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Photographer: Mike Wintermantel
Taken: May 14, 2014
Caption: The War Begins
Additional Description: In Germany, unresolved grievances resulting from the negotiated end of World War I contributed to the rise of Adolph Hitler and control of the government by his Nazi Party. Having re-armed fully, Germany marched unopposed into Austria in 1938 and seized control of Czechoslovakia later that year. But not until after the invasion of Poland in 1939 did England and France begin their military resistance to the continuing aggression of Germany and its Axis ally, Italy.

The war in Europe began poorly for the Allies. Facist armies swept eastward across Poland occupied Norway and The Netherlands, defeated English and French forces in Belgium and France, and moved south to control North Africa. Britain avoided invasion only by heroically maintaining air supremacy over the English Channel. And it fought virtually alone until mid-1941 when Germany attacked Russia in violation of a treaty between those nations.

In Asia, events involving Japan were eerily similar to those occurring in Europe. That fuel-starved nation began its imperialistic march in 1931 by seizing Manchuria for its abundant coal and oil reserves. Soon, much of China was under the invaders' control. In 1941, Japan occupied Indochina, announced an alliance with Germany and Italy, and laid plans both to expand its military presence deep into the Pacific and limit America's capacity to interfere as those operations were carried out.
Submitted: May 14, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Database Locator Identification Number: p273291
File Size: 1.759 Megabytes

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