader, Hitler. Construction began in autumn of 1931 but the Zeppelin Company ran out of money for the huge project and stopped. Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and quickly realized that a giant airship could be used to spread the propaganda of the new government so the Nazis provided money and quickly took control of Zeppelin Company. The Hindenburg was complete in 1936 and flew with the Olympic rings painted on its sides that year in honor of the Olympic games in Berlin. The Hindenburg was a thrilling sight. It had gigantic Nazi swastikas painted on its tail fins

Decision on dropping the bomb

2001-06-10T14:00:00-04:00

Many innocent lives were lost, as a result of the decision to use of the atomic Bomb. This was an extremely controversial military strategy in the United States. Were the United States justified for many reasons. The main reason was that, it would stop the war quickly, Revenge for Pearl harbour incident and no more innocent allied lives would be taken. This essay proves that it was a good idea to use the Atomic Bomb. After World War II begun in 2839, President Franklin Delano announced the neutrality of the United States . Many people in the United States thought that their country should stay out of the war. The people wanted the allied Forces to have the victory .President roosevelt also wanted an Allied victory because an axis victory might endanger democracies every where. The Axis did not believe on democracy. It all started when Japan wanted to take over China,but China refused. The United States oppsed the expansion of Japan in Asia, so they cut off important exports to Japan. On December 7,1941, Japanese Submarines and Carrier based planes, attack the U.S pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour (Louis L Snyder, p g 521). Also they attack the U.S military airfileds and destroyed 19 American battle ships ,13 naval vessels,and 200 U.S Aircraft (Louis L Snyder pg. 521) .The attack mark the entrance of the United States into the WWII on to Allied side, and Japan in the side of Germany and Italy. General Hideki Tojo , was the Premeir of Japan.(Mike Fung). He and other japanese did not like the fact that United states were sending War supplies to china and other countries in Asia, This is why made japan attack on Pearl Harbour to get the United States Attention not to messed up with them. “Although the Attack may have been successful in the minds of the Japanese it became a huge mistake . One reason, it made the United States angry and determined to destroy the Japanese. Secondly it caused the U.S to enter the War.” “In 1939, Otto Hann and Fritz Strassmann discovered that neutrons striking the element uranium casued the atoms to split apart. Physicist found out that among the pieces of a split atom were newly produced neutrons , this might encounter other uranium nuclei,caused them to split , and start a chain reaction .If the chain reaction were limited to be the result , the chain reaction could

The United States and the Normandy Invasion

2001-04-23T14:00:00-04:00

The year was 1944, and the United States had now been an active participant in the war against Nazi Germany for almost three and a half years. During this time, numerous battles had occurred which were fought with determination and intensity on both sides. Amongst the many invasions of World War II, there is one day which stands out more in the minds of many American soldiers than the others. That day was June 6, 1944, more commonly known as D Day, part of the invasion of Normandy, known as "Operation Overlord." This operation was the largest amphibious assault in history. It was a day in which thousands of young Americans, who poured onto the beaches of France, matured faster than they would have ever imagined. Little did they know of the chaos and torment that awaited them on their arrival. The attacks on Utah and Omaha were strategically made, and carried out in careful preciseness. The Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France began on June 6, 1944, and the American assault on the Utah and Omaha beaches on this day played a critical role in the overall success of the Normandy operation. An extensive plan was established for the American attack on Utah and Omaha Beaches. The plan was so in-depth and complex, its descriptions detailed the exact arrivals of troops, armour, and other equipment needed for the invasion, and where exactly on the beach they were to land. Before the landings were to begin, the coastal German defences had to be broken down by a combination of a massive battering by United States Naval ships, and by bombing from the United States Air Force. Between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the morning of June 6, over 1,000 aircraft dropped more than 5,000 tons of bombs on the German coastal defences. As soon as the preliminary bombing was over, the American and British naval guns opened fire on the Normandy coastline. A British naval officer described the incredible spectacle he witnessed that day: "Never has any coast suffered what a tortured strip of French coast suffered that morning." Along the fifty-mile front the land was shaken by successive explosions as the shells from the ships' guns tore holes in fortifications and tons of bombs poured down on them from the skies. Through smoke and falling debris German defenders crouching in their trenches would soon faintly see

Why the United States dropped the Atomic Bomb: Persuasive Essay

2001-04-23T14:00:00-04:00

The atomic bomb is the subject of much controversy. Since its first detonation in 1945, the entire world has heard the aftershocks of that blast. Issues concerning Nuclear Weapons sparked the Cold War. We also have the atomic bomb to thank for our relative peace in this time due to the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The effects of the atomic bomb might not have been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated with the intention of bringing an end to the war with Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The fact of Japan’s imminent defeat, the undeniable truth that relations with Russia were deteriorating, and competition for the division of Europe prove this without question. Admittedly, dropping the atomic bomb was a major factor in Japan’s decision to accept the terms laid out at the Potsdam agreement otherwise known as unconditional surrender. The fact must be pointed out, however, that Japan had already been virtually defeated. (McInnis, 1945) Though the public did not know this, the allies, in fact, did. Through spies, they had learned that both Japan’s foreign minister, Shigenori Togo and Emperor Hirohito both supported an end to the war (Grant, 1998). Even if they believed such reports to be false or inaccurate, the leaders of the United States also knew Japan’s situation to be hopeless. Their casualties in defending the doomed island of Okinawa were a staggering 110,000 and the naval blockade which the allies had enforced whittled trade down to almost nothing. Japan was quickly on the path to destruction. (Grant, 1998). Of course, the Allies ignored this for the reason that dropping the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would intimidate Russia. Had they truly been considering saving more lives and bringing a quick end to the war in Japan, they would have simply waited them out without the major loss of life seen at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the Yalta conference, Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked Josef Stalin for Russian support in the war with Japan. (Claypool, 1984) “In

The Bomb Heard 'Round the World : A Research Essay on the Manhattan Project

2001-03-13T13:00:00-04:00

On the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay flew over the industrial city of Hiroshima, Japan and dropped the first atomic bomb ever used in war. The city went up in flames caused by the immense power equal to about 20,000 tons of TNT. The project was a success. Hundreds of thousands died and still more were wounded. This was the final triumph that finally brought Japan to surrender. The effects of the bomb are still being seen but there is no doubt that the atomic bomb project was the greatest scientific feat of the 20th century. There was an unprecedented assemblage of civilian, military, and scientific, minds at work. Their pertinacious, intense, and theological ideas helped shape a new era. Unknowingly they also help shape what could have been the end of earth its self. This dim future was best described by Albert Einstein, the man responsible for starting the atomic bomb project in the US, "I know not with what weapons World War 3 will be fought with but I do know that world war 4 will be fought with sticks and stones." As one can see begin serious controversies concerning its sheer power and destruction began as soon as the first bomb was used on Hiroshima. The Manhattan Project was the code name for the US effort during World War II to produce the atomic bomb. It was appropriately named for the Manhattan Engineer District of the US Army Corps of Engineers, because much of the early research was done in New York City (Badash). Sparked by refugee physicists in the United States, the program was slowly organized after German scientists discovered nuclear fission in 1938. Many US scientists expressed the fear that Hitler would attempt to build a fission bomb. In theory this "fission bomb" would be more destructive than all the explosives they had in their hands (Rhode 340). Frustrated with the idea that Germany might produce an atomic bomb first, Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner asked Albert Einstein, a famous scientist during that time, to use his influence and write a letter to president FDR. The letter pleaded for support to further research the power of nuclear fission and warned the president of the unfathomable destruction Hitler could cause (Badash). His letters were a success, and President Roosevelt established "The Fission Bomb Project" (Brown & Macdonald 140). Physicists from

Battle of the Bulge - A World War 2 Battle

2001-03-03T13:00:00-05:00

The World War Two was a very severe war. There were many battles that were fought during it. One of the biggest land battles was Battle of the Bulge. (http://helios.) The battle took place on December 16, 1944 under cover a very dense fog which was very difficult for the army to see. (Danzer et. al. 744) These conditions are hard to see in but to stage of the biggest land battle in the history of World War Two, it was truly an astounding event and a very tragic memory. The battle was fought in a heavily forested Ardennes region of eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg (http://www.mm.) The fact that the battle was fought in a heavy forested area, with the conditions of the fog made the battle more dangerous, because the sight was poor and there was no clue where the opposite army was hidden. The Battle of the Bulge was a very vicious battle that had taken place. The battle included 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans and 55,000 British. (http://helios.) More than one million of the worlds' men fought in this battle. It claimed 100,000 German casualties, killed wounded or captured, 81,000 American casualties, including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed, 1,400 British casualties and 200 killed. (http://www.mm.) This was a massive amount of people to be killed in one horrible battle in the world's history. The Germans led by Hitler went westward, they captured 120 American GI’s near Malmedy, they herded the prisoners into a field and shot them with machine guns and pistols. (Danzer et. al. 744) This was a very vicious thing that the Germans had done to the US GI’s. The American troops led by Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe led the troops to Bastogne, a city of Belgium, were badly surrounded and our numbered by the Germans, that is were the American troops were demanded to surrender. (Danzer et. al. 744). In the end there were 800 tanks lost on each side, and 1,000 German aircraft lost as well. (http://www.mm.) This was a lot of machinery to have lost Hitler could not replace all the things he lost, so he had nothing left to do but to retreat. The way the battle had ended had the feeling of it being unfinished. The allies were credited in holding the Germans back. (http://helios.) This was a good thing because the Germans lost most of their resources, and the most

Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the World

2001-02-26T13:00:00-05:00

Einstein first told president Roosevelt about the tremendous power of fused uranium in the late 1930’s. Soon after this news from Einstein the atom bomb was built and tested. With bombs ready, Truman is faced with a decision. America is in the middle of World War II with no end in sight. He decides to deploy two atomic bombs on two Japanese cities. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the two fateful cities. The atomic bombs give relief to America because it ends the war. Even though America wins the war they defeat the whole purpose of keeping the world secure by bringing turbulence not only to Japan, but the rest of the world. Truman stops the torture and death for American soldiers fighting in the war. Truman, though, showed total disregard for the well being of the world. Uranium was the explosive used in both bombs. The explosion of an atomic bomb is equal to 15,000 tons of TNT. In the bomb, a piece of uranium is propelled into a larger piece of uranium and they fuse into a phase called critical mass. After this a chain reaction of fission occurs. In fission, atoms are split, and neutrons hit each other causing supplementary fission. Fission causes an enormous amount of energy in the form of extreme heat, a massive shock wave, and the lasting effect of radiation. As soon as the bomb explodes a wave of heat ranging from 1,000 to 15,000 degrees engulfs everything in a mile radius. The shock wave destroyed most of the buildings within the mile radius. After the blast, radiation from gamma rays and neutrons cause death and injury. The bombs caused death in Japan and feelings of insecurity for the remainder of the world. The bomb called,” Little Boy,” was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 at approximately 8:15 a.m. Three days before the bombing fliers were dropped from aircrafts warning Hiroshima that they were going to be victims of a destructive weapon. The bomb was dropped from the altitude of six miles by a B-52 bomber named Enola Gay. The bomb exploded a thousand feet from ground. It leveled five square city miles. In this bombing 70,000 innocent people died. It was said that everybody in the city lost somebody. After the blast a metal lunch pale of a schoolgirl was found about 1,000 feet from the blast, she was not. Inside her lunch pale

Technological Advances in World War 2

2000-11-20T13:00:00-05:00

New advances in technology changed warfare in WW2. The change in technology since WW1 has produced such things as Atom Bomb, and new and improved sea and air warfare. New techniques had to be used because of technology, techniques such as ‘mouseholing’. More people were killed because of technology, as more people died in WW2 than WW1.The technological advances in WW2 changed the battlefield completely as more deadly auxiliary was introduced. The technological advances since WW1 introduced such things as the atomic bomb and new and improved sea and air warfare. The atom bomb was a big part of WW2 as people could be killed from a bomb from a long distance. This bomb also covered a long area killing more people and people of the area bombed could still be feeling the effects in the form of cancer. New air warfare such as fighter jets were introduced in WW2. These planes carried deadly bombs and could take out a large number of people. New sea warfare was introduced, such ships as the corvette were popular, and the corvette was mostly used for shipping ammunition to Europe from North America. Also, submarines proved deadly as they were out of radar and carried deadly bombs such as the torpedo. New techniques had to be used in WW2 because of the updated technology. Techniques such as ’mouseholing’ and ‘lightning warfare’ were some of the new techniques used. Mouseholing is when the soldiers would blow a hole in the wall of a building and move through the building capturing the nazi soldiers instead of going out on the open street and getting snipered. Lightning warfare was used by the Germans and it was when planes were first sent in to a designated area and bombed the area and then the tanks would be sent through then finally the soldiers. This was done to take over countries and to get the country to surrender and clear the area out. More people died because of technology in WW2. More people were killed in WW2 then WW1, as the technology was updated in WW2. Technology can be great but in the case of WW2, it proved tragic. Updated technology such as the entire auxiliary used in WW2 proved to be working because way more people died in WW2 than WW1. Rapid advances in bombs and guns proved deadly, WW2 was a very bad example of technology. Technology can

World War 2

2000-11-17T13:00:00-05:00

After gaining power, Hitler aggressively built up the German military and in 1936, occupied the Rhineland, a formerly German area designated as a buffer zone to protect France. Britain and France were preoccupied with Italy's invasion of Ethiopia and made little protest. By 1938, Germany had the most powerful military force in the world. In that same year, Hitler demanded and was given the Sudetanland in Czechoslovakia. It was highly populated with Germans and Hitler claimed to be liberating them. In 1939, through military intimidation, Hitler took all of Czechoslovakia and part of Lithuania (the Memel Territory). He next demanded the return of Danzig, a highly German populated free state. Poland refused; Britain and France pledged to support Poland. Fearing a war on two fronts, which would eventually lead to his downfall, Hitler signed a nonagression pact with USSR leader, Joseph Stalin. The German army then invaded Poland and began World War II. After crushing the Poles, Hitler invaded Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and The Netherlands in quick succession. France fell in 1940. In 1941, Hitler made himself Personal Commander of the Army and, in 1942, Supreme War Lord. On July 20, 1944, a group of officers, angered by Hitler's recent military failing, set off a bomb in his office. He escaped unharmed. Hitler's plan to take Great Britain failed, largely due to poor results in air battles. When Italy lost momentum, Hitler conquered North Africa and Greece. By this time, Hitler was running low on human resources, so he forced Jews and other peoples he considered inferior into labor camps. Those that refused were herded up and shipped to concentration camps or death camps. Thus began the Holocaust, a horrific extermination of twelve million people, six million Jews. Other victims included Gypsies, homosexuals, Communists, and atheists. The Holocaust: A Tragic Legacy is a terrific resource for more information on the Holocaust. Hitler made the fatal mistake of invading the USSR. He won many early victories on the border and found an ally in Japan but soon it all came crumbling down. The supply lines were too long and the winter, horribly harsh. Also, the Germans faced a surprisingly strong resistance from brave Russians. The German soldiers lost heart; they knew that retreat would be wise. Hitler would not allow it; instead he forced them to carry on, culminating in the horrible defeat at Stalingrad. Soon, the allies retook Africa Italy and the Soviet

Why did Germany lose World War II, Despite its Victories Early in the War?

2000-10-22T14:00:00-04:00

As in Worald War I, Germany’s primary downfall was its lack of adequate allies and a war on multiple fronts. Territorially, Hitler came very close in World War II to achieving his quest for lebensraum yet his failure to concentrate his resources proved disastrous. His lack of time spent organizing the conquered territories resulted in wide spread rebellions which in turn separated German forces. The North African campaign absorbed troops that were much needed on the Russian front. The failure of the V2 rocket in the final stages hindered the German offensives. The Allies combination of well-organized troops, weaponry, resources and a little luck in the closing stages of the war placed pressure on the already weakening Germany. Despite the early successes from Poland to France, the Battle of Britain and the invasion of Russia assured ‘the fatherland’ of a war against the world. A war almost impossible to win. German preparation began well before the eve of war in 1939 with the invasion of Poland. When Hitler came to power in 1933 he was able to build, at first secretly, an army, navy and airforce despite the treaty of Versailles disallowing Germany to maintain a proper army. By this time he had built a very powerful war machine. Despite threats from the west the reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936, the annexation of Austria, Bohemis-Moravia and Memel in 1938 and 1939 happened without retaliation. The British, after declaring war on Germany on the 1st September 1939 did little to assist Poland who surrendered three weeks later. This helped to convince Hitler he was immune to international reaction. With the temporally secured threat from Russia on hold, Nazi forces in 1940 occupied Denmark and attacked Norwegian ports, securing iron ore imports from Sweden, which were vital for Germany’s war effort. Using overwhelming Blitzkrieg tactics or ‘lightning war’ Germany’s mission was to quickly defeat and occupy a nation before assistance from the west would arrive. After a period of ‘Phony war’ Holland, Belgium and France were defeated in quick succession (operation case yellow) in 1940 where British forces were forced to evacuate France. After these quick defeats with little resistance the Wermarch (German army) was poised to invade England. In the Battle of Britain, 1940, the Luftwaffe sought to achieve air supremacy in the first major confrontation of the war. Many believe this was the major turning point for Germany. Hitler’s order

Operation Barbarossa - Hitler's Russian Offensive

2000-10-09T14:00:00-04:00

The Russians Would never have joined the war if it weren’t for the German invasion of 1941 – Operation Barbarossa. This parallels the USA intervention – they only joined because the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour. Operation Barbarossa commenced on the 22nd June, 1941. Just over 3,000,000 German troops invaded the USSR. Stalin doubted the country ability to perform well on the battlefield since the Finnish War, refused to counteract the Germans preparations, for fear of provoking them into war. The Russians concluded that the German form of attack – The Blitzkrieg – would not be possible on Russia. The German infantry outnumbered the Russian, but the Russians had more artillery and aviation forces. The Russian infantry was told that it was not to retreat, do was destined to become destroyed or captured. The Germans set up 3 army groups, and assigned them to 3 different areas:-

North - Leningrad

Central - Moscow

South - Kyyiv The generals agreed that they had to lock the Russian forces into battle, in order to prevent them escaping into the rest of the vast country. However, they disagreed on how to do this. The majority of them thought that they would sacrifice everything to protect Moscow; the capital; the centre of industry; the centre of all the networks and transport. Hitler disagreed. He believed that the Ukrainian area – for its resources – and the oil of the Caucasus were much more crucial. A compromise was made. Army Group Centre would march towards Moscow. The victory was predicted for ten weeks ahead. This timing was crucial because it would be impossible to fight once the short Russian summer had ended. Things seemed to happen a lot faster. In the first month Germans had already encircled Bialystok and Minsk, and on August 5th, the Germans crossed the Dnepr River, the last natural obstruction to Moscow. The group defeated a small force in Smolensk, capturing another 300,000. When it had reached Smolensk, it was two-thirds of the way there. Hitler decided to change plan. He sent the group north to help the other two groups, ignoring the generals’ protests, thereby stopping the advance to Moscow. On September 8th Army Group North had, together with the Finnish army, brought Leningrad to siege. On September 16th Army Group South had captured Kyyiv, with 665,000 prisoners. After this, Hitler re-ordered the advance to Moscow. After nothing for six weeks, Army Group Centre carried on on 2nd October. By the 16th,

Should we have Dropped the Atomic Bomb?

2000-09-10T14:00:00-04:00

The atomic bomb killed many innocent people, but it was necessary to end World War II. After World War II began in 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced the neutrality of the United States. Many people in the United States thought that their country should stay out of the war. The people wanted the Allied Forces to have the victory. President Roosevelt also wanted an Allied victory because an Axis victory might endanger democracies everywhere. The United States equipped nations fighting the Axis with ships, tanks, aircraft, and other war materials. The Axis did not like this. Japan wanted to take over China, but China refused. China was led by Chiang Kai-Shek at the time. Japan wanted the United States to stop sending China supplies, but the United States refused. The United States opposed the expansion of Japan in Asia, so they cut off important exports to Japan. General Hideki Tojo was the Premiere of Japan. He and other Japanese leaders did not like the fact that Americans were sending war supplies to China and other countries in Asia. A surprise attack was ordered by Japan on December 7, 1941. The target was the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 360 planes bombed the naval base killing about 3,000 people and destroying many warships, aircraft carriers, and submarines. This was a catalyst that brought the United States into World War II. Albert Einstein predicted that mass could be converted into energy early in the century and was confirmed experimentally by John D. Cockcroft and Ernest Walton in 1932. In 1939, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discovered that neutrons striking the element uranium caused the atoms to split apart. Physicists found out that among the pieces of a split atom were newly produced neutrons. These might encounter other uranium nuclei, caused them to split, and start a chain reaction. If the chain reaction were limited to a moderate pace, a new source of energy could be the result. The chain reaction could release energy rapidly and with explosive force. Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, and Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicists were frightened by the possibility that Germany might produce an atomic bomb. They insisted that Albert Einstein inform President Roosevelt about the possibility of the Germans making an atomic bomb. In late 1939 President Roosevelt ordered an American effort to make an atomic bomb before the Germans. This project to produce the atomic bomb

Why did Germany lose World War Two, despite its victories early in the war?

2000-07-20T14:00:00-04:00

The defeat of Germany in World War Two was due to many factors. All of these factors were influenced by the leadership and judgment of Adolf Hitler. Factors such as the stand fast policy, Hitler’s unnecessary and risky decision making in military situations, for example when attacking the USSR, and the declaration of war on the US. Plus other factors, like Hitler’s alliance with Italy, despite its obvious weaknesses, and the pursuit of the final solution, can all be attributed to the poor leadership and judgement of the Fuhrer, which would eventually lead to the downfall of the Third Reich. During the early stages of the war, most of Germany’s victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg tactics emphasised mobility and the concentrated use of armour and air power to overwhelm an enemy. Blitzkrieg was especially successful in flat, open countryside and was supremely suited for the Polish campaign in 1939. It was with blitzkrieg, as well as Germany’s superior tactics, effective use of armour, airpower and modern equipment, plus with the support of the USSR that the Germans used to overwhelm Poland in only 5 weeks. Two days after the German troops entered Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Hitler did not want this because it was a distraction from his main aim, to attack the USSR. After his victory over Poland, Hitler now had his sights on a quick offensive in the west. Speaking to his Generals in October 1939, Hitler said, ‘If it becomes clear that Britain and under its leadership France also, are not prepared to end the war I am determined to go on the offensive without delay.’ In April 1940 Germany launched its attack in the west with a surprise invasion of Norway and Denmark, which were neutral states. Hitler took Norway because that guaranteed that vital iron ore supplies from Sweden could be shipped to Germany through the ice-free Norwegian ports. Hitler also occupied Denmark, because it was in the way of the German attack. Hitler then ordered the attack on Belgium, Holland and France. The British and French had predicted that the German attack would come through Belgium. So the British and French forces moved north into Belgium to meet the German advance. The Germans again used overpowering blitzkrieg tactics and quickly overwhelmed Holland. The main German attack began further to the south, as the bulk

Effects of the Atomic bomb

2000-04-30T14:00:00-04:00

The effects of the atomic bomb were terrible. There’s no doubt in my mind that the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a costly mistake. Atomic bombs produce heat millions of degrees high, and visible ultraviolet and inferred rays.(Lapp 844) Everyone and everything exposed to their blast is affected. No one is left untouched, whether it be emotional or physical; in many cases both. However, many members of the science community argue that the atomic bomb was a great advance in technology, and see their effect on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a scientific experiment. People from the defense department in government also see the bomb as great weapons in national defense. When reading my paper, you must decide for yourself the moral issues involved with using atomic bombs in warfare.The day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it rained all day. The rain was pitch black, and very cold.(Pacific War Research Society (PWRS) 245) A huge cloud of dust covered the sun and made what was left of the city very dark. Realizing the bombs effect on climate, a group of scientists came up with the “Nuclear Winter Theory” in 1983.(Glasstone NPG) The theory states that if only one half the nuclear warheads in the United States were exploded, there would be enough smoke and dust in the atmosphere to block sunlight for several months destroying all plant life and creating a subfreezing climate until the dust dispersed.(Glasstone NPG) According to the “Nuclear Winter Theory,” that would be the end of human civilization!(Glasstone NPG) Although the US Department of Defense acknowledges the validity of this theory they say that it won’t affect it’s defense policies on how many warheads are kept.(Glasstone NPG)Although atomic bombs can have a catastrophic effect on climate, we learned that their effect on buildings is almost as bad. With the bombings in World War 2, we saw their effect on historic landmarks, houses, and office buildings. When the bomb was dropped only one mile away from ground zero, the blast cracked walls over twelve inches thick.(Lapp 843) The shockwave after the bomb was felt over a mile away. Heat incinerated everything within a 500 yard radius of the hypocenter. In Hiroshima, the blast demolished all buildings except those that were earthquake resistant.(Lapp 843) Some buildings just “vanished” into air.(PWRS 243)However terrible the effect of atomic bombs on climate and buildings, what stands

Strategic Bombing during World War 2

2000-04-03T14:00:00-04:00

"World War 2 was a war fought in two distinct phases. The first was the last war of a new generation. The second was emphatically the first of a new era" . "The British strategic bomber campaign was of doubtful cost effectiveness" . Bomber Command was by far the largest claimant on labour and factory space within the armed forces. Relative to their size they suffered more casualties than any other sector. The Anglo-American bomber force was divided in terms of strategy. Bomber Command believed it was too risky to bomb by day, while the Americans believed it was too difficult to bomb by night. Initially both forces lacked accurate navigational equipment, which deterred them from precision bombing. Germany developed a ‘night fighter’ force to counteract the bomber fleet. They were equipped with an on board radar, which enabled them to locate the bombers in the darkness. The German industry was sub-divided in an attempt to minimise the effectiveness of bombing raids. Both the Britain and Germany made substantial scientific developments throughout the course of the war. Prior to the development of the Lancaster, the British Air Force lacked a long-range bomber, capable of carrying substantial bomb loads. Wattson Watt foresaw the need for an early detection system; he developed the ‘Radiolocation’ system, which alerted Britain to invading forces. The German Air Force developed an on board radar, called the ‘Metric system’, which was equipped to German night fighters. Bomber Harris believed in the theory of ‘carpet bombing’. Nick named ‘butcher Harris’; he was known as the man who supported such campaigns as Dresden. He believed in breaking the morale of the German people. The strategic bombing campaign significantly shortened the length of the war. It disabled the production industry and weakened the German morale. Between Jan. 12-23 of 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at Casablanca, to plan the ‘future global military strategy for the Western Allies’. The work of the conference was primarily military; deciding on the invasion of Silicy, apportioning forces to the Pacific theatre and outlining major lines of attack in the Far East. Most important of all was Roosevelt’s claims for the "unconditional surrender" from Germany, Italy, and Japan. Hamburg was largely responsible for the production of German U-boats. Subsequently it was the target of numerous air raids. In an attempt to protect the fragile industry, three huge anti-aircraft artilleries were built. Few

The Invasion of Normandy

2000-02-26T13:00:00-05:00

The battle plan, code-named Operation Overlord, called for the largest amphibious assault ever to start the liberation of occupied Europe from Nazi Germany. It began in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, now known as D-Day. Thousands of American, British, Canadian, and French soldiers-backed by paratroopers, bombers, and warships-stormed a 50-mile stretch of French beach called Normandy. This "invasion of Normandy" was the greatest event to occur between the years of 1919 and 1945. D-day was the beginning of the end of the war. The invasion of Normandy allowed the Allied forces to get their soldiers back on the European mainland and to start defeating German opposition and Nazi tyranny. It was the major turning point of World War II and perhaps one of the greatest strategic military operations that ever executed. As the tide of World War II began to turn in favor of the Allies, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had the task of forming the largest invasion fleet in history, in order for an amphibious landing on the northern coast of France to be effective. If it was executed as planned and labeled a success, the landing would be the starting point for the massive attack. The attack would move eastward through France and into Nazi Germany. In May, while millions of troops and equipment poured into the staging area of southern Britain, the Allies created a decoy. False radio transmissions and rows of inflated rubber tanks and landing craft located away from the true staging area kept the Germans confused about the operation's size and target. The invasion of northern France from England was not launched in May, as its planners had initially prescribed, but on June 6, the famous D-Day of World War II. A huge fighting force had been assembled, including 1,200 fighting ships, 10,000 planes, 4,126 landing craft, 804 transport ships, and hundreds of amphibious and other special purpose tanks. During the operation, 156,000 troops, of which 73,000 were American, were landed in Normandy, airborne and seaborne. As the day of the invasion approached, the weather in the English Channel became stormy. Heavy winds, a five-foot swell at sea, and lowering skies compelled Eisenhower to postpone the assault from the fifth to the sixth of June. Conditions remained poor, but when weathermen predicted that the winds would abate and the cloud cover rise enough on the scheduled day of the attack to permit a go-ahead,

2000-02-20T13:00:00-05:00

Jews in Nuremberg

2000-02-02T13:00:00-05:00

America’s involvement in World War Two

1999-12-13T13:00:00-05:00

When war broke out , there was no way the world could possibly know the severity of this guerre. Fortunately one country saw and understood that Germany and its allies would have to be stopped. America’s Involvement in World War two not only contributed in the eventual downfall of the insane Adolph Hitler and his Third Reich, but also came at the precise time and moment. Had the united states entered the war any earlier the consequences might have been worse. Over the years it has been an often heated and debated issue on whether the united states could have entered the war sooner and thus have saved many lives. To try to understand this we must look both at the people’s and government’s point of view. Just after war broke out in Europe, President Roosevelt hurriedly called his cabinet and military advisors together. There it was agreed that the United states stay neutral in these affairs. One of the reasons given was that unless America was directly threatened they had no reason to be involved. This reason was a valid one because it was the American policy to stay neutral in any affairs not having to with them unless American soil was threatened directly. Thus the provisional neutrality act passed the senate by seventy-nine votes to two in 1935. On August 31, Roosevelt signed it into law. In 1936 the law was renewed, and in 1937 a "comprehensive and permanent" neutrality act was passed (Overy 259). The desire to avoid "foreign entanglements" of all kinds had been an American foreign policy for more than a century. A very real "geographical Isolation" permitted the United States to "fill up the empty lands of North America free from the threat of foreign conflict"(Churchill 563). Even if Roosevelt had wanted to do more in this European crisis (which he did not), there was a factor too often ignored by critics of American policy-American military weakness. When asked to evaluate how many troops were available if and when the United States would get involved, the army could only gather a mere one hundred thousand, when the French, Russian and Japanese armies numbered in millions. Its weapons dated from the first World War and were no match compared to the new artillery that Germany and its allies had. "American soldiers were more at home with the horse than with the tank" (Overy 273). The air

Origins of World War II - Book Review

1999-11-20T13:00:00-05:00

World War II was much more than battles, statistics, politics, and opinions. The things that contributed to its beginning, what happened during the war, and the effects of the war are still being debated and discussed. Patrick Finney assembles some of the best writings for a number of subjects relating to World War II. First the reader is introduced to the basic views, where they originated, and why they are still discussed today. The truth is, even fifty years after the end of the war, it is still very much part of our lives. Finney's first collection of readings are written on the subject of what contributes to the war. Two of the authors have very different opinions on Chamberlain, and they focus on his actions preluding the war. There is also an writing describing the French during this period, and finally there are two authors whom debate about the state of Germany at this time. After the conditions of Great Britian, France, and Germany have been addressed, Finney explains the goals, economics, strategies, and policies of the countries that contributed to the breakout of war. The last section addresses the topics of the Spanish Civil War and its effects on World War II, what happened at Munich and how it effected Hitler in the long run, the strategies and policies regarding a German attack on Poland, and finally the major points of the war and the post-war effects. The selection of essays and writings were excellent for supporting the theme Finney was aspiring to fulfill. His goal in writing was to represent the major powers World War II and keep the attention balanced between all of the involved countries. The credibility of the writers involved in this book appeared to be very good. Simply by listing their credentials in Finney's commentaries, one can assume that they are respectable. Most of the authors have written extensively on the topic that Finney publishes in his book, therefore you know that they researched more than what was written in Finney's book. Since most of Finney's commentary consisted of interpretations and explanations of the readings that would follow, there was not a great deal of facts to be misrepresented by Finney himself. The commentaries were a excellent was to start off the readings. Finney provided an understanding of what the writer was going to say, not only in support of what they were going to say, but

The Versailles Treaty

1999-10-25T14:00:00-04:00

The Treaty of Versailles was intended to be a peace agreement between the Allies and the Germans. Versailles created political discontent and economic chaos 1in Germany. The Peace Treaty of Versailles represented the results of hostility and revenge and opened the door for a dictator and World War II. November 11, 1918 marked the end of the first World War. Germany had surrendered and signed an armistice agreement. The task of forming a peace agreement was now in the hands of the Allies. In December of 1918, the Allies met in Versailles to start on the peace settlement.2 The main countries and their respective representatives were: The United States, Woodrow Wilson; Great Britain, David Lloyd George; and France, George Clemenceau. "At first, it had seemed the task of making peace would be easy".3 However, once the process started, the Allies found they had conflicting ideas and motives surrounding the reparations and wording of the Treaty of Versailles. It seemed the Allies had now found themselves engaged in another battle. Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924), the twenty-eighth President of the United States (1913 --1921).4 In August of 1914, when World War I began, there was no question that the United States would remain neutral. "Wilson didn't want to enter the European War or any other war for that matter".5 However, as the war continued, it became increasingly obvious that the United States could no longer 'sit on the sidelines'. German submarines had sunk American tankers and the British liner, 'Lusitania', in May 1915, killing almost twelve hundred people, including 128 Americans.6 This convinced Wilson to enter World War I, on the allied side. As the war continued, Wilson outlined his peace program, which was centered around fourteen main points. "They (fourteen points) were direct and simple: a demand that future agreements be open covenants of peace, openly arrived at; an insistence upon absolute freedom of the seas; and, as the fourteenth point, the formation of a general associat! ion of nations."7 The fourteen points gave people a hope of peace and lay the groundwork for the armistice that Germany ultimately signed in November 1918. Although the United States was instrumental in ending the war, Wilson was still more interested in a "peace without victors"8 than annexing German colonies or reparations (payment for war damages). However, as the Allies began discussions of the peace treaty, the European allies rejected Wilson's idealism and reasoning. It

The Story Behind the Nazi Gold

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00

Nazi Gold: Hard currency looted from treasuries of countries occupied by the Axis powers during World War II. Ingots consisting of gold melted down from the teeth of murder victims and weddings bands and jewelry. About two thirds of an estimated $660 million ($7.8 billion in today's dollars) in stolen Nazi gold passed through Switzerland during the war. And like any sharp businessmen with hot goods, the Swiss disposed of much of their gold quickly - through Portugal mainly, but also to Sweden, Spain, and other central banks (Hirsh 48). Probably no more that $140 million remains unaccounted for, and a good portion of that was probably sold onward as well. But what remains of the known Nazi hoard (none of which has been returned to the Jewish community) is worth no more than about $65 million according to the Brussels-based Tripartite Gold Commission, set up after World War II to return stolen gold to national treasuries. Recently the Clinton administration created a commission to search for any Nazi funds that might have ended up in U.S. Federal Reserve vaults. "We have to be willing not only to focus the spotlight on Switzerland," says Under Secretary of Commerce Stuart Eizenstat. "We have to be willing to follow the trail of assets into our own treasury" (qtd. in Hirsh 47). This trail though, suggests that there is no huge stash of Nazi gold in Switzerland. The loot has scattered worldwide through numerous transactions and is probably irretrievable. Also, because so many banks were involved, the amount of gold left in Switzerland is probably negligible, contrary to what investigators have until now presumed. At this point the cost or returning the Nazi Gold to its rightful owners is not worth the trouble and inconvenience it would create. Documents released in recent months have made it clear that Swiss banks traded in looted Nazi-gold, and that Swiss businesses made a fortune selling arms to the Nazis. In a historical report published around May 9,1997, it was said that there was no evidence that the Swiss or other neutral countries knew that gold from the central banks had been smelted together with gold fillings, wedding bands, and other jewelry stolen from Holocaust victims (Sanger). But, Eizenstat found "incontrovertible evidence" that Swiss bankers knew they were trading in gold that Germany had looted from the treasuries of states it occupied, and also a handwritten ledger sheet

US Supplies in WWII

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00

Some people say that the most devastating war in the history of the world has been World War II. First of all, what is a war? Webster's Dictionary says that the definition of war is an armed contest between states or nations any contest or strife, such as a war of words. As one can see, World War II was a contest between states or nations. It began with a simple little conflict in Europe in 1939. This conflict involved Germany and an Anglo-French coalition but eventually widened to include most of the nations of the world. It ended in 1945, leaving a new world order dominated by the United States and the USSR. As mentioned before, World War II has been the most devastating war humans have ever been involved with. The question of why can be answered in the three reasons listed below. First is that it involved the commitment of nations' entire human and economic resources. Second is the blurring of distinction between combatant and noncombatant, and third is the expansion of the battlefield to include all of the enemy's territory. The involvement of nations' entire human and economic resources is the first and most important reason. This ties into the end of the war with the United States and the USSR being world powers. This could have never happened if the United States entire human and economic resources weren't involved in the war and if most of the United States resources had not went to help the USSR. The United States at the time of the war was almost a world power. It was a strong country that attempted to stay out of the war as long as possible but still help nations in need. The United States did not fight the war in Europe for a few years but it began fighting it at home. More than 60 million Americans helped the war effort by working in factories and farms. The War Production Board was created to oversee all of this production. Chairman of the War Production Board, Donald Nelson remarked, "The American war-production job was probably the greatest achievement of all time. It makes the seven wonders of the ancient world look like the doodlings of a small boy on a rainy Saturday afternoon." No doubt about it, war production was a great achievement. Six million women were added to the labor force. Old

The Hydrogen Bomb

1999-08-22T14:00:00-04:00

Thesis Statement The hydrogen bomb is a nuclear weapon in which light atomic nuclei of hydrogen are joined together in an uncontrolled nuclear fusion reaction to release tremendous amounts of energy. The hydrogen bomb is about a thousand times as powerful as the atomic bomb, which produces a nuclear fission explosion about a million times more powerful than comparably sized bombs using conventional high explosives such as TNT. The Hydrogen Bomb The Atomic Bomb Was A Essential First Step toward the Development of the Hydrogen Bomb, Before the atomic bomb was developed by the united states during World War II, there was no way to produce the extreme amounts of heat needed to initiate the fusion reaction of the hydrogen bomb. Even after World War II, the hydrogen bomb faced many political and technical obstacles. The U.S. government gave priority to perfecting and stockpiling atomic bombs, and scientist discovered that initiating a fusion reaction was more than simply placing a container of hydrogen near a fission trigger. Tension to develop the hydrogen bomb increased in the United States after the Soviet Union set off its first atomic bomb in August 1949. The Military, the joint congressional committee on Atomic Energy, and several noted physicists, including Edward Teller And Ernest Lawrence, called for creation of a so-called super bomb, but the General Advisory of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), chaired by J. Robert Oppenheimer, in agreement recommended that the bomb should not be developed, because of the technical difficulties involved, the need to enlarge the Atomic Bomb reserve, and because of moral considerations. A Majority of the AEC supported this decision and passed their recommendation on to President Harry S. Truman. A National Security Council report recommend otherwise, however and at the end of January 1950, Truman ordered that the United States should investigate the possibility of producing hydrogen bombs. Edward Teller was placed in charge of the investigation. The decision to move ahead with the Hydrogen bomb development was made in response to U.S. perceptions that the USSR was close to producing its own Hydrogen Bomb. Thermonuclear devices were tested was to begin in 1952, and by 1954, both the United States And The USSR have achieved Hydrogen Bomb capability. Since That Year each side has developed nuclear arsenals that are almost entirely composed of fusion weapons, rather than fission weapons. They have reached a strategic condition that promises total destruction. Early H-bomb Designs called

The Atomic Bomb in World War II

1999-07-02T14:00:00-04:00

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the end to the world's largest armed conflict. Many debates have surfaced over the ethics of such an attack. The bomb itself caused massive amounts of casualties while the unknown effects of radiation caused many more deaths amongst the survivors of the blast. Despite the ghastly effects of such a weapon, it offered the best choice for a quick and easy defeat of Japan. President Truman, who authorized the use of the atomic bomb, made a wise decision under the circumstances of the war. The Japanese refusal to surrender, the massive amount of allied casualties involved in invading the Japanese mainland and the ineffectuality of a military blockade in forcing Japan to surrender made the bomb a necessary last resort. There were several conventional methods that were suggested to bring Japan to its knees. These included a naval blockade, an extensive aerial bombardment or an invasion of the island of Japan. Japan posed little or no offensive threat to American forces. Despite this fact the Japanese were the most tenacious and driven of Americas foes throughout the war. The battles for Okinawa, Wake and Guam all were ample testament to the Japanese willingness to die in the face of overwhelming odds. The kamikaze was a perfect example of the Japanese battle attitude. Japanese pilots would strap themselves into planes laden with explosives and fly them into American ships. By the war's conclusion the Japanese kamikaze attacks had sunk 3 aircraft carriers damaged 285 craft and sunk a total of 34. The Japanese also did well in increasing support for the war effort. "Both scientist and publicists were in fact powerful instruments inflaming popular hatred against the democratic countries and in regimenting the people into blindly supporting the war of aggrandizement." (p.100) This resolve would only have been strengthened had American and Russian forces tried to invade Japan. This almost suicidal type of fighting would have resulted in a tremendous amount of casualties for both sides. American casualties alone were projected at 500,000. The amount of deaths caused by an invasion would have easily dwarfed those of the atomic bombings. Air power offered American forces a method of remaining relatively unscathed against the fanatical Japanese military while laying waste to entire cities. This was possible because while Japanese ground forces remained strong, air defenses had been severely weakened. This gave American bombers free

World War II

1999-07-02T14:00:00-04:00

After gaining power, Hitler aggresively built up the German military and in 1936, occupied the Rhineland, a formerly German area designated as a buffer zone to protect France.Britain and France were preoccupied with Italy's invasion of Ethiopia and made little protest. By 1938, Germany had the most powerful military force in the world. In that same year, Hitler demanded and was given the Sudetanland in Czechoslovakia. It was highly populated with Germans and Hitler claimed to be liberating them. In 1939, through military intimidation, Hitler took all of Czechoslovakia and part of Lithuania (the Memel Territory). He next demanded the return of Danzig, a highly German populated free state. Poland refused; Britain and France pledged to support Poland. Fearing a war on two fronts which would eventually lead to his downfall, Hitler signed a nonagression pact with USSR leader, Joseph Stalin. The German army then invaded Poland and began World War II. After crushing the Poles, Hitler invaded Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and The Netherlands in quick succession. France fell in 1940. In 1941, Hitler made himself Personal Commander of the Army and, in 1942, Supreme War Lord. On July 20, 1944, a group of officers, angered by Hitler's recent military failing, set off a bomb in his office. He escaped unharmed. Hitler's plan to take Great Britain failed, largely due to poor results in air battles. When Italy lost momentum, Hitler conquered North Africa and Greece.By this time, Hitler was running low on human resources, so he forced Jews and other peoples he considered inferior into labor camps. Those that refused, were herded up and shipped to concentration camps or death camps. Thus began the Holocaust, a horrific extermination of twelve million people, six million Jews. Other victims included Gypsies, homosexuals, Communists, and athiests. The Holocaust: A Tragic Legacy is a terrific resource for more information on the Holocaust. Hitler made the fatal mistake of invading the USSR. He won many early victories on the border and found an ally in Japan but soon it all came crumbling down. The supply lines were too long and the winter, horribly harsh. Also, the Germans faced a surprisingly strong resistance from brave Russians. The German soldiers lost heart; they knew that retreat would be wise. Hitler would not allow it; instead he forced them to carry on, culminating in the horrible defeat at Stalingrad. Soon, the allies retook Africa Italy and the Soviet Union. After

Battle of the Buldge

1999-07-02T14:00:00-04:00

The Battle of the Buldge was the last of the German attacks. It lasted from December 16,1944 to January 28, 1945. The Battle of the Buldge was the largest land battle of World War 2. More then a

American Attack on Omaha and Utah Beaches during D Day

1999-06-05T14:00:00-04:00

It was 1944, and the United States had now been an active participant in the war against Nazi Germany for almost three and a half years, nearly six years for the British. During that period occurred a string of engagements fought with ferocious determination and intensity on both sides. There is however, one day which stands out in the minds of many American servicemen more often than others. June 6, 1944, D-Day, was a day in which thousands of young American boys, who poured onto the beaches of Utah and Omaha, became men faster than they would have ever imagined possible. Little did they know of the chaos and the hell which awaited them on their arrival. Over the course of a few hours, the visions of Omaha and Utah Beaches, and the death and destruction accompanied with them formed a permanent fixation in the minds of the American Invaders. The Allied invasion of Europe began on the 6th of June 1944, and the American assault on Utah and Omaha beaches on this day played a critical role in the overall success of the operation. (Astor 352) An extensive plan was established for the American attack on Utah and Omaha Beaches. The plan was so in-depth, and complex, its descriptions detailed the exact arrivals of troops, armor, and other equipment needed for the invasion, and where exactly on the beach they were to land. Before the landings were to begin, the coastal German defenses had to be adequately prepped, and softened by a combination of a massive battering by United States ships, and bombing by the United States Air Force. Between the hours of 0300 and 0500 hours on the morning of June 6, over 1,000 aircraft dropped more than 5,000 tons of bombs on the German coastal defenses. As soon as the preliminary bombing was over, the American and British naval guns opened fire on the Normandy coastline (D' Este 112). A British naval officer described the incredible spectacle he witnessed that day: "Never has any coast suffered what a tortured strip of French coast suffered that morning; both the naval and air bombardments were unparalleled. Along the fifty-mile front the land was rocked by successive explosions as the shells of ships' guns tore holes in fortifications and tons of bombs rained on them from the skies. Through billowing smoke and falling debris defenders crouching in this scene of devastations

Japanese Internment Camps

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D.Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which called for the eviction and internment of all Japanese Americans. After Pearl Harbor, all Japanese were looked upon as being capable of sabotage. The interments began in April 1942. The Japanese-Americans were transported on buses and trains to camps in California, Utah, Arizona and other states. They were always under military guard. The Japanese-Americans were housed in livestock stalls in the beginning, or in windowless shacks that were crowded and lacked sufficient ventilation, electricity and sanitation facilities. There was also a shortage of food and medicines. The internment camps were located in remote, uninhabitable areas. In the desert camps daytime temperatures often reached 100 degrees or more. And sub-zero winters were common in the northern camps. Some of the camp names were; Angel Park, Sharp Park, Tuna Canyon and Manzanar. The camps were guarded by barbed wire and guard

Anne Frank

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

Anne Frank lived with her family in a pleasant house. For Anne and her sister, Margot, their early childhood was a sucure place inhabited by loving parents, relatives and nurses. However, the Nazis had gained power in some parts of Germany. The Nazis wanted all Jews to be killed. Otto Frank, Anne's father, did not hestitate to wait for the Nazis to come into full power. In 1933, the Franks left Frankfort. Mrs. Frank and the two girls joined her mother in Aachen, near the Belgian border. Otto Frank went to Holland and started a business in food products. In the spring of 1934, the Franks reunited and settled in Amsterdam. Anne Frank lived in Amsterdam happily, like she did in Frankfort. She attended Montessori School and had a host of friends. Her father, however, was still worried for in Germany the Nazis gained almost complete power. In 1940, the Germans envaded and conquered Holland. Anne's life had changed by the Germans taking control. She could not go to her school, and was to attend the Jewish Lyceum. No Jews were allowed out on the streets at night. In 1941, the Germans had their first round-up of Jews in Amsterdam. 5 months later, the Germans summonded 16-year-old Margot Frank to report for deportation. Otto Frank, however, had contact with Dutch friends, and were able to hide out in the attic of a house. The morning after Margot was summonded they left Amsterdam and went to the attic of the house called the Secret Annexe. In the Secret Annexe they were joined by the Van Daan family. There was Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan and their son Peter. Later, a eldery dentist, Alburt Dussel, was invited to share their refuge. The 8 Jews hid in the Secert Annexe for many years. Otto Frank's Dutch friends, brought them food and even gifts. The news in the fall of 1942 was terrifying for the Franks. The roundup of Jews from Holland was proceeding according to plan. While the Franks were in hiding, Germany was at the height of conquest. But of August 4, 1944, the Gestapo penetrated into the Frnak's hiding place. The 8 Jews, together were taken to Gestapo headquaters in Amsterdam. The Franks, Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel were sent to Westbork. Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl was actually the diary of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a girl who lived with her family during the

America's involvement in WWII

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

When war broke out , there was no way the world could possibly know the severity of this guerre. Fortunately one country saw and understood that Germany and its allies would have to be stopped. America's Involvement in World War two not only contributed in the eventual downfall of the insane Adolph Hitler and his Third Reich, but also came at the precise time and moment. Had the united states entered the war any earlier the consequences might have been worse. Over the years it has been an often heated and debated issue on whether the united states could have entered the war sooner and thus have saved many lives. To try to understand this we must look both at the people's and government's point of view. Just after war broke out in Europe, President Roosevelt hurriedly called his cabinet and military advisors together. There it was agreed that the United states stay neutral in these affairs. One of the reasons given was that unless America was directly threatened they had no reason to be involved. This reason was a valid one because it was the American policy to stay neutral in any affairs not having to with them unless American soil was threatened directly. Thus the provisional neutrality act passed the senate by seventy-nine votes to two in 1935. On August 31, Roosevelt signed it into law. In 1936 the law was renewed, and in 1937 a "comprehensive and permanent" neutrality act was passed (Overy 259). The desire to avoid "foreign entanglements" of all kinds had been an American foreign policy for more than a century. A very real "geographical Isolation" permitted the United States to "fill up the empty lands of North America free from the threat of foreign conflict"(Churchill 563). Even if Roosevelt had wanted to do more in this European crisis (which he did not), there was a factor too often ignored by critics of American policy-American military weakness. When asked to evaluate how many troops were available if and when the United States would get involved, the army could only gather a mere one hundred thousand, when the French, Russian and Japanese armies numbered in millions. Its weapons dated from the first World War and were no match compared to the new artillery that Germany and its allies had. "American soldiers were more at home with the horse than with the tank" (Overy 273). The air force

Menschenschreck

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

"If the international financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevizing of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe." Adolf Hitler- Jan 30, 1939 When the Nazi party came to power in January of 1933, it almost immediately began to take hostile measures toward the Jewish people. The government passed special legislation that excluded Jews from the protection of German law. The property of Jews was then legally seized, and concentration camps were set up in which Jews were executed, tortured, or condemned to slave labor. The Nazis organized sporadic and local massacres which occurred in a nationwide program in 1938. After the outbreak of World War II anti-Semitic activity increased dramatically. By the end of the war, millions of Jews and others targeted by the Nazis, had been killed in the Holocaust. The Jewish dead numbered more than 5 million: about 3 million in killing centers and other camps, 1.4 million in shooting operations, and more than 600,000 in Polish ghettos. Who were the men that carried out these terrible murders? One would think them to be savage killers specially selected for their history of brutality and violence. But, in fact, these men were typically normal middle-aged business men. How could these ordinary men be influenced in such a way to allow them to commit such atrocities? The governmental policies, pressures of comrades and individual behaviors helped to transform these men into the mass murderers of European Jews that they soon became. The government and the military were very important to the transformation of these men. The men of the battalions were often told how the German race was the greatest on earth. Their commanding officers continually reminded them that as Germans they had to be strong and ruthless. They were told to project an image of superiority and not to show any mercy on the inferior Jewish race. Anti-Semitism was practiced throughout the government and military. One policy the government continually reinforced was that that the Jews were not even humans. The Jews were often referred to as "wild animals" and given no respect. Some commanders of the Order Police encouraged shooting blindly into the ghettos to try to shoot down Jews for sport. Company recreation rooms were commonly decorated with racist slogans

The effects of the P-51 Mustang in World War II

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

Abstract This paper deals with the contributions of the P-51 Mustang to the eventual victory of the Allies in Europe during World War II. It describes the war scene in Europe before the P-51 was introduced, traces the development of the fighter, its advantages, and the abilities it was able to contribute to the Allies' arsenal. It concludes with the effect that the P-51 had on German air superiority, and how it led the destruction of the Luftwaffe. The thesis is that: it was not until the advent of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter, and all of the improvements, benefits, and side effects that it brought with it, that the Allies were able to achieve air superiority over the Germans. This paper was inspired largely by my grandfather, who flew the P-51 out of Leiston, England, during WW II and contributed to the eventual Allied success that is traced in this paper. He flew over seventy missions between February and August 1944, and scored three kills against German fighters. Table of Contents

Introduction

Reasons for the Pre-P-51 Air Situation

The Pre-P-51 Situation

The Allied Purpose in the Air War

The Battle at Schweinfurt

The Development of the P-51

The Installation of the Merlin Engines

Features, Advantages, and Benefits of the P-51

The P-51's Battle Performance

The Change in Policy on Escort

Fighter Function

P-51's Disrupt Luftwaffe Fighter Tactics

P-51's Give Bombers Better Support

Conclusion

Works Cited Introduction On September 1, 1939, the German military forces invaded Poland to begin World War II. This invasion was very successful because of its use of a new military strategic theory-blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg, literally "lightning war," involved the fast and deadly coordination of two distinct forces, the Wermacht and the Luftwaffe. The Wermacht advanced on the ground, while the Luftwaffe destroyed the enemy air force, attacked enemy ground forces, and disrupted enemy communication and transportation systems. This setup was responsible for the successful invasions of Poland, Norway, Western Europe, the Balkans and the initial success of the Russian invasion. For many years after the first of September, the air war in Europe was dominated by the Luftwaffe. No other nation involved in the war had the experience, technology, or numbers to challenge the Luftwaffe's superiority. It was not until the United States joined the war effort that any great harm was done to Germany and even then, German air superiority remained unscathed. It was not until the advent of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter, and all of the improvements, benefits, and

The Occupation of Japan

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

The occupation of Japan was, from start to finish, an American operation. General Douglans MacArthur, sole supreme commander of the Allied Power was in charge. The Americans had insufficient men to make a military government of Japan possible; so t hey decided to act through the existing Japanese gobernment. General Mac Arthur became, except in name, dictator of Japan. He imposed his will on Japan. Demilitarization was speedily carried out, demobilization of the former imperial forces was complet ed by early 1946. Japan was extensively fire bomded during the second world war. The stench of sewer gas, rotting garbage, and the acrid smell of ashes and scorched debris pervaded the air. The Japanese people had to live in the damp, and col d of the concrete buildings, because they were the only ones left. Little remained of the vulnerable wooden frame, tile roof dwelling lived in by most Japanese. When the first signs of winter set in, the occupation forces immediately took over all the s team-heated buildings. The Japanese were out in the cold in the first post war winter fuel was very hard to find, a family was considered lucky if they had a small barely glowing charcoal brazier to huddle around. That next summer in random spots new ho uses were built, each house was standardized at 216 square feet, and required 2400 board feet of material in order to be built. A master plan for a modernistic city had been drafted, but it was cast aside because of the lack of time before the next winter. The thousands of people who lived in railroad stations and public parks needed housing. All the Japanese heard was democracy from the Americans. All they cared about was food. General MacAruther asked the government to send food, when they refus ed he sent another telegram that said, "Send me food, or send me bullets." American troops were forbidden to eat local food, as to keep from cutting from cutting into the sparse local supply. No food was was brought in expressly for the Japanese durning the first six months after the American presence there. Herbert Hoover, serving as chairman of a special presidential advisory committee, recommended minimum imports to Japan of 870,000 tons of food to be distributed in different urban areas. Fi sh, the source of so much of the protein in the Japanese diet, were no longer available in adequate quantities because

Benito Mussolini's Rise and Fall to Power

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

Benito Mussolini had a large impact on World War II. He wasn't always a powerful dictator though. At first he was a school teacher and a socialist journalist. He later married Rachele Guide and had 5 children. He was the editor of the Avanti, which was a socialist party newspaper in Milan. Benito Mussolini founded the Fasci di Combattimento on March of 1919. "This was a nationalistic, anti liberal, and anti socialist movement. This movement attracted mainly the lower middle class."1 Fascism was spreading across Europe. Mussolini was winning sympathy from King Victor Emmanuel III. Mussolini then threatened to march on Rome. This persuaded King Victor Emmanuel III to invite Mussolini to join a coalition, which strongly helped him gain more power. Benito Mussolini brought Austria on Germany's side by a formal alliance. "In 1937, he accepted a German alliance. The name of this alliance was the Anti Comntern Pact. On April 13, 1937 Benito Mussolini annexed Albania. He then told the British ambassador that not even the bribe of France and North Africa would keep him neutral."2 The British ambassador was appalled and dismayed. On May 28, 1937, Mussolini strongly gave thought to declaring war. He then attacked the Riviera across the Maritime. "On September 13, 1937 he opened an offensive into British-garrisoned Egypt from Libya."3 On October 4, 1937, while the offensive still seemed to promise success, Benito Mussolini met Adolf Hitler at the Brenner Pass, on their joint frontier. "The two of them discussed how the war in the Mediterranean, Britain's principal foothold outside its island base, might be turned to her decisive disadvantage. Hitler suggested to Mussolini that Spain might be coaxed on the axis side, thus giving Germany free use of the British Rock of Gibraltar, by offering Franco part of French North Africa, and that France might be persuaded to accept that concession by compensation with parts of British West Africa".4 Mussolini seemed enthusiastic and very understandable why this was the case, since this scheme included the gaining of Tunis, Corsica, and Nice (annexed by Napoleon III in 1860) from France. Hitler then hurried home to his house in Berlin to arrange visits to Franco and Petan. "Back in the capital Hitler created a letter to Stalin inviting Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, to visit early, when Germany and the U.S.S.R. might then agree among themselves how to profit from Britain not having a defense. A week later, on

Historical Analysis of 'The Painted Bird'

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

An obscure village in Poland, sheltered from ideas and industrialization, seemed a safe place to store one's most precious valuable: a 6-year-old boy. Or so it seemed to the parents who abandoned their only son to protect him from the Nazis in the beginning of Jerzy Kosinski's provocative 1965 novel The Painted Bird. After his guardian Marta dies and her decaying corpse and hut are accidentally engulfed in flames, the innocent young dark-haired, dark-eyed outcast is obliged to trek from village to village in search of food, shelter, and companionship. Beaten and caressed, chastised and ignored, the unnamed protagonist survives the abuse inflicted by men, women, children and beasts to be reclaimed by his parents 7 years later-a cold, indifferent, and callous individual. The protagonist's experiences and observations demonstrate that the Holocaust was far too encompassing to be contained within the capsule of Germany with its sordid concentration camps and sociopolitical upheaval. Even remote and "backward" villages of Poland were exposed and sucked into the maelstrom of conflict. The significance of this point is that it leads to another logical progression: Reaching further than the Polish villages of 1939, the novel's implications extend to all of us. Not only did Hitler's stain seep into even the smallest crannies of the world at that time, it also spread beyond limits of time and culture. Modern readers, likewise, are implicated because of our humanity. The conscientious reader feels a sense of shame at what we, as humans, are capable of through our cultural mentalities. That is one of the more profound aspects of Kosinski's work. It is this sense of connectedness between cultures, people, and ideas that runs through the book continuously. While the "backward" nonindustrialized villages of Poland seem at first glance to contrast sharply with "civilized" Nazi Germany, Kosinski shows that the two were actually linked by arteries of brutality and bigotry. Both cultures used some form of religious ideology to enforce a doctrine of hate upon selected groups whom they perceived to be inferior. Totalitarian rhetoric and Nietzschian existentialism replace a hybrid of Catholicism, which in turn replaces medieval superstition as the protagonist is carried from the innards of village life to the heart of totalitarian power. In the first several chapters of the novel the little protagonist is firmly convinced that demons and devils are part of the tangible, physical world. He actually sees them. They are not mythological imaginings confined

World War 2

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

War is one of the most tragic things in our world today. It is even sadder that usually it comes around at least once in our lifetime. In the 20th century alone we have already had two huge wars. These wars were call the World Wars simply because they involved most of the big countries of the world. Many people have died in these wars.. especially the second World War. That is my focus for this essay. The leader of Germany at the time of WW2 and the person who most think started WW2 was a man named Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler was born in Austria. By the time that World War 1 started in 1914, he was living in Germany. He served well in the German Army and for that he earned a medal for bravery. At the end of the war Hitler decided to take up politics. By 1921 he was already the founding leader of the Nazi party. Hitler was an incredibly racist man and he had a great hate for Jews. By 1933, Hitler gained political power by winning the election. Soon after he made himself absolute dictator, calling himself the Fuhrer which means "Leader". By the end of the 30's he was already sending Jews off too concentration camps to meet a horrible death. I believe that Hitler was one of the greatest causes of World War 2. Although there are many other reasons, he was definitely one of them. Another reason was the Treaty of Versailles. This was the treaty that was signed at the end of World War 1. This treaty outlined the rules that Germany must follow because of their defeat by Britain and France. Many Germans were angered by the treaty, for most of the rules in the treaty were unfair and Germany lost a great amount of wealth. One of the cruelest reasons for the war was Hitler's racist hate for Jews. He would send them off in cattle cars to places called concentration camps were they would be slaughtered by the thousands. World War 2 was huge and involved a lot of countries. There were thousands of battlefronts and warsites. The two main battlefronts were the battle front between Britain and Germany and the battlefront between the Japanese and the Americans. These battlefronts were split up into smaller battlefronts even still. Many lives were lost in the air, on land and in

WW2: The process of superpowerdom

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

The Second World War gave rise to a multitude of new ideas which changed the course of modern society, the idea which has had the greatest impact on the world as a whole is the concept of the superpower nation. To be a superpower, a nation needs to have a strong economy, an overpowering military, immense international political power, and related to this, a strong national ideology. It was this war (WWII), and its results that spawned the formation of superpowers and lead them to experience such a preponderance of power. To understand how the Second World War impacted birth of superpowers it is important to first understand and examine the causes of the war. The United States gained its strength in world affairs from its status as an economic power and as a heavily industrialized nation. In the years preceding the war and the Great Depression, America was the world's largest producer and arguably had the strongest and most stable economy. In the USSR at the same time, Stalin was implementing his 'five year plans' to modernize the Soviet economy. From these situations, similar foreign policies resulted from widely divergent origins. Roosevelt's isolationism emerged from the wide and prevalent domestic desire to remain neutral in any international conflicts. It was widely believed that America entered the First World War simply in order to save its industry's capitalist investments in Europe. Whether this is the case or not, Roosevelt was forced to work with an inherently isolationist Congress, only expanding its horizons after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He signed the Neutrality Act of 1935, making it illegal for the United States to ship arms to the belligerent governments of any conflict. The act also stated that belligerent nations could buy only non-armaments from the US, and even these were only to be bought with cash. In contrast, Stalin was by necessity interested in European affairs, but only to the point of concern to the USSR. Russian foreign policy was fundamentally Leninist in its concern to keep the USSR out of war. Stalin wanted to consolidate Communist power and modernize the country's industry. The Soviet Union was committed to collective action for peace, as long as that commitment did not mean that the Soviet Union would take a brunt of a Nazi attack as a result. Examples of this can be seen in the Soviet Unions' attempts to achieve a mutual

The Sudetenland

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

On January 30, 1933, the Nazis acquired mastery of Germany when Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor. That evening Hitler stood triumphantly in the window of the Reich Chancellery waving to thousands of storm troopers who staged parades throughout the streets of Berlin. The Nazis proclaimed that their Third Reich would be the greatest civilization in history and would last for thousands of years. But the meteoric rise of Hitler and national socialism was followed by an almost equally rapid defeat; the Third Reich survived for a mere twelve years. But one of the main causes of World War II was Hitler's public justification for the dismemberment of the Czech state through either war or diplomacy was the plight of the 3.5 million ethnic Germans the Treaty of Versailles had left inside Czechoslovakia. The main land that Hitler wanted to annex to Germany was that of the Sudetenland, where most of the people living there were of German origin. The land also bordered Germany to the South East, and Germany was prepared to conquer this land at all cost. "And now before us stands the last problem that must be solved and will be solved It (the Sudetenland) is the last territorial claim which I have to make in Europe, but it is the claim from which I will not recede..." - Adolf Hitler, in a speech in Berlin, September 26 1938, just prior to the Munich conference. Most of the German minorities live in Sudetenland, an economically valuable and strategically important area along the Czech border with Germany and Austria. The grievances of the Sudeten Germans against the Czech state had led to the rise of a strong German nationalist movement in the Sudetenland. By the mid -1930's, this movement had the support of almost 70 percent of the Sudeten German population. Their leader, the pro-Nazi Konrad Heinlen, began demanding autonomy for this region Both the real and contrived problems of the Sudeten Germans added credibility to Hitler's charge that they were denied the right of self-determination and lived as an oppressed minority, which he was obligated to defend In the spring of 1938, Heinlein was directed by Hitler to make demands that the Czechs could not accept, thereby giving Germany a reason to intervene. The Czech situation soon turned into an international crisis that dominated the European scene for the rest of that current year. The weekend which began on Friday,

Leaders of World War II

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

In the ancient world, the only way a person could become famous through out the world was to be some sort of king, master warlord, or a descendent of a holy entity. Monarchies, that last lasted long enough, kept the memories of their former leaders alive, conquered peoples never forgot the names of their conquerors, and religions have a knack for constantly worshiping the same divine prophets. Some remain of the ancient celebrities are still famous to this day, many of them now shrouded in the mists of time and have become slightly warped by literature and business. For example, the charitable St. Nicholas, warped by language translations and commercialism, is now a large gift giving elf by the name of Santa Claus. But in this day and age, where anyone can record anything he or she wants to, will any of the present day lords and prophets shine as brightly through the shroud of mythology and time as the ones of old? In 500 years - providing anyone is still alive to care - a few men and women will stand out against the haze of time and represent the twentieth century. If there is a group, among them will be at least man involved in World War II. Roosevelt, Churchill, Tojo and Hitler -especially Hitler - are all candidates for the group because of their involvements in the bloodiest wars of the twentieth century. In this world,blood is a hard thing to forget about. Which ones, and in what light they¹ll be remembered in depends entirely on the biases of historians and the abilities of governments to cover up the embarrassing moments blemishing the memories of their leaders. So if the United States is still around and as powerful as now in five centuries - and hopefully it will - F.D Roosevelt will most likely be one of the mist breakers from the second world war because of the American people¹s great interest in the presidents involved in wars and the governments talent for hiding less than flattering information from the world. Roosevelt¹s involvement in the great World War II allows him to fit ,comfortably, the U.S standard of fighting presidents. Entering the war on the side of the Allies after a sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt became a kind of vengeful hero, fighting the good fight in the name of justice. In so doing he ended

Attack on Poland

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

At daybreak on the first day of September, 1939, the residents of Poland awakened to grave news. A juggernaut force of tanks, guns, and countless grey-clad soldiers from nearby Germany had torn across the countryside and were making a total invasion of the Pole's homelands. Germany's actions on that fateful morning ignited a conflict that would spread like a wildfire, engulfing the entire globe in a great world war. This scenario is many people's conception of how World War II came about. In reality, the whole story is far more detailed and complex. The origins of war can be traced as far back as the end of the first World War in 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles placed responsibility for that terrible war squarely on Germany. Years later, in the Far East, Japanese ambition for territory led the nation to invade Manchuria and other parts of nearby China, causing hostilities to flare in the Pacific Rim. Great Britain, the United States, and many other nations of the world would all be drawn into battle in the years to come, and each nation had it's own reason for lending a hand in the struggle. Although Germany was the major player in World War II, the seeds of war had already been planted in the Far East years before conflict in Europe. On September 18, 1931, the powerful Japanese military forces began an invasion of the region known as Manchuria, an area belonging to mainland China. This action broke non-aggression treaties that had been signed earlier. It also was carried out by Japanese generals without the consent of the Japanese government. In spite of this, no one was ever punished for the actions. Soon after the assault on China, the Japanese government decided it had no choice but to support the occupation of Manchuria. By the next year the region had been completely cut off from China (Ienaga 60-64). Because of the Japanese offensive in China, the League of Nations held a vote in October to force Japan out of the captured territory. The vote was passed, 13 to 1, but Japan remained in control of Manchuria. A second vote, taken in February, 1933, a formal disapproval of the Japanese occupation, was passed 42 to 1. Instead of expelling Japan from the area of Manchuria, it caused the nation to formally withdraw it's membership in the League of Nations the next month