Website #1: World War II in Europe |
This is a credible website because (1) it is a ".org", which is a non-profit; (2) it is recently updated as of 2014 as shown on the bottom of the page; and (3) at least three of the hyperlinks are in working order.
Website #2: What Sparked Japan's Aggression During World War II? |
This is a credible website because (1) it is a ".org", which is a non-profit; (2) it is recently updated as of 2014 as shown on the top of the page; and (3) a way to contact the editor.
Website #3: World War II in the Pacific |
This is a credible website because (1) it is a ".org", which is a non-profit; (2) it is recently updated as of 2014 as shown on the bottom of the page; and (3) at least three of the hyperlinks are in working order.
My Findings
Website #1 - Germany in World War IIThe start of World War II was signaled by the German invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939. Following this action, Britain and France declared war on Germany. "Within a month, Poland was defeated by a combination of German and Soviet forces and was partitioned between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union" (Website 1). Following this, France and Britain declared war on Germany, but from the winter of '39 to the winter of '40 no one engaged war on each other. This period of time is known as the Phony War. Then, in the spring of 1940, Germany captured France and the Low Countries, "On June 22, 1940, France signed an armistice with Germany, which provided for the German occupation of the northern half of the country and permitted the establishment of a collaborationist regime in the south with its seat in the city of Vichy" (Website 1). Next on Hitler's invasion list was the Soviet Union. The invasion of Russia was primarily economy driven. Germany's war machine required raw materials, oil, and food. France and all the other conquered countries couldn't supply enough. Hitler looked east, saw the vast oilfields in the Crimea, the huge wheat fields that was the Ukraine, and he needed them badly to keep his armies fed, tanks rolling and planes flying. "During the summer and autumn of 1941, German troops advanced deep into the Soviet Union, but stiffening Red Army resistance prevented the Germans from capturing the key cities of Leningrad and Moscow" (Website 1).
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Website #2 - What Sparked Japan's Agresssion
Three major, interrelated factors contributed to Japan's aggression in the lead-up to World War II and during the conflict. The three factors were fear of outside aggression, growing Japanese nationalism, and the need for natural resources. Japan's fear of outside aggression stemmed in large part from its experience with the western imperial powers, beginning with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry and an American naval squadron in Tokyo Bay in 1853. Faced with overwhelming force and superior military technology, the Tokugawa shogun had no option but to surrender and sign an unequal treaty with the United States, "a treaty that opened the Japanese ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to U.S. trade. The terms were dictated by the Americans, and the Japanese had little choice but to agree, seeing that they were seriously technologically outmatched" (Website 2). For Japan, World War II grew from a conflict historians call the Second Sino-Japanese War. "The Second Sino-Japanese War began in earnest in 1937 with a battle called the Marco Polo Bridge Incident" (Website 2). Japan was the weakest of all in terms of natural resources. There was very little iron or coal. Japanese industry depend on the goodwill of the US, of them selling them what they didn't use. In order to sustain its war effort in China, Japan needed to add territories that produced oil, iron for steel-making, rubber, etc. The nearest producers of all of those goods were in Southeast Asia. In order to ensure that the United States would not interfere with Japan's lightning-fast "Southern Expansion," in which is simultaneously struck the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaya, Japan decided to wipe out the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, "The Japanese didn't want the Americans or the British to resist the Japanese scramble for rubber and oil" (Website 2).
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Website #3 - Japan in World War IIJapan's aggression toward Asia was equally as fierce. Rich in natural resources, Manchuria, a region of China, was taken over by Japan in 1931. Two years later in 1933 the Japanese withdrew from the League of Nations because they were heavily criticized for what they did in Manchuria, China. Then in 1937 Japan invaded the mainland of China and bombed Shanghai and Guangzhou. "On September 27, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, thus entering the military alliance known as the "Axis" " (Website 3). In 1940 Japan invaded French Indochina. This caused the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands to put economic sanctions on Japan. In 1942 Japan took over Raagoon, Burma. Faced with severe shortages of oil and other natural resources and driven by the ambition to displace the United States as the dominant Pacific power, "Japan decided to attack the United States and British forces in Asia and seize the resources of Southeast Asia" (Website 3). This led to the surprise attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor. In response, "the United States declared war on Japan. Following Germany's declaration of war on the United States, the United States also declared war on Germany" (Website 3). Just like Germany, Japan also showed nationalism. They also believed that they were the superior race. This drove them to Asia and then the United States.
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