World War II began on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland and ended on September 2, 1945 with the surrender of Japan. Six years, a day in which so many things happen, but let's see together the ones you absolutely must remember. It's going to be a nice trip. There are two sides. On one side we have Germany, Italy and Japan which are part of the axis. On the other hand, we have France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union, which are the allies. Let's say these are the main players, then there are others. Bear in mind that at the end of the war half the planet had declared war on Germany but... eh, it's easy to jump on the winners' bandwagon. This is very important to understand something. The ideological question. The axis is Nazi-fascist, Italy has it, Plato, Germany has the moustache and Japan... Well... no, not them. They are imperialists but bad just the same. The allies, on the other hand, like freedom and democracy. Generally, a special case is the USSR which is communist, it is also a bit ambiguous. Well, they weren't exactly good friends, but at that moment it was okay. However, Hitler wants this piece of land, commonly known here as the Danzig Corridor, and so he goes to ask Poland for it, but Poland says no. Come on, try to see if this France and England can find an agreement. Come on, try and see... nothing. Immovable Thus on 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland and France and the United Kingdom declared war on it shortly thereafter. Oh my God! But how is this possible? Why is all this happening? All excellent questions Gaia. And the answer is Check out our other videos. Poland collapses miserably and is partitioned with the Soviet Union. That's actually because not long before, while France and the UK were wasting time, the Russians and the Germans were like... Okay, we hate each other to death. We've built our regimes on mutual ideological hatred. But the others are really in trouble lately. Let's pretend we don't [ __ ] ourselves? Okay. And we bring Poland with us. Eee... poof Poland is no more. Now begins a strange phase of the war, in which France, United Kingdom have declared war on Germany, but they do not seem to be too convinced. Germany has a little more initiative and basically takes over all of Northern Europe and then does what it does best and invades neutral Belgium. Germany makes a classic opening and the allies are like… “Oh my God! Same move as 20 years ago.” Only this time Hitler has tanks. So it goes a little faster and then.... bag over here, take the supplies, it's down to Paris by the book. On June 14, 1940, France surrendered, while a large part of the English troops managed to escape via Dunkirk. A film by Christopher Nolan. At this point there are three important things to say. One: France is divided, one part is occupied and the other is put in place by a fascist government aligned with Germany. Two With France taken, Hitler goes to Winston Churchill, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to ask for peace and the two have a conversation along the lines of So you realize? No, but take this handy bag of tears, blood and sweat. I have nothing else to offer. Three: Italy enters the war. Yes, exactly. Marco hadn't come in until this point. With the invasion of Poland, Italy was left out of the game. But given Germany's incredible successes, Mussolini becomes greedy and joins the fray. His idea was that of a parallel war, which however turns out to be more of a perpendicular one. I'm not, I'm really good with geometric metaphors. The fact remains that we make a huge fool of ourselves both in Africa and in Greece. Moral of the story, Germany is forced to intervene to save the situation and Mussolini loses all strategic autonomy. Italy. The last of the great powers. okay, but did Germany win? not even for [ __ ]. Because Winston Churchill doesn't give up and, what's more, crossing the Channel would be a massacre. And it always rains. You eat badly, my lady, it's not a good thing. Then Hitler stops for a moment and says but wait a minute. But we hate communists. My goodness, what a straw he must have smoked. Meanwhile on the other side of the world. Hello American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Europe has fallen into a bloody abyss that is endangering world stability. Can you give us a hand? Hello Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill. No, but I will go and tell the Japanese that we don't like what they are doing in Indochina. HI. No more oil. Ok then I think we will surprise attack Pearl Harbor (2001) directed by Michael Bay. We more or less study it like this in school. Synthetic and Eurocentric. Just the way we like it. So: December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the next day the United States enters war with the Allies. Now things are getting heated. The Axis is at its peak, but things are not going exactly as one would have liked. Well, Japan dominates in the Pacific for now, but it cannot compete with the economic power of the United States which in the space of a year churns out an insane amount of ships, planes, tanks and so on. In the Old Continent, however, Germany controls a good part of European Russia, but has failed at a strategic level and did not reach Moscow before the winter. it's a bit cold, huh... In 1942 you have to remember three fundamental battles that gave the Allies the advantage. One Battle of Midway, June 4-6, 1942. The Americans sink four Japanese aircraft carriers and halt the Japanese advance. From there Japan begins a slow retreat. Two: Battle of Stalingrad. Very long type. It starts in July '42 and ends in '43. In any case, the Germans arrive in Stalingrad, which by the way is of very little strategic value. But Hitler had it in for Stalin, for destroying everything that bore his name and nothing goes like that anyway: The Germans arrive in the city, besiege the city and enter the city. The Soviets break through the front and arrive in the city, besiege the city and enter the city. Puff German 6th Army destroyed. Millions dead. Huh. Eastern front. Three: Battle of El Alamein. October-November ‘42. Here in this narrow passage in North Africa? No, that is the Al Qattara Depression, impassable for military vehicles due to the presence of salt flats, high cliffs and the incessant presence of the fech fech. At least that's what Wikipedia says. What the [ __ ] is fech fech? Oh well, the English and the Italian-Germans massacre each other for a couple of weeks and the Axis eventually runs out of resources and loses. Enough. Africa is gone too. I know Giovanna, what strategic importance could North Africa have? Well, look at the map. Look what's up north here. Exact ! Italy. Benito isn't doing very well. The air is heavy in Rome. People are tired of war. Then the trains aren't that on time anymore. And my lady, you were wrong to side with Hitler and then the racial laws ‘o sole... ‘o mare... The Allies landing in Sicily... Yes, because according to Winston Churchill we were the soft underbelly of the Axis. And looking at our leader, how can we blame him... Oh well, sorry, because then he lost weight. So the Anglo-Americans arrive in Italy, the high Italian institutions take a [ __ ], Mussolini is ousted and in his place comes Pietro Badoglio. And things go more or less like this. What for God's sake is happening in Rome? Change of government. Change of government? at this time of the war? In the situation we are in? During an armed invasion on Italian soil? Yes. No armistice was signed, right? No. September 8, 1943 Badoglio surprisingly announces the armistice with the Allies and a mess breaks out because Italy was full of Germans and it's not like the new government had exactly a precise plan. So half the peninsula is occupied by the Nazis. Mussolini is freed in a Mission Impossible-style operation and essentially a civil war begins. At this point, two very important topics are usually discussed in school, such as the Resistance and the Holocaust. But Iacopo tells me that perhaps it is not the case to be ironic about it, hence the 6 million Jews killed. The CLN makes a fundamental contribution to the liberation of our country. Watch “Life is Beautiful” by Benigni, and bye bye. A year passes. The Germans are now in retreat on the Eastern Front and the Anglo-Americans decide to give the Soviets a hand. Take it easy, guys... who are practically winning this war on their own. On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy. The plan isn't perfect, but in the end the amphibious troops still go head-to-head against the German defenses. 10,000 dead in one day, but they land. Oh nothing...In one year we have the complete collapse of Nazi rule in Europe, with the Anglo-Americans and French pushing from the West and South and the Soviets pushing from the East. After a desperate struggle. Baffetto shoots himself. Pelatone escapes and is hanged and on May 8, 1945, Germany surrenders. End. Oh [ __ ], the Pacific... Roosevelt is dead in the meantime. If not, you don't get the joke: Hello Emperor Hirohito. For two years you have suffered crushing defeats in the Pacific which is now totally under our control. You are so bad off without oil that you are crashing your own planes into our ships just to stop us. All while your allies have been annihilated. Are you giving up? No. Maybe yes. Enola Gay. However, on September 2, 1945, Japan signed an unconditional surrender, officially ending the largest and bloodiest conflict in human history with 70 million deaths. Of course the Allies won and then the USA and USSR will continue to [ __ ] for the rest of the century, but that's material for another fine video! For real. Anyway, if you really want to study, watch the more serious video, the one-hour one we made. It's here in overlay. I think... I'm editing it. So watch it and then I don't know... share it and all that... stuff. HI!