Churchill Crossing the Rhine
Churchill Crossing the Rhine
 bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Germany, updated by RAC 20 Sep 2020.   Many webpages are incomplete.

Links to BigPigeon's high-level WW II - Germany webpages: Click on The Mediterranean Theater and The European Theater above to see remaining webpages.

WW II - Germany - Overview

The European portion of World War II  was fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Axis nations, headed by Germany and the Allied nations, the Allied Big Three being England, Russia and the United States. Russia entered the war in June 1941 and the United States in December 1941. American ground operations in the war with Germany occurred in two areas, the Mediterranean Theater and the European Theater.

WW II - Germany - the major players
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Axis powers in Europe:
  • Germany - led by a talented fanatic, Adolph Hitler, who dominated the Axis alliance.
  • Italy, Germany's major European ally, switched sides in 1943 after Italy's long-term dictator, Benito Mussolini, was forced from power.
  • Not formally in the Axis but supported most goals and often supplied troops: Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, Slovakia, Vichy France, Croatia, and for a time Finland. All these countries abandoned their alliances with Germany before World War II ended.
Allied powers in Europe:
  • Great Britain and the British Commonwealth and Empire.
  • The Soviet Union (from June 1941), was also referred to as the U.S.S.R. and Russia, and was led by Josef Stalin, who in some ways was even more ruthless than Hitler. Germany and the Soviet Union formed an ad hoc alliance in August 1939, before World War II began with the invasion of Poland. The Soviet Union then joined the German War when invaded by Germany in June 1941. The Soviet Union suffered the most casualties, both military  and civilian.
  • The United States, whose active participation in the War with Germany began with a delaration of war by Germany in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
  • Various groups in exile, especially Free French and Polish.
WW II - Germany - the fronts

In Winston Churchill's mind, front number one was the Atlantic Ocean, where the Battle of the Atlantic raged from 1939 to 1945, pitting German submarines against the Allied shipping essential to the survival of the British Isles. The Battle of the Atlantic climaxed with a shift in favor of the Allies in early 1943.
War with Germany - the Major Ground Fronts:
  • Germany & Russia --> Poland, Sep '39.
  • Germany --> Norway & Denmark, Apr '40.
  • Germany --> France & neighbors, May & Jun '40.
  • Germany & Italy --> Yugoslavia & Greece Spr '41.
  • Germany & her allies --> Russia '41 & '42.
  • in NE Africa: Italy & Germany <--> England, '40-'42.
  • in east Europe: Russia --> Germany & her allies, '43-'45.
  • in NW Africa: England & US --> Germany & Italy, '42-'43.
  • in Italy: Western Allies --> Germany, '43-'45.
  • in west Europe: Western Allies --> Germany, '44-'45.
World War II in Europe
World War II in Europe
The strategic air war, which can be considered a front in the War with Germany, was fought over German-occupied territory by British and American bombers against German fighter aircraft and ground anti-aircraft fire.
Sources for the WW II - Germany webpage:
  • The webpage header photo, Churchill Crossing the Rhine, is courtesy of the National Archives. It shows British Prime Minister Winston Churchill leaving a landing craft having just crossed the Rhine River south of Wesel on 25 May 1945. The previous day Allied forces had performed a massive river crossing in the area. The heart of Germany now lay open to the Allied armies. Many would still die but the last line of resistance had been breached.
  • The World War II in Europe map is courtesy of emapshop.com.