Attack on Poland :: World War II History

Attack on PolandAt daybreak on the first day of September, 1939, the residents of Poland awakened to grave news. A road roller force of tanks, guns, and countless grey-clad soldiers from nearby Germany had torn across the countryside and were making a total invasion of the Poles homelands. Germanys actions on that fateful morning ignited a conflict that would spread like a wildfire, engulfing the entire globe in a great world war. This scenario is many peoples conception of how World fight II came about. In reality, the whole story is far more minute and complex. The origins of war can be traced as far back as the end of the first World War in 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles put responsibility for that terrible war squarely on Germany. Years later, in the Far East, Japanese ambition for territory led the nation to overrun Manchuria and other parts of nearby China, causing hostilities to flare in the peace-loving Rim. Great Britain, the United States, and many other nations of the world would all be drawn into battle in the years to come, and each nation had its declare reason for lending a hand in the struggle.Although Germany was the major histrion in World War II, the seeds of war had already been planted in the Far East years before conflict in Europe. On September 18, 1931, the powerful Japanese military forces began an invasion of the region know as Manchuria, an area belonging to mainland China. This action broke non-aggression treaties that had been signed earlier. It to a fault was carried out by Japanese generals without the consent of the Japanese government. In contuse of this, no one was ever punished for the actions. Soon after the dishonour on China, the Japanese government decided it had no choice hardly to support the occupation of Manchuria. By the next year the region had been all cut off from China (Ienaga 60-64). Because of the Japanese offensive in China, the conference of Nations held a select in October to force Japan o ut of the captured territory. The vote was passed, 13 to 1, but Japan remained in control of Manchuria. A here and now vote, taken in February, 1933, a formal disapproval of the Japanese occupation, was passed 42 to 1. Instead of expelling Japan from the area of Manchuria, it caused the nation to formally draw off its membership in the League of Nations the next month (Ienaga 66).