Sunday, January 8, 2012

Two Events That Shaped The Outcome Of World War 2 And So Determined Modern History Up To Modern Times

1:43 PM
By Danny Paul


In World War 2, two events were to have an important effect on the ultimate result - the Battle of Britain and the attack on Pearl Harbor is the answer to the question 'when was world war 2 won'. The Battle of Britain took place in the skies between August and September nineteen forty. After many German victories, the retreat from Dunkirk and the surrender of France, Britain was alone facing Germany.

The Battle of Britain is possibly the best known battle of the second world war. In order to dominate the English Channel, the German Luftwaffe had to command the British air space. This involved taking on the Royal Air Force, controlled by Sir Hugh Dowding. The primary craft put to use by the Royal Air Force were the Spitfire and the Hurricane, which were powerful flying machines. The German Mescherschmitt fighters and their Stuka dive bombers shaped the foundation of the enemy forces.

At the commencement of the war, Germany employed over twice as many craft as the United Kingdom - 4000 against 1660. The British force had 1200 airplanes at the beginning of the battle (which included 800 Hurricanes and Spitfires) - however, just 660 of those could fly. The speed of British airplane construction was adequate - the big difficulty was the want of well trained and adequately experienced men to pilot the planes. Many young men were killed during the war in France and they had not been replaced in great enough quantities.

Pearl Harbor. On December 7, nineteen forty one, the Japanese Navy mounted an attack surprising the American naval forces at Pearl Harbor. This individual act may have influenced the result of the Second World War, which of course heavily shaped the world scene after the war. Admiral Soroku, the chief of the Japanese naval forces, organized and implemented the attack. It appeared that the tactic was to weaken the American naval force so that it would be stopped from launching an offensive against Japanese forces in Asia.

353 airplanes attacked the anchored ships, in two attacking waves. It began about 7:55 am early on the morning of Sunday December 7 and was sustained for around 110 minutes. The American Naval installations at Pearl Harbor were led by Husband E. Kimmel. In the present day, the USS Arizona Memorial at the harbor floats as a memorial to over 1000 crewmen who lost their lives that day.

Nonetheless, the attack was to very important consequences. The day after, on December 8, America declared war against Japan, and a few days after that war was declared against Germany also.




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