|
|
|
Welcome
To
Marion County
Alabama
Genealogy and
History |
WORLD WAR II
DATA
MILITARY
HOME
.
WORLD WAR II GOLD
STARS
WORLD WAR II
- CASUALTIES - ARMY
World War II (1939-1945) (US Entry -
1941-1945) (aka: WWII or WW2), was a military
conflict on a global scale. It involved most of the world's nations and
all the great powers of that era. Eventually 2 military alliances were
formed, the Allies and the Axis (see table below), which would oppose
one another. More than 100 million military person were mobilised making
this the most widespread war in history. Germany and Slovakia's invasion
into Poland on 1 September 1939 seems to be the generally accepted
catalyst for the start of the war. This led to France declaring war on
Germany which was soon followed by countries of the British Empire and
Commonwealth.
Due to Germany's early successful military
campaigns and political treaties, between 1939-early 1941 they had
conquered or subdued most of continental Europe, leaving only the Soviet
Union, Britain, and the Commonwealth able to continue the fight. In June
1941, the European Axis invaded the Soviet Uniion, starting the largest
land theatre of war in history.
In December 1941, Japan, fresh
from their attacks and successes in China, attacked the United States
and European possessions in the Pacific. This marked the inclusion of
the United State into the war and on the side of the Allies. Up to this
point the United States was struggling with political pressures for
Neutrality and / or Isolationsim. After defeating Japan in a series of
navel battles, compounded by devastating defeats of European Axis troops
in North Africa and at Stalingrad, by 1942 the tides were turning. In
1943, another series of German defeats in Eastern Europe, the Allied
invasion of Fascist Italy, and American victories in the Pacific,
resulted in the Axis loss of strategic initiatives and need to execute
strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded
France, whereas the Soviet Union regained all territorial losses and
invaded the territory of Germany and its allies. On 8 May 1945, the war
in Europe ended with the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops. This
resulted in Germany's unconditional surrender. By that time, the
Japanese Navy was defeated by the United States, and invasion of the
Japanese Archipelago ("Home Islands") became imminent. By 1945, the
Allies were victorius over both Germany and Japan.
To the
men and women who served and to their families we honor in the best way
we can - by remembering.
The US Department of Defence and other
sources provides the following US statistics:
- abt 16,113,000 Soldiers deployed over the course
of the conflict
- Some in Combat
- Some at Home
- All Heros
- abt 290,000 Battle Dead
- abt 114,000 Non-battle deaths
- abt 670,000 Wounded (not mortal)
[Source: Wikipedia - World War
II]
| Allies (partial list)
| Axis (partial list
| Comments |
|
United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, China, France,
Yugoslavia, Belguim, Poland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, Netherlands, Greece, Norway
| Germany, Japan, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Bulgaria,
Thailand, Iraq |
Not all participated at the same time. China and Japan were in
fact at war as early as 1939; United States and Soviet Union did not
enter war until 1941 |
Copyright © 2011 Genealogy Trails
All Rights Reserved with Full Rights Reserved for Original
Contributor |
