World War II
The Second World War (also known as World War II and WWII) was the largest military conflict in human history. Some consider it to have begun with the Japanese operations in China in 1931. Others claim that it was essentially a continuation of the first World War. However, the conflict is generally recognized as running from September 12, 1939, to September 2, 1945. In the war over sixty million people died. The war also saw the development and deployment of the first atomic weapons, as well as the development of Combined Arms tactics. As it is such a significant part of modern history and due to a high level of interest in military history, the Second World War is a hot subject for debate among SD.net's population.
Causes
The seeds of the conflict were sewn in 1919, with the Versailles Treaty. By the terms of this treaty, Germany was forced to accept all responsibility for the start of the First World War and was required to pay extensive reparations, reduce its military to a standing army of 100,000 men, and meet various other requirements. None of the provisions of the treaty were popular with the German populace. At the time of the armistice ending WW1, Germany still had armies in the field, and Germany proper had never been invaded. This led to the dolschtosslegende (literally: myth of the stab in the back), the popular belief that Germany was not so much defeated as betrayed by her political leadership.
The European Theater
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The Pacific Theater
During the 1930s, the Empire of Japan engaged in several campaigns of expansion in Eastern Asia, most notably China. Such activity resulted in international condemnation and soured relations between Japan and the United States.
On December 7th, 1941 a carrier group of the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack against the United States Naval base in Pearl Harbor.
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World War 2 in Popular Culture
- World War 2 is a common setting for FPS games
- World War 2 is among the most common settings for alternate history Fiction and discussion