^Germany, Italy, and Japan are typically described as being the "major" (or similar) countries amongst the Axis powers (see e.g.,Global Strategy, Momah, p. 71, orEncyclopedia of World War II, Tucker & Roberts, p. 102).
^After theItalian surrender in September 1943, the Kingdom of Italy fought as a co-belligerent of the Allies, whereas theItalian Social Republic, a German puppet state, was formed in northern Italy and existed until the surrender on 29 April 1945.
^abcdeAcceded to theTripartite Pact, generally considered Axis powers (see e.g.,Facts About the American Wars, Bowman, p. 432, which includes them in a list of "Axis powers", orThe Library of Congress World War II Companion, Wagner, Osborne, & Reyburn, p. 39, which lists them as "The Axis").
^FollowingOperation Panzerfaust, a German puppet underFerenc Szálasi from 15 October 1944 onwards (seeGermany and the Axis Powers, DiNardo, p. 189).
^abPuppet state installed by the Axis powers (see e.g.,Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, Lemkin, p. 11).
^Official position of wartime government was that they were a co-belligerent of the Axis against the USSR and United Kingdom during theContinuation War, but generally considered to be a member of the Axis (see e.g., Bowman, p. 432, Wagner, Osborne, & Reyburn p. 39, or Dinardo p. 95).
^Declared war on the United Kingdom and United States in alliance with Japan on 25 January 1942, generally considered to be a member of the Axis (e.g. Bowman, p. 432).
TheAxis powers,[nb 1] originally called theRome–Berlin Axis[1] and alsoRome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the militarycoalition which initiatedWorld War II and fought against theAllies. Its principal members wereNazi Germany,Kingdom of Italy and theEmpire 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 Axis grew out of successive diplomatic efforts by Germany, Italy, and Japan to secure their own specific expansionist interests in the mid-1930s. The first step was theprotocol signed by Germany and Italy in October 1936, after which Italian leaderBenito Mussolini declared that all other European countries would thereafter rotate on the Rome–Berlin axis, thus creating the term "Axis".[2] The following November saw the ratification of theAnti-Comintern Pact, ananti-communist treaty between Germany and Japan; Italy joined the Pact in 1937, followed byHungary andSpain in 1939. The "Rome–Berlin Axis" became amilitary alliance in 1939 under the so-called "Pact of Steel", with theTripartite Pact of 1940 formally integrating the military aims of Germany, Italy, Japan, and later followed by other nations. The three pacts formed the foundation of the Axis alliance.[3]
At its zenith in 1942, the Axis presided over large parts of Europe, North Africa, and East Asia, either through occupation, annexation, orpuppet states. In contrast to the Allies,[4] there were no three-way summit meetings, and cooperation and coordination were minimal; on occasion, the interests of the major Axis powers were even at variance with each other.[5] The Axis ultimately came to an end with its defeat in 1945.
Particularly within Europe, the use of the term "the Axis" sometimes refers solely to the alliance between Italy and Germany, though outside Europe it is normally understood as including Japan.[6]
The term "axis" was first applied to the Italo-German relationship by the Italian prime ministerBenito Mussolini in September 1923, when he wrote in the preface to Roberto Suster'sLaGermania Repubblicana that "there is no doubt that in this moment the axis of European history passes through Berlin" (non v'ha dubbio che in questo momento l'asse della storia europea passa per Berlino).[7] At the time, he was seeking an alliance with theWeimar Republic againstYugoslavia andFrance in the dispute over theFree State of Fiume.[8]
The term was used byHungary's prime ministerGyula Gömbös when advocating an alliance of Hungary with Germany and Italy in the early 1930s.[9] Gömbös' efforts did affect the Italo-HungarianRome Protocols, but his sudden death in 1936 while negotiating with Germany inMunich and the arrival ofKálmán Darányi, his successor, ended Hungary's involvement in pursuing a trilateral axis.[9] Contentious negotiations between the Italian foreign minister,Galeazzo Ciano, and the German ambassador,Ulrich von Hassell, resulted in aNine-Point Protocol, signed by Ciano and his German counterpart,Konstantin von Neurath, in 1936. When Mussolini publicly announced the signing on 1 November, he proclaimed the creation of a Rome–Berlin axis.[8]
Initial proposals of a German–Italian alliance
Italy underDuceBenito Mussolini had pursued a strategic alliance of Italy with Germany against France since the early 1920s.[10] Prior to becoming head of government in Italy as leader of theItalian Fascist movement, Mussolini had advocated alliance with defeated Germany after theParis Peace Conference (1919–1920) settledWorld War I.[10] He believed that Italy could expand its influence in Europe by allying with Germany against France.[10] In early 1923, as a goodwill gesture to Germany, Italy secretly delivered weapons for theReichswehr, which had faced major disarmament under the provisions of theTreaty of Versailles.[10]
Since the 1920s Italy had identified the year 1935 as a crucial date for preparing for a war against France, as 1935 was the year when Germany's obligations under the Treaty of Versailles were scheduled to expire.[11] Meetings took place in Berlin in 1924 between Italian GeneralLuigi Capello and prominent figures in the German military, such as von Seeckt andErich Ludendorff, over military collaboration between Germany and Italy. The discussions concluded that Germans still wanted a war of revenge against France but were short on weapons and hoped that Italy could assist Germany.[12]
However at this time Mussolini stressed one important condition that Italy must pursue in an alliance with Germany: that Italy "must ... tow them, not be towed by them".[10] Italian foreign ministerDino Grandi in the early 1930s stressed the importance of "decisive weight", involving Italy's relations between France and Germany, in which he recognized that Italy was not yet a major power, but perceived that Italy did have strong enough influence to alter the political situation in Europe by placing the weight of its support onto one side or another, and sought to balance relations between the three.[13][14]
Danube alliance, dispute over Austria
Adolf Hitler,Führer and Reich Chancellor of the German People, 1933–1945
In 1933,Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Partycame to power in Germany. Hitler had advocated an alliance between Germany and Italy since the 1920s.[15] Shortly after being appointedChancellor of Germany, Hitler sent a personal message to Mussolini, declaring "admiration and homage" and declaring his anticipation of the prospects of German–Italian friendship and even alliance.[16] Hitler was aware that Italy held concerns over potential German land claims on South Tyrol, and assured Mussolini that Germany was not interested in South Tyrol. Hitler inMein Kampf had declared that South Tyrol was a non-issue considering the advantages that would be gained from a German–Italian alliance. After Hitler's rise to power, the Four Power Directorate proposal by Italy had been looked at with interest by Britain, but Hitler was not committed to it, resulting in Mussolini urging Hitler to consider the diplomatic advantages Germany would gain by breaking out of isolation by entering the Directorate and avoiding an immediate armed conflict.[17] The Four Power Directorate proposal stipulated that Germany would no longer be required to have limited arms and would be granted the right to re-armament under foreign supervision in stages.[18] Hitler completely rejected the idea of controlled rearmament under foreign supervision.[18]
Mussolini did not trust Hitler's intentions regardingAnschluss nor Hitler's promise of no territorial claims on South Tyrol.[19] Mussolini informed Hitler that he was satisfied with the presence of the anti-Marxist government ofEngelbert Dollfuss in theFirst Austrian Republic, and warned Hitler that he was adamantly opposed to Anschluss.[19] Hitler responded in contempt to Mussolini that he intended "to throw Dollfuss into the sea".[19] With this disagreement over Austria, relations between Hitler and Mussolini steadily became more distant.[19]
Hitler attempted to break the impasse with Italy over Austria by sendingHermann Göring to negotiate with Mussolini in 1933 to convince Mussolini to press Austria to appointAustrian Nazis to the government.[20] Göring claimed that Nazi domination of Austria was inevitable and that Italy should accept this, as well as repeating to Mussolini of Hitler's promise to "regard the question of the South Tyrol frontier as finally liquidated by the peace treaties".[20] In response to Göring's visit with Mussolini, Dollfuss immediately went to Italy to counter any German diplomatic headway.[20] Dollfuss claimed that his government was actively challenging Marxists in Austria and claimed that once the Marxists were defeated in Austria, that support for Austria's Nazis would decline.[20]
In June 1934, Hitler and Mussolini met for the first time, inVenice. The meeting did not proceed amicably. Hitler demanded that Mussolini compromise on Austria by pressuring Dollfuss to appoint Austrian Nazis to his cabinet, to which Mussolini flatly refused the demand. In response, Hitler promised that he would accept Austria's independence for the time being, saying that due to the internal tensions in Germany (referring to sections of the NaziSturmabteilung that Hitler would soon kill in theNight of the Long Knives) that Germany could not afford to provoke Italy.[21]Galeazzo Ciano told the press that the two leaders had made a "gentleman's agreement" to avoid interfering in Austria.[22]
Several weeks after the Venice meeting, on 25 July 1934, Austrian Nazis assassinated Dollfuss.[21] Mussolini was outraged as he held Hitler directly responsible for the assassination that violated Hitler's promise made only weeks ago to respect Austrian independence.[23][22] Mussolini rapidly deployed several army divisions and air squadrons to theBrenner Pass, and warned that a German move against Austria would result in war between Germany and Italy.[24] Hitler responded by both denying Nazi responsibility for the assassination and issuing orders to dissolve all ties between the German Nazi Party and its Austrian branch, which Germany claimed was responsible for the political crisis.[25]
Italy effectively abandoned diplomatic relations with Germany while turning to France in order to challenge Germany's intransigence by signing a Franco–Italian accord to protect Austrian independence.[26] French and Italian military staff discussed possible military cooperation involving a war with Germany should Hitler dare to attack Austria.
Relations between Germany and Italy recovered due to Hitler's support of Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, while other countries condemned the invasion and advocated sanctions against Italy.
Development of German–Italian–Japanese alliance
Hideo Kodama, a wartime cabinet minister in the Empire of Japan
Interest in Germany and Japan in forming an alliance began when Japanese diplomatHiroshi Ōshima visitedJoachim von Ribbentrop in Berlin in 1935.[27] Although at the time Japan was unwilling to make an alliance against the United Kingdom and France, Oshima informed von Ribbentrop of Japan's interest in forming a German–Japanese alliance against the Soviet Union.[28][27] Von Ribbentrop expanded on Oshima's proposal by advocating that the alliance be based in a political context of a pact to oppose theComintern.[27] The proposed pact was met with mixed reviews in Japan, with a faction of ultra-nationalists within the government supporting the pact while theImperial Japanese Navy and theJapanese Foreign Ministry were staunchly opposed to the pact.[29] There was great concern in the Japanese government that such a pact with Germany could disrupt Japan's relations with Britain, endangering years of a beneficialAnglo-Japanese accord, that had allowed Japan to ascend in the international community in the first place.[30] The response to the pact was met with similar division in Germany; while the proposed pact was popular amongst the upper echelons of the Nazi Party, it was opposed by many in the Foreign Ministry, the Army, and the business community who held financial interests in theRepublic of China to which Japan was hostile.
Japanese writerShūmei Ōkawa, a key exponent of Japanese nationalism
On learning of German–Japanese negotiations, Italy also began to take an interest in forming an alliance with Japan.[27] Italy had hoped that due to Japan's long-term close relations with Britain, that an Italo-Japanese alliance could pressure Britain into adopting a more accommodating stance towards Italy in the Mediterranean.[27] In the summer of 1936, Italian Foreign MinisterGaleazzo Ciano informed Japanese Ambassador to Italy, Sugimura Yotaro, "I have heard that a Japanese–German agreement concerning the Soviet Union has been reached, and I think it would be natural for a similar agreement to be made between Italy and Japan."[27] Initially Japan's attitude towards Italy's proposal was generally dismissive, viewing a German–Japanese alliance against the Soviet Union as imperative while regarding an Italo-Japanese alliance as secondary, as Japan anticipated that an Italo-Japanese alliance would antagonize Britain that had condemned Italy's invasion of Ethiopia.[27] This attitude by Japan towards Italy altered in 1937 after the League of Nations condemned Japan for aggression in China and faced international isolation, while Italy remained favourable to Japan.[27] As a result of Italy's support for Japan against international condemnation, Japan took a more positive attitude towards Italy and offered proposals for a non-aggression or neutrality pact with Italy.[31]
Lt.GenHiroshi Ōshima, Japanese ambassador to Germany before and during World War II
The Tripartite Pact was signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan on 27 September 1940, in Berlin. The pact was subsequently joined by Hungary (20 November 1940), Romania (23 November 1940), Slovakia (24 November 1940), and Bulgaria (1 March 1941).[32]
Ideology
The Axis powers' primary goal was territorial expansion at the expense of their neighbors.[33] In ideological terms, the Axis described their goals as breaking the hegemony of the plutocraticWestern powers and defending civilization fromcommunism.[citation needed] The Axis championed a number of variants onfascism,militarism,conservatism andautarky.[34] Creation of territorially contiguous autarkic empires was a common goal of all three major Axis powers.[6]
Economic resources
The Axis population in 1938 was 258.9 million, while the Allied population (excluding the Soviet Union and the United States, which later joined the Allies) was 689.7 million.[35] Thus the Allied powers outnumbered the Axis powers by 2.7 to 1.[36] The leading Axis states had the following domestic populations: Germany 75.5 million (including 6.8 million from recently annexed Austria), Japan 71.9 million (excluding its colonies), and Italy 43.4 million (excluding its colonies). The United Kingdom (excluding its colonies) had a population of 47.5 million and France (excluding its colonies) 42 million.[35]
The wartimegross domestic product (GDP) of the Axis was $911 billion at its highest in 1941 ininternational dollars by 1990 prices.[37] The GDP of the Allied powers was $1,798 billion. The United States stood at $1,094 billion, more than the Axis combined.[38]
The burden of the war upon participating countries has been measured through the percentage ofgross national product (GNP) devoted to military expenditures.[39] Nearly one-quarter of Germany's GNP was committed to the war effort in 1939, and this rose to three-quarters of GNP in 1944, prior to the collapse of the economy.[39] In 1939, Japan committed 22 percent of its GNP to its war effort in China; this rose to three-quarters of GNP in 1944.[39] Italy did not mobilize its economy; its GNP committed to the war effort remained at prewar levels.[39]
Italy and Japan lacked industrial capacity; their economies were small, dependent oninternational trade, external sources of fuel and other industrial resources.[39] As a result, Italian and Japanese mobilization remained low, even by 1943.[39]
Among the three major Axis powers, Japan had the lowest per capita income, while Germany and Italy had an income level comparable to the United Kingdom.[40]
Romania's oil gave the country a disproportionate importance in the global conflict. In 1940 and 1941, Romania supplied 94% and 75% of Germany's oil imports respectively. Italy – which lacked both natural and synthetic output – was even more reliant on Romanian oil than Germany. The loss of Romania's oil – following the country'sdefection from the Axis in August 1944 – resulted in Hitler's first admission that the war was lost.[41]
Hitler in 1941 described the outbreak of World War II as the fault of the intervention of Western powers against Germany during its war with Poland, describing it as the result of "the European and American warmongers".[42] Hitler had designs for Germany to become the dominant and leading state in the world, such as his intention for Germany's capital of Berlin to become theWelthauptstadt ("World Capital"), renamedGermania.[43] The German government also justified its actions by claiming that Germany inevitably needed to territorially expand because it was facing anoverpopulation crisis that Hitler described: "We are overpopulated and cannot feed ourselves from our own resources".[44] Thus expansion was justified as an inevitable necessity to providelebensraum ("living space") for the German nation and end the country's overpopulation within existing confined territory, and provide resources necessary to its people's well-being.[44] Since the 1920s, the Nazi Party publicly promoted the expansion of Germany into territories held by the Soviet Union.[45]
Germany justified its war against Poland on the issues ofGerman minority within Poland and Polish opposition to the incorporation of the ethnically German-majorityFree City of Danzig into Germany. While Hitler and the Nazi party before taking power openly talked about destroying Poland and were hostile to Poles, after gaining power until February 1939 Hitler tried to conceal his true intentions towards Poland, and signed a 10-yearNon-Aggression Pact in 1934, revealing his plans to only to his closest associates.[46] Relations between Germany and Poland altered from the early to the late 1930s, as Germany sought rapprochement with Poland to avoid the risk of Poland entering the Soviet sphere of influence, and appealed to anti-Soviet sentiment in Poland.[47] Hitler even tried to convince Poland to join the Anti-Comintern Pact.[48] The Soviet Union in turn at this time competed with Germany for influence in Poland.[47] At the same time Germany was preparing for a war with Poland and was secretly preparing the German minority in Poland for a war.[49]
Adiplomatic crisis erupted following Hitler demanding that the Free City of Danzig be annexed to Germany, as it was led by a Nazi government seeking annexation to Germany. Germany used legal precedents to justify its intervention against Poland and annexation of theFree City of Danzig (led by a local Nazi government that sought incorporation into Germany) in 1939.[50] Poland rejected Germany's demands and Germany in response prepared a general mobilization on the morning of 30 August 1939.[51]
Germany justified its invasion of theLow Countries of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands in May 1940 by claiming that it suspected that Britain and France were preparing to use the Low Countries to launch an invasion of the industrialRuhr region of Germany.[52] When war between Germany versus Britain and France appeared likely in May 1939, Hitler declared that the Netherlands and Belgium would need to be occupied, saying: "Dutch and Belgian air bases must be occupied ... Declarations of neutrality must be ignored".[52] In a conference with Germany's military leaders on 23 November 1939, Hitler declared to the military leaders that "We have anAchilles heel, the Ruhr", and said that "If England and France push through Belgium and Holland into the Ruhr, we shall be in the greatest danger", and thus claimed that Belgium and the Netherlands had to be occupied by Germany to protect Germany from a British-French offensive against the Ruhr, irrespective of their claims to neutrality.[52]
After theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of war between Japan and the United States, Germany supported Japan by declaring war on the US. During the war Germany denounced theAtlantic Charter and theLend-Lease Act that the US adopted to support the Allied powers prior to entry into the alliance, as imperialism directed at dominating and exploiting countries outside of the continentalAmericas.[55] Hitler denounced American PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's invoking of the term "freedom" to describe US actions in the war, and accused the American meaning of "freedom" to be the freedom for democracy to exploit the world and the freedom for plutocrats within such democracy to exploit the masses.[55]
History
At the end of World War I, German citizens felt that their country had been humiliated as a result of theTreaty of Versailles, which included awar guilt clause and forced Germany to pay enormous reparations payments and forfeit territories formerly controlled by the German Empire and all its colonies. The pressure of the reparations on the German economy led tohyperinflation during the early 1920s. In 1923the French occupied the Ruhr region when Germany defaulted on its reparations payments. Although Germany began to improve economically in the mid-1920s, theGreat Depression created more economic hardship and a rise in political forces that advocated radical solutions to Germany's woes. The Nazis, under Hitler, promoted the nationaliststab-in-the-back legend stating that Germany had been betrayed by Jews and Communists. The party promised to rebuild Germany as a major power and create aGreater Germany that would includeAlsace-Lorraine, Austria,Sudetenland, and other German-populated territories in Europe. The Nazis also aimed to occupy and colonize non-German territories in Poland, theBaltic states, and the Soviet Union, as part of the Nazi policy of seekingLebensraum ("living space") inCentral and Eastern Europe.
On 23 August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which contained a secret protocol dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence.[56] Germany's invasion of its part of Poland under the Pact eight days later[57] triggered the beginning of World War II. By the end of 1941, Germany occupied a large part of Europe andits military forces were fighting the Soviet Union, nearly capturing Moscow. However, crushing defeats at theBattle of Stalingrad and theBattle of Kursk devastated the German armed forces. This, combined with Western Alliedlandings in France andItaly, led to a three-front war that depleted Germany's armed forces and resulted in Germany's defeat in 1945.
TheProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was created from the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Shortly after Germany annexed the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, theSlovak Republic declared its independence from the rumpSecond Czechoslovak Republic. The newSlovak State allied itself with Germany. The remainder of the country was occupied by German military forces and organized into the Protectorate. Czech civil institutions were preserved but the Protectorate was considered within the sovereign territory of Germany.
Reichskommissariats were established in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway, designated as places the "Germanic" populations of which were to be incorporated into the planned Greater Germanic Reich. By contrast the Reichskommissariats established in the east (Reichskommissariat Ostland in the Baltics,Reichskommissariat Ukraine in Ukraine) were established as colonies for settlement by Germans.
DuceBenito Mussolini described Italy's declaration of war against the Western Allies of Britain and France in June 1940 as the following: "We are going to war against theplutocratic andreactionarydemocracies of theWest who have invariably hindered the progress and often threatened the very existence of theItalian people".[58] Italy condemned the Western powers for enacting sanctions on Italy in 1935 for its actions in theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War that Italy claimed was a response to an act of Ethiopian aggression against tribesmen inItalian Eritrea in theWalwal incident of 1934.[59] Italy, like Germany, also justified its actions by claiming that Italy needed to territorially expand to providespazio vitale ("vital space") for the Italian nation.[60]
In October 1938 in the aftermath of the Munich Agreement, Italy demanded concessions from France to yield to Italy in Africa.[61] Relations between Italy and France deteriorated with France's refusal to accept Italy's demands.[61] France responded to Italy's demands with threatening naval manoeuvres as a warning to Italy.[61] As tensions between Italy and France grew, Hitler made a major speech on 30 January 1939 in which he promised German military support in the case of an unprovoked war against Italy.[62]
Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. Italy justified itsintervention against Greece in October 1940 on the allegation that theKingdom of Greece was being used by Britain against Italy, Mussolini informed this to Hitler, saying: "Greece is one of the main points of English maritime strategy in the Mediterranean".[63]
The intention of the Fascist regime was to create a "New Roman Empire" in which Italy would dominate theMediterranean. In 1935–1936Italy invaded and annexed Ethiopia and the Fascist government proclaimed the creation of the "Italian Empire".[65] Protests by theLeague of Nations, especially the British, who had interests in that area, led to no serious action, although The League did try to enforce economic sanctions upon Italy, but to no avail. The incident highlighted French and British weakness, exemplified by their reluctance to alienate Italy and lose her as their ally. The limited actions taken by the Western powers pushed Mussolini's Italy towards alliance with Hitler's Germany anyway. In 1937 Italy left the League of Nations and joined theAnti-Comintern Pact, which had been signed by Germany and Japan the preceding year. In March/April 1939 Italian troops invaded and annexedAlbania. Germany and Italy signed thePact of Steel on May 22.
ItalianFiat M13/40 tanks in the North African Campaign in 1941
Italy was ill-prepared for war, in spite of the fact that it had continuously been involved in conflict since 1935, first with Ethiopia in 1935–1936 and then in theSpanish Civil War on the side ofFrancisco Franco'sNationalists.[66] Mussolini refused to heed warnings from his minister of exchange and currency,Felice Guarneri, who said that Italy's actions in Ethiopia and Spain meant that Italy was on the verge of bankruptcy.[67] By 1939 military expenditures by Britain and France far exceeded what Italy could afford.[67] As a result of Italy's economic difficulties its soldiers were poorly paid, often being poorly equipped and poorly supplied, and animosity arose between soldiers and class-conscious officers; these contributed to low morale amongst Italian soldiers.[68]
By early 1940, Italy was still a non-belligerent, and Mussolini communicated to Hitler that Italy was not prepared to intervene soon. By March 1940, Mussolini decided that Italy would intervene, but the date was not yet chosen. His senior military leadership unanimously opposed the action because Italy was unprepared. No raw materials had been stockpiled and the reserves it did have would soon be exhausted, Italy's industrial base was only one-tenth of Germany's, and even with supplies the Italian military was not organized to provide the equipment needed to fight a modern war of a long duration. An ambitious rearmament program was impossible because of Italy's limited reserves in gold and foreign currencies and lack of raw materials. Mussolini ignored the negative advice.[69]
By 1941, Italy's attempts to run an autonomous campaign from Germany's, collapsed as a result of military setbacks in Greece,North Africa, andEastern Africa; and the country became dependent and effectively subordinate to Germany. After the German-led invasion and occupation ofYugoslavia and Greece, that had both been targets of Italy's war aims, Italy was forced to accept German dominance in the two occupied countries.[70] Furthermore, by 1941, German forces in North Africa underErwin Rommel effectively took charge of the military effort ousting Allied forces from the Italian colony ofLibya, and German forces were stationed inSicily in that year.[71] Germany's insolence towards Italy as an ally was demonstrated that year when Italy was pressured to send 350,000 "guest workers" to Germany who were used as forced labour.[71] While Hitler was disappointed with the Italian military's performance, he maintained overall favorable relations with Italy because of his personal friendship with Mussolini.[72][73]
On 25 July 1943, following theAllied invasion of Sicily, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini, placed him under arrest, and began secret negotiations with the Western Allies. Anarmistice was signed on 8 September 1943, and four days later Mussolini was rescued by the Germans inOperation Oak and placed in charge of a puppet state called theItalian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana/RSI, orRepubblica di Salò) innorthern Italy. In order to liberate the country from the Germans and Fascists, Italy became aco-belligerent of the Allies; as result, the country descended inCivil War, with theItalian Co-Belligerent Army and thepartisans, supported by the Allies, contended the Social Republic's forces and its German allies. Some areas in Northern Italy were liberated from the Germans as late as May, 1945.Mussolini was killed by Communist partisans on 28 April 1945 while trying to escape to Switzerland.[74]
Montenegro was an Italian dependency from 1941 to 1943 known as theGovernorate of Montenegro that was under the control of an Italian military governor. Initially, the Italians intended that Montenegro would become an "independent" state closely allied with Italy, reinforced through the strong dynastic links between Italy and Montenegro, asQueen Elena of Italy was a daughter of the last Montenegrin kingNicholas I. The Italian-backedMontenegrin nationalistSekula Drljević and his followers attempted to create a Montenegrin state. On 12 July 1941, they proclaimed the "Kingdom of Montenegro" under the protection of Italy. In less than 24 hours, that triggered ageneral uprising against the Italians. Within three weeks, the insurgents managed to capture almost all the territory of Montenegro. Over 70,000Royal Italian Army troops and 20,000 ofAlbanian andMuslim irregulars were deployed to suppress the rebellion. Drljevic was expelled from Montenegro in October 1941. Montenegro then came under full direct Italian control. With the Italian capitulation of 1943, Montenegro came directly under the control of Germany.
Politically and economically dominated by Italy from its creation in 1913, Albania was occupied by Italian military forces in 1939 as the Albanian king Zog l fled the country with his family. The Albanian parliament voted to offer the Albanian throne to the King of Italy, resulting in a personal union between the two countries.[75][76]
In Africa
Italian East Africa was an Italian colony existing from 1936 to 1943. Prior to the invasion and annexation of Ethiopia into this united colony in 1936, Italy had two colonies, Eritrea and Somalia since the 1880s.
Libya was an Italian colony existing from 1912 to 1943. The northern portion of Libya was incorporated directly into Italy in 1939; however the region remained united as a colony under a colonial governor.
Italian propaganda poster byGino Boccasile illustrating the strength of the Tripartite Pact, withsamurai warrior sinking British and American ships, and thenaval ensigns of the three powers flying behind him.
The Japanese government justified its actions by claiming that it was seeking to uniteEast Asia under Japanese leadership in aGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere that would freeEast Asians from domination and rule by clients of Western powers.[77] Japan invoked themes ofPan-Asianism and said that the Asian people needed to be free from Western influence.[78]
The United States opposed theSecond Sino-Japanese War, and recognizedChiang Kai-Shek'sNationalist Government as the legitimate government of China. As a result, the United States sought to bring the Japanese war effort to a halt by imposing an embargo on all trade between the United States and Japan. Japan was dependent on the United States for 80 percent of itspetroleum, and as a consequence the embargo resulted in an economic and military crisis for Japan, as Japan could not continue its war effort against China without access to petroleum.[79]
In order to maintain its military campaign in China with the major loss of petroleum trade with the United States, Japan saw the best means to secure an alternative source of petroleum in the petroleum-rich and natural-resources-richSoutheast Asia.[80] This threat of retaliation by Japan to the total trade embargo by the United States was known by the American government, including American Secretary of StateCordell Hull who was negotiating with the Japanese to avoid a war, fearing that the total embargo would pre-empt a Japanese attack on theDutch East Indies.[81]
Japan identified theUnited States Pacific Fleet based inPearl Harbor Naval Base as the principal threat to its designs to invade and capture Southeast Asia.[80] Thus Japan initiated the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 as a means to inhibit an American response to the invasion of Southeast Asia, and buy time to allow Japan to consolidate itself with these resources to engage in atotal war against the United States, and force the United States to accept Japan's acquisitions.[80] On 7 December 1941 Japandeclared war on the United States and the British Empire.
TheEmpire of Japan, a constitutional monarchy withHirohito as its Emperor, was the principal Axis power inAsia and the Pacific. Under the emperor were a political cabinet and theImperial General Headquarters, with two chiefs of staff. By 1945 the Emperor of Japan was more than a symbolic leader; he played a major role in devising a strategy to keep himself on the throne.[82]
As a result of the internal discord and economic downturn of the 1920s,militaristic elements set Japan on a path of expansionism. As the Japanese home islands lacked natural resources needed for growth, Japan planned to establish hegemony in Asia and become self-sufficient by acquiring territories with abundant natural resources. Japan's expansionist policies alienated it from other countries in theLeague of Nations and by the mid-1930s brought it closer to Germany and Italy, who had both pursued similar expansionist policies. Cooperation between Japan and Germany began with theAnti-Comintern Pact, in which the two countries agreed to ally to challenge any attack by the Soviet Union.
Japan's military leaders were divided on diplomatic relationships with Germany and Italy and the attitude towards the United States. TheImperial Japanese Army was in favour of war with the United States, but theImperial Japanese Navy was generally strongly opposed. WhenPrime Minister of Japan GeneralHideki Tojo refused American demands that Japan withdraw its military forces from China, a confrontation became more likely.[83] War with the United States was being discussed within the Japanese government by 1940.[84] Commander of the Combined Fleet AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto was outspoken in his opposition, especially after the signing of the Tripartite Pact, saying on 14 October 1940: "To fight the United States is like fighting the whole world. But it has been decided. So I will fight the best I can. Doubtless I shall die on boardNagato [his flagship]. Meanwhile, Tokyo will be burnt to the ground three times. Konoe and others will be torn to pieces by the revengeful people, I [shouldn't] wonder. "[84] In October and November 1940, Yamamoto communicated with Navy Minister Oikawa, and stated, "Unlike the pre-Tripartite days, great determination is required to make certain that we avoid the danger of going to war. "[84]
With the European powers focused on the war in Europe, Japan sought to acquire their colonies. In 1940 Japan responded to theGerman invasion of France by occupying northernFrench Indochina. TheVichy France regime, ade facto ally of Germany, accepted the takeover. The allied forces did not respond with war. However, the United States instituted an embargo against Japan in 1941 because of the continuing war in China. This cut off Japan's supply of scrap metal and oil needed for industry, trade, and the war effort.
Japanese Military Attaché, Makoto Onodera, visitingFjell Fortress in Norway, 1943. Behind him is Lieutenant Colonel Eberhard Freiherr von Zedlitz und Neukrich (C-in-C Luftwaffe Feldregiment 502.), and to the right is Fregattenkapitän doktor Robert Morath (Seekommandant in Bergen). Behind Onoderas hand (raised in salute) is GeneralNikolaus von Falkenhorst (C-in-C German military forces in Norway).
TheSouth Seas Mandate were territories granted to Japan in 1919 in the peace agreements of World War I, that designated to Japan the German South Pacific islands. Japan received these as a reward by the Allies of World War I, when Japan was then allied against Germany.
Japanese officers training young Indonesian recruits, c. 1945
Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies during the war. Japan planned to transform these territories into a client state ofIndonesia and sought alliance with Indonesian nationalists including future Indonesian PresidentSukarno, however these efforts did not deliver the creation of an Indonesian state until after Japan's surrender.[85]
In addition to the three major Axis powers, six other countries signed theTripartite Pact as its member states. Of the additional countries, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Independent State of Croatia, and Romania participated in various Axis military operations with their national armed forces, while the sixth, Yugoslavia, saw its Tripartite signatory government overthrown earlier in a coup merely days after it signed the Pact, and the membership was reversed.
HungarianToldi I tank as used during the 1941 Axis invasion of the Soviet Union
TheKingdom of Hungary, ruled byRegent AdmiralMiklós Horthy, was the first country apart from Germany, Italy, and Japan to adhere to the Tripartite Pact, signing the agreement on 20 November 1940.[86]
Political instability plagued the country until Miklós Horthy, a Hungarian nobleman andAustro-Hungarian naval officer, became regent in 1920. The vast majority of the Hungarians desired to recover former territories of theLands of the Crown of Saint Stephen lost through theTreaty of Trianon. During the government ofGyula Gömbös, Hungary drew closer to Germany and Italy largely because of a shared desire to revise the peace settlements made after World War I.[87] Many people sympathized with theanti-Semitic policy of the Nazi regime. Hungary refused to participate in Nazi Germany's planned invasion of Czechoslovakia during the Sudenten Crisis, but after the Munich Agreement carried out a diplomatic rapprochement in order to avoid Germany developing too close of an alliance with Hungary's rival Romania.[28] Due to its supportive stance towards Germany and the new efforts in the international policy, Hungary gained favourable territorial settlements by theFirst Vienna Award, after the breakup ofCzechoslovakia occupied and annexed the remainder ofCarpathian Ruthenia and in 1940 receivedNorthern Transylvania from Romania via theSecond Vienna Award. Hungarians permitted German troops to transit through their territory during theinvasion of Yugoslavia, and Hungarian forces joined the military operations after the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia. Parts of the former Yugoslavia were annexed to Hungary; the United Kingdom immediately broke off diplomatic relations in response.
Although Hungary did not initially participate in theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union, Hungary and theSoviet Union became belligerents on 27 June 1941. Over 500,000 soldiers served on theEastern Front. All five of Hungary's field armies ultimately participated in the war against the Soviet Union; a significant contribution was made by theHungarian Second Army.
On 25 November 1941, Hungary was one of thirteen signatories to the renewed Anti-Comintern Pact. Hungarian troops, like their Axis counterparts, were involved in numerous actions against the Soviets. By the end of 1943, the Soviets had gained the upper hand and the Germans were retreating. The Hungarian Second Army was destroyed in fighting on theVoronezh Front, on the banks of theDon River.
Prior to theGerman occupation within the area of Hungary around 63,000 Jews perished. Afterwards, in late 1944, 437,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, most of them to their deaths.[88] Overall, Hungarian Jews suffered close to 560,000 casualties.[89]
Relations between Germany and the regency ofMiklós Horthy collapsed in 1944 when Horthy attempted to negotiate a peace agreement with the Soviets and jump out of the war without German approval. Horthy was forced to abdicate after German commandos, led by ColonelOtto Skorzeny, held his son hostage as part ofOperation Panzerfaust. Hungary was reorganized following Horthy's abdication in December 1944 into a totalitarian regime called theGovernment of National Unity, led byFerenc Szálasi. He had beenPrime Minister of Hungary since October 1944 and was leader of theHungaristArrow Cross Party. Its jurisdiction was effectively limited to an ever-narrowing band of territory incentral Hungary, aroundBudapest since by the time they took power theRed Army was already far inside the country. Nonetheless, the Arrow Cross rule, short-lived as it was, was brutal. In fewer than three months, Arrow Cross death squads killed as many as 38,000Hungarian Jews. Arrow Cross officers helpedAdolf Eichmann re-activate the deportation proceedings from which the Jews of Budapest had thus far been spared, sending some 80,000 Jews out of the city on slave labour details and many more straight to death camps. Most of them died, including many who were murdered outright after the end of the fighting as they were returning home.[90][91] Days after the Szálasi government took power, the capital ofBudapest was surrounded by the SovietRed Army. German and Hungarian forces tried to hold off the Soviet advance but failed. After fierce fighting, Budapest was taken by the Soviets. A number of pro-German Hungarians retreated to Italy and Germany, where they fought until the end of the war.
In March 1945, Szálasi fled to Germany as the leader of a government in exile, until the surrender of Germany in May 1945.
With the exception of Germany and Italy, Romania was the only country where a Fascist movement came to power without foreign assistance.[92] When war erupted in Europe, the economy of theKingdom of Romania was already subordinated to the interests of Nazi Germany through atreaty signed in the spring of 1939. Nevertheless, the country had not totally abandoned pro-British sympathies. Romania had also been allied to thePoles for most of the interwar era. Following theinvasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union, and the German conquest of France and theLow Countries, Romania found itself increasingly isolated; meanwhile, pro-German and pro-Fascist elements began to grow.
Two days later, Antonescu forced the king to abdicate and installed the king's young sonMichael (Mihai) on the throne, then declared himselfConducător ("Leader") with dictatorial powers. TheNational Legionary State was proclaimed on 14 September, with theIron Guard ruling together with Antonescu as the sole legal political movement in Romania. Under King Michael I and the military government of Antonescu, Romania signed theTripartite Pact on November 23, 1940. German troops entered the country on 10 October 1941, officially to train theRomanian Army. Hitler's directive to the troops on 10 October had stated that "it is necessary to avoid even the slightest semblance of military occupation of Romania".[94] The entrance of German troops in Romania determined Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini to launch an invasion of Greece, starting theGreco-Italian War.[95] Having secured Hitler's approval in January 1941, Antonescuousted the Iron Guard from power.
Romania was subsequently used as a platform for invasions of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Despite not being involved militarily in theInvasion of Yugoslavia, Romania requested that Hungarian troops not operate in theBanat. Paulus thus modified the Hungarian plan and kept their troops west of theTisza.[96]
Romania joined the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Antonescu was the only foreign leader Hitler consulted on military matters[97] and the two would meet no less than ten times throughout the war.[98] Romania re-captured Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina duringOperation Munchen before conquering further Soviet territory and establishing theTransnistria Governorate. After theSiege of Odessa, the city became the capital of the Governorate. Romanian troopsfought their way into the Crimea alongside German troops and contributed significantly to theSiege of Sevastopol. Later, Romanian mountain troops joined the German campaign in the Caucasus, reaching as far asNalchik.[99] After suffering devastating lossesat Stalingrad, Romanian officials began secretly negotiating peace conditions with the Allies.
Romania's military industry was small but versatile, able to copy and produce thousands of French, Soviet, German, British, and Czechoslovak weapons systems, as well as producing capable original products.[100] TheRomanian Navy also built sizable warships, such as the minelayerNMS Amiral Murgescu and the submarinesNMS Rechinul andNMS Marsuinul.[101] Hundreds of originally-designedRomanian Air Force aircraft were also produced, such as the fighterIAR-80 and the light bomberIAR-37.[102] The country hadbuilt armored fighting vehicles as well, most notably theMareșal tank destroyer, that likely influenced the design of the GermanHetzer.[103] Romania had also been a major power in the oil industry since the 1800s. It was one of the largest producers in Europe and thePloiești oil refineries provided about 30% of all Axis oil production.[104] British historianDennis Deletant has asserted that Romania's crucial contributions to the Axis war effort, including having the third largest Axis army in Europe and sustaining the German war effort through oil and other materiel, meant that it was "on a par with Italy as a principal ally of Germany and not in the category of a minor Axis satellite".[105] Another British historian, Mark Axworthy, believes that Romania could even be considered to have had the second most important Axis army of Europe, even more so than that of Italy.[106]
Under Antonescu Romania was a fascist dictatorship and a totalitarian state. Between 45,000 and 60,000 Jews were killed inBukovina andBessarabia by Romanian and German troops in 1941. According to Wilhelm Filderman at least 150,000 Jews of Bessarabia and Bukovina, died under the Antonescu regime (both those deported and those who remained). Overall, approximately 250,000 Jews under Romanian jurisdiction died.[107]
Romanian soldiers on the outskirts of Stalingrad during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942
By 1943, the tide began to turn. The Soviets pushed further west, retaking Ukraine and eventually launching anunsuccessful invasion of eastern Romania in the spring of 1944. Romanian troops in the Crimeahelped repulse initial Soviet landings, but eventually all of the peninsula was re-conquered by Soviet forces and theRomanian Navy evacuated over 100,000 German and Romanian troops, an achievement which earned Romanian AdmiralHoria Macellariu theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[108] During theJassy-Kishinev Offensive of August 1944, Romaniaswitched sides on August 23, 1944. Romanian troops then fought alongside the Soviet Army until the end of the war, reaching as far as Czechoslovakia and Austria.
Germany's main European ally (September 1943 – August 1944)
After the September 1943Armistice of Cassibile with Italy, Romania became the second Axis Power in Europe.[109] The Romanians shared in the spoils ofOperation Achse,Regia Marina's 5CB-class midget submarines in the Black Sea being transferred to the Romanian Navy.[110] Romania also captured 496 Italians, mostly naval personnel (2 of them later died). Before the month was out, Germany had agreed to systematically supply the Romanian Army with German military vehicles, via the Olivenbaum I-III and Quittenbaum I programs. Deliveries started in November 1943, and by August 1944, Germany had supplied Romania with 10 times more armored vehicles (Panzer III,Panzer IV andSturmgeschütz III) than during the entire pre-Cassibile period. Having acquired the license to produce theMesserschmitt Bf 109, Romania planned to assemble 75 from German parts. Deliveries began in May 1944, but only 6 were completed before Romania left the Axis in August 1944. Eleven more were completed by the end of the war with the remaining 58 completed after the war. In 1944, Romania had also gained access to certainWunderwaffen, such as theWerfer-Granate 21. The first Romanian-madeFiesler Storch was completed in October 1943, followed by 9 more by May 1944. From March 1944, Germany also contributed to the design and construction of the M-05 and M-06 prototypes of the Mareșal tank destroyer:Alkett contributed to the Romanian design team andTelefunken radios along withBöhler armor were provided. The75 mm Reșița gun (production started at the end of 1943) used the projectile chamber of the GermanPak 40. Technology transfers between the two countries were not necessarily one-way, however. On 6 January 1944, Antonescu showed Hitler the plans of the M-04 prototype of theMareșal tank destroyer. In May 1944, Lieutenant-Colonel Ventz from theWaffenamt acknowledged that theHetzer had followed the Romanian design. German-ledArmy Group South Ukraine could not take major operational decisions without securingIon Antonescu's approval, even as late as 22 August 1944 (the day beforehe was dismissed).[111] An entire German army (the 6th) came under Romanian command in May 1944, when it became part of Romanian generalPetre Dumitrescu'sArmeegruppe. For the first time in the war, German commanders came under the actual (rather than nominal) command of their foreign allies. This Romanian-led army group had 24 divisions of which 17 were German.[112][113]
Slovakia had been closely aligned with Germany almost immediately from its declaration of independence from Czechoslovakia on 14 March 1939. Slovakia entered into a treaty of protection with Germany on 23 March 1939.
Slovak troops joined the German invasion of Poland, having interest inSpiš andOrava. Those two regions, along withCieszyn Silesia, had beendisputed between Poland and Czechoslovakia since 1918. The Poles fully annexed them following theMunich Agreement. After the invasion of Poland, Slovakia reclaimed control of those territories.Slovakia invaded Poland alongside German forces, contributing 50,000 men at this stage of the war.
Hiroshi Ōshima, Japanese envoy to Slovak Republic and Ambassador to Germany with Slovak presidentJozef Tiso and Slovak prime ministerVojtech Tuka, 1941
Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941 and signed the revived Anti-Comintern Pact in 1941. Slovak troops fought on Germany's Eastern Front, furnishing Germany with two divisions totaling 80,000 men. Slovakia declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States in 1942.
Slovakia was spared German military occupation until theSlovak National Uprising, which began on 29 August 1944, and was almost immediately crushed by the Waffen SS and Slovak troops loyal to Josef Tiso.
After the war, Tiso was executed and Slovakia once again became part of Czechoslovakia. The border with Poland was shifted back to the pre-war state.
Bulgarian soldiers inVardar Macedonia during the Balkans campaign
TheTsardom of Bulgaria was ruled byТsar Boris III when it signed the Tripartite Pact on 1 March 1941. Bulgaria had been on the losing side in the First World War and sought a return of what the Bulgarian leadership saw as lost ethnically and historically Bulgarian territories, specifically inMacedonia andThrace (divided between theKingdom of Yugoslavia, theKingdom of Greece, and Turkey). During the 1930s, because of traditional right-wing elements, Bulgaria drew closer to Nazi Germany. In 1940 Germany pressured Romania to sign theTreaty of Craiova, returning to Bulgaria the region ofSouthern Dobrudja, which it had lost in 1913. The Germans also promised Bulgaria – if it joined the Axis – an enlargement of its territory to the borders specified in theTreaty of San Stefano.
Bulgaria participated in theAxis invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece by letting German troops attack from its territory and sent troops to Greece on April 20. As a reward, the Axis powers allowed Bulgaria to occupy parts of both countries – southern and south-eastern Yugoslavia (Vardar Banovina) and north-eastern Greece (parts ofGreek Macedonia andGreek Thrace). The Bulgarian forces in these areas spent the following years fighting various nationalist groups andresistance movements. Despite German pressure, Bulgaria did not take part in theAxis invasion of the Soviet Union and actually never declared war on the Soviet Union. TheBulgarian Navy was nonetheless involved in a number of skirmishes with the SovietBlack Sea Fleet, which attacked Bulgarian shipping.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Bulgarian government declared war on theWestern Allies. This action remained largely symbolic (at least from the Bulgarian perspective), until August 1943, when Bulgarian air defense and air force attacked Allied bombers, returning (heavily damaged) from a mission over the Romanian oil refineries. This turned into a disaster for the citizens ofSofia and other major Bulgarian cities, which were heavily bombed by the Allies in the winter of 1943–1944.
On 2 September 1944, as theRed Army approached the Bulgarian border, a new Bulgarian government came to power and sought peace with the Allies, expelled the few remaining German troops, and declared neutrality. These measures however did not prevent the Soviet Union from declaring war on Bulgaria on 5 September, and on 8 September the Red Army marched into the country, meeting no resistance. This was followed by thecoup d'état of 9 September 1944, which brought a government of the pro-SovietFatherland Front to power. After this, the Bulgarian army (as part of the Red Army's3rd Ukrainian Front) fought the Germans in Yugoslavia and Hungary, sustaining numerous casualties. Despite this, theParis Peace Treaty treated Bulgaria as one of the defeated countries. Bulgaria was allowed to keepSouthern Dobruja, but had to give up all claims to Greek and Yugoslav territory.
On 10 April 1941, the so-calledIndependent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, or NDH), an installed German–Italian puppet state, co-signed the Tripartite Pact. The NDH remained a member of the Axis until the end of Second World War, its forces fighting for Germany even after its territory had been overrun byYugoslav Partisans. On 16 April 1941,Ante Pavelić, a Croatian nationalist and one of the founders of theUstaše ("Croatian Liberation Movement"), was proclaimedPoglavnik (leader) of the new regime.
Initially the Ustaše had been heavily influenced by Italy. They were actively supported by Mussolini'sNational Fascist Party regime in Italy, which gave the movement training grounds to prepare for war against Yugoslavia, as well as accepting Pavelić as an exile and allowing him to reside in Rome. In 1941 during the Italian invasion of Greece, Mussolini requested that Germany invade Yugoslavia to save the Italian forces in Greece. Hitler reluctantly agreed; Yugoslavia was invaded and the NDH was created. Pavelić led a delegation to Rome and offered the crown of the NDH to an Italian prince of theHouse of Savoy, who was crownedTomislav II. The next day, Pavelić signed the Contracts of Rome with Mussolini, cedingDalmatia to Italy and fixing the permanent borders between the NDH and Italy. Italian armed forces were allowed to control all of the coastline of the NDH, effectively giving Italy total control of the Adriatic coastline. When the King of Italy ousted Mussolini from power and Italy capitulated, the NDH became completely under German influence.
The platform of the Ustaše movement proclaimed that Croatians had been oppressed by the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and that Croatians deserved to have an independent nation after years of domination by foreign empires. The Ustaše perceived Serbs to be racially inferior to Croats and saw them as infiltrators who were occupying Croatian lands. They saw the extermination and expulsion or deportation of Serbs as necessary to racially purify Croatia. While part of Yugoslavia, manyCroatian nationalists violently opposed the Serb-dominated Yugoslav monarchy, and assassinatedAlexander I of Yugoslavia, together with theInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. Ustashe forces fought against communistYugoslav Partisan guerrilla throughout the war.
The Ustaše regime lacked general support among Croats and never accrued any significant support among the populace.[114][115] The Ustaše regime was backed by parts of the Croat population that during theinterwar period had felt oppressed in the Serb-ledYugoslavia. Most of the support it had initially gained by creating a Croatian national state was lost because of the brutal practices it used.[116]
Upon coming to power, Pavelić formed theCroatian Home Guard (Hrvatsko domobranstvo) as the official military force of the NDH. Originally authorized at 16,000 men, it grew to a peak fighting force of 130,000. The Croatian Home Guard included an air force and navy, although its navy was restricted in size by the Contracts of Rome. In addition to the Croatian Home Guard, Pavelić was also the supreme commander of theUstaše militia, although all NDH military units were generally under the command of the German or Italian formations in their area of operations.
The Ustaše government declared war on the Soviet Union, signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941, and sent troops to Germany's Eastern Front. Ustaše militia were garrisoned in the Balkans, battling the communist partisans.
Yugoslavia was largely surrounded by members of the pact and now bordered the German Reich. From late 1940 Hitler sought a non-aggression pact with Yugoslavia. In February 1941, Hitler called for Yugoslavia's accession to the Tripartite Pact, but the Yugoslav government delayed. In March, divisions of the German army arrived at the Bulgarian-Yugoslav border and permission was sought for them to pass through to attack Greece. On 25 March 1941, fearing that Yugoslavia would be invaded otherwise, the Yugoslav government signed the Tripartite Pact with significant reservations. Unlike other Axis powers, Yugoslavia was not obliged to provide military assistance, nor to provide its territory for Axis to move military forces during the war. Less than two days later, after demonstrations in the streets of Belgrade,Prince Paul and the government were removed from office by acoup d'état. Seventeen-year-oldKing Peter was declared to be of age. The new Yugoslav government under GeneralDušan Simović, refused to ratify Yugoslavia's signing of the Tripartite Pact, and started negotiations with Great Britain and Soviet Union. Winston Churchill commented that "Yugoslavia has found its soul"; however, Hitler invaded and quickly took control.
Anti-Comintern Pact signatories
Some countries signed the Anti-Comintern Pact but not the Tripartite Pact. As such their adherence to the Axis may have been less than that of Tripartite Pact signatories. Some of these states were officially at war with members of the Allied powers, others remained neutral in the war and sent only volunteers. Signing the Anti-Comintern Pact was seen as "alitmus test of loyalty" by the Nazi leadership.[118]
The Nanjing Government had no real power; its main role was to act as a propaganda tool for the Japanese. The Nanjing Government concluded agreements with Japan and Manchukuo, authorising Japanese occupation of China and recognising the independence of Manchukuo under Japanese protection. The Nanjing Government signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941 and declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom on 9 January 1943.
The government had a strained relationship with the Japanese from the beginning. Wang's insistence on his regime being the true Nationalist government of China and in replicating all the symbols of theKuomintang led to frequent conflicts with the Japanese, the most prominent being the issue of the regime's flag, which was identical to that of theRepublic of China.
The worsening situation for Japan from 1943 onwards meant that the Nanjing Army was given a more substantial role in the defence of occupied China than the Japanese had initially envisaged. The army was almost continuously employed against the communistNew Fourth Army. Wang Jingwei died on 10 November 1944, and was succeeded by his deputy,Chen Gongbo. Chen had little influence; the real power behind the regime wasZhou Fohai, the mayor of Shanghai. Wang's death dispelled what little legitimacy the regime had. On 9 September 1945, following the defeat of Japan, the area was surrendered to GeneralHe Yingqin, a nationalist general loyal toChiang Kai-shek. Chen Gongbo was tried and executed in 1946.
Denmark was occupied by Germany after April 1940 and never joined the Axis. On 31 May 1939, Denmark and Germany signed a treaty of non-aggression, which did not contain any military obligations for either party.[119] On April 9, Germanyattacked Scandinavia, and the speed of theGerman invasion of Denmark prevented KingChristian X and the Danish government from going into exile. They had to accept "protection by the Reich" and the stationing of German forces in exchange for nominal independence. Denmark coordinated its foreign policy with Germany, extending diplomatic recognition to Axis collaborator and puppet regimes, and breaking diplomatic relations with the Allied governments-in-exile. Denmark broke diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1941.[120] However the United States and Britain ignored Denmark and worked withHenrik Kauffmann Denmark's ambassador in the US when it came to dealings about usingIceland,Greenland, and the Danish merchant fleet against Germany.[121][122]
In 1941 Danish Nazis set up theFrikorps Danmark. Thousands of volunteers fought and many died as part of the German Army on the Eastern Front. Denmark sold agricultural and industrial products to Germany and made loans for armaments and fortifications. The German presence in Denmark included the construction of part of theAtlantic Wall fortifications which Denmark paid for and was never reimbursed.
The Danish protectorate government lasted until 29 August 1943, when the cabinet resigned after theregularly scheduled and largely free election concluding theFolketing's current term. The Germans imposedmartial law followingOperation Safari, and Danish collaboration continued on an administrative level, with the Danish bureaucracy functioning under German command. TheRoyal Danish Navy scuttled 32 of its larger ships; Germany seized 64 ships and later raised and refitted 15 of the sunken vessels.[123][124] 13 warships escaped to Sweden and formed a Danish naval flotilla in exile. Sweden allowed formation of aDanish military brigade in exile; it did not see combat.[125] TheDanish resistance movement was active in sabotage and issuing underground newspapers and blacklists of collaborators.[126]
The visit of German, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian and Romanian military delegates in theUhtua sector of the front on 5 April 1943
Although Finland never signed the Tripartite Pact, it fought against the Soviet Union alongside Germany in the 1941–44Continuation War, during which the official position of the wartime Finnish government was that Finland was a co-belligerent of the Germans whom they described as "brothers-in-arms".[127] Finland did sign the revived Anti-Comintern Pact of November 1941.[128] Finland signed apeace treaty with the Allied powers in 1947 which described Finland as having been "an ally of Hitlerite Germany" during the continuation war.[129] As such, Finland was the only democracy to join the Axis.[130][131] Finland's relative independence from Germany put it in the most advantageous position of all the minor Axis powers.[132] Finland was unusual in the Axis in its relative lack of participation inthe Holocaust, and its lack of a fascist regime.[133]
Whilst Finland's relationship with Nazi Germany during the Continuation War remains controversial within Finland,[134] in a 2008Helsingin Sanomat survey of 28 Finnish historians, 16 agreed that Finland had been an ally of Nazi Germany, with only 6 disagreeing.[135]
The August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union contained a secret protocol dividing much of eastern Europe and assigning Finland to the Soviet sphere of influence.[56][136] After unsuccessfully attempting to force territorial and other concessions on the Finns, the Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, launching theWinter War, intending toestablish a communist puppet government in Finland.[137][138] The conflict threatenedGermany's iron-ore supplies and offered the prospect of Allied interference in the region.[139] Despite Finnish resistance, a peace treaty was signed in March 1940, wherein Finland ceded some key territory to the Soviet Union, including theKarelian Isthmus, containing Finland's second-largest city,Viipuri, and the critical defensive structure of theMannerheim Line. After this war, Finland sought protection and support from the United Kingdom[140][141] and non-aligned Sweden,[142] but was thwarted by Soviet and German actions. This resulted in Finland being drawn closer to Germany, first with the intent of enlisting German support as a counterweight to thwart continuing Soviet pressure, and later to help regain lost territories.
In the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Finland permitted German planes returning from mine dropping runs overKronstadt andNeva River to refuel at Finnish airfields before returning to bases inEast Prussia. In retaliation, the Soviet Union launched a major air offensive againstFinnish Air Force bases and towns, which resulted in a Finnish declaration of war against the Soviet Union on 25 June 1941. The Finnish conflict with the Soviet Union is generally referred to as theContinuation War.
Finland's main objective was to regain territory lost to the Soviet Union in the Winter War. However, on 10 July 1941, Field MarshalCarl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim issued anOrder of the Day that contained a formulation understood internationally as a Finnish territorial interest in RussianKarelia.
Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Finland were severed on 1 August 1941, after the BritishRoyal Air Force bombed German forces in the Finnish village and port ofPetsamo. The United Kingdom repeatedly called on Finland to cease its offensive against the Soviet Union, and declared war on Finland on 6 December 1941, although no other military operations followed. War was never declared between Finland and the United States, though relations were severed between the two countries in 1944 as a result of theRyti-Ribbentrop Agreement.
Finnish troops passing by the remains of a destroyed Soviet T-34 at thebattle of Tali-Ihantala
Finland maintained command ofits armed forces and pursued war objectives independently of Germany. Germans and Finns did work closely together duringOperation Silver Fox, a joint offensive against Murmansk. Finland took part in theSiege of Leningrad. Finland was one of Germany's most important allies in its war with the USSR.[118]
The relationship between Finland and Germany was also affected by theRyti-Ribbentrop Agreement, which was presented as a German condition for help with munitions and air support, as theSoviet offensive coordinated with D-Day threatened Finland with complete occupation. The agreement, signed by PresidentRisto Ryti but never ratified by the Finnish Parliament, bound Finland not to seek a separate peace.
After Soviet offensives were fought to a standstill, Ryti's successor as president, MarshalCarl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, dismissed the agreement and opened secret negotiations with the Soviets, which resulted in a ceasefire on 4 September and theMoscow Armistice on 19 September 1944. Under the terms of the armistice, Finland was obliged to expel German troops from Finnish territory, which resulted in theLapland War.
Following theJapanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the independence of Manchukuo was proclaimed on 18 February 1932, with Puyi as head of state. He was proclaimed the Emperor of Manchukuo a year later. The new Manchu nation was recognized by 23 of theLeague of Nations' 80 members. Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union were among the major powers who recognised Manchukuo. Other countries who recognized the State were theDominican Republic,Costa Rica, andEl Salvador. Manchukuo was also recognised by the other Japanese allies and puppet states, including Mengjiang, the Burmese government ofBa Maw,Thailand, the Wang Jingwei regime, and the Indian government ofSubhas Chandra Bose. The League of Nations later declared in 1934 that Manchuria lawfully remained a part of China. This precipitated Japanese withdrawal from the League. The Manchukuoan state ceased to exist after theSoviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945.
Manchukuo signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1939, but never signed the Tripartite Pact.
Caudillo Francisco Franco'sSpanish State gave moral, economic, and military assistance to the Axis powers, while nominally maintaining neutrality. Franco described Spain as a member of the Axis and signed theAnti-Comintern Pact in 1941 with Hitler and Mussolini. Members of the rulingFalange party in Spain held irredentist designs onGibraltar.[143] Falangists also supported Spanish colonial acquisition of theTangier International Zone,French Morocco and northwesternFrench Algeria.[144] In addition, Spain held ambitions on formerSpanish colonies in Latin America.[145] In June 1940 the Spanish government approached Germany to propose an alliance in exchange for Germany recognizing Spain's territorial aims: the annexation of theOran Province ofAlgeria, the incorporation of allMorocco, the extension ofSpanish Sahara southward to the twentieth parallel, and the incorporation ofFrench Cameroons intoSpanish Guinea.[146] Spain invaded and occupied the Tangier International Zone, maintaining its occupation until 1945.[146] The occupation caused a dispute between Britain and Spain in November 1940; Spain conceded to protect British rights in the area and promised not to fortify the area.[146] The Spanish government secretly held expansionist plans towards Portugal that it made known to the German government. In a communiqué with Germany on 26 May 1942, Franco declared that Portugal should be annexed into Spain.[147]
Franco had previously won theSpanish Civil War with the help of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Both were eager to establish another fascist state in Europe. Spain owed Germany over $212 million[148] for supplies ofmatériel during the Spanish Civil War, and ItalianCorpo Truppe Volontarie combat troops had actually fought in Spain on the side of Franco's Nationalists.
When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Franco immediately offered to form a unit of military volunteers to join the invasion. This was accepted by Hitler and, within two weeks, there were more than enough volunteers to form a division – theBlue Division (División Azul) under GeneralAgustín Muñoz Grandes.
The possibility of Spanish intervention in World War II was of concern to the United States, which investigated the activities of Spain's rulingFalange Espanola Tradicionalista y de las JONS inLatin America, especiallyPuerto Rico, where pro-Falange and pro-Franco sentiment was high, even amongst the ruling upper classes.[149] The Falangists promoted the idea of supporting Spain's former colonies in fighting against American domination.[145] Prior to the outbreak of war, support for Franco and the Falange was high in the Philippines.[150] TheFalange Exterior, the international department of the Falange, collaborated with Japanese forces against theUnited States Armed Forces and thePhilippine Commonwealth Army in thePhilippines through thePhilippine Falange.[151]
Bilateral Pacts with the Axis Powers
Some countries colluded with Germany, Italy, and Japan without signing either the Anti-Comintern Pact, or the Tripartite Pact. In some cases these bilateral agreements were formalised, in other cases it was less formal. Some of these countries were puppet states established by the Axis Powers themselves.
The Japanese Army and Burma nationalists, led byAung San, seized control of Burma from the United Kingdom during 1942. AState of Burma was formed on 1 August 1943 under the Burmese nationalist leaderBa Maw. A treaty of alliance was concluded between the Ba Maw regime and Japan was signed by Ba Maw for Burma and Sawada Renzo for Japan on the same day in which the Ba Maw government pledged itself to provide the Japanese "with every necessary assistance in order to execute a successful military operation in Burma". The Ba Maw government mobilised Burmese society during the war to support the Axis war-effort.[152]
The Ba Maw regime established the Burma Defence Army (later renamed theBurma National Army), which was commanded byAung San which fought alongside the Japanese in theBurma campaign. The Ba Maw has been described as a state having "independence without sovereignty" and as being effectively a Japanese puppet state.[153] On 27 March 1945 the Burma National Army revolted against the Japanese.
As an ally of Japan during the war that deployed troops to fight on the Japanese side against Allied forces,Thailand is considered to have been part of the Axis alliance,[154][155][156] or at least "aligned with the Axis powers".[157] For example, writing in 1945, the American politicianClare Boothe Luce described Thailand as "undeniably an Axis country" during the war.[158]
Thailand waged theFranco-Thai War in October 1940 to May 1941 to reclaim territory fromFrench Indochina.Japanese forces invaded Thailand an hour and a half before theattack on Pearl Harbor (because of the International Dateline, the local time was on the morning of 8 December 1941). Only hours after the invasion, Prime Minister Field MarshalPhibunsongkhram ordered the cessation of resistance against the Japanese. An outline plan of Japan-Thailand joint military operations, whereby Thai forces would invade Burma to defend the right flank of Japanese forces, was agreed on 14 December 1941.[159] On 21 December 1941, a military alliance with Japan was signed and on 25 January 1942,Sang Phathanothai read over the radio Thailand's formal declaration of war on the United Kingdom and the United States. The Thai ambassador to the United States,Mom RajawongseSeni Pramoj, did not deliver his copy of the declaration of war. Therefore, although the British reciprocated by declaring war on Thailand and considered it a hostile country, the United States did not.
The Thais and Japanese agreed that the BurmeseShan State andKarenni State were to be under Thai control. The rest of Burma was to be under Japanese control. On 10 May 1942, the ThaiPhayap Army entered Burma's eastern Shan State, which had been claimed by Siamese kingdoms. Three Thai infantry and one cavalry division, spearheaded by armoured reconnaissance groups and supported by the air force, engaged the retreating Chinese 93rd Division.Kengtung, the main objective, was captured on 27 May. Renewed offensives in June and November saw the Chinese retreat intoYunnan.[160]
In November 1943 Thailand signed the Greater East Asia Joint Declaration, formally aligning itself with the Axis Powers. The area containing theShan States andKayah State was annexed by Thailand in 1942, and four northern states ofMalaya were also transferred to Thailand by Japan as a reward for Thai co-operation. These areas were ceded back toBurma and Malaya in 1945.[161] Thai military losses totalled 5,559 men during the war, of whom about 180 died resisting the Japanese invasion of 8 December 1941, roughly 150 died in action during the fighting in the Shan States, and the rest died of malaria and other diseases.[159]TheFree Thai Movement ("Seri Thai") was established during these first few months. Parallel Free Thai organizations were also established in the United Kingdom.The king's aunt, QueenRambai Barni, was the nominal head of the British-based organization, andPridi Banomyong, the regent, headed its largest contingent, which was operating within Thailand. Aided by elements of the military, secret airfields and training camps were established, while AmericanOffice of Strategic Services and BritishForce 136 agents slipped in and out of the country.
As the war dragged on, the Thai population came to resent the Japanese presence. In June 1944, Phibun was overthrown in a coup d'état. The new civilian government underKhuang Aphaiwong attempted to aid the resistance while maintaining cordial relations with the Japanese. After the war, U.S. influence prevented Thailand from being treated as an Axis country, but the British demanded three million tons of rice as reparations and the return of areas annexed fromMalaya during the war. Thailand also returned the portions ofBritish Burma and French Indochina that had been annexed. Phibun and a number of his associates were put on trial on charges of having committed war crimes and of collaborating with the Axis powers. However, the charges were dropped due to intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Phibun, as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.
Soviet Union
German and Soviet soldiers during the official transfer ofBrest to Soviet control in front of picture of Stalin, in the aftermath of the invasion andpartition of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939
In 1939 the Soviet Union considered forming an alliance with eitherBritain and France or with Germany.[162][163] When negotiations with Britain and France failed, they turned to Germany and signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. Germany was now freed from the risk of war with the Soviets, and was assured a supply of oil. This included a secret protocol whereby territories controlled byPoland, Finland,Estonia,Romania,Latvia andLithuania were divided intospheres of interest of the parties.[164] The Soviet Union sought to re-annex some of territories that were under control of those states, formerly acquired by theRussian Empire in the centuries prior and lost to Russia in theaftermath of World War I; that included land such as theKresy (WesternBelarus and Western Ukraine) region ceded to Poland after losing theSoviet-Polish War of 1919–1921.[165]
On 1 September, barely a week after the pact had been signed,Germany invaded Poland. The Soviet Unioninvaded Poland from the east on 17 September and on 28 September signed asecret treaty with Nazi Germany to coordinate fighting against thePolish resistance. The Soviets targeted intelligence, entrepreneurs and officers with mass arrests, with many victims sent to theGulag in Siberia, committing a string of atrocities that culminated in theKatyn massacre.[166] Soon after the invasion of Poland, the Soviet Unionoccupied the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,[93][167] and annexedBessarabia andNorthern Bukovina from Romania. The Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939, which started theWinter War.[138] Finnish defenses prevented an all-out invasion, resulting in aninterim peace, but Finland was forced to cede strategically important border areas nearLeningrad.
The Soviet Union provided material support to Germany in the war effort against Western Europe through a pair of commercial agreements,the first in 1939 andthe second in 1940, which involved exports of raw materials (phosphates,chromium andiron ore,mineral oil, grain, cotton, and rubber). These and other export goods transported through Soviet and occupied Polish territories allowed Germany to circumvent the British naval blockade. In October and November 1940,German–Soviet talks about the potential of joining the Axis took place in Berlin.[168][169]Joseph Stalin later personally countered with a separate proposal in a letter on 25 November that contained several secret protocols, including that "the area south ofBatum andBaku in the general direction of thePersian Gulf is recognized as the center of aspirations of the Soviet Union", referring to an area approximating present day Iraq and Iran, and a Soviet claim to Bulgaria.[169][170] Hitler never responded to Stalin's letter.[171][172] Shortly thereafter, Hitler issued a secret directive onthe invasion of the Soviet Union.[170][173] Reasons included the Nazi ideologies ofLebensraum andHeim ins Reich[174]
The German army entered Paris on 14 June 1940, following thebattle of France. Pétain became the lastPrime Minister of the French Third Republic on 16 June 1940. He sued for peace with Germany and on 22 June 1940, the French governmentconcluded an armistice with Hitler and Mussolini, which came into effect at midnight on 25 June. Under the terms of the agreement, Germanyoccupied two-thirds of France, including Paris. Pétain was permitted to keep an "armistice army" of 100,000 men within theunoccupied southern zone. This number included neither the army based in theFrench colonial empire nor theFrench Navy. In Africa the Vichy regime was permitted to maintain 127,000.[175] The French also maintained substantial garrisons at the French-mandate territory ofSyria andGreater Lebanon, theFrench colony of Madagascar, and inFrench Somaliland. Some members of the Vichy government pushed for closer cooperation, but they were rebuffed by Pétain. Neither did Hitler accept that France could ever become a full military partner,[176] and constantly prevented the buildup of Vichy's military strength.
After the armistice, relations between the Vichy French and the British quickly worsened. Although the French had told Churchill they would not allow their fleet to be taken by the Germans, the British launched naval attacks intended to prevent the French navy being used, the most notable of which wasthe attack on the Algerian harbour of Mers el-Kebir on 3 July 1940. Though Churchill defended his controversial decision to attack the French fleet, the action deteriorated greatly the relations between France and Britain.German propaganda trumpeted these attacks as an absolute betrayal of the French people by their former allies.
On 10 July 1940, Pétain was given emergency "full powers" by a majority vote of theFrench National Assembly. The following day approval of the new constitution by the Assembly effectively created theFrench State (l'État Français), replacing the French Republic with the government unofficially called "Vichy France," after the resort town ofVichy, where Pétain maintained his seat of government. This continued to be recognised as the lawful government of France by the neutral United States until 1942, while the United Kingdom had recognisedde Gaulle's government-in-exile in London. Racial laws were introduced in France and its colonies and manyforeign Jews in France were deported to Germany.Albert Lebrun, last President of the Republic, did not resign from the presidential office when he moved toVizille on 10 July 1940. By 25 April 1945, during Pétain's trial, Lebrun argued that he thought he would be able to return to power after the fall of Germany, since he had not resigned.[177]
In 1943 theMilice, a paramilitary force which had been founded by Vichy, was subordinated to the Germans and assisted them in rounding up opponents and Jews, as well as fighting theFrench Resistance. The Germans recruited volunteers in units independent of Vichy. Partly as a result of the great animosity of many right-wingers against the pre-warFront Populaire, volunteers joined the German forces in their anti-communist crusade against the USSR. Almost 7,000 joinedLégion des Volontaires Français (LVF) from 1941 to 1944. The LVF then formed the cadre of theWaffen-SS DivisionCharlemagne in 1944–1945, with a maximum strength of some 7,500. Both the LVF and theDivision Charlemagne fought on the eastern front.
Deprived of any military assets, territory or resources, the members of the Vichy government continued to fulfil their role as German puppets, being quasi-prisoners in the so-called "Sigmaringen enclave" in a castle inBaden-Württemberg at the end of the war in May 1945.
In April 1941 theArab nationalistRashīd ʿAlī al-Gaylānī, who was pro-Axis,seized power in Iraq. British forces responded by deploying to Iraq and in turn removing Rashi Ali from power. During fighting between Iraqi and British forces, Axis forces were deployed to Iraq to support the Iraqis.[178] However, Rashid Ali was never able to conclude a formal alliance with the Axis.[179]
Anti-British sentiments were widespread in Iraq prior to 1941.Rashid Ali al-Gaylani was appointedPrime Minister of Iraq in 1940. When Italy declared war on Britain, Rashid Ali had maintained ties with the Italians. This angered the British government. In December 1940, as relations with the British worsened, Rashid Ali formally requested weapons and military supplies from Germany.[180] In January 1941 Rashid Ali was forced to resign as a result of British pressure.[178]
In April 1941 Rashid Ali, on seizing power in a coup, repudiated theAnglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 and demanded that the British abandon their military bases and withdraw from the country.
On 9 May 1941,Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, theGrand Mufti of Jerusalem who was an associate of Rashid Ali and in asylum in Iraq, declaredJihad[181] against the British and called on Arabs throughout the Middle East to rise up against British rule. On 25 May 1941, the Germans stepped up offensive operations in the Middle East.
Hitler issuedOrder 30: "The Arab Freedom Movement in the Middle East is our natural ally against England. In this connection special importance is attached to the liberation of Iraq ... I have therefore decided to move forward in the Middle East by supporting Iraq."[182]
Hostilities between the Iraqi and British forces began on 2 May 1941, with heavy fighting atthe RAF air base inHabbaniyah. The Germans and Italians dispatched aircraft and aircrew to Iraq utilizing Vichy French bases in Syria; this led to Australian, British, Indian and Free French forcesentering and conquering Syria in June and July. With the advance of British and Indian forces on Baghdad, Iraqi military resistance ended by 31 May 1941. Rashid Ali and al-Husayn, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, fled to Iran, then Turkey, Italy, and finally Germany, where both were welcomed by Hitler and remained throughout the years of the war; Hitler considered Ali to be head of the Iraqigovernment-in-exile in Berlin.
Puppet states
Various nominally-independent governments formed out of local sympathisers under varying degrees of German, Italian, and Japanese control were established within the territories that they occupied during the war. Some of these governments declared themselves to be neutral in the conflict with the allies, or never concluded any formal alliance with the Axis powers, but their effective control by the Axis powers rendered them in reality an extension of it and hence part of it. These differed from military authorities and civilian commissioners provided by the occupying power in that they were formed from nationals of the occupied country, and that the supposed legitimacy of the puppet state was recognised by the occupierde jure if notde facto.[183]
After the Italian armistice, a vacuum of power opened up inAlbania. The Italian occupying forces were rendered largely powerless, as theNational Liberation Movement took control of the south and the National Front (Balli Kombëtar) took control of the north. Albanians in the Italian army joined the guerrilla forces. In September 1943 the guerrillas moved to take the capital ofTirana, butGerman paratroopers dropped into the city. Soon after the battle, theGerman High Command announced that they would recognize the independence of agreater Albania. They organized an Albanian government, police, and military in collaboration with the Balli Kombëtar. The Germans did not exert heavy control over Albania's administration, but instead attempted to gain popular appeal by giving their political partners what they wanted. Several Balli Kombëtar leaders held positions in the regime. The joint forces incorporated Kosovo, western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, and Presevo into the Albanian state. A High Council of Regency was created to carry out the functions of a head of state, while the government was headed mainly by Albanian conservative politicians. Albania was the only European country occupied by the Axis powers that ended World War II with a largerJewish population than before the war.[184] The Albanian government had refused to hand over their Jewish population. They provided Jewish families with forged documents and helped them disperse in the Albanian population.[185] Albania was completely liberated on November 29, 1944.
TheGovernment of National Salvation, also referred to as the Nedić regime, was the second Serbian puppet government, after theCommissioner Government, established on theTerritory of the (German) Military Commander in Serbia[nb 2] duringWorld War II. It was appointed by the German Military Commander in Serbia and operated from 29 August 1941 to October 1944. Although the Serbian puppet regime had some support,[187] it was unpopular with a majority of Serbs who either joined the Yugoslav Partisans orDraža Mihailović'sChetniks.[188] The Prime Minister throughout was GeneralMilan Nedić. The Government of National Salvation was evacuated from Belgrade toKitzbühel,Germany in the first week of October 1944 before the German withdrawal from Serbia was complete.
Racial laws were introduced in all occupied territories with immediate effects on Jews and Roma people, as well as causing the imprisonment of those opposed to Nazism. Several concentration camps were formed in Serbia and at the 1942 Anti-Freemason Exhibition in Belgrade the city was pronounced to be free of Jews (Judenfrei). On 1 April 1942, a Serbian Gestapo was formed. An estimated 120,000 people were interned in German-run concentration camps in Nedić's Serbia between 1941 and 1944. However theBanjica Concentration Camp was jointly run by the German Army and Nedic's regime.[189] 50,000 to 80,000 were killed during this period. Serbia became the second country in Europe, following Estonia, to be proclaimed Judenfrei (free of Jews). Approximately 14,500 Serbian Jews – 90 percent of Serbia's Jewish population of 16,000 – were murdered in World War II.
Nedić was captured by the Americans when they occupied the former territory of Austria, and was subsequently handed over to the Yugoslav communist authorities to act as a witness against war criminals, on the understanding he would be returned to American custody to face trial by the Allies. The Yugoslav authorities refused to return Nedić to United States custody. He died on 4 February 1946 after either jumping or falling out of the window of a Belgrade hospital, under circumstances which remain unclear.
Italian Fascist leaderBenito Mussolini formed the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana inItalian) on 23 September 1943, succeeding the Kingdom of Italy as a member of the Axis.
Mussolini had been removed from office and arrested by King Victor Emmanuel III on 25 July 1943. After the Italian armistice, in araid led by German paratrooperOtto Skorzeny, Mussolini was rescued from arrest.
Once restored to power, Mussolini declared that Italy was arepublic and that he was the new head of state. He was subject to German control for the duration of the war.
Following theGerman invasion of Greece and the flight of theGreek government to Crete and then Egypt, theHellenic State was formed in May 1941 as a puppet state of both Italy and Germany. Initially, Italy had wished to annex Greece, but was pressured by Germany to avoid civil unrest such as had occurred in Bulgarian-annexed areas. The result was Italy accepting the creation of a puppet regime with the support of Germany. Italy had been assured by Hitler of a primary role in Greece. Most of the country was held by Italian forces, but strategic locations (Central Macedonia, the islands of the northeastern Aegean, most ofCrete, and parts ofAttica) were held by the Germans, who seized most of the country's economic assets and effectively controlled the collaborationist government. The puppet regime never commanded any real authority, and did not gain the allegiance of the people. It was somewhat successful in preventing secessionist movements like theAromanianRoman Legion from establishing themselves. By mid-1943, theGreek Resistance had liberated large parts of the mountainous interior ("Free Greece"), setting up a separate administration there. After the Italian armistice, the Italian occupation zone was taken over by the German armed forces, who remained in charge of the country until their withdrawal in autumn 1944. In some Aegean islands, German garrisons were left behind, and surrendered only after the end of the war.
The Empire of Japan created a number of client states in the areas occupied by its military, beginning with the creation of Manchukuo in 1932. These puppet states achieved varying degrees of international recognition.
TheKingdom of Kampuchea was a short-lived Japanese puppet state that lasted from 9 March 1945 to 15 August 1945. The Japanese entered theFrench protectorate of Cambodia in mid-1941, but allowed Vichy French officials to remain in administrative posts while Japanese calls for an "Asia for the Asiatics" won over many Cambodian nationalists.
In March 1945, in order to gain local support, the Japanese dissolved French colonial rule and pressured Cambodia to declare independence within theGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.[190] KingSihanouk declared the Kingdom of Kampuchea (replacing the French name) independent.Son Ngoc Thanh who had fled to Japan in 1942 returned in May and was appointed foreign minister.[191] On the date of Japanese surrender, a new government was proclaimed withSon Ngoc Thanh as prime minister. When the Allies occupiedPhnom Penh in October, Son Ngoc Thanh was arrested for collaborating with the Japanese and was exiled to France.[191]
TheArzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind, the "Provisional Government of Free India" was a state that was recognized by nine Axis governments, and accepted as part of the axis by the Japanese.[192]
It was led bySubhas Chandra Bose, anIndian nationalist who rejectedMahatma Gandhi's nonviolent methods for achieving independence. TheFirst Indian National Army faltered after its leadership objected to being a propaganda tool for Japanese war aims, and the role ofJapanese liaison office. It was revived by theIndian Independence League with Japanese support in 1942 after the ex-PoWs and Indian civilians in South-east Asia agreed to participate in the INA venture on the condition it was led by Bose. From occupied Singapore Bose declared India's independence on October 21, 1943 . The Indian National Army was committed as a part of theU Go Offensive. It played a largely marginal role in the battle, and suffered serious casualties and had to withdraw with the rest of Japanese forces after thesiege of Imphal was broken. It was later committed to the defence of Burmaagainst the Allied offensive. It suffered a large number of desertions in this latter part. The remaining troops of the INA maintained order in Rangoon after the withdrawal of Ba Maw's government. The provisional government was givennominal control of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from November 1943 to August 1945.
Mengjiang was a Japanese puppet state inInner Mongolia. It was nominally ruled by PrinceDemchugdongrub, aMongol nobleman descended fromGenghis Khan, but was in fact controlled by the Japanese military. Mengjiang's independence was proclaimed on 18 February 1936, following the Japanese occupation of the region.
The Inner Mongolians had several grievances against the central Chinese government in Nanjing, including their policy of allowing unlimited migration of Han Chinese to the region. Several of the young princes of Inner Mongolia began to agitate for greater freedom from the central government, and it was through these men that Japanese saw their best chance of exploiting Pan-Mongol nationalism and eventually seizing control of Outer Mongolia from the Soviet Union.
Japan created Mengjiang to exploit tensions between ethnicMongolians and the central government of China, which in theory ruled Inner Mongolia. When the various puppet governments of China were unified under theWang Jingwei government in March 1940, Mengjiang retained its separate identity as an autonomous federation. Although under the firm control of the Japanese Imperial Army, which occupied its territory, Prince Demchugdongrub had his own independent army. Mengjiang vanished in 1945 following Japan's defeat in World War II.
French Indochina, including Laos, had been occupied by the Japanese in 1941, though government by the Vichy French colonial officials had continued. The liberation of France in 1944, bringingCharles de Gaulle to power, meant the end of the alliance between Japan and the Vichy French administration in Indochina. On 9 March 1945 the Japanese staged a military coup in Hanoi, and on 8 April they reached Luang Phrabang. KingSīsavāngvong was detained by the Japanese, and forced to issue a declaration of independence, albeit one that does not appear to have ever been formalised. French control over Laos was re-asserted in 1946.[193]
After thesurrender of the Filipino and American forces inBataan Peninsula andCorregidor Island, the Japanese established a puppet state in the Philippines in 1942.[194] The following year, thePhilippine National Assembly declared the Philippines anindependent Republic and electedJosé Laurel as itsPresident.[195] There was never widespread civilian support for the state, largely because of the generalanti-Japanese sentiment stemming from atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army.[196] The Second Philippine Republic ended with Japanese surrender in 1945, and Laurel was arrested and charged with treason by the US government. He was granted amnesty by PresidentManuel Roxas, and remained active in politics, ultimately winning a seat in the post-warSenate.
TheEmpire of Vietnam was a short-lived Japanese puppet state that lasted from 11 March to 23 August 1945. When the Japanese seized control ofFrench Indochina, they allowed Vichy French administrators to remain in nominal control. This French rule ended on 9 March 1945, when the Japanese officially took control of the government. Soon after, EmperorBảo Đại voided the 1884 treaty with France andTrần Trọng Kim, a historian, became prime minister.
German, Italian and Japanese World War II cooperation
On 7 December 1941, Japanattacked the US naval bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. According to the stipulation of theTripartite Pact, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy were required to come to the defense of their allies only if they were attacked. Since Japan had made the first move, Germany and Italy were not obliged to aid her until the United States counterattacked. Nevertheless, expecting the US to declare war on Germany in any event,[197] Hitler ordered theReichstag toformally declare war on the United States.[198] Hitler had agreed that Germany would almost certainly declare war when the Japanese first informed him of their intention to go to war with the United States on 17 November 1941.[199] Italy alsodeclared war on the US.
HistorianIan Kershaw suggests that this declaration of war against the United States was a serious blunder made by Germany and Italy, as it allowed the United States to join the war in Europe and North Africa without any limitation.[200] On the other hand, American destroyers escorting convoys had been effectively intervening in theBattle of the Atlantic with German and Italian ships and submarines, and the immediate war declaration made theSecond Happy Time possible for U-boats.[201] Franklin D. Roosevelt had said in his Fireside Chat on 9 December 1941, 2 days before the European Axis powers formally declared war on America, that Germany and Italy already considered themselves to be in a state of war with the United States.[202] Plans forRainbow Five had been published by the press early in December 1941,[203] and Hitler could no longer ignore the amount of economic and military aid the US was giving Britain and the USSR.[204]
Italian pilots of aSavoia-Marchetti SM.75 long-range cargo aircraft meeting with Japanese officials upon arriving in East Asia in 1942
German and Japanese direct spheres of influence at their greatest extents in Autumn 1942. Arrows show planned movements to an agreed demarcation line at 70° E, which was, however, never approximated.
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