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The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan. The Axis were united in their far-right positions and general opposition to the Allies, but otherwise lacked comparable coordination and ideological cohesion.
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano, and Saburō Kurusu and in the presence of Adolf Hitler. It was a defensive military alliance that was eventually joined by Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia's accession provoked a coup d'état in Belgrade two days later. Germany, Italy, and Hungary responded by invading Yugoslavia. The resulting Italo-German client state, known as the Independent State of Croatia, joined the pact on 15 June 1941.
The Pact of Steel, formally known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy was a military and political alliance between Italy and Germany.
The causes of World War II have been given considerable attention by historians. The immediate precipitating event was the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939, and the subsequent declarations of war on Germany made by Britain and France, but many other prior events have been suggested as ultimate causes. Primary themes in historical analysis of the war's origins include the political takeover of Germany in 1933 by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party; Japanese militarism against China, which led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Second Sino-Japanese War; Italian aggression against Ethiopia, which led to the Second Italo-Ethiopian War; or military uprising in Spain, which led to the Spanish Civil War.
Almost every country in the world participated in World War II. Most were neutral at the beginning, but only a relative few nations remained neutral to the end. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers. It is estimated that 74 million people died, with estimates ranging from 40 million to 90 million dead. The main Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, and the Kingdom of Italy; while the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and China were the "Big Four" Allied powers.
Germany–Japan relations are the current and historical relations between Germany and Japan. The diplomatic relations were officially established in 1861 with the first ambassadorial visit to Japan from Prussia. Japan modernized rapidly after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, often using German models through intense intellectual and cultural exchange. After Japan aligned itself with Britain in 1900, Germany and Japan became enemies in World War I. Japan declared war on the German Empire in 1914 and seized key German possessions in China and the Pacific.
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members by the end of 1941 were the "Big Four" – the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China.
The following events occurred in December 1941:
The government of the United Kingdom declared war on the Empire of Japan on 8 December 1941, following the Japanese attacks on British Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong on the previous day as well as in response to the bombing of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.
A series of events led to the attack on Pearl Harbor. War between the Empire of Japan and the United States was a possibility each nation's military forces had planned for after World War I. The expansion of American territories in the Pacific had been a threat to Japan since the 1890s, but real tensions did not begin until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931.
Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor took place on December 7, 1941. The United States military suffered 19 ships damaged or sunk, and 2,403 people were killed. Its most significant consequence was the entrance of the United States into World War II. The US had previously been officially neutral but subsequently entered the Pacific War, and after Italy's declaration of war and Germany's declaration of war shortly after the attack, the Battle of the Atlantic and the European theatre of war. Following the attack, the US interned 120,000 Japanese Americans, 11,000 German Americans, and 3,000 Italian Americans.
On December 11, 1941, the United States Congress declared war on Germany, hours after Germany declared war on the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan. The vote was approved unanimously by both houses of Congress; 88–0 in the Senate and 393–0 in the House.
On December 8, 1941, at 12:30 PM ET the United States Congress declared war, on the Empire of Japan in response to its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and subsequent declaration of war the prior day. The Joint Resolution Declaring that a state of war exists between the Imperial Government of Japan and the Government and the people of the United States and making provisions to prosecute the same was formulated an hour after the Infamy Speech of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Following the U.S. declaration, Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, bringing the United States fully into World War II. The Japanese government had originally intended to deliver their own declaration of war thirty minutes before the attack, but the Japanese embassy in Washington took too long to decode the 5,000-word document.
On December 11, 1941, in response to the Italian declaration of war on the United States, four days following the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and three days after the United States declaration of war on the Empire of Japan, the United States Congress passed the Joint Resolution Declaring That a State of War Exists Between The Government of Italy and the Government and the People of the United States and Making Provisions to Prosecute the Same, thereby declaring war against Italy. It also declared war upon Germany that same day. The vote was 90-0 in the Senate and 399-0 in the House.
The diplomatic history of World War II includes the major foreign policies and interactions inside the opposing coalitions, the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers, between 1939 and 1945.
On 11 December 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of war against Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany declared war against the United States, in response to what was claimed to be a "series of provocations" by the United States government when the U.S. was still officially neutral during World War II. The decision to declare war was made by Adolf Hitler, following two days of consultation. It has been referred to as Hitler's "most puzzling" decision of World War II. Publicly, the formal declaration was made to American Chargé d'Affaires Leland B. Morris by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop in the latter's office. Later that day, the U.S. declared war on Germany, with Germany's action having eliminated any remaining meaningful domestic isolationist opposition to the U.S. joining the European war.
The following events occurred in February 1941:
The following events occurred in March 1941:
The Victory Program was a military plan for the United States involvement in World War II submitted prior to the country's official entry into the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The plan was initially secret, but was famously exposed by the Chicago Tribune on December 4, 1941, 3 days before Pearl Harbor.
Japan participated in World War II from 1939 to 1945 as a member of the Axis. World War II and the Second Sino-Japanese War encapsulate a significant period in the history of the Empire of Japan, marked by significant military campaigns and geopolitical maneuvers across the Asia-Pacific region. Spanning from the early 1930s to 1945, Japan employed expansionist policies and aggressive military actions, including the invasion of the Republic of China, and the annexation of French Indochina.
References
- ↑ 1941: Germany and Italy declare war on US
- ↑ Wadsworth (December 9, 1941). "The Chargé in Italy (Wadsworth) to the Secretary of State". U.S. Secretary of State of the Historian. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ↑ Mussolini: Italian Declaration of War on United States – December 11, 1941