(Redirected from Axis Powers)
Area under Axis control over the course of the
war shown in black
The 'Axis powers,' also interpreted as 'Axis alliance,' 'Axis nations,' 'Axis countries' or sometimes just the 'Axis' were those
countries opposed to the
Allies during
World War II. The three major Axis powers,
Nazi Germany,
Fascist Italy, and
Imperial Japan were part of a
military alliance on the signing of the
Tripartite Pact on
September 1940, which officially founded the Axis powers. At their zenith, the Axis powers ruled
empires that dominated large parts of
Europe,
Asia,
Africa and the
Pacific Ocean, but World War II ended in defeat. Like the Allies, membership of the Axis was fluid, and some nations entered and later left the Axis during the course of the war.
Origins
The term was first used by
Benito Mussolini, in November
1936, when he spoke of a
Rome-
Berlin axis arising out of the
treaty of friendship signed between Italy and Germany on
October 25, 1936. Mussolini declared that the two countries would form an "axis" around which the other states of Europe would revolve. This treaty was forged when Italy, originally opposed to Germany, was faced with opposition to its
war in Abyssinia from the
League of Nations and received support from Germany. Later, in May
1939, this relationship transformed into an alliance, called by Mussolini the "
Pact of Steel".
The term "Axis powers" formally took the name after the
Tripartite Treaty was signed by Germany, Italy and Japan on
September 27,
1940 in
Berlin, Germany. The pact was subsequently joined by Hungary (
November 20, 1940), Romania (
November 23, 1940), Slovakia (
November 24, 1940) and Bulgaria (
March 1,
1941). The Italian name ''
Roberto'' briefly acquired a new meaning from "''Ro''me-''Ber''lin-''To''kyo" between 1940 and
1945. Its most militarily powerful members were Germany and Japan. These two nations had also signed the
Anti-Comintern Pact with each other as allies before the Tripartite Pact in 1936.
Major Axis powers
The three major Axis powers were the original signatories to the
Tripartite Pact:
Germany
Main articles: Nazi Germany
Germany was the principal Axis power in Europe and also in the world. Its official name was ''Deutsches Reich'' (German
Reich), and after 1943, ''Grossdeutsches Reich'' (Greater German Reich), but during this period is most commonly known as
Nazi Germany after its ruling
National Socialist German Workers Party.
Germany was headed by
Führer and Chancellor
Adolf Hitler, a dictator who as Chancellor had seized absolute power in 1934 upon the death of
Paul von Hindenburg. Hitler merged the offices of President and Chancellor and declared himself Führer. During the last days of the war,
Admiral Karl Dönitz succeeded Hitler as Reichspräsident (but not as Führer).
At the start of the Second World War Germany included
Austria, with which it
annexed in 1938, the
Sudetenland, which was ceded by Czechoslovakia in 1938, and
Memelland which was ceded by Lithuania in 1939. The
Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia, created in 1939, was ''de facto'' part of Germany, although technically a Czech state under German protection.
Germany annexed additional territory during the course of the Second World War. On
September 2,
1939, the day after the German invasion of Poland, the pro-Nazi government of the
Free City of Danzig voted to reunite with Germany. On
October 10,
1939, after the defeat and occupation of Poland, Hitler issued decrees annexing the
Polish Corridor,
West Prussia and
Upper Silesia, all formerly German territories lost to Poland under the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles. The remainder of Poland was organized into the
"Government General for the Occupied Polish Territories" for eventual annexation to the Reich.
On its western frontier, Germany made additional annexations after its defeat of
France and occupation of
Belgium,
Netherlands and
Luxembourg in 1940. Germany immediately annexed the predominantly German
Eupen-Malmedy from Belgium in 1940, placing the rest of the country under military occupation.
Luxembourg, an independent grand duchy formerly associated with Germany, was formally annexed in 1942.
Alsace-Lorraine, a region claimed by both Germany and France for centuries, was likewise annexed in 1942. In the Balkans,
Slovenia was annexed in 1941 after
Yugoslavia was occupied and dismembered.
After the German invasion of the
Soviet Union in 1941, Greater Germany was enlarged to include parts of Poland occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939. A Ministry of Eastern Territories was organized to administer the Baltic States, the Ukraine and Russia after they had been seized from the Soviet Union.
Other territories occupied by the Germans were subject to separate civilian commissariats or to direct military rule.
Japan
Main articles: Empire of Japan
Japan was the principal Axis power in Asia and the
Pacific. Its official name was ''Dai Nippon Teikoku'' meaning Empire of Greater Japan, known commonly as Imperial Japan for its imperial ambitions toward Asia and the Pacific.
Japan was ruled by
emperor Hirohito. The constitution prescribed that "The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty, and exercises them, according to the provisions of the present Constitution" (article 4) and that "The Emperor has the supreme command of the Army and the Navy" (article 11). Under the imperial institution were a political cabinet and
Imperial General Headquarters with two chief of staff.
Fumimaro Konoe and
Hideki Tojo, had the longest terms as prime ministers. For the Army and the Navy,
Prince Kan'in,
Hajime Sugiyama, prince
Hiroyasu Fushimi and
Osami Nagano occupied the functions of chief of staff for most of the war.
Japan deployed most of its troops fighting in China proper, and was also the enemy of the Americans fighting in the
Pacific War, the British fighting in Burma, the Australians, Canadians and Indians as part of the dominion, and the Philippines. The
Soviet Union also engaged Japanese forces in
Manchukuo in 1939 during the
battle of Khalkin Gol and in 1945 in
Operation August Storm. Japan's first involvement in World War II was in the
Second Sino-Japanese War against the
Republic of China, headed by
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, on
July 7,
1937, started by a harsh invasion with numerous atrocities against civilians such as the
Nanking massacre and the
Three Alls Policy of
scorched earth. Even though not officially involved, many Americans rushed to help the Chinese, and American airmen helped the Chinese air force. The United States also instituted in 1941 an embargo to stop supplying Japan with raw materials needed for the war in China.
Japan needed more natural resources to fund its territorial expansion. The oil hot spot in the South Pacific was the
Dutch East Indies, the source of the Dutch Shell Oil company's oil. The only thing standing in the way of Japan invading the Indies was the U.S. presence in the
Philippines. In order to isolate the
Philippines, the
Imperial General Headquarters authorized Admiral
Yamamoto to attack the U.S. Naval Base at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 while the army invaded
Malaysia and
Hong Kong. The following day President
Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the
US Congress to declare war on Japan, saying that
December 7 would be "a date which will live in infamy." The Congress willingly complied, and the
Pacific War began, lasting until the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
At its height, Japan's
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere included
Manchuria,
Inner Mongolia, some of
China,
Malaysia,
French Indochina,
Dutch East Indies,
The Philippines,
Burma, some of
India, and various other Pacific Islands (
Iwo Jima,
Okinawa).
Italy
Main articles: Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
Italy was the other major European member of the Axis, belonging to the Axis in two incarnations, both under the leadership of the
fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Its first incarnation was officially known as ''Regno d'Italia'' meaning Kingdom of Italy.
The Kingdom of Italy was ruled by Mussolini in the name of
King Victor Emmanuel III. Victor Emmanuel III was additionally Emperor of
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and King of
Albania. Abyssinia had been occupied by Italian troops after the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War in 1936 and incorporated into the Italian colony of
Italian East Africa. Albania was occupied by Italian troops in 1939 and joined in "personal union" with Italy when Victor Emmanuel III was offered the Albanian crown. Other Italian colonies included
Libya and the
Dodecanese Islands.
In spite of being one of the founding members of the Axis, Italy did not enter World War II until June 10 1940 in the final stages of the
battle of France when it seemed that the war would soon be over. Italy was hence responsible for bringing the war to Africa by way of the
colonies of the
Italian Empire and also
invaded Greece.
The second incarnation of Fascist Italy was officially known as ''Repubblica Sociale Italiana'' meaning
Italian Social Republic. On
July 25,
1943, after Italy had lost control of its African colonies and been subjected to Anglo-American invasion of its mainland, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini, placed him under arrest and began secret negotiations with the Allies. After Italy signed an
armistice with the Allies on
September 8 1943 and joined the Western Allies, Mussolini was rescued by the Germans, and later announced the formation of the Italian Social Republic in Northern Italy.
Minor powers
Several minor powers formally adhered to the Tripartite Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan in this order:
Hungary
Main articles: Hungary during the Second World War
Hungary, ruled by Admiral
Miklós Horthy as
Regent, was the first power to adhere to the Tripartite Pact of Germany, Italy, and Japan signing the agreement on
November 20,
1940.
Hungary's foreign policy under Horthy was driven by the ambition to recover the territories lost through the imposition on her of the
Trianon Treaty. Hungary drew closer to Germany and Italy largely because of the shared desire to revise the peace settlements made after the
First World War.
Hungary was allied to Germany during the First World War by virtue of her being a
constituent kingdom of the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Hungary suffered much the same fate as Germany, with the victorious powers stripping the kingdom of more than 70 percent of her pre-war sovereign territory, which was then distributed to neighbouring states, some newly created in accordance with the
Treaty of Trianon. Horthy, a Hungarian nobleman and
Austro-Hungarian naval officer, became
Regent in
1920, ruling the kingdom in the absence of an acknowledged king.
Hungary participated in the German partition of Czechoslovakia, signed the Tripartite Pact, and was rewarded by Germany in the
Vienna Awards which restored some of the territories taken from her by the Trianon Treaty.
Following political upheaval in Yugoslavia which threatened its continued membership in the Tripartite Pact, Hungary permitted German troops to transit its territory for a military invasion and occupation of that country. On
April 11,
1941, five days after Germany invaded Yugoslavia and had largely destroyed the Yugoslav army, Hungary invaded Yugoslavia, occupying border territories. Hungary participated in the partition of Yugoslavia. In response,
Great Britain immediately broke off diplomatic relations with Hungary.
Hungary was not asked to participate in the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on
June 22,
1941 with attacks from German, Finnish and Romanian forces as well as a declaration of war by Italy. Currying favor with Germany, Hungary declared war on the Soviet Union five days later on
June 27,
1941. Hungary raised over 200,000 troops for
Eastern Front, and all three of its field armies participated in the war against the Soviet Union, although by far the largest and the most significant was the
Hungarian Second Army.
On
November 26,
1941, Hungary was one of 13 signatories to the revived
Anti-Comintern Pact. The other sigatories were: Germany, Japan, Italy,
Spain,
Manchukuo,
Bulgaria,
Croatia,
Denmark,
Finland,
Romania,
Slovakia, and the
Nanking regime of
Wang Chingwei.
On
December 6,
1941, Great Britain declared war on Hungary. Several days later, Hungary declared war on Great Britain and the
United States of America. The United States declared war on Hungary on June 5 1942.
Hungarian troops advanced far into Soviet territory, but in the Soviet counteroffensive of 1943, the Hungarian Second Army was almost completely annihilated in fighting near
Voronezh on the banks of the
Don River.
In 1944, as Soviet troops neared Hungarian territory, German troops occupied Hungary. After the German occupation of Hungary, Horthy was forced to abdicate after his son was
kidnapped by the Germans. Hitler and Horthy had disagreed on the way to handle
Hungarian Jews. In Horthy's place
Ferenc Szalasi, head of the Fascist
Arrow Cross, was put in control of Hungary. When Soviet troops entered
Budapest he fled to Austria and in
1946 was returned to Hungary and hanged for war crimes.
The
Hungarian First Army continued to fight the
Red Army even after Hungary had been completely occupied by the Soviet Union, not disbanding until
May 8,
1945. Hungary remained as the last fighting Tripartite ally of Germany-Japan.
Romania
Main articles: Romania during World War II
Romania, under King Michael and the military government of
Ion Antonescu, adhered to the
Tripartite Pact on
November 23,
1940.
Romania entered the First World War in
1916 on the
Allied side, but called for peace when its ally, the
Russian Empire, collapsed in November
1917. Romania became a German vassal under the
Treaty of Bucharest, but when Germany itself suffered defeat in the West, the Treaty of Bucharest was voided. Romania then saw its borders greatly enlarged in the peace treaties imposed on Germany and her allies.
Following the blueprints of the
Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, the Soviet Union and Germany exploited the fall of France to revise the terms of those peace treaties, reducing Romania in size. On
June 28,
1940, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed
Bessarabia,
Northern Bukovina and Hertza County. Germany forced Romania to cede Northern Transylvania to Hungary on
August 30,
1940 in the second
Vienna Award. Germany also forced Romania to give up
Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria on
September 5,
1940.
In an effort to please Hitler and obtain German protection,
King Carol II appointed the General
Ion Antonescu Prime Minister on
September 6,
1940. Two days later, Antonescu forced the king to abdicate, installed the king's young son
Michael on the throne, and declared himself Conducător (Leader) with
dictatorial powers.
German troops entered the country on 1941, and used it as a base for its invasions of both Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Romania was also a key supplier of resources, especially oil and grain.
Romania joined Germany in invading the Soviet Union on
June 22,
1941. Not only was Romania a base for the invasion, the country contributed nearly 300,000 troops - more than any other minor Axis power - to the war against the Soviet Union. German and Romanian troops quickly overran Moldova, which was again incorporated into Romania. Romania fought together with the German Army for the control of the
Crimea Peninsula and Romanian Armies 3 and 4 were involved even in the
battle of Stalingrad.
After the Soviets turned back the German invasion and pushed the front line into Romania, Romania switched to the Allied side on
August 23,
1944.
Slovak Republic
The
Slovak Republic under President
Jozef Tiso signed the
Tripartite Pact on
November 24,
1940.
Slovakia had been closely aligned with Germany almost immediately from its declaration of independence from Czechoslovakia on
March 14,
1939. Slovakia entered into a treaty of protection with Germany on
March 23,
1939. Slovak troops joined the German invasion of Poland, fighting to reclaim territories lost in 1918.
Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941 and signed the revived Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941. Slovak troops fought on Germany's Eastern Front, with Slovakia furnishing Germany with two divisions totalling 20,000 men. Slovakia declared war on Great Britain and the United States of America in 1942.
Slovakia was spared German military occupation until the
Slovak National Uprising, which began on
August 29,
1944 and was almost immediately crushed by the
Waffen SS and Slovak troops loyal to
Jozef Tiso, the Catholic priest-turned-dictator of Slovakia.
After the war, Tiso was executed and Slovakia was rejoined with Czechoslovakia. Slovakia regained its independence in
1993.
Bulgaria
Main articles: Military history of Bulgaria during World War II
Bulgaria, under its king
Boris III, signed the Tripartite Pact on
March 1,
1941. Bulgaria had been an ally of Germany in the First World War, and like Germany and Hungary, sought a revision of the peace terms, specifically the restoration of the
San Stefano Treaty lands.
Bulgaria drew closer to Nazi Germany during the 1930s. In 1940, under the terms of the
Treaty of Craiova, Germany forced Romania to return Southern
Dobrudja to Bulgaria, ceded in 1913.
Bulgaria participated in the German invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece, and annexed
Vardar Banovina (today's
Republic of Macedonia) from Yugoslavia and eastern
Greek Macedonia and
Western Thrace from Greece. In Greek Macedonia, it instituted a policy of forced slavization and
ethnic cleansing. Bulgarian armed forces garrisoned in the Balkans battled various
resistance movements. The Bulgarian troops also rounded up all
Jews in Greek Macedonia and forwarded them to
Treblinka. Bulgaria did not join the
German invasion of the Soviet Union that began on
22 June 1941 and did not declare war on this country. However, despite the lack of official declarations of war by both sides, the
Bulgarian Navy was involved in a number of skirmishes with the
Soviet Black Sea Fleet, which attacked Bulgarian shipping.
The Bulgarian government was forced by the Germans to declare war on the
United States and
United Kingdom. The 'symbolic' war against the Western Allies, however, turned into a disaster for the citizens of
Sofia and other major Bulgarian cities, as they were heavily bombed by the
USAAF and
RAF in 1943 and 1944.
As the
Red Army approached the Bulgarian border, on
September 9 1944, a coup brought to power a new government of the pro-Allied
Fatherland Front. Bulgaria switched sides and was permitted to keep
Southern Dobrudja after the war.
Yugoslavia
The
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, under the regency of
Prince Paul, was briefly a member of the Axis in 1941.
Prince Paul adhered to the Tripartite Pact on
March 25,
1941, but was removed from office two days later by a coup that ended his regency. The new Yugoslav government declared that it would be bound by the treaty, but Hitler suspected that the British were behind the coup against Prince Paul and vowed to destroy the country.
The German invasion began on
April 6,
1941, and after two weeks of resistance, the country was completely occupied. Croatian nationalists declared the independence of Croatia on
April 10,
1941 as the "
Independent State of Croatia" and enthusiastically joined the Axis. The government of Serbia was reorganised as the
"National Government of Salvation" under General
Milan Nedić on
September 1,
1941. Nedić maintained that his Serb government was the lawful successor to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and his troops wore the uniform of the Royal Yugoslav Army, but unlike the generous treatment accorded the Independent State of Croatia, the German treated Nedić's Serbia as a puppet state.
The remainder of Yugoslavia was divided among the other Axis powers. Germany annexed
Slovenia. Italy annexed
Dalmatia, and Albania annexed Montenegro. Hungary annexed border territories, and Bulgaria annexed Macedonia.
Ivan Mihailov's
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) welcomed the Bulgarian annexation of
Vardar Macedonia. In early September 1944, when the Bulgarian government left the Axis, Germany offered Mihailov support to declare Macedonia's independence, but he declined.
Croatia
Declared on
April 10,
1941, the
Independent State of Croatia (''Nezavisna Država Hrvatska'', abbrev. ''NDH'') was a member of the Axis powers until the end of Second World War, its forces fighting for Germany even after NDH had been overrun by the Allied
Yugoslav Partisans.
Ante Pavelić, a Croatian nationalist and one of the founders of the Croatian Uprising (''
Ustaše'') Movement, was proclaimed Leader (''Poglavnik'') of the new state on
April 24,
1941.
Pavelić led a Croatian delegation to Rome and offered the crown of Croatia to an Italian prince of the House of Savoy, who was crowned
Tomislav II, King of Croatia, Prince of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Voivode of Dalmatia,
Tuzla and Temun, Prince of
Cisterna and of Belriguardo, Marquess of
Voghera, and Count of
Ponderano. The next day, Pavelić signed the Contracts of Rome with Mussolini, ceding Dalmatia to Italy and fixing the permanent borders between Croatia and Italy. He was also received by the Pope.
Pavelić formed the Croatian Home Guard (''Hrvatsko domobranstvo'') as the official military force of Croatia. Originally authorized at 16,000 men, it grew to a peak fighting force of 130,000. The Croatian Home Guard included a small air force and navy, although its navy was restricted in size by the Contracts of Rome. In addition to the Croatian Home Guard, Pavelić also commanded the Ustaše militia. A number of Croats also volunteered for the German ''Waffen SS''.
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 garrisoned the Balkans, battling the Yugoslav Partisans.
During the time of its existence, the Ustaše government applied racial laws on
Serbs,
Jews and
Romas, and after June 1941 deported them to the
Jasenovac concentration camp (or to camps in Poland). The exact number of victims of the Ustaše regime is uncertain due to the destruction of documents and varying numbers given by various historians vying for political clout. The total number of victims in Croatia is estimated to be between 360,000 and 420,000.
[1] The racial laws were enforced by the Ustaše militia.
Although Ustaše had some support in all parts of Croatia, they were overall not well-liked, and wide popular support was limited to the traditionally most strongly nationalistic regions. The allegiances of the majority of the population were either with the multiethnic
Anti-Fascist movement or neutral.
Co-belligerents
Thailand
Thailand was an ally and co-belligerent of Japan.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces
invaded Thailand's territory on the morning of
December 8,
1941. Only hours after the invasion, Field Marshal
Phibunsongkhram, the prime minister, ordered the cessation of resistance. On
December 21, 1941, a military alliance with Japan was signed and on
January 25,
1942 Thailand declared war on Britain and the
United States of America. The Thai ambassador to the United States,
Mom Rajawongse Seni Pramoj did not deliver his copy of the declaration of war, so although the British reciprocated by declaring war on Thailand and consequently considered it a hostile country, the United States did not.
On
May 10,
1942, the Thai
Phayap Army entered Burma's
Shan State. At one time in the past the area had been part of the
Ayutthaya Kingdom. The boundary between the Japanese and Thai operations was generally the
Salween. However, that area south of the Shan States known as
Karenni States, the homeland of the Karens, was specifically retained under Japanese control.
Three Thai infantry and one cavalry division, spearheaded by armoured reconnaissance groups and supported ably by the air force, started their advance on
May 10, and engaged the retreating Chinese 93rd Division.
Kengtung, the main objective, was captured on
May 27. Renewed offensives in June and November evicted the Chinese into
Yunnan.
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 under
Khuang Aphaiwong attempted to aid the resistance while at the same time maintaining cordial relations with the Japanese.
The
Free Thai Movement ("Seri Thai") was established during these first few months. Parallel Free Thai organisations were established in Britain and inside Thailand. Queen
Ramphaiphanni was the nominal head of the Britain-based organisation, and
Pridi Phanomyong, the regent, headed its largest contingent, which was operating within the country. Aided by elements of the military, secret airfields and training camps were established while
OSS and
Force 136 agents fluidly slipped in and out of the country.
After the war, U.S. influence prevented Thailand from being treated as an Axis country, but Britain demanded three million tons of rice as reparations and the return of areas annexed from the British colony of
Malaya during the war and invasion. Thailand also had to return the portions of British Burma and
French Indochina that had been taken.
Phibun and a number of his associates were put on trial on charges of having committed war crimes, mainly that of collaborating with the Axis powers. However, the charges were dropped due to intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Phibun, since he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.
Finland
Main articles: Military history of Finland during World War II
Finland was not a part of the Axis powers, but played a part in fighting against the Soviet Union to keep its independence. Having recently fought the
Winter War against the Soviets, Finland allowed Germany to use Finnish territory as a base for
Operation Barbarossa.
After the end of the Winter War against the Soviet Union in March 1940, Finland first sought protection from Great Britain
[2][3] and neutral Sweden
[4], but was thwarted by Soviet and German actions. This resulted in Finland drawing closer to Germany, first with an intent of enlisting German support as a counterweight to thwart continuing Soviet pressure, but later to help regain its lost territories.
Finland's role in Operation Barbarossa was laid out in German Chancellor Adolf Hitler's Directive 21, "The mass of the Finnish army will have the task, in accordance with the advance made by the northern wing of the German armies, of tying up maximum Russian strength by attacking to the west, or on both sides, of Lake Ladoga. The Finns will also capture
Hanko." The directive was given
December 18,
1940, over two months before Finnish High Command or civilian leadership received the first tentative hints to upcoming invasion.
In May 1941, at the suggestion of Germany, Finland allowed Germany to recruit Finnish volunteers for ''
SS-Freiwilligen-Bataillon Nordost''. This battalion, with an initial strength of 1200 men, was attached to the multinational ''Wiking'' Division of Germany's ''Waffen SS''. Later, an additional 200 Finns joined the battalion to cover the losses.
In the weeks leading up to Operation Barbarossa, cooperation between Finland and Germany increased, with the exchange of liaison officers and the beginning of preparations for joint military action. On
June 7, Germany moved two divisions into the Finnish
Lapland. On
June 17,
1941, Finland ordered its armed forces to be fully mobilized and sent to the Soviet border. Finland evacuated civilians from border areas which were fortified against Soviet attack. In the opening days of the Operation, Finland permitted German planes returning from bombing runs over Leningrad to refuel at Finnish airfields before returning to bases in
German East Prussia. Finland also permitted Germany to use its naval facilities in the
Gulf of Finland.
In his proclamation of war against the Soviet Union issued
June 22,
1941, Hitler declared that Germany was joined by Finland and Romania. However, Finland did not declare war until
June 25, after the Soviet Union bombed Finnish airfields and towns, including the medieval
Turku castle, which was badly damaged. The Soviets cited Finland's cooperation with Germany as provocation for the air raids. Finland countered that it was once again a victim of Soviet aggression.
Finns refer to the conflict with the Soviet Union as the
Continuation War, viewing it as continuation of the
Winter War that the Soviets had waged against the Finns. The Finns maintain that their sole objective was to regain the territory lost to the Soviet Union in the Winter War, but on
July 10,
1941, Field Marshal
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim issued an
Order of the Day declaring that the war aim of the Finns was "to expel the Bolsheviks out of Russian
Karelia, to liberate the Karelian nations and to accord to Finland a great future."
Mannerheim's order echoed his Order of the Day issued
February 23,
1918, during the Finnish War of Independence, known as the
Sword Scabbard Declaration, in which Mannerheim declared he "would not put his sword into the scabbard until East Karelia was free of Lenin's warriors and hooligans." Conquest of Karelia was a historic dream of Finnish nationalists advocating
Greater Finland.
In all, Finland mobilized over 530,000 men against the Soviet Union. About 1,700 volunteers from Sweden and 2,600 from Estonia served in the Finnish army. Many of the Swedish volunteers had also fought for Finland in the Winter War.
Diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Finland were severed on
August 1,
1941, after the British bombed German forces in the Finnish city of Petsamo. Great Britain repeatedly called on Finland to cease its offensive against the Soviet Union, and on
December 6,
1941, declared war on Finland. War was never declared between Finland and the United States.
Finland signed the revived
Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941. Unlike other Axis powers, Finland maintained command of its armed forces and pursued its war objectives independently of Germany. Finland refused German requests to participate in the
Siege of Leningrad, stating that capturing Leningrad was not among its goals. Leningrad, now
St. Petersburg, lies outside the territory of Karelia claimed for Finland by Mannerheim. Finland also granted asylum to Jews, and Jewish soldiers continued to serve in her army.
The relationship between Finland and Germany more closely resembled an alliance during the six weeks of the
Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement, which was presented as a German condition for help with munitions and air support, as the
Soviet offensive coordinated with D-Day threatened Finland with complete occupation. The agreement, signed by President
Risto Ryti, but never ratified by the Finnish Parliament, bound Finland not to seek a separate peace.
Ryti's successor, President
Mannerheim, ignored the agreement and opened secret negotiations with the Soviets. On
September 19,
1944, Mannerheim signed an armistice with the Soviet Union and Great Britain. Under the terms of the armistice, Finland was obligated to expel German troops from Finnish territory. Finns refer to the skirmishes that followed as the
Lapland War. In 1947, Finland signed a
peace treaty with the Soviet Union, Great Britain and several British Commonwealth nations acknowledging its "alliance with Hitlerite Germany".
Iraq
Iraq was a co-belligerent of the Axis, fighting the United Kingdom in the
Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941.
Seizing power on April 3, 1941, the nationalist government of Iraqi Prime Minister
Rashid Ali repudiated the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 and demanded that Britain close its military bases within the country. Ali sought support from Germany, Italy and Vichy France in expelling British forces from Iraq.
Hostilities between the Iraqi and British forces opened on April 18, 1941 with heavy fighting at the British air base at Lake
Habbaniya. Iraq's Axis allies dispatched two air squadrons, one from the German ''Luftwaffe'' and the other from the Royal Italian Air Force. The Germans and Italians utilized Vichy French bases in Syria, precipitating fighting between British and French forces in Syria.
In early May 1941,
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the
Mufti of
Jerusalem and an ally of Ali, declared "holy war" against the United Kingdom and called on
Arabs throughout the Middle East to rise up against Britain. On May 25, 1941, Hitler issued his Order 30, stepping up German offensive operations: "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."
Hitler dispatched German air and armored forces to
Libya and formed the ''Deutsches Afrikakorps'' to coordinate a combined German-Italian offensive against the British in Egypt,
Palestine and Iraq.
Iraqi military resistance ended by May 31, 1941. Rashid Ali and his ally, the Mufti of
Jerusalem, fled to
Persia, then to
Turkey, Italy and finally Germany where Ali was welcomed by Hitler as head of the Iraqi
government-in-exile.
In propaganda broadcasts from Berlin, the Mufti continued to call on Arabs to rise up against the United Kingdom and aid German and Italian forces. He also recruited
Muslim volunteers in the Balkans for the ''Waffen SS''.
Japanese puppet states
The Empire of Japan created a number of
puppet 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.
Manchukuo (Manchuria)
Main articles: Manchukuo
Manchukuo was a Japanese
puppet state in
Manchuria, the northeast region of China. It was nominally ruled by
Puyi, the last emperor of the
Qing Dynasty, but in fact controlled by the Japanese military, in particular the
Kwantung Army. While Manchukuo ostensibly meant a state for ethnic
manchus, the region had a
Han Chinese majority.
Following the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the independence of Manchukuo was proclaimed on
February 18,
1932 with Puyi as "Head of State." He was proclaimed
Emperor of Manchukuo a year later. Twenty three of the League of Nations' eighty members recognised the new Manchu nation, but the League itself declared in 1934 that Manchuria lawfully remained a part of China, precipitating Japanese withdrawal from the League. Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union were among the major powers recognising Manchukuo. The county was also recognised by
Dominican Republic,
Costa Rica,
El Salvador, and
the Vatican. Manchukuo was also recognised by the other Japanese allies and puppet states, including Mengjiang, the Burmese government of
Ba Maw,
Thailand, the Wang Chingwei regime, and the Indian government of
Subhas Chandra Bose.
The armed forces of Manchukuo numbered between 200,000 and 220,000 men, according to the Soviet intelligence estimates. The Manchukuo Army and Manchukuo Air Force garrisoned Manchukuo under the command of the Japanese Army. The Manchukuo Navy, including river patrol and coastal defense, were under the direct command of the Japanese Third Fleet. The
Manchukuo Imperial Guard, numbering 200 men, was under the direct command of the Emperor and served as his bodyguard.
Mengjiang (Inner Mongolia)
Mengjiang (alternatively spelled Mengchiang) was a Japanese
puppet state in
Inner Mongolia. It was nominally ruled by Prince
Demchugdongrub, a
Mongol nobleman descended from
Genghis Khan, but was in fact controlled by the Japanese military. Mengjiang's independence was proclaimed on
February 18,
1936 following the Japanese occupation of the region.
The Inner Mongolians had several grievances against the central Chinese government in Nanking, with the most important one being the policy of allowing unlimited migration of Han Chinese to this vast region of open plains and desert. 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 ethnic Mongolians and the central government of China which in theory ruled Inner Mongolia. The Japanese hoped to use pan-Mongolism to create a Mongolian ally in Asia and eventually conquer all of Mongolia from the Soviet Union.
When the various puppet governments of China were unified under the Wang Chingwei 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 army that was, in theory, independent.
Mengjiang vanished in 1945 following Japan's defeat ending World War II and the invasion of Soviet and Red Mongol Armies. As the huge Soviet forces advanced into Inner Mongolia, they met limited resistance from small detachments of Mongolian cavalry, which, like the rest of the army, were quickly brushed aside.
Wang Jingwei Government
Flag of the
Wang Jingwei Government. Although it was the same as the flag of Republic of China, an earlier used version had the phrase "anti-communism, peace, nation-building" in a yellow triangle on top of the flag.
A
short-lived state was founded on
March 29,
1940 by
Wang Jingwei, who became Head of State of this Japanese supported collaborationist government based in
Nanking.
During the
Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan advanced from its bases in Manchuria to occupy much of East and Central China. Several Japanese puppet states were organised in areas occupied by the Japanese Army, including the
Provisional Government of the Republic of China at
Peking which was formed in 1937 and the
Reformed Government of the Republic of China at Nanking which was formed in 1938. These governments were merged into the Reorganised Government of the Republic of China at Nanking in 1940. The government (known as the Wang Jingwei Government) was to be run along the same lines as the Nationalist regime and adopted symbols of the latter.
The Nanking Government had no real power, and its main role was to act as a propaganda tool for the Japanese. The Nanking Government concluded agreements with Japan and Manchukuo, authorising Japanese occupation of China and recognising the independence of Manchukuo under Japanese protection. The Nanking Government signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941 and declared war on the United States and Great Britain on
January 9,
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 the
Kuomintang (KMT) led to frequent conflicts with the Japanese, the most prominent being the issue of the regime's flag, which was identical to that of the
Republic of China.
The worsening situation for Japan from 1943 onwards meant that the Nanking 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 communist
New Fourth Army.
Wang Jingwei died in a Tokyo clinic on
November 10,
1944, and was succeeded by his deputy
Chen Gongbo. Chen had little influence and the real power behind the regime was
Zhou Fohai, the mayor of Shanghai. Wang's death dispelled what little legitimacy the regime had. The state stuttered on for another year and continued the display and show of a fascist regime.
On
September 9,
1945, following the defeat of Japan, the area was surrendered to General
He Yingqin, a nationalist general loyal to
Chiang Kai-shek. The Nanking Army generals quickly declared their alliance to the Generalissimo, and were subsequently ordered to resist Communist attempts to fill the vacuum left by the Japanese surrender. Chen Gongbo was tried and executed in 1946.
Burma (Ba Maw regime)
Main articles: Japanese occupation of Burma
Burmese nationalist leader
Ba Maw formed a
Japanese puppet state in Burma on
August 1,
1942 after the Japanese Army seized control of the nation from the United Kingdom. The Ba Maw regime organised the Burma Defence Army (later renamed the
Burma National Army), which was commanded by
Aung San.
Philippines (Second Republic)
Jose P. Laurel was the President of the
Second Republic of the Philippines, a Japanese puppet state organised on the Philippine Islands in 1942. In 1943, the Philippine National Assembly declared the Philippines an independent republic and elected Laurel as President. The Second Republic ended with the Japanese surrender. Laurel was arrested and charged with treason by the US government, but was granted amnesty and continued playing politics, ultimately winning a seat in the Philippine Senate.
India (Provisional Government of Free India)
The
Provisional Government of Free India was a
shadow government led by
Subhas Chandra Bose, an Indian nationalist who rejected
Gandhi's nonviolent methods for achieving independence. It operated only in those parts of
India which came under Japanese control.
A former president of the India National Congress, Bose was arrested by Indian authorities at the outset of the Second World War. In January 1941 he escaped from house arrest and eventually reached Germany and then to Japan where he formed the
Indian National Army, mostly from Indian prisoners of war.
Bose and
A.M.Sahay, another local leader, received ideological support from
Mitsuru Toyama, chief of the
Dark Ocean Society along with Japanese Army advisers. Other Indian thinkers in favour of the Axis cause were
Asit Krishna Mukherji, a friend of Bose and husband of
Savitri Devi Mukherji, one of the women thinkers in support of the German cause, and the Pandit Rajwade of
Poona. Bose was helped by
Rash Behari Bose, founder of the Indian Independence League in Japan. Bose declared India's independence on
October 21 1943. The Japanese Army assigned to the Indian National Army a number of military advisors, among them
Hideo Iwakuro and
Saburo Isoda.
With its provisional capital at
Port Blair on the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands after they
fell to the Japanese, the state would last two more years until
August 18,
1945 when it officially became defunct. In its existence it received recognition from nine governments: Germany, Japan, Italy, Croatia, Manchukuo, China (under the Nanking Government of Wang Chingwei), Thailand, Burma (under the regime of Burmese nationalist leader
Ba Maw, and the Philippines under
de facto (and later
de jure) president José Laurel.
The Indian National Army saw plenty of action (as did their Burmese equivalent). The highlight of the force's campaign in Burma was the planting of the Indian national flag by the 'Bose Battalion' during the battle of Frontier Hill in 1944, although it was Japanese troops from the 55th Cavalry, 1/29th Infantry and 2/143rd Infantry who did most of the fighting. This battle also had the curious incidence of three Sikh companies of the Bose Battalion exchanging insults and fire with two Sikh companies of the 7/16th
Punjab Regiment (
British Indian Army).
The Indian National Army was encountered again during the Second Arakan Campaign, where they deserted in large numbers back to their old 'imperial oppressors' and again during the crossing of the Irrawaddy in 1945, where a couple of companies put up token resistance before leaving their Japanese comrades to fight off the assault crossing by 7th Indian Division.
Vietnam
The
Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived Japanese puppet state that lasted from
March 11 to
August 23,
1945.
When the Japanese seized control of
French Indochina, they allowed Vichy French administrators to remain in nominal control. This ruling ended on
March 9,
1945 when the Japanese officially took control of the government. Soon after, Emperor
Bảo Đại voided the
1884 treaty with France and
Trần Trọng Kim, a historian, became prime minister.
Despite the state's short existence, it suffered through a
famine and had succeeded in replacing
French-speaking schools with
Vietnamese language schools taught by Vietnamese scholars.
Cambodia
The
Kingdom of Cambodia was a short-lived Japanese puppet state that lasted from
March 9,
1945 to April, 15 1945.
In mid-1941, the Japanese entered Cambodia, but allowed Vichy French officials to remain in administrative posts. The Japanese calls of an "Asia for the Asiatics" won over many Cambodian nationalists, despite Tokyo's policy of keeping the colonial government in nominal control.
This policy changed during the last months of the war. The Japanese wanted to gain local support, so they dissolved French colonial rule and pressured Cambodia to declare its independence within the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Four days later, King
Sihanouk declared Kampuchea (the original
Khmer pronunciation of Cambodia) independent. Co-editor of the Nagaravatta,
Son Ngoc Thanh, returned from Tokyo in May and was appointed foreign minister.
On the date of Japanese surrender, a new government was proclaimed with Son Ngoc Thah as prime minister. However, in October, when the Allies occupied
Phnom Penh, Son Ngoc Thanh was arrested for collaborating with the Japanese and was exiled to France. Some of his supporters went to north-western Cambodia, which had been under Thai control since the
French-Thai War of 1940, where they banded together as one faction in the
Khmer Issarak movement, originally formed with Thai encouragement in the 1940s.
Laos
Fears of Thai irredentism led to the formation of the first Lao nationalist organisation, the Movement for National Renovation, in January 1941, led by Prince
Phetxarāt and supported by local French officials, though not by the Vichy authorities in
Hanoi. This group wrote the current
Lao national anthem and designed the current
Lao flag, while paradoxically pledging support for France. The country declared its independence in 1945.
There matters rested until the liberation of France in 1944, bringing
Charles de Gaulle to power. This meant the end of the alliance between Japan and the Vichy French administration in Indochina. The Japanese had no intention of allowing the Gaullists to take over, and in late 1944 they staged a military coup in Hanoi. Some French units fled over the mountains to Laos, pursued by the Japanese, who occupied
Viang Chan in March 1945 and
Luang Phrabāng in April. King
Sīsavāngvong was detained by the Japanese, but his son Crown Prince
Savāngvatthanā called on all
Lao to assist the French, and many Lao died fighting against the Japanese occupiers.
Prince Phetxarāt, however, opposed this position, and thought that Lao independence could be gained by siding with the Japanese, who made him Prime Minister of Luang Phrabāng, though not of Laos as a whole. In practice the country was in chaos and Phetxarāt's government had no real authority. Another Lao group, the Lao Sēri (Free Lao), received unofficial support from the Free Thai movement in the
Isan region.
Italian puppet states
Albania
Main articles: Military history of Albania during World War II
Albania was an Italian puppet state, joined in
personal union with Italy under
Victor Emmanuel III, whose full title was
King of Italy,
Albania, and
Emperor of Ethiopia. Albania was a constituent of the
New Roman Empire envisioned by Italy's fascist dictator, Il Duce Benito Mussolini, and was in fact ruled by Mussolini.
Albania had been in Italian orbit since the First World War when it was occupied by Italy as a "protectorate" in accordance with the
London Pact. Italian troops were withdrawn after the war, but throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Albania became increasingly dependent on Italy. The Albanian government and economy were subsidised by Italian loans, the Albanian army was trained by Italian military instructors, and Italian colonial settlement was encouraged.
With the major powers of Europe distracted by Germany's occupation of Czechoslovakia, Mussolini issued an ultimatum to the Albanian
King Zog on
March 25,
1939, demanding that Zog permit the country to be occupied by Italy as a protectorate. Zog refused. On
April 7,
1939, Italian troops landed in Albania. Zog, his wife and newborn son immediately fled the country. Five days after the invasion, on
April 12, the Albanian parliament voted to depose Zog and join the nation to Italy "in personal union" by offering the Albanian crown to Victor Emmanuel III. The parliament elected Albania's largest landowner,
Shefqet Bey Verlaci, as Prime Minister. Verlaci additionally served as head of state for five days until Victor Emmanuel III formally accepted the Albanian crown in a ceremony at the
Quirinale place in Rome. Victor Emmanuel III appointed
Francesco Jacomoni di San Savino as Lieutenant-General to represent him in Albania as viceroy.
On
April 15,
1939, Albania withdrew from the League of Nations, from which Italy had resigned in 1937. On
June 3,
1939, the Albanian foreign ministry was merged into the Italian foreign ministry, and the Albanian Foreign Minister,
Xhemil Bej Dino, was given the rank of an Italian ambassador.
The Albanian military was placed under Italian command and formally merged into the Italian Army in 1940. Additionally, the
Italian Blackshirts formed four legions of
Albanian Militia, initially recruited from Italians living in Albania but later from ethnic Albanians.
Albania followed Italy into war with Britain and France on
June 10,
1940. Albania served as the base for the Italian invasion of Greece in 1941, and Albanian troops participated in the Greek campaign. Albania was enlarged by the annexation of Montenegro from the former Yugoslavia in 1941. Victor Emmanuel III as "King of Albania" declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941 and the United States in 1942.
Victor Emmanuel III abdicated as King of Albania in 1943 when Italy left the Axis to join the Allies as a co-belligerent against Germany. German troops immediately occupied Albania. Many Albanian volunteers served Germany as members of the SS Skanderberg Division.
Montenegro (Drljević regime)
The leader of the Montenegrin Federalists,
Sekula Drljević formed the Provisional Administrative Committee of Montenegro on
July 12,
1941. The Committee originally tried to collaborate with the Italians. After Italy switched sides in 1943, the country came under German occupation.
Drljević's Montenegrin Federalists fought a confusing civil war alongside Axis forces against Yugoslav Partisans and
Chetniks. Alliances were constantly formed and broken during the bitter fighting.
In October 1941, Drljević was exiled from Montenegro and in 1944, he formed the Montenegrin State Council located in the Independent State of Croatia. It acted as the Federalists' government in exile. Later that year, the Montenegrin People's Army was forcedly formed by Ante Pavelić and Drljević out of defeated Chetnik troops formerly led by
Pavle Đurišić.
German puppet states
Italy (Salò regime)
Italian Fascist leader
Benito Mussolini formed the
Italian Social Republic ''(Repubblica Sociale Italiana'' in
Italian) on
September 23,
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
July 25,
1943. The King publicly reaffirmed his loyalty to Germany but authorized secret armistice negotiations with the Allies. In a spectacular raid led by German paratrooper
Otto Skorzeny, Mussolini was rescued from arrest.
Once safely escounced in German occupied
Salò, Mussolini declared that the King was deposed, that Italy was a republic and that he was the new president. He functioned as a German puppet for the duration of the war.
Serbia (Nedić regime)
Serbian General
Milan Nedić formed the National Government of Salvation
in German-occupied Serbia on
September 1,
1941. Nedić served as prime minister of the puppet government which recognized the former Yugoslav regent, Prince Paul, as head of state.
Nedić's armed forces, the
Serbian State Guards and
Serbian Volunteer Corps, wore the uniform of the Royal Yugoslav Army. Nedić's forces fought with the Germans against the Yugoslav Partisans. Unlike Hitler's Nordic collaborators who sent troops to fight the Soviet Union, Nedić's Slavic troops were confined to duty in Serbia.
Several
concentration camps were formed in Serbia and at the 1942
Anti-Freemason Exhibition in
Belgrade the city was pronounced
Judenfrei. A
Serbian Gestapo was
formed.
Axis collaborator states
France (Vichy regime)
France and its
colonial empire, under the so-called
Vichy regime of Marshal
Pétain, collaborated with the Axis from 1941 until 1944 when the regime was dissolved.
Pétain became the last Prime Minister of the
French Third Republic on
June 16,
1940 as the
battle of France following the German invasion army entering Paris on
June 14. Pétain sued for peace with Germany and six days later, on
June 22,
1940, his government concluded an
armistice with Hitler. Under the terms of the agreement, Germany occupied approximately two thirds of France, including
Paris. Pétain was permitted to keep an "armistice army" of 100,000 men within the unoccupied southern zone. This number includes neither the army based in French colonial empire nor the French fleet. In French North Africa and
French Equatorial Africa, the Vichy were permitted to maintain 127,000 men under arms after the
Gabon defected to the
Free French[5]. The French also maintained substantial garrisons at the French mandated territory of
Syria and
Lebanon, the French colony of
Madagascar and in the
French Somaliland.
After the armistice, relations between France and the
UK quickly deteriorated. Fearful that the powerful French fleet might fall into German hands, the British launched several naval attacks, the major one against
the Algerian harbour of Mers el-Kebir on
July 3,
1940. Though Churchill would defend his controversial decisions to attack the French Fleet, the French people themselves were less accepting of these decisions. German propaganda was able to trumpet these actions as an absolute betrayal of the French people by their former allies. France broke relations with the United Kingdom after the attack and considered declaring war.
On
July 10,
1940, Petain was given emergency "full powers" by a majoritary vote of the French National Assembly. The following day approval of the new constitution by the Assembly effectively created the
French State (''l'État Français'') replacing the French Republic and unoficially called Vichy France for the resort town of
Vichy where Petain chose to maintain his seat of government. The new government continued to be recognised as the lawful government of France by the United States until 1942. Racial laws were introduced in France and its colonies and many
French Jews were deported to Germany. On a side note, Albert Lebrun, last President of the Republic, did not leave the presidential office when he moved to
Vizille in July 10, 1940. By April 25, 1945, during Petain's trial, Lebrun argued he thought he would be able to return to power after the fall of Germany since he had not resigned.
[6]
In September 1940, Vichy France allowed Japan to
occupy French Indochina, a federation of the French colonial possessions and protectorates roughly encompassing the territory of modern day Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The Vichy regime continued to administer the colony under Japanese military occupation. French Indochina was the base for the Japanese invasions of Thailand,
Malaya and
Borneo. In 1945, under Japanese sponsorship, the Empire of Vietnam and the Kingdom of Cambodia were proclaimed as Japanese puppet states.
The UK permitted French General
Charles de Gaulle to headquarter his Free French movement in London in a largely unsuccessful effort to win over the French colonial empire. On
September 26, 1940, de Gaulle led an attack by Allied forces on the Vichy port of
Dakar in
French West Africa. Forces loyal to Pétain fired on de Gaulle and repulsed the attack after two days of heavy fighting. Public opinion in France was further outraged, and
Vichy France drew closer to Germany.
Vichy France assisted Iraq in the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941, allowing Germany and Italy to utilize air bases in the French mandate of Syria to support the
Iraqi revolt against the British. Allied forces responded by attacking
Syria and Lebanon in 1941. Vichy forces in the French Somolialand also fought alongside Italian forces in Italian East Africa. In 1942, Allied forces
attacked the French colony of Madagascar.
Vichy France, staunchly anti-Communist, enthusiastically sided with Germany in its war with the Soviet Union. Vichy France signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941. Almost 7,000 volunteers joined the anti-communist ''Légion des Volontaires Français'' (LVF) from 1941 to 1944 and some 7,500 formed the
''Division Charlemagne'', a ''
Waffen-SS'' unit, from 1944 to 1945. Both the ''LVF'' and the ''Division Charlemagne'' fought on the eastern front. Hitler never accepted that France could become a full military partner
[7], and constantly prevented the buildup of Vichy's military strength.
Other than political, Vichy's collaboration with Germany essentially was industrial, with French factories providing many vehicles to the German armed forces.
In November 1942, Vichy French troops briefly but fiercely resisted the
landing of Allied troops in French North Africa, but were unable to prevail. Admiral
François Darlan negotiated a local ceasefire with the Allies. In response to the landings, and Vichy's inability to defend itself, German troops occupied southern France and Tunisia, a French protectorate that formed part of French North Africa. The
Bey of Tunis formed a government friendly to the Germans.
In mid-1943, former Vichy authorities in North Africa came to an agreement with the Free French and setup a temporary French government in
Algiers, known as the ''Comité Français de Libération Nationale'', with De Gaulle eventually emerging as the leader. The CFLN raised new troops, and re-organized, re-trained and re-equipped the French military under Allied supervision.
However, the Vichy government continued to function in mainland France until late 1944, but had lost most of its territorial sovereignty and military assets, with the exception of forces stationed in French Indochina.
Controversial cases of relations with the Axis
Main articles: Cases of controversial relations with the Axis of World War II
States listed in this section were not officially members of Axis, but had controversial relations with one or more Axis members at some point during the war.
Denmark
Main articles: Occupation of Denmark
On
May 31,
1939, Denmark and Germany signed a treaty of non-aggression, which did not contain any military obligations for either party.
[8] On
April 9,
1940, citing intended
British mining of Norwegian and Danish waters as a pretext, Germany
invaded both countries. King
Christian X and the Danish government, worried about German bombings if they resisted occupation, accepted "protection by the Reich" in exchange for nominal independence under German military occupation. Three successive Prime Ministers,
Thorvald Stauning,
Vilhelm Buhl and
Erik Scavenius, maintained this ''samarbejdspolitik'' ("cooperation policy") of collaborating with Germany.
★ Denmark coordinated its foreign policy with Germany, extending diplomatic recognition to Axis collaborator and puppet regimes and breaking diplomatic relations with the "governments-in-exile" formed by countries occupied by Germany. Denmark broke diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and signed the
Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941.
[9]
★ In 1941, a Danish military corps, ''
Frikorps Danmark'' was created at the initiative of the
SS and the
Danish Nazi Party, to fight alongside the ''Wehrmacht'' on Germany's
Eastern Front. The government's following statement was widely interpreted as a sanctioning of the corps.
[10] ''Frikorps Danmark'' was open to members of the Danish Royal Army and those who had completed their service within the last ten years.
[11] Between 4,000 and 10,000 Danish citizens joined the ''Frikorps Danmark'', including 77 officers of the Royal Danish Army. An estimated 3,900 of these soldiers died fighting for Germany during the Second World War.
★ Denmark transferred six torpedo boats to Germany in 1941, although the bulk of its navy remained under Danish command until the declaration of martial law in 1943.
★ Denmark supplied agricultural and industrial products to Germany as well as loans for armaments and fortifications. The German presence in Denmark, including the construction of the Danish part of the
Atlantic Wall fortifications, was paid from an account in Denmark's central bank, ''
Nationalbanken''. The Danish government had been promised that these expenses would be repaid later, but this never happened. The construction of the Atlantic Wall fortifications in Jutland cost 5 billion Danish kroner.
The Danish protectorate government lasted until
August 29,
1943, when the cabinet resigned following a declaration of martial law by occupying German military officials. The
Danish navy managed to scuttle 32 of its larger ships to prevent their use by Germany. Germany succeeded in seizing 14 of the larger and 50 of the smaller vessels and later to raise and refit 15 of the sunken vessels. During the scuttling of the Danish fleet, a number of vessels were ordered to attempt an escape to Swedish waters, and 13 vessels succeeded in this attempt, four of which were larger ships.
[12][13] By the autumn of 1944, these ships officially formed a Danish naval
flotilla in exile
[14] In 1943, Swedish authorities allowed 500 Danish soldiers in Sweden to train themselves as "police troops". By the autumn of 1944, Sweden raised this number to 4,800 and recognized the entire unit as a Danish military
brigade in exile.
[15] Danish collaboration continued on an administrative level, with the Danish bureaucracy functioning under German command.
Active resistance to the German occupation among the populace, virtually nonexistent before 1943, increased after the declaration of martial law. The intelligence operations of the
Danish resistance was described as "second to none" by
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery after the liberation of Denmark.
[16]
Portugal
Main articles: Estado Novo (Portugal)
António de Oliveira Salazar of
Portugal was personally sympathetic to the Axis, but Portugal and the United Kingdom were bound by the world's oldest defence treaty, the
Treaty of Windsor. After the UK invoked the treaty, a major Allied air and naval base was established in the
Azores. Portugal, particularly
Lisbon, was one of the last European exit points to the US, and a huge number of refugees found shelter in Portugal. Siding with the Axis would have meant that Portugal would have been at war with the United Kingdom, which would have threatened Portuguese colonies, while siding with the Allies might prove to be a threat to Portugal itself. Portugal continued to export
tungsten and other goods to both the Axis (partly via
Switzerland) and Allied countries.
Portugal protested the occupation of
Portuguese Timor by Allied forces in 1942, but did not actively resist. The colony was subsequently occupied by Japan. Timorese and Portuguese civilians assisted Allied
commandos in
resisting the Japanese.
Soviet Union
Relations between the Soviet Union and the major Axis powers were generally hostile before 1939. In the
Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union gave military aid to the
Second Spanish Republic, against
Spanish Nationalist forces, which were assisted by Germany and Italy. However the Nationalist forces were victorious. In 1938 and 1939, the USSR fought and defeated Japan in two separate border wars, at
Lake Khasan and
Khalkhin Gol. The Soviets suffered another political defeat when an ally, Czechoslovakia,
was partitioned and partially annexed, by Germany, Hungary and Poland — with the agreement of Britain and France — in 1938-39.
There were talks between Soviet Union and United Kingdom and France for an alliance against the growing power of Germany but these talks failed. As a result, on
August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany signed the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which included a secret protocol whereby the independent countries of Finland,
Estonia,
Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Romania were divided into
spheres of interest of the parties.
On
September 1, barely a week after the pact had been signed, the partition of Poland commenced with
the German invasion. The Soviet Union on
September 17.
Soon after that, the Soviet Union
occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in addition, it annexed
Bessarabia and
Northern Bukovina from Romania. The Soviet Union attacked Finland on
November 30, 1939 which started the
Winter War. Finnish defence prevented an all-out invasion, but Finland was forced to cede strategically important border areas near
Leningrad.
The Soviet Union supported Germany in the war effort against Western Europe through the
German-Soviet Commercial Agreement with exports of
raw materials (
phosphates,
chromium and
iron ore,
mineral oil,
grain,
cotton,
rubber). These and other export goods were being transported through Soviet and occupied Polish territories and allowed Germany to circumvent the British naval blockade.
Germany ended the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact by invading the Soviet Union in
Operation Barbarossa on
June 22, 1941. That resulted in the Soviet Union becoming one of the main members of
Allies.
Germany then revived its Anti-Comintern Pact enlisting many European and Asian countries in opposition to the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union and Japan remained neutral towards each other for most of the war by
Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact. The Soviet Union ended the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact by invading Manchukuo in
Operation August Storm on
August 8,
1945.
Spain
Main articles: Spain in World War II
''Generalísimo'' Francisco Franco's Spanish State gave moral,
economic, and military assistance to the Axis powers, while nominally maintaining
neutrality. Franco described Spain as a "nonbelligerent" member of the Axis and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941 with Hitler and Mussolini.
Franco had won the
Spanish Civil War with the help of Germany and Italy. Spain owed Germany over $212 million for supplies of
matériel during the Spanish Civil War, and Italian 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 - the
Blue Division (''División Azul'' in Spanish) under General
Agustín Muñoz Grandes.
Additionally, over 100,000 Spanish civilian workers were sent to Germany to help maintain industrial production to free up able bodied German men for military service.
References
★
A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, , Gerhard L., Weinberg, Cambridge University Press, 2005, Provides a scholarly overview.
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The Oxford Companion to World War II, , Ian C. B., Dear, Oxford University Press, 2005, A reference book with encyclopedic coverage of all military, political and economic topics.
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A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival, , Stanislav, Kirschbaum, St. Martin's Press, 1995, Entails Slovakia's involvement during the World War II.
1. Jasenovac United States Holocaust Memorial Museum web site
2. Seppinen, Ilkka: ''Suomen ulkomaankaupan ehdot 1939-1940'' (''Conditions of Finnish foreign trade 1939-1940''), 1983, ISBN 951-9254-48-X
3. British Foreign Office Archive, 371/24809/461-556
4. Jokipii, Mauno: ''Jatkosodan synty'' (''Birth of the Continuation War''), 1987, ISBN 951-1-08799-1
5. Christian Bachelier, ''L'armée française entre la victoire et la défaite'', in ''La France des années noires'', dir. Azéma & Bédarida, Le Seuil, édition 2000, coll. points-histoire, Tome 1, p.98
6. Albert Lebrun's biography, French Republic Presidential official website
7. Robert O. Paxton, 1993, "La Collaboration d'État" in ''La France des Années Noires'', Ed. J. P. Azéma & François Bédarida, Éditions du Seuil, Paris
8. http://www.navalhistory.dk/Danish/Historien/1939_1945/IkkeAngrebsPagt.htm
9. "Denmark". The Occupation 1940-45 Trommer, Aage
10. Dansk Udenrigspolitisk Historie, vol. 4, , Bo, Lidegaard, Gyldendal, 2003, ISBN 87-7789-093-0
11. Danish Legion Military and Feldpost History
12. http://www.marinehistorie.dk/Danish/Tidslinie/Maanedsvis/08_Aug.htm
13. http://www.navalhistory.dk/danish/Historien/1939_1945/dk_efter29august.htm
14. http://www.marinehistorie.dk/Danish/Historien/1939_1945/DenDanskeFlotille.htm
15. http://www.danforce.dk/article/articleview/2/1/1/
16. http://befrielsen1945.emu.dk/temaer/befrielsen/jubel/index.html
See also
''General information''
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World War II
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Allies of World War II
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Participants in World War II
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List of Pro-Axis Leaders and Governments or Direct Control in Occupied Territories
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Expansion plans of the Axis
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Expansion operations and planning of the Axis Powers
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Cases of controversial relations with the Axis of World War II
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Axis leaders of World War II
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Italian Mare Nostrum
''Pacts and treaties''
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Tripartite Pact
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Pact of Steel
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Anti-Comintern Pact
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Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement
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Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
External links
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Axis History Factbook
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Full text of The Tripartite Pact
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Full text of The Pact of Steel
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Silent movie of the signing of The Tripartite Pact
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