To write essay about the 2nd world war entails having to go through history prior to the attack of Germany on Poland.  A 10 page essay will surely contain a lot of information. It was in 1933 when Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany and the Third Reich was formed.  Later on, in 1936, German soldiers crossed the Rhine River which violated the Treaty of Versailles.  And in the same year, Italy, under the rule of Mussolini, invaded Ethiopia.  Furthermore, in 1937 at the other side of the world, Japan launched an attack on China. 

On September 1, 1939, German armed forces went into Poland and invaded the country.  This sparked the most extensive and devastating war in the history of mankind.  And within 2 days of the German attack on Poland, France and Great Britain declared war against Germany.   This marked Europe’s entry into the 2nd World War. 

After the attack on Poland, the war spread to Norway and Denmark when Germany invaded these two countries.  Germany continued its rampage with the invasion of Netherlands, Luxemburg and Belgium.  In addition, Italy declared war against the United Kingdom and France.  Germans bombed cities in UK in September 1940, while Italians attacked the British army in Egypt.  Meanwhile, Japanese forces attacked French Indo-China.  Eventually the war spread to Greece and Bulgaria. 

It is difficult to write essay about WW2 without mentioning the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.  This left the U.S. no other course of action but to declare war against Japan.  As the war spill over to the Pacific, the Allies slowly lost its grip in this area.  After a few years, the Allies regained control in the Pacific and in Europe with well-known battles such as the Battle of the Bulge, Battle of the Philippine Sea and the like.  In 1945, the U.S. flag flew over Iwo Jima and the U.S. Bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.  And 3 days later Nagasaki was devastated by another bomb.  Soon after the bombs were dropped, Japan’s surrender marked the end of the 2nd world war. 

The war lasted 6 years (1939 – 1945) and affected countries all over Europe, North Africa and Asia.  Two groups went head to head during this war and left devastation across continents.  On one side were the Axis Powers and on the other were the Allied Forces.  The Axis Powers included Germany, Italy and Japan.  On the other hand, the Allied Forces were made up of United State of America, Great Britain, The Soviet Union, France and China.  However, the effects of the war were felt not just in these countries but even smaller nations as well as the neutral countries were affected.  Battle deaths are estimated to be at 16 million and civilian casualties are in the same number.  Now, if one goes into more in-depth details, it will not fit in a 10 page essay.

Having to write essay about the 2nd world war, it is difficult to put aside the atrocities man is capable of doing and make them all fit in a 10 page essay.  Being thankful that this generation does not have to go through a world war is often understated.