World War Ii Essay Research Paper World

World War Ii Essay, Research Paper

World War II, was a global military conflict that, in terms of lives lost and material destruction, was the most devastating war in human history. Military operations in World War I were conducted primarily on the European continent. But World War II included gigantic skirmishes not only in Europe but in Asia, Africa, and the far-flung islands of the Pacific as well. “Part of the catastrophe is indicated by total battle deaths: 16,698,775 soldiers, sailors, and airmen gave their lives (Reeder 3).” Its conduct strained the economical capabilities of the major nations and left many countries on the edge of disintegration. It began in 1939 as a European conflict between Germany and an Anglo-French coalition but eventually widened to include most of the nations of the world. It ended in 1945, leaving a new world order dominated by the United States and the Russia. “The second World War was born of imperialism (Lyons 1).” The pursuit of the highest possible profits had often before driven the imperialists into wars of plunder. The greatest imperial powers aimed to seize territory that did not belong to them, to enslave the people of other countries and to dominate the world.More than any previous war, World War II involved the commitment of nations entire human and economic resources, the blurring of the differentiation between combatant and noncombatant, and the expansion of the battlefield to include all of the enemy’s territory. The most substantial element of its outcome was the industrial capacity and personnel. In the last stages of the war, two radically new weapons were introduced: the long-range rockets and the atomic bomb. However, the war was fought with the same or improved weapons of the types used in World War I. The greatest advances were in aircraft and tanks. But, the three major powers had been unsatisfied with the outcome of World War I. Germany, the principal defeated nation, bitterly resented the territorial losses and reparations payments imposed on it by the Treaty of Versailles. Italy, one of the victors, found its territorial gains far from enough either to offset the cost of the war or to satisfy its ambitions. Japan was also a victor in the war. “The moment had come when in the long, romantic history of Japan the most fearful plunge was to be made (Churchill 149).” And this plunge would be an attack on Pearl Harbor. But Japan was still very disconsolate about its failure to gain control of China.

We, the United States of America as a whole, learned a lot from World War II. And as a result of this war, we have now come a long way in technology and enhanced it nearly over one hundred percent. An example would be nuclear warheads and the atomic bomb. But, the United States had lessons to learn from World War II as well. No country should invade another country for the sole reason of power. And this is exactly what Hitler tried to do. But, these horrendous acts would eventually involve and affect everyone everywhere. For instance, take the invasion of Germany into Poland. After the news got out that there was something vile going on in Poland, almost every country knew about it and began to try to get rid of Hitler and his followers (Nazis) as quickly as possible, including the United States. Ethnic cleansing, also known as genocide, should be prohibited everywhere as well. This is another great example for what the Nazis did to the Jews. Not only did it increase the rage in the Jews, but many nations of the world got involved, as said earlier. Another substantial lesson to be learned is that interfering with other countries and their wars can become very harmful to not only the United States, but other countries as well. If we just go into their country and start fighting, the country that we are trying to defend would think that we are the opposing side. In which case, they will consider us a major priority. Meaning, they would want to get rid of us first. An example of this would be the Kosovo bombing that is currently taking place. We are interfering with the war between the Albanians and the Serbs. So the Albanians think that we are the enemies and should get rid of us beforehand. Lastly, war should be avoided as much as possible. First of all, it creates a tremendous mess just to try to get the enemy to sign a peace treaty. Then everyone (meaning the countries), begins to bomb the enemy. It does not only affect the countries involved, but it affects a lot of innocent people as well. As a result of war, many innocent people suffer the consequences and meet death well before they are supposed to, especially women and children. They also lose their homes and sometimes their loved ones. This is primarily why war should be avoided and used only when necessary.