simply.. what was world war two?

Question

i have to learn stuff about world war two. and obviously i know NOTHING about it.

i need a bit of stuff of france's involvement in the war.

Answer 1

~France's involvement was rather insignificant. It took the Wehrmacht all of 39 days to conquer France. After that, France simply provided ground on which battles could be fought, largely without Frenchmen being involved. Chuck DeGaulle did do his thing from the safe confines of his bunker in London and the French troops in Morocco and Algeria did bluster on the beaches before the Brits and Yanks came ashore during Operation Torch but they did lay down their guns rather than shoot them when the invading forces hit the beach. Sorry, France but WW2 (the big one) wasn't one of the banner moments in your history. But you knew that.

That's okay. The myth of the U.S. and Great Britain having much to do with the defeat of the National Socialist is one of the great travesties of history as taught in the West. And anyone with half a brain knows, World War Two was contested on the Eastern front and won by the Red Army. All of the major battles were fought by the best German troops with the best German equipment between the Volga and the Oder, more than 90% of the casualties in the European theater died there and the Soviets won the war there.

John Wayne would agree that the French played no part but neither he nor the mythological history taught in Western schools, particularly in the U.S. dares gives credit where credit is due.

Before you click on that thumbs down button, look at the numbers. The USSR suffered 10,000,000 troop KIA's and 15,000,000 civilian dead against almost 300,000 American dead in Europe and the Pacific combined. At Normandy, all of 380,000 German troops (of which approximately half were not released to join the fight) faced off against the Overlord invasion in which a whopping 1,500 American troops died and those German troops were second and third stringers whose equipment and reserves had been sent East. By contrast, the Soviets took on 1.3 million elite troops at Kursk and less than a month later, met 850,000 more at Smolensk II. As is the U.S. custom, the Army Air Corps bombed a lot of cities and killed a lot of civilians but the ground troops really never engaged a significant or premier foe. But they did do more than the French.


Edit to Mattapan: I acknowledge the usefulness of the US and British bombing. Stalin did too. That's why he helped select the targets. Primaries were oil refineries and depots and aircraft plants. Next were the lines of communication to delay or prevent replenishment of the eastern front. Stalin wanted the railroads taken out first because Hitler just kept throwing men and tanks at him. The old maxim is still true, however: wars are won on the ground. The bombers may soften the way but the infantry decides the outcome. The same goes with supplies. What good is a tank with no crew or a rifle with no one to fire it? Or are you suggesting that the US did it's part by paying the Soviets to die? You might also want to do some checking into the use of air power along the Eastern Front. Surely you don't mean to suggest there was no air cover on both sides during those massive battles do you?

Lend Lease to the USSR was limited. Aid to the Soviets amounted to about 20% of the total and very little of that was in weaponry. (They didn't particularly want our tanks, artillery and small arms - theirs were superior). The trucks and consumer goods and food we sent allowed Stalin to devote his industry to war materials. The USSR was added to the Lend Lease package as an afterthought, long after the aid started pouring into England.

The point of the casualties is that the Red Army faced the bulk of the Werhmacht, both as to quality and quantity. German losses on the Western front were miniscule as compared to the East. If losses are light on both sides, it tells you something about the scale and intensity of the conflict. Likewise, if losses are astronomically high on both sides, it may suggest that the fighting could be a little more intense and on a much larger scale. Check the German casualties in the east vs the west and see what conclusion it brings you to as to where the war was fought the hardest.

The Red Army was engaged in the war far longer than the US. Congress voted to continue the draft by a single vote just months before Pearl Harbor. US troop were among the worst trained and least combat ready in the world. US technology lagged years if not decades behind Germany, the USSR, Japan, the and the UK. That's why it took almost a full year to join the action after war was declared.

Operation Torch, the first US involvement on the ground, didn't happen until November 1942. The landing was in Africa because FDR heeded the advice of Churchill who said that the only force on the planet that could beat the Germans on the continent was the Red Army. The landing was in Morocco and Algeria because no one really believed the Vichy French troops guarding the beaches would fight. They didn't. Since the British had pretty much taken the Italians out of play, Hitler put together the Afrika Corp to bail Mussolini out. He did not send his best, or even second best troops to Africa, and he did not send his best, second best or even third best general to lead them. Rommel was good, but Hitler had several far better. They were in the East where they were needed.

There were only 22,000 German troops at Kasserin Pass. Only 188,000 of the Afrika Corps were at El Alamein II. Rommel's troops and Rommel's commanders were far from the cream of the Wehrmact. When small armies clash, casualties are light. By contrast, during Operation Mars the Soviets had 335,000 men killed (10% more than the total US losses in Europe and the Pacific combined throughout the entire war) over a span of three weeks when the Russian winter destroyed Khukov's logistics. Had Mars succeeded, the war may have been over a year sooner. Uranus resulted in the encirclement and surrender of Paulus and the entire Sixth Army. Had the weather not prevented the Soviet attacks, the outcome of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter may well have been the annihilation of all of Army Group Center. Even having suffered one of the most monstrous defeats in the annals of warfare, though, Zhukov and Mars did save Moscow

The best German units were sent to the Volga. The biggest battles involving the most troops, and the best troops with the best equipment and the best leadership were on the eastern front. Most of the key battles of the war were fought in Russia. Stalin would have won without the western front being opened, though it may have taken longer. The war was decided on the Eastern Front. Period. In spite of American movies, the numbers speak for themselves.

Did the US and British (and the other allies, including the French) help? Of course they did. Did the Red Army shoulder most of the load? There can be no question.

I've seen Enemy at the Gates. It did a great injustice to soldiers on both sides. I watched it for entertainment. I get my history through research. War history is best learned by analyzing battle plans and tactics and reading first hand accounts from the events, preferably from the grunts as well as the brass and from both sides. As for Stalingrad, which was more than a contest between a couple snipers, I've read volumes. If you think the combined US British effort in WWII comes close to what the Red Army did, so should you.

Sorry you look with such disdain on the cossack hordes. If you think the Red Army was ill-equipped, poorly trained and poorly led, you can never begin to understand what occurred on the Russian front. Stalin insisted on an Anglo-American no bomb/no fly zone anywhere near his armies because he didn't want to lose them to friendly fire as they drove the Wehrmact back across the Ukraine to the Oder and into Berlin. He had his own air support and, taking on about 80% of the entire German Army, his incompetent rabble was doing more than fine.

Cambridge is right, too. Compared to the US, France did suffer significant casualties. 340,000 KIA and 470,000 civilian dead. That's almost 3% of Soviet losses, and about 7% of Germany's. That's about 10% of Poland's losses and less than half of Yugoslavia's and almost 90% of Rumania's. But it does put France well ahead of the US and the UK. That'll happen when the battles are fought on your own turf.

What is all this resistance to the facts and to acknowledging who really fought the bulk of the war and who won it? Is the brainwashing about the "Evil Empire" really that deeply imbedded? It's okay, folks. Stalin was our ally at the time. Giving credit to the USSR won't make you rot in hell, really. If you don't realize what the Soviet contribution was, it's time you got your history from the books rather than from Hollywood, Audie Murphy and John Wayne.

Answer 2

In the early 30's, the US, UK, and Russians were all chilled, after the end of the first World War. Germany was rallying behind a man named adolf hitler because of his strong nationalism, and leadership skills. Germany, in a democratic vote in Parliament, gave hitler and the nazi party complete controll of the country. hitler then led his troops around Europe invading areas by using blitzkrieg (fast) war methods, and the US, UK, and France did nothing about it. This is called appeasement. Then war broke out all over Europe, while the US stayed out of the war. France was invaded by Germany, but eventually was liberated again. A few years later, Russia grew stronger and lead a defeat over Germany. Meanwhile Japan, in one of the most impressive and strategic military attacks plans ever, bombed Pearl Harbor. The US enters the war on the side of the Allies and they defeat Germany and Japan. Tension built between the US and Russia, and a beaten Japan is refusing to surrender, so as a method of ending the war, and as a message to Russia, the US dropped nuclear bombs on Japan and ends the war completely.

Answer 3

"France's involvement was rather insignificant."

Not true, In both wars France lost huge numbers of men - and to make that statement really undermines the hard work of the French Resistance. The bravery of these people - many of whom died was huge.

While you are at it I think you'll find the (British) SOE made a huge contribution and the British discovery of the Enigma machine was pretty important too I think you'll find - pretty darned important indeed.

Answer 4

Global War. French part in it Machinot Line Germans went right around it took over France. Vichy government helped Germans kill jews. French Police helped. Other people hid jews at risk to selves. Also of note Bushes current war has been called A Global War On Terror.Since WW2 was global could call Bush's War WW3. Could also call it Terrorist War 1. If you consider acronym War On Terror could spell T.W.I.T. Think of acronymG.W.O.T. could stand for Wot do we believe in Greed,Torture,and Corporate, Terror,Greed Torture,Oil, T.W.O.T. Back to WW2 Germans,took over Poland all of it in a Blitzkrieg air,tank,infantry combo.took over most of Europe, Bombed Britain,invaded Africa, invaded Russian and were eventually defeated by The Red Army from one direction Allies from the other in Gerrmany.

Answer 5

bcptm,
You way understate the role and importance of the United States in the defeat of Germany. Without convoys of US and Allied shipping to Murmansk and Archangel, where are the Russian hordes? As for Soviet casualties, for insights into how they occurred, see Enemy at Gates. Ill equipped untrained hordes on a bayonet charge into massed well armed German forces. Yes, battles like Kharkov are unknown in the West but resulted in mass destruction of the German Army. But those massed battles were unnecessary in the West. Thanks to tac air. A tank is an impressive weapon to an infantryman or another tanker, it is a target to a fighter bomber.

Answer 6

There really is nothing simple about any war.

Here are some sites that I hope will help you understand.
Good luck and Season's Greetings from Australia.

THE FRENCH RESISTANCE
DURING WORLD WAR II
http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/webquests/olejniczek/index.html

France, Memory, and
The Second World War
http://www.ralphmag.org/AZ/vichy-france.html

Answer 7

it is considered as an extension of World War 1. france was conquered by germany and the biggest invasion , as what have others said, happened there which is the invasion of normandy.

Answer 8

the fallout as result of the vicious nature of the treaties the french demanded at the end of the first world war.France demanded that Germany be ground into the dust,but not taking into account that Germany might find it's way back again.

Answer 9

france got into the war with britain when germany invaded poland
and france was quickly overtakne by germany and germany named it vinchy france
eventually the allies libertaed france and france was back in the war
and aslo the largest invasion took place in france
the invasion of normandy

Answer 10

You need to read your text book in order to learn. Here are some links to help you with your research. I also strongly recomend you watch the movies Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Longest Day, & Midway.

Answer 11

The sequel to WW1 but bigger, better and bloodier, and in color.