World War II Resource page

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World War II Resource page

Quotes from World War II

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. - Winston Churchill, about R.A.F fighter pilots.

We no longer demand anything, we want war. - Germany's foreign minister, August 1939.

We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender. - Winston Churchill.

The world must know what happened, and never forget. - General Eisenhower, while visiting nazi death camps, 1945

Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue - Admiral Nimitz.

We are not retreating -- we are advancing in another direction. General Douglas MacArthur

Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency; we are winning. - Colonel David M. Shoup (Tarawa, November 21, 1943)

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. General Dwight D. Eisenhower

I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, upon learning of the success of the attack on Pearl Harbor

Today we rule Germany, tomorrow, the world. - Adolf Hitler

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved a vast number of the world's nations. Two opposing military alliances were formed called the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries.

The war began for China in 1931, when Japan invaded northeastern China. By 1938 Japan occupied much of China and had taken Nanking, capital of China, where Japanese troops killed more than 42,000 civilians.

The war began for Europe in 1939, when Germany invaded Poland.

The war began for the United States on December 7, 1941 after the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was attacked. Three days after Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

Adolf Hitler committed suicide on 30 April, 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin.

The war in Europe ended in May 1945 and in the Pacific in August 1945.

Japanese officials signed the surrender document on the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Harbor September 2, 1945.

Allied Commanders and Leaders

Joseph Stalin

Franklin Roosevelt

Winston Churchill

Chiang Kai-shek

Soviet Union - Joseph Stalin

United States - Franklin Roosevelt

United Kingdom - Winston Churchill

Republic of China - Chiang Kai-shek

Military dead was over 16,000,000, Civilian dead over 45,000,000 , Total dead over 61,000,000 (1937–45)

Axis Commanders and Leaders

Adolf Hitler

Hirohito

Benito Mussolini

Nazi Germany - Adolf Hitler

Empire of Japan -Hirohito

Kingdom of Italy - Benito Mussolini

Military dead over 8,000,000, Civilian dead over 4,000,000, Total dead over 12,000,000 (1937–45)

Theatres

European Theatre

Phony War

Invasion of Denmark and Norway April–June 1940

Battle of France May–June 1940

Battle of Britain July–October 1940

Western Front 1944–1945

Battle of Normandy June–August 1944

Northern France Campaign July–September 1944

Southern France Campaign August–December 1944

Battle of Siegfried Line August–December 1944

Central Europe Campaign March–May 1945

Mediterranean, African and Middle East Theatre

East African Campaign

North African Campaign

Western Desert Campaign

Tunisia Campaign

Invasion of Yugoslavia April 1941

Battle of Greece October 1940 to April 1941

Battle of Crete May–June 1941

World War II in Yugoslavia April 1941 to May 1945

Anglo-Iraqi War

Syria-Lebanon campaign

Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran

Italy July 1943-May 1945

Pacific Asian Theatre

Sino-Japanese War

American-British-Dutch-Australian Command

Pacific Theater of Operations

Pacific Ocean Areas

South West Pacific Area

South-East Asian Theatre

Burma Campaign

China Burma India Theatre

Japan

Soviet Manchurian Campaign 1945

Other Theatres

American Theater

Attacks on Australia

Arctic and Antarctica

West Africa 1940

Battle of Madagascar 1942

Naval Wars

Battle of the Atlantic

Arctic Convoys - operation Rösselsprung

Battle of the Mediterranean

Battle of the Indian Ocean

Air Wars

Battle of Britain

Strategic Bombing During World War II

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

World War II alliances

1. Neutral
2. Japanese Empire and puppet states
3. USSR and satellites
4. Western Allies
5. Dominions of Western Allies
6. Colonies and occupied territory of Western Allies
7. Eastern Allies
8. Axis Powers
9. Colonies and occupied territory of Axis
10. Vichy France and colonies (officially neutral but a client state of Axis Germany)

In a forest of the Ardennes region in Belgium, Luxembourg, and France German troops began an offensive against very surprised American Soldiers, December 16, 1944, This was called the Battle of the Bulge also knowely (Ardennes Counteroffensive. In the battle, German troops were able to push through the American (Allied) line. This created an image of a bulge in the Allied Defensive lines. pushed through an Allied line, creating a bulge in the Allied defensive lines. This continued until Jan. 25, 1945 (through Christmas and New Years).

This battle was the largest on the European western front, with 1/10 American combat casualties over the entire war. These soldiers spent the 1044 Christmas in zero degree weather. Their feet were buried in knee deep snow. Their Christmas Dinner was very limited rations. Their families in

Cpl. Frank D. Vari huddled in a foxhole for his Christmas Eve with shells exploding all night. His words were "we heard the guns firing and the shells were landing at the same time, since they were close. The German's had surrounded the place. " By Christmas Day, when he could see, there in the valley was a little village with a church steeple when the sun rose. clear skies allowed US planes to reinforce soldiers along the front. That break in the weather giving clear skies saved Vari’s unit.The planes could fly over and drop supplies. Soldiers from the Third United States Army had been supplied with a copy of Gen. George Patton’s Christmas Prayer of 1944.

• Fold3 Christmas during the Battle of the Bulge Fold3.com

Resources

• Fold3
• Personnel not recovered
• World War II Records - Selected National Archives Resources
• World War II Regiments and Military men
• Cyndi's List - World War II Records Military, Pension, Burial, Casualties
• National Archives - Pictures of World War II
• Fold3 - Japanese Air Target Analyses
• Australian War Memorial - Personal service records - countries other than Australia
• London Public Library - Military records
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
• Fold3 - WWII Allied Military Conferences

• http://www.rafcommands.com Research - English, Canadian, Polish, Czech and they are full of knowledge and resources and extremely helpful. Any Air Force queries are welcome.

• http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/ Research - English, Canadian, Polish, Czech and they are full of knowledge and resources and extremely helpful. Any Air Force queries are welcome.

• Battle of the Bulge

Australia

• National Archives of Australia - Army – World War II: 1939–45
• World War Two Nominal Roll -
• Australia War Memorial - Personal service records: Australian service
• Australia's War 1939-1945 - Australians in World War II
• Royal Australian Air Force - Air Force Service Records
• It's an Honour -
• Australian War Memorial - Units Second World War, 1939-1945
• Military Historical Society of Australia - links to other sites relating to military forces and military history

Canada

• The Military Museums.ca - Canadian Veterans Service Records
• Library and Archives Canada - Second World War: 1939-1945
• Library and Archives Canada - Service Files of the Second World War - War Dead, 1939-1947
• Veteran Affairs Canada
• Family Search - Canada Military Records
• Maple Leaf Up - How to Research Information on Canadian Participation in WW2
• RCAF Association - RCAF Personnel – 1939-1949
• www.rhli.ca - links to Government of Canada Services
• Family History Alive.com - Canadian Military Records World War I and II
• Vancouver Public Library - Military Records - World War II
• Haze Gray.org - World War II Canadian Ship Listing 1931-1945
• Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan - Military Records

France

• France crashes - Crashes 1935-1945 can change to English version
• Family Search - France Military Records
• www.lesmortsdanslescamps.com - in memory of the fallen of the 1939-1945 war.
• The National Archives - Deaths in the First and Second World Wars
• World War II Database - the French Resistance

Italy

• Family Search - Italy Military Records
• World Vital Records - Italy Military records
• National Archives Australia - World War II internee, alien and POW records held in Sydney
• Map Archive - Collection of Italian Military records, 1935-1943
• Italiamerica.org - Italian Military records
• Forces War Records - Italian Prisoner of War Camp records

Japan

• Fold3 - Photos - WW II Japanese
• Combined Fleet.com - Imperial Japanese Navy Page
• www.theatlantic.com - The Radio Broadcast That Ended World War II
• www.janm.org - Chronology of WW II Incarceration
• Find my Past - The history of Japanese-Americans WWII Relocation Files
• Japan Center for Asian Historical Records - Introduction of released Documents on the end of the Pacific War
• Data.Gov - Records About Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II

Germany

• Family Search.org - World War II, 1939 to 1945 many German records were destroyed in World War II
• National Archives - Captured German and Related Records on Microform in the National Archives
• Deutsche Dienststelle - list on their records.They include personnel documents, listings, documents on military losses and a register containing over 18 million soldiers from World War II - in German
• www.genealoger.com - German Military Records
• Hitler News cloudworth.com - World War II records and Nazi Archives
• Fold3 - WWII Captured German Records
• Jewish Gen - The "Captured German Records" Collection

Great Britain

• National Archives.gov.uk - Second World War
• Forces War.co.uk - WW2 Military Records
• Imperial War Museums - Where to Find Army Service Records
• BBC Family History - Researching Military Records
• Who do you think you are Magazine.com - Online resources
• GOV.UK - Get a copy of military service records
• Cora Web.com.au - United Kingdom - Military records
• Manchester.gov.uk - Military Records: First World War

United States

• Family Search - World War II United States Military Records, 1941 to 1945
• Family Search - United States World War II Service Records
• Military Index - Online World War II Indexes and Records - USA
• Fold3 - Pearl Harbor Muster Rolls
• National WW II Museum - Research a Veteran
• WW II Enlistment - WW II Army enlistment records
• WW II Army.Mooseroots.com - WW II U.S.A Army enlistment
• National Archives of Australia - United States forces in Queensland, 1941–45
• Fold3 - WWII US Air Force Photos
• USS West Virgina.org - Full Pearl Harbor Casualty List
• American Battle Monument Commission - World War II Burials and Memorializations
• 95th Bombardment Group Personnel, Missions, Flight Records
• 8th Air Force History