Study Guide

Topic: World War ll

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Contents

1. Introduction to Committee
2. Background of World War ll
3. CAUSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
4. Leading to World War 2
5. Outbreak of World War II (1939)
6. World War II in the West (1940-41)
7. Hitler vs. Stalin: Operation Barbarossa (1941-42)
8. World War II in the Pacific (1941-43)
9. Toward Allied Victory in World War II (1943-45)
10. World War II Ends (1945)
11. World War II Battles: Timeline
12. Roles of different Countries in World war ll
13. References

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Introduction to Committee
Crisis committees are fast-paced MUN committees that often emulate small organizations and
boards. Rather than representing a country, delegates take on the role of a character that can range
from an ambassador to a news reporter to a fictional character, depending on the committee. Each
delegate aims to assert their character’s viewpoint and end the conference having amassed the
most social, political, or economic power, indicated by how much of their “out-of-room” comes
“in-room”. Crisis is comprised of two main forums

In crisis committees, delegates write two primary types of documents:

Directives. Much like the working papers and draft resolutions that emerge from GA committees,
directives are composed of sponsors, signatories, and clauses. Crisis notes. These multifaceted
notes drive the flow of committee. Each delegate creates their own story-line The aim of the first
day of committee session is to establish a foundation for the chaos you want to create later in the
conference Over the next few committee sessions, your crisis should move towards a small peak
The day before the conference ends, crisis notes should build and execute the climax of your
storyline Over the weekend, delegates might choose to collaborate on a JPD, or a joint-person
directive. These notes draw from the resources of two or more delegates to increase the likelihood
of executing a difficult event. These notes draw from the resources of two or more delegates to
increase the likelihood of executing a difficult event. When writing these notes, however, proceed
with caution: delegates will write additional crisis notes to take advantage of loopholes in the JPD
and accumulate more power than their co-authors.

Background of World War ll

World War-2 began in 1939 with German aggression on Poland on September 1. Earlier, two
erstwhile enemies namely Germany and Soviet Union had signed a non-aggression pact making
way for Polish partition between two of them. All efforts to reach an understanding between the
Soviet Union on the one hand and Britain and France on the other had proved fruitless. In fact,
secret negotiations were being simultaneously carried on between the Soviet Union and Germany
and also between Britain and Germany. Britain and France took Soviet Union for granted and did
not bother to conclude a military alliance with the latter. This paved the way for Soviet-German
non-aggression pact and German attack on Poland. A few months before the outbreak of World
War 11, both Britain and France and given guarantees to Poland assuring that in case of an
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aggression on it, they would provide her all possible assistance. When all attempts to avoid war
and protect Poland had failed and Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France declared a war
on Germany on September 3, 1939. Soon afterwards, many other countries too declared war on
Germany. Japan had launched aggression against China, but did not declare war either on the
Soviet Union or, for some time, on the USA, Italy remained neutral in the war for some time, but
finally joined the war on the side of Germany in June 1940. After Germany had won decisive
victories against several countries in Europe, it waged a war against the Soviet Union also on
June 22, 1941. This brought USSR into the Allied Camp. With the Japanese bombardment of
Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States finally entered the war. The War was fought
between the Allies (Britain, France, Soviet Union, USA and their friends) on the one side and the
Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) on the other.

CAUSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR ll

The death and destruction of World War I was so horrible that it was called “the war to end all
wars.” Yet, the agreement to end World War I did not resolve the problems of the world and,
according to some historians, lead directly to the next catastrophe: World War II. The major
causes of World War II were numerous. They include the impact of the Treaty of Versailles
following WWI, the worldwide economic depression, failure of appeasement, the rise of
militarism in Germany and Japan, and the failure of the League of Nations.
 Treaty of Versailles
 Failure of Disarmament
 World Economic Crisis
 Japan’s Militarism

Treaty of Versailles
Following World War I, the victorious Allied Powers met to decide Germany’s future. Germany
would be forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had to accept guilt for the war and to
pay reparations. Germany lost territory and was prohibited from having a large military. An
attempt was made in Paris Peace Conference, held after the First World War, in 1919 to establish
an ideal world order based on justice, peace and disarmament. But, what finally emerged in the
shape of treaty of Versailles was a dictated treaty of peace imposed upon Germany. The victor
participants lacked sincerity of purpose. France was out to settle an old score-its 1871 defeat and
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humiliation at the hands of Germany. Normal courtesies expected by the representatives of a
sovereign country were not extended to Germany. The peace conference had begun in January
1919. The treaty of peace was drafted by Allies without any negotiation with the defeated
Germany. On May 7, 1919 Germany was given the draft treaty for its suggestions to be given in
writing within three weeks. The announcement of terms of the treaty resulted in a fierce outburst
of resentment in Germany. Germany denied that it alone was responsible for the war. Germany
raised many objections and suggested modifications but, except for one modification, all the
objections were brushed aside and finally, Germany was made to sign the Treaty of Versailles on
June 28, 1919. Germans called it a “diktat” and could not bear this insult and 1humiliation.
Germany was deprived of all her overseas colonies, and even in Europe her size stood
substantially reduced. Poland, France, Belgium had others gained at her cost. Her army and Navy
were severely curtailed. She was told not to have any air force. Germany was declared guilty of
war crimes and made to promise to pay a massive amount of reparation to the victors. Treaty of
Versailles mutilated and humiliated Germany. Twenty years later, it was the turn of Germany to
take revenge. Hitler came on the center stage, led his proud people to avenge their humiliation
and thus paved the way for the Second World War.

Failure of Disarmament
It was agreed at the Paris Peace Conference that world peace could be ensured only if nations
reduced their armaments to a point consistent with their domestic safety or defense. That means
all weapons of offensive nature were to be destroyed. The task of preparing a plan for reduction
of armaments was entrusted to the League of Nations. The League appointed Temporary Mixed
Commission in 1920 which however could not do any substantial work because France insisted
on, security before disarmament. In 1925 preparatory Commission was instituted. Due to
divergent views of nations that mattered, it could not identify offensive weapons. Finally, without
much preparatory work a Disarmament Conference met at Geneva in February 1932. Once
against mutual distrust and suspicion led to the failure of Conference, after protracted
negotiations. Germany had been disarmed by the Treaty of Versailles. Victor nations were to
disarm later. They, however, never really wanted to disarm. Therefore, in October 1933 Germany
declared that she was leaving both the Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations. Later
in 1935 Germany formally declared that she was no more bound by the military or disarmament
clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. Other countries were already in possession of large quantities
of armaments and big armed forces. German decision heralded a massive armament race which
led to an armed conflict. The failure of disarmament became yet another major cause of Second
World War.
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World Economic Crisis
World economic crisis began in 1929 with sudden stoppage of loans by the American financial
houses to the European countries. Many of them, particularly Germany, were making rapid
industrial progress mostly with the borrowed American money. The crisis had its severe impact
during 1930-32. It adversely affected economies of most countries either directly or indirectly.
Germany proved to be the worst affected country where nearly 700,000 people were rendered
jobless. It was forced to declare that it would not make any more payment of reparation. Out of
the economic crisis of Germany emerged Nazi dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. He became
Chancellor of Germany in 1933, but soon destroyed democracy and established his dictatorship.
Meanwhile, even England had to take some harsh measures like abandoning the gold standard.
Germany, Japan and Italy took advantage of this economic crisis and separately embarked upon
aggressive designs. They set up their fascist Bloc which become largely responsible for the
Second World War.

Japan’s Militarism
In 1931, Japan was hit badly by the economic depression. Japanese people lost faith in the
government. They turned to the army in order to find a solution to their economic problems. In
order to produce more goods, Japan needed natural resources for its factories. The Japanese army
invaded China, an area rich in minerals and resources. China asked for help from the League of
Nations. Japan ignored the League of Nations and continued to occupy China and Korea. As
Japan invaded other areas of South East Asia including Vietnam, the United States grew
concerned about its territories in Asia, such as the Philippines and Guam. Japan felt that its
expansion could be threatened by the United States military and attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
in December 1941. World War II had begun in Asia.

Leading to World War 2

The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time) had greatly destabilized
Europe, and in many respects World War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier
conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment
over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler
and National Socialist German Workers’ Party, abbreviated as NSDAP in German and the Nazi
Party in English.
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After becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing
himself Führer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the “pure”
German race, which he called “Aryan,” Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the
necessary “Lebensraum,” or living space, for the German race to expand. In the mid-1930s, he
secretly began the rearmament of Germany, a violation of the Versailles Treaty. After signing
alliances with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in
1938 and the following year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s open aggression went unchecked,
as the United States and Soviet Union were concentrated on internal politics at the time, and
neither France nor Britain (the two other nations most devastated by the Great War) were eager
for confrontation.

Outbreak of World War II (1939)

In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the German-Soviet
Nonaggression Pact, which incited a frenzy of worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned
an invasion of Poland, a nation to which Great Britain and France had guaranteed military support
if it were attacked by Germany. The pact with Stalin meant that Hitler would not face a war on
two fronts once he invaded Poland, and would have Soviet assistance in conquering and dividing
the nation itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later,
France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Under attack from both sides,
Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over
the nation, according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact. Stalin’s forces
then moved to occupy the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and defeated a resistant
Finland in the Russo-Finnish War. During the six months following the invasion of Poland, the
lack of action on the part of Germany and the Allies in the west led to talk in the news media of
a “phony war.” At sea, however, the British and German navies faced off in heated battle, and
lethal German U-boat submarines struck at merchant shipping bound for Britain, sinking more
than 100 vessels in the first four months of World War II.

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World War II in the West (1940-41)
On April 9, 1940, Germany simultaneously invaded Norway and occupied Denmark, and the war
began in earnest. On May 10, German forces swept through Belgium and the Netherlands in what
became known as “blitzkrieg,” or lightning war. Three days later, Hitler’s troops crossed the
Meuse River and struck French forces at Sedan, located at the northern end of the Maginot Line,
an elaborate chain of fortifications constructed after World War I and considered an impenetrable
defensive barrier. In fact, the Germans broke through the line with their tanks and planes and
continued to the rear, rendering it useless. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated
by sea from Dunkirk in late May, while in the south French forces mounted a doomed resistance.
With France on the verge of collapse, Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini formed an alliance
with Hitler, the Pact of Steel, and Italy declared war against France and Britain on June 10.

On June 14, German forces entered Paris; a new government formed by Marshal Philippe Petain
(France’s hero of World War I) requested an armistice two nights later. France was subsequently
divided into two zones, one under German military occupation and the other under Petain’s
government, installed at Vichy France. Hitler now turned his attention to Britain, which had the
defensive advantage of being separated from the Continent by the English Channel.
To pave the way for an amphibious invasion (dubbed Operation Sea Lion), German planes
bombed Britain extensively beginning in September 1940 until May 1941, known as the Blitz,
including night raids on London and other industrial centers that caused heavy civilian casualties
and damage. The Royal Air Force (RAF) eventually defeated the Luftwaffe (German Air Force)
in the Battle of Britain, and Hitler postponed his plans to invade. With Britain’s defensive
resources pushed to the limit, Prime Minister Winston Churchill began receiving crucial aid from
the U.S. under the Lend-Lease Act, passed by Congress in early 1941.

Hitler vs. Stalin: Operation Barbarossa (1941-42)

By early 1941, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria had joined the Axis, and German troops overran
Yugoslavia and Greece that April. Hitler’s conquest of the Balkans was a precursor for his real
objective: an invasion of the Soviet Union, whose vast territory would give the German master
race the “Lebensraum” it needed. The other half of Hitler’s strategy was the extermination of the
Jews from throughout German-occupied Europe. Plans for the “Final Solution” were introduced
around the time of the Soviet offensive, and over the next three years more than 4 million Jews
would perish in the death camps established in occupied Poland.
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On June 22, 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation
Barbarossa. Though Soviet tanks and aircraft greatly outnumbered the Germans’, Russian
aviation technology was largely obsolete, and the impact of the surprise invasion helped Germans
get within 200 miles of Moscow by mid-July. Arguments between Hitler and his commanders
delayed the next German advance until October, when it was stalled by a Soviet counteroffensive
and the onset of harsh winter weather.

World War II in the Pacific (1941-43)

With Britain facing Germany in Europe, the United States was the only nation capable of
combating Japanese aggression, which by late 1941 included an expansion of its ongoing war
with China and the seizure of European colonial holdings in the Far East. On December 7, 1941,
360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, taking the
Americans completely by surprise and claiming the lives of more than 2,300 troops. The attack
on Pearl Harbor served to unify American public opinion in favor of entering World War II, and
on December 8 Congress declared war on Japan with only one dissenting vote. Germany and the
other Axis Powers promptly declared war on the United States.
After a long string of Japanese victories, the U.S. Pacific Fleet won the Battle of Midway in June
1942, which proved to be a turning point in the war. On Guadalcanal, one of the southern Solomon
Islands, the Allies also had success against Japanese forces in a series of battles from August 1942
to February 1943, helping turn the tide further in the Pacific. In mid-1943, Allied naval forces
began an aggressive counterattack against Japan, involving a series of amphibious assaults on key
Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. This “island-hopping” strategy proved successful, and Allied
forces moved closer to their ultimate goal of invading the mainland Japan

Toward Allied Victory in World War II (1943-45)

In North Africa, British and American forces had defeated the Italians and Germans by 1943. An
Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy followed, and Mussolini’s government fell in July 1943, though
Allied fighting against the Germans in Italy would continue until 1945.
On the Eastern Front, a Soviet counteroffensive launched in November 1942 ended the bloody
Battle of Stalingrad, which had seen some of the fiercest combat of World War II. The approach

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of winter, along with dwindling food and medical supplies, spelled the end for German troops
there, and the last of them surrendered on January 31, 1943.
On June 6, 1944–celebrated as “D-Day”–the Allies began a massive invasion of Europe, landing
156,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, France. In
response, Hitler poured all the remaining strength of his army into Western Europe, ensuring
Germany’s defeat in the east. Soviet troops soon advanced into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary
and Romania, while Hitler gathered his forces to drive the Americans and British back from
Germany in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945), the last major German
offensive of the war.
An intensive aerial bombardment in February 1945 preceded the Allied land invasion of
Germany, and by the time Germany formally surrendered on May 8, Soviet forces had occupied
much of the country. Hitler was already dead, having died by suicide on April 30 in his Berlin
bunker.

World War II Ends (1945)

At the Potsdam Conference of July-August 1945, U.S. President Harry S. Truman (who had taken
office after Roosevelt’s death in April), Churchill and Stalin discussed the ongoing war with
Japan as well as the peace settlement with Germany. Post-war Germany would be divided into
four occupation zones, to be controlled by the Soviet Union, Britain, the United States and France.
On the divisive matter of Eastern Europe’s future, Churchill and Truman acquiesced to Stalin, as
they needed Soviet cooperation in the war against Japan.

Heavy casualties sustained in the campaigns at Iwo Jima (February 1945) and Okinawa (April-
June 1945), and fears of the even costlier land invasion of Japan led Truman to authorize the use
of a new and devastating weapon. Developed during a top secret operation code-named The
Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb was unleashed on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in early August. On August 15, the Japanese government issued a statement declaring
they would accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and on September 2, U.S. General
Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

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World War II Battles: Timeline
This is a timeline of the war's most significant battles.
 Battle of the Atlantic: September 3, 1939 to May 8, 1945
 Battle of Dunkirk from May 26 to June 4, 1940
 Battle of Britain, July 10 to October 31, 1940
 Battle of Crete: May 20 to June 1, 1941
 The Siege of Leningrad: September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944
 Battle of Moscow: October 2, 1941 to January 7, 1942
 Battle of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
 Second Battle of Kharkov: May 12-28, 1942
 Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942
 Battle of the Guadalcanal Campaign: August 7, 1942 to February 9, 1943
 Battle of Stalingrad, August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943
 Operation Torch: November 8-16, 1942
 Battle of Kursk, July 5 to August 23, 1943
 Battle of Monte Cassino: January 17 to May 18, 1944
 Battle of Anzio: January 22 to June 5, 1944
 Battle of the Philippine Sea: June 19-20, 1944
 Battle of Normandy, June 6 to August 30, 1944
 Battle of Leyte Gulf: October 23-26, 1944
 Battle of the Bulge: December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945
 Battle of Iwo Jima: February 19 to March 26, 1945
 Battle of Berlin, April 16 to May 2, 1945
 Battle of Okinawa: April 1 to June 22, 1945
Roles of different Countries in World war ll
United States
The U.S. government initially declared its neutrality in the situation of European conflict in 1939
September 5; however, it soon revised its stance on November 4th to allow for the sales of military
goods. In the 1940s, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a $1.3 billion dollar commitment to aid
U.S. Navy fleet in preparation for possible war. U.S. continued to strengthen the support towards
the Britain and went against the Axis by giving both humanitarian and economic aids. At the
outset, the U.S. seemed to be out of the war as Churchill’s attempt to convince President Franklin
Roosevelt at the August 1941 Atlantic Conference failed. The Atlantic Conference was held to
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compose a charter for the post-war world, and it seemed unlikely that the U.S. would join the
Great Britain. However, U.S. finally decided to get involved in the war after the bombing of the
US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and after four days Hitler declared war on the
US.

Britain
Britain was involved in the World War 2 since the beginning. When Germany invaded one of
Britain’s ally, Poland, on September 1, 1939, Britain declared war against Germany. When
Britain declared war on Natzi Germany, the nations under the British Commonwealth would
follow the same path. In 1939, the British Commonwealth was a powerful nation with political
and economic control of 25% of the world’s population, and 30% of its land mass. This meant
that the contribution of the British Empire and the Commonwealth in terms of manpower and
weapons was crucial to the Allied war effort.

France
France also declares war against Germany on September 1, 1939, with Britain. On May 10, 1940,
however, German began invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Because France was
taken aback by Germany’s advance through Ardennes Forest, the core of French army was sent
to Belgium. After resisting in Belgium and suffering from the Luftwaffe bombing of Paris, the
final line of France’s defense fell on June 12. In an immediate aftermath, French was shocked.
The Nazi government had created a Vichy Government in France, and many French people were
disappointed in their own government. On June 18th, 1940, Charles de Gaulle sparked people’s
resistant spirit against the Germans. Now called The French Resistance movement, it consisted
of mostly anti-German, anti-communist groups, and some groups loyal to de Gaulle or fighting
for independence. By 1941, the resistance was getting more organized; it began joining forces
with Britain, later establishing Central Intelligence and Operations Agency. Throughout the war,
they would continue to be vital forces in fighting back Germany.

Russia
Russia, also called Soviet Union or USSR during that period, was in the opposite position as
Germany during the Spanish Civil War. Therefore, it surprised the surrounding nations when it
signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Germany on August 29, 1939, secretly promising the

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arrangements of Eastern Europe with-in their “sphere of influence.” When Germany began WWII
by attacking Poland on September 17th, 1939, the Soviets initially started on the side of Germany.
It signed a peace treaty with Japan, not wishing to continue more fights within Siberia. Also
between 1939 to 1940, the “Winter War” between Russia and Finland caused Russia to be banned
from The League of nations. Then, on June 22, 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa
against Russia, invading its cities and major fronts. In July, the encirclement of Russia by
Germany was complete, thus really beginning the long, cold fights of the Eastern Front. The
warfare’s scale was vast, and both sides suffered from immense losses.

Austria
Hitler’s doctrines emphasized the Nazi plan to build a German empire (Reich), the third in history.
This required that the nation had to expand. Since the early 1920s, the Fuehrer had proclaimed
that enlarged Germany had to include Austria, his homeland.
Austria was small and her population was largely German. Her strategic position was on the road
to Italy and on the flank of Czechoslovakia. Hitler began his annexation campaign in 1938 by
ordering Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg to allow the revival of the party and add Nazis to the
Austrian cabinet or face a German invasion. Schuschnigg submitted to these demands but
announced plans for a plebiscite in which Austrians would vote on whether to remain free and
independent. Upon which Britain and France refused to assist Austria. Hitler prepared to invade
and told Schuschnigg to turn the government over to Arthur von Seyss-Inquart, an Austrian Nazi.
So he resigned and Seyss-Inquart became chancellor. The new leader invited German forces to
establish order.

Indian Subcontinent
World War II had taken an immense toll on the British Empire. Britain had lost a lot of capital
and they were looking to their colonies to help them get the status of world power back. However,
Mahatma Gandhi at this time organized Indians against the British. Also, World War II broke out
to contain Hitler's intention of having German colonies beyond its borders, the same colonial
occupation that Britain had already been practicing for centuries. Thus, after the war, people all
over the world started supporting voices against British occupation over its colonies. When the
Labour Party came to power in 1945 in Britain it inclined towards internationalism and racial
equality, among other liberal principles. Soon after coming into power, Prime Minister Clement
Attlee (Labour Party) began the process of granting India its independence in 1947.
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References
 World War ll
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-
history#:~:text=On%20September%201%2C%201939%2C%20Hitler,invaded%20Polan
d%20from%20the%20east.

 World War II Battles: Timeline

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-battles-timeline

 How World War II shaped modern France

https://www.euronews.com/2015/05/05/how-world-war-ii-shaped-modern-france

 How World War II shaped modern America

https://www.euronews.com/2015/05/05/how-world-war-ii-shaped-modern-america

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