introduction

1.
The period between the two world wars
2.
World War II begins
3.
Western Front: 1940
4.
Operation Barbarossa: Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union
5.
Japan escalates its war with China
6.
Turning the tide: Fall 1942–Spring 1944
7.
Domestic situations and technological and medical developments in each country
8.
Allied victory: 1944–45

conclusion
Reading Guide/Translator's Note/Map List

Germany started World War II first.

Regarding the subject of the war, the author first assumes that while there has been ongoing debate over who was responsible for starting World War I, few people disagree that Germany started World War II.
Another thing is that, while it is true that Japan deliberately joined the war started by Germany in 1939 in December 1941, Japan's decision to do so was by no means made in advance.
Immediately after the war began, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand entered the war as Allied powers, and South Africa joined shortly thereafter.
French and British colonial states also participated in the war from the beginning.
Wars at sea have been fought all over the world since the beginning.
Hitler, who viewed the occupation of Poland as a necessary prerequisite for attacking France and Britain, intended to fight only against Poland first.
Since Hitler had scheduled the invasion of Poland for the fall, he expected that a full-scale counteroffensive by Western countries would not be possible until after the winter.
Moreover, he believed that an open alliance with Italy or negotiations with Japan would be the only way to discourage Britain and France from intervening.
However, due to issues such as the Manchurian puppet state and the Nomonhan incident, Japan had no capacity to worry about other issues.
From Germany's perspective, the obvious alternative to negotiating with Japan was the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union sought to gain large territorial gains in Poland and could also help Germany bypass the blockade if it went to war with the Western powers.

Battle of Britain: Germany's first major defeat

The fighting, later called the Battle of Britain, took place from late June to early August 1940.
It was the first major defeat Germany had ever suffered.
Although both sides suffered heavy losses, the British Air Force, which enjoyed popular support, could not hastily choose peace while giving in to excessive demands.
The Luftwaffe bombed British cities throughout the winter, but failed to break British morale.
Rather, it boosted the fighting spirit of the British army, which was reorganizing and rearming.
The British also created commando units to raid German-held coasts.
Meanwhile, in 1940, Hitler finally postponed his invasion of the Soviet Union.
Large German forces had to be moved from the west to eastern Germany and the already occupied areas of Poland, equipment had to be repaired and secured, and transport and storage facilities had to be improved in the eastern areas where large numbers of troops were stationed and supplies were to be supplied to the armies advancing eastward.
Although these essential preparations were finally completed by the end of July 1940, the approaching winter made it too late to launch an invasion, so Hitler postponed it until the spring of 1941.

The Allies demanded Japan's surrender at Potsdam.

In July 1945, in Potsdam, the Allied Powers demanded the Japanese government's surrender.
However, when this demand was rejected, US President Truman, with the prior consent of the British and Soviet governments, decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan.
Japan, believing that the Allies would withdraw their demand for surrender if it showed a willingness to incur 20 million casualties in the defense of its home islands, tried, but failed, to get the Soviet Union to support the armistice and side with the Axis powers.
The Japanese leadership remained unmoved even in the face of massive air raids by US aircraft, most of which took off from the Mariana Islands.
The air raids destroyed most of Japan's major cities and caused heavy casualties, especially in Tokyo, but the second nuclear attack caused divisions in the Imperial Council.
The Allied Powers believed that this nuclear bomb could kill all or nearly all of the people living on the Japanese mainland, and therefore there was no need to attack.
The Japanese government ultimately decided that surrender was better and abandoned its defense plan.
“In this situation, perhaps influenced by advice expressing concern about the possibility of internal unrest and the possibility of the Soviet Union entering the Pacific War, Emperor Hirohito personally gave the order for surrender.”

The advent of the nuclear bomb and the mass migration of populations

The author estimates that about 60 million people died in World War II, most of them civilians.
25 million people died in the Soviet Union and at least 15 million in China.
But no country has suffered as much destruction, plunder, and mass murder as Poland.
Mass destruction and economic chaos occurred around the world.
New weapons, such as the newly developed German V-2 ballistic missile and the American nuclear bomb, raised concerns that a subsequent war between the great powers could bring about the end of humanity.
World War II brought about massive population movements.
Some Eastern Europeans were reluctant to return to their Soviet-controlled homelands, and Polish Jewish survivors, finding their return unwelcome or even dangerous, preferred to emigrate to Palestine.
Millions more Europeans were forcibly relocated along the new borders drawn by the victorious powers.
On the one hand, the Allies faced the problem of dealing with war criminals, while the newly liberated countries faced not only the problem of large-scale reconstruction but also the problem of dealing with those who had served the occupying forces.
World War II also brought about the development of the jet engine, which transformed future air transport, as well as new pharmaceuticals and accelerated the process of decolonization.