Articles | Second World War - The European Theater

The European Theater of the Second World War was a large area full of deadly fighting all over Europe from the invasion of Poland by Germany back in 1939 all the way into the end of the war with Germany's unconditional surrender in 1945. Allied forces fought against Germany and the Axis powers in three separate sub-theaters: the Western Front, the Eastern Front, and the Mediterranean.

As a result of Germany's defeat in the first World War, she was humiliated and subjected to war guilt, pay huge war reparations and give up territory. She also suffered with a weakening military and its significant limitations complete with a near-collapse economy. These things ignited political instability and gave Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party much room to influence the events to gain power and control of Germany.

In Italy, the Fascist state that overthrew the government paved the way for Benito Mussolini to come into power. Both parties and leaders shared a common sense of nationalism that guided them in turning their countries into totalitarian states. This prompted Hitler to break away from the influence of the League of Nations and joined Mussolini to form the Berlin Axis. Japan would later announce her entry to the club. Other smaller powers in Europe soon followed suit.

The full-scale war that would soon devour the whole of Europe formally began with Germany invading Poland using Blitzkrieg tactics in September 1, 1939. The act was followed by France and Britain's declaration of war against Germany. As the Polish campaign came to a close, Hitler offered peace overtures to both countries on the basis of recognizing German continental dominance to which the United Kingdom formally refused.

As Germany assumed dominance in all of Northern Europe, many other countries were then drawn into the conflict with three Baltic States forced to allow Russian forces inside their territories. Russia also desired to occupy Finland for strategic purposes. She offered a union agreement that was eventually rejected, prompting Russia to invade Finland. Three months of hard fighting with significant losses forced the Soviet to give up on her invasion campaign, though she gained 10% of Finnish territory with the Moscow Peace Treaty.

Germany's aims of European domination also had her attention turned towards the west. She conducted campaigns in Belgium and all the way to the Netherlands and France. The French for their part made mistakes in defending her territories particularly in the Ardennes. This, together with German superiority in communications and tactics finally had France down on her knees with the surrender of Paris.

This left the British Empire to resist against continuous German advance. She rejected most of German covert attempts for peace. This prompted German forces to amass in Northern France for a possible British Invasion that led to the "Battle of Britain." It was later abandoned because of the failure of German air forces to gain air superiority.

The entry of the United States into the war and the full activation of the Soviet war machine after Germany's failed attempt to conquer her marked the climax of the Second World War that eventually saw the complete defeat of Axis domination in Europe.