The Second World War in 100 Facts

by Clive Pearson

  The threat of impending defeat imposed further pressure on the all-powerful leader, who by 1943 required a still more powerful stimulant. Morell prescribed Eukodal, a derivative of opium, which bucked up the Führer no end. Hitler soon became addicted and the constant daily intake of these drugs (including cocaine) began to have a devastating impact on his body.

  In the final stages of the war Hitler had visibly degenerated due to the drugs. His hands shook uncontrollably. His teeth were falling out and his organs were failing. The super druggie’s body had reached a point of no return.

  32. PEARL HARBOUR WAKES THE SLEEPING GIANT

  For some time during the 1930s Japan had become increasingly aggressive. In 1937 she had launched a war with China, which had featured numerous atrocities. Those with influence around the Japanese emperor declared, however, that if Japan was to become a truly great power it needed to acquire its own resources. Japan lacked raw materials and above all oil. Much of these resources had to be imported from America. The problem was that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was aiding China and imposing sanctions on the Japanese.

  The military government in Tokyo came up with a plan. In a lightening campaign they would seize British, French and Dutch colonies in south-east Asia along with the American-controlled Philippines in order to get hold of the resources they so desperately needed. In tandem with this they would strike at the US Pacific Fleet anchored in the island base of Pearl Harbour. It was estimated that the Japanese fleet could deal such a blow that America would need six months to rebuild its forces. This would be enough time for Japan to consolidate its new empire, also called the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’. With the Soviet Union no longer posing a threat, the end of 1941 seemed a good time to act.

  The attack on Pearl Harbour was masterminded by the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy, Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto. His massive strike force set sail for Pearl Harbour on 26 November. It contained six aircraft carriers with 423 warplanes in total. They were flanked by an armada of heavy cruisers, battleships and destroyers. Having maintained radio silence the Americans were unaware of the fleets arrival north-east of the Hawaiian Islands on 6 December. No declaration of war had been received in Washington and surprise was complete when early the next morning the various bombers, torpedo planes and zero fighters went in for the kill. The radio signal went out ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’

  With the American ships moored closely together, they made easy targets. Two waves of attack went in and the damage wreaked was immense. Two battleships, the Arizona and Oklahoma, were completely destroyed – the latter capsized trapping 429 men. Three other large ships, the California, West Virginia and Nevada, were sunk and many other vessels were damaged. Over 300 American planes had been destroyed or badly damaged on the ground. The Japanese pilots were jubilant and believed they had scored a great victory.

  Appearances, however, were deceptive. Victory in the Pacific War would depend on eliminating the opponent’s aircraft carriers. By sheer chance all six American carriers, which were normally moored in Pearl Harbour, had been absent at the time. In addition, all the ships apart from Arizona and Oklahoma were soon repaired. America would, within a few months, be able to exact her revenge.

  The next day President Roosevelt described 7 December 1941 as ‘a day that will live in infamy’. It had been an unprovoked attack that now roused an industrial giant out of its isolationist slumber.

  33. BRITAIN AND AMERICA BEGIN THEIR COLLABORATION

  The Anglo-American partnership is one of the most remarkable stories of the war. The closeness of the collaboration was unique and it was certainly not reproduced to the same degree with the other ally, Soviet Russia. Although there were often trials and tribulations, the two sides worked closely together on strategy and in the sharing of information.

  Since the outbreak of war in Europe President Roosevelt had endeavoured to give his support to an embattled Britain while seemingly maintaining an isolationist stance at home. By the autumn of 1940 substantial British orders of planes and tanks had been placed, and in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement America supplied fifty surplus warships to Britain in exchange for eight British overseas bases. However, it was only after Roosevelt’s re-election in November 1940 that the collaboration deepened. However, the president had promised to keep America out of the war so he had to tread a careful path. Nevertheless, by the Lend-Lease arrangement of March 1941 America agreed to supply vast quantities of armaments and food to Britain on credit. Collaboration was further extended by America stepping up its support to Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic.

  Even though America was not at war Roosevelt agreed to meet Churchill at Placentia Bay off the Newfoundland coast in August 1941. Churchill arrived in grand style aboard the massive 35,000 ton battleship HMS Prince of Wales while Roosevelt was on board the cruiser USS Augusta. The two leaders immediately established an excellent rapport and agreed what would happen should America join in the war. Roosevelt proudly unfurled his ‘Atlantic Charter’, which would set out the guiding principles of the Allied side. These included the right of self-determination of all nations, the right of peoples to choose their own governments and ‘freedom from fear and want’.

  After Pearl Harbour America had clearly entered the war, but only against Japan. Fortunately, Hitler himself soon declared war on America, thereby allowing Roosevelt to keep his promise of not deliberately involving America in the war. Churchill arrived in Washington at the end of December and it was immediately agreed to keep to the strategy already decided earlier in the year. It was to be Europe first. The war against Japan would be a secondary front. Churchill also won over the president to the idea that there should be no costly early attempts at a cross-Channel invasion of France in 1942 as favoured by some American generals. The Allies should focus instead on defeating the Axis in the desert and Italy. This was to be Churchill’s famous ‘Mediterranean strategy’. Roosevelt, it seemed, was happy to follow the experienced British premier’s views.

  The result was that on 8 November 1942 the Allies launched the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa, codenamed ‘Operation Torch’. The Americans had arrived in the European theatre and for the moment were at Churchill’s bidding.

  34. THE JAPANESE TAKE SOUTH-EAST ASIA BY STORM

  You may recall that Pearl Harbour was part of a two-pronged master plan (see Fact 32). While America was reeling from the assault on its navy, Japanese imperial forces would overrun Dutch, French, British and American possessions in South East Asia. Within six months the Japanese were able to seize control of one-sixth of the earth’s surface. The story is one that is reminiscent of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Whereas Stalin failed to interpret Hitler’s thought processes, Britain and America, likewise, seriously miscalculated the enemy’s capabilities and intentions.

  On 8 December the simultaneous assaults began. To begin with Wake Island, Guam and Hong Kong were seized. There was a small Commonwealth army of Australian, Canadian, Indian and British forces in Hong Kong but these were soon forced back and nearly 11,000 surrendered on Christmas Day. At the same time Japanese forces swept through neutral Thailand and set about the invasion of Burma. Meanwhile the Japanese 25th Army landed in Malaya intent on seizing British-controlled Singapore. The American colony of the Philippines also came under attack.

  The Americans put up epic resistance but were taken by surprise and overwhelmed by sheer numbers. General Douglas MacArthur had 24,000 men and a scratch force of Filipinos to defend the islands. Unfortunately, a large part of his air force was destroyed on the ground from the start, leaving his forces vulnerable to attack. By 23 December he had abandoned Manila, the capital, and had retreated into the jungles and swamps of the Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor. Surrounded and facing a Japanese army of 200,000 men, MacArthur was ordered to leave the Philippines by President Roosevelt. He famously promised ‘I shall return’. The Japanese captured 78,000 American and Filipino soldiers a
nd cruelly sent them on the infamous 65-mile ‘Bataan Death March’. On Corregidor 2,000 US cavalry troops held out in caves until 6 May.

  In Singapore the story was less heroic. The island of Singapore on the end of the Malaysian Peninsula was considered by many in Britain to be an impregnable fortress. The British commander there was General A. E. Percival. With protruding front teeth, he cut a rather unprepossessing figure who was all too easily blamed for the debacle that followed. In reality he had been dealt a poor hand by the government in London. Most of the troops at his disposal to take on the Japanese were untrained Indians and Australians. He had no tanks and had woefully insufficient air and naval support. No wonder then that when the Japanese launched their offensive against the north of Malaya on 7 December 1941, they were able to move swiftly down the peninsula, often making use of bicycles, and easily outflanking British imperial forces, which were soon forced back onto the island. The myth of Singapore’s impregnability was soon revealed. Makeshift defences were soon overwhelmed and Percival surrendered after only two weeks, and nearly 139,000 men were marched into captivity. The Japanese had fewer men but had lost only 9,824 soldiers. For Churchill it was ‘The worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history’.

  Overnight the apparently invincible Japanese had amassed a huge empire.

  35. A LEG IS PARACHUTED IN FOR A BRITISH ACE PILOT

  Wing Commander Douglas Bader is one of the more extraordinary characters of the Second World War. Having lost both legs prior to the outbreak of war in 1939, he was nevertheless determined to play his full part in the conflict. He proved to be an ace pilot and a thorn in the side of the enemy in more ways than one.

  As a young man he cut a dashing and rather impetuous figure. He loved to show off his piloting skills and took his daredevil aerobatics to the limit. In late 1931 his luck ran out when a wing tip touched the ground and his plane crashed. He laconically wrote ‘Bad show’ in the log book. Leg amputations followed and his career seemed over as he was invalided out. However, when war broke out the rule book was waived and he was soon able to show his prowess. He served valiantly in the Battle of Britain and was credited with twenty aerial victories. By 1941 he had risen to the position of Wing Commander.

  During 1941 Bader undertook several sweeps over occupied France. Then one day in August disaster struck. While hunting down some German ME 109 fighters that he espied some way below him, he suddenly realised that he had been hit. It was a mad scramble to bail out made especially difficult as he had to extricate his artificial legs, one of which he had to leave in the cockpit.

  He was captured by the Germans and taken to St Omer 20 miles from the French coast. His captors were sympathetic to his plight. He befriended Adolf Galland, himself an air ace of the Third Reich, who contacted the British authorities. With the express permission of Reich Marshall Hermann Goering the Germans had a singular request. They wanted a prosthetic leg for a captured pilot. One British plane would be allowed through in order to carry out the special mission. In due course, a Blenheim bomber arrived and dropped a canister by parachute. Inside was the leg together with some tobacco, chocolate and other assorted wartime treats placed there by his wife, Thelma.

  The Germans soon learned to regret their kindness. In no time he set about trying to escape from the very same hospital where he was recovering. The attempt failed but he was involved in numerous other unsuccessful escape plans. The Germans became exasperated and even threatened to confiscate his legs. Finally, he was moved to the impregnable Colditz Castle, which the Germans used for serial escape artists. He remained there until April 1945.

  On his arrival back home he was feted as a hero and as one of the ‘few’ in the Battle of Britain. After the war he was promoted to Group Captain but later he preferred to work for Dutch Shell Oil as an executive. In 1956 a film was made about his life entitled, Reach for the sky. It featured Kenneth Moore as Bader and received the BAFTA Award for ‘Best British Film’.

  36. LENINGRAD WAS BESIEGED FOR 900 DAYS

  Hitler’s Operation Barbarossa had initially resulted in devastating losses of men and territory for the Soviet Union (Fact 26). Prior to the war Leningrad, today’s St Petersburg, was the second city of the Soviet Union with a population of 3,500,000. The swift advance of the German armies, together with Finnish forces from the north, meant that already by the second week of September 1941 the city was surrounded with much of the population sealed up inside. Rather than launching a direct assault Hitler decided to starve the city out. Leningrad would then be razed to the ground.

  Every effort had been made to stave off the Nazi advance. Citizens’ militia had been rushed out to desperately dig defensive lines but these had failed to hold the enemy. Stalin brought in General Zhukov to take control of the city’s defences. Zhukov ordered that the guns be wrested from the ships of the Baltic fleet and instead be placed on trains or dug into fortified positions. Defensive perimeters were established and fierce discipline was imposed. Any slackers or deserters faced summary execution. The constant shelling and bombing by the enemy made life grim and soon electricity and phone lines were cut.

  As many as 490,000 men, women and children had been evacuated before the siege, but this still left a vast population to feed. Ration cards were issued but the food available was already meagre. By November the situation was critical with only 8 ounces of adulterated bread available per day for workers and soldiers; the rest got half this. This was patently insufficient for human survival. At first people resorted to eating their pets. Some imaginative people made soup from glue and leather. As the situation deteriorated perhaps thousands turned to cannibalism. By January between 5,000 and 6,000 people were dying every day from famine with many others losing their lives due to enemy action.

  The situation was not entirely hopeless, however. Leningrad still had access to Lake Ladoga, which lay in the vicinity. When the mighty Russian winter set in the great lake froze over to such a depth that it was possible to drive vehicles across it. It was soon dubbed the ‘Road of Life’ and some food and other supplies were able to be brought in. By January the bread ration was slightly increased. In addition, more than 500,000 emaciated Leningraders were evacuated via this route. But the ice road was not without its risks. German bombing or a slight thaw could mean a lorry suddenly sinking without trace into the murky depths.

  Despite the harrowing conditions the people of Leningrad refused to surrender and the city somehow survived that first terrible winter. But the cost had been enormous. By the end of the siege, which was lifted in January 1944 (actually 872 days), perhaps 1.5 million Soviet citizens had lost their lives there. It was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history.

  Hitler had hubristically expected Leningrad to ‘fall like a leaf’. The stoical Russian people defied the Führer.

  37. THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE STARTS THE HOLOCAUST IN EARNEST

  Adolf Hitler, in a speech in 1939, had declared that if war broke out then it would lead to the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe. What this exactly meant was unclear. Prior to the war Jews in Germany had found themselves excluded from society and many had been encouraged to leave. After the occupation of Poland in August 1939, Jews there had been forced to live in ghettos. Life there was extremely harrowing, but there was no clear plan for mass extermination of these poor souls. Hitler even discussed the possibility of resettlement of the Jewish population in Madagascar. Indeed after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 another plan had been to round up all Jewish people there and march them to the other side of the Ural Mountains and into Siberia. However, with the war in Russia entering something of a stalemate this would no longer be possible. In any case by the autumn of 1941 Hitler had already decided that he wanted a ‘Final Solution’ to the Jewish problem, which meant the extermination of all Jews across Europe.

  Reinhard Heydrich had risen rapidly through the ranks of the SS (Hitler’s black-uniformed agents of terror). By 1941 he was second only to Heinr
ich Himmler, the leader of the whole wretched apparatus. Heydrich had the nicknames the ‘Blond Beast’ and the ‘Hangman’ for good reason. Since the invasion of the Soviet Union he had been responsible for setting up squads of ‘Special Action Groups’ (or Einsatzgruppen) whose sole task was the liquidation of Jews and communist party members. However, the mass shooting of these people was an inefficient and unpleasant process; even Himmler found the whole thing distasteful. Heydrich was given the task of organising a speedier way to deal with the millions of Jews being rounded up.

  For some time during 1941 experiments had been taking place in concentration camps in order to facilitate the process. Heydrich had pioneered the use of mobile gas vans and these were used to kill Jews in Chelmno in Poland in the autumn of 1941. In addition Zyklon B, crystallised cyanide gas, was already being used in Auschwitz around this time. However, all these initiatives were uncoordinated and haphazard.

  On 20 January 1942 Heydrich chaired a conference at Lake Wannsee just outside Berlin. Its purpose was to make the ‘Final Solution’ official policy and to coordinate the action across various ministries of government. Fifteen SS and government officials were present. What is chilling about the meeting is the matter-of-fact manner in which the genocide of Europe’s Jewish population is discussed. The word ‘kill’ is never used in the final document; instead there were euphemisms such as ‘Final Solution’ and ‘deportation to the east’. Afterwards the whole process of the Holocaust became systematised and accelerated.

  Whether Hitler had always intended such a horrific and brutal policy is a moot point, but certainly the cloak of war made such an act possible.