World War 2

The background to war

The war was caused by both long and short term factors.

Long term factors

From October 1929 an economic depression, starting in the U.S.A., spread across the world. Millions
were thrown out of work. Some starved to death.

People were angry, and they turned to political extremists:

 In Germany and Italy, fascist dictators came to power.

 In Japan, the army took power.
Countries became more aggressive:

 Japan invaded China in 1932.

 Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935.

The tyrants of the 1930s

Adolf Hitler (Germany) Benito Mussolini (Italy) Emperor Hirohito (Japan)

Short term factors

Hitler built up a Greater Germany in central Europe. In 1938 he united Austria and Germany, known as
the Anschluss, and demanded the Sudetenland, the German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia. In doing
so, he broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Faced with aggression like this, the League of Nations was powerless.

World leaders like the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, and France's Edouard Daladier tried
a policy of appeasement – negotiating with Hitler and offering concessions.

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 In September 1938, the Munich Agreement gave Hitler the Sudetenland. The Czechs were not asked
what they thought about it. Hitler occupied the Sudetenland in the following month.

Appeasement failed to stop Hitler:

 In March 1939, Hitler occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia.

 In September 1939, he invaded Poland, and Britain declared war

The five phases of the War

The Phoney War (September 1939‒April 1940)

Hitler conquered Poland. There was no other
major activity on land, although there were
actions at sea. Historians believe that this
period saw very little action as all countries
involved were biding their time and waiting for
the other to make the first move. The
governments of Germany, Britain and France
began to issue propaganda. The British
government even flew over Germany but,
rather than dropping bombs, they
dropped propaganda leaflets. Very little of
military significance happened that was
noticeable. However, all countries were
developing their military bases and new
technologies. People began to get frustrated and
some evacuated children were sent home
because people felt there was no point staying
in the countryside when there were no bombs to
worry about.
Blitzkrieg (April 1940‒June 1940)

The Nazis conquered Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France. The British Expeditionary Force
was trapped at Dunkirk, but managed to withdraw by sea back to Britain. On 4th June, 1940, Winston
Churchill delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time to the House of Commons in
Westminster. In it, he warned about the possibility of a German invasion of Britain and said to the
inspiration of many: We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the
beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight on the fields and in the streets, we shall
fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

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 Britain and the empire stands alone (July 1940‒June 1941)

Britain withstood the German Airforce,

called the Luftwaffe, in the Battle of
Britain (July‒September 1940).

 But Britain was alone, and in great

danger of losing the war.
 The Luftwaffe bombed London for
76 nights running (the Blitz), then other
cities such as Coventry. People took
cover in air raid shelters; some were
made of corrugated iron in gardens;
others were located inside train stations
and tunnels.
 The British were driven out of
Greece and most of North Africa.
 The British ran out of money, and had to sign the Lend-Lease Agreement with America (America
sold arms to Britain, to be paid back after the war).
The tide turns (1941‒1943)

 In June 1941, Hitler invaded Russia, known as Operation Barbarossa. This brought Russia back into
the war, this time against Germany. The failure of Operation Barbarossa was the first major German
defeat.
 In December 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour. This brought the U.S. into the war.
 As a result the Allies gradually began to win the war:
 In June 1942 the Americans defeated the Japanese at the Battle of Midway.
 In November 1942 the British won the Battle of El-Alamein in Egypt.
In January 1943 the Russians defeated the Nazis at the Battle of Stalingrad. Victory (1943‒1945)

 In 1944, the Nazis launched V-1 rockets, known as doodlebugs, which fell randomly in southern
Britain.
But:

 After D-Day on 6 June 1944, Germany was gradually driven back in Western Europe by the British,
Americans and their allies.
 The Americans and British continued the strategic bombing campaign on German cities.
 The Russians advanced in Eastern Europe and in April they reached Berlin. Hitler committed suicide.
 Germany surrendered and war came to an end in Europe shortly afterwards and VE Day was
announced on 8 May 1945. Winston Churchill announced this with caution: “We may allow ourselves

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 a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.” He
was speaking of Japan, where the war would continue for three months more.
 On 6 August 1945, the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and again on Nagasaki on
9 August. Within weeks Japan surrendered, and VJ Day was announced 15 August 1945. By this
stage, Winston Churchill was no longer Prime Minister. Clement Attlee had taken over following a
general election in which the majority of people voted for a Labour government believing that they
would help them more in recovering from the destruction of war. Attlee said, “… at midnight, the last
of our enemies is laid low.”

Consequences of World War Two

World War Two created a new world:

 Russians, Poles, homosexuals and the disabled were detained and executed by the Nazis during the
war.
 Jews were forced into concentration camps where they were systematically executed which came to
be known as the Holocaust. Approximately 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.
 It has been estimated that 50 million people died in World War Two.
 The old empires of France and Britain were ruined. A 'wind of change' meant that by the end of the
1960s almost all the old colonies of the British Empire had gained their independence.
 The U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. were the new 'superpowers', and immediately started on a ‘Cold War’.
 The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki created a world which was terrified by
the threat of atomic war.
 Germany was divided, and remained so until 1990.
 The League of Nations was disbanded. Instead, a new United Nations was declared.

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The United Nations headquarters in New York City, U.S.A.

Jamaica’s Involvement in WWII

Jamaica, like other British colonies was immediately involved in World War II when, after Germany
invaded Poland, Britain declared war on Germany (September 1939). Britain applied the Defence of the
Realm Act. This gave the Governor the authority to regulate prices of all commodities to prevent
profiteering from war time shortages. The Governor also imposed press censorship as well as controls
on mail and telegraph and cable messages.

Early Period

Jamaica was far from the war in Europe and Germany's small U-boat fleet was not at first active in the
Caribbean. The U-boats were, however, a major concern for Britain's over-stretched Royal Navy.

Economic Importance

Jamaica has an important bauxite

resource, the raw material needed for
aluminium production. Aluminium was
needed for aircraft production. The
need for strategic materials to fight the
War caused a search for resources. This
lead to exploration and development
work for bauxite in Jamaica (1940s).
Alcan, Reynolds, and Kaiser were all
active. Jamaican bauxite was not used
during the war, but the three North
American companies came to the island to survey, acquire reserve lands and set up operations. Reynolds
began exporting bauxite from Ocho Rios (1952) and Kaiser (1953), followed a year later from Port
Kaiser on the southern coast. Alcan built Jamaica's first alumina processing plant near its mines at

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Kirkvine, Manchester and in early 1952 began shipping alumina from Port Esquivel. This was the
beginning of the industry in Jamaica.

American Bases

The War at first went disastrously for the Allies.

After the fall of France (June 1940), it looked
for a time that Britain itself might also fall. The
U.S.A. was neutral, but President Roosevelt
moved to help Britain as much as possible
within the limits of the Neutrality Acts and
public opinion, which was strongly against them
entering the War. One of those steps was the
Lend-Lease Act (March 1941). Britain gave the
United States the right to build bases in British
possessions in return for 50 moth-balled World
War I destroyers. This arrangement was more
for U.S. public consumption than a real deal as
Britain at the time welcomed American
deployment in its overseas possessions. It also
allowed the British to redeploy their men to
where they were more urgently needed.
President Roosevelt could justify this aid to
Britain to still isolationist-minded Americans as
a step in protecting the outer perimeter of the
United States security zone. The bases in the
Caribbean were primarily air and naval bases.
The two major American bases in Jamaica were
Vernamfield Air Base and Goat Island Naval
Base. Vernamfield was located at Sandy Gully in Clarendon. It was named after an American World
War I aviator. American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Vernamfield in 1944. Vernamfield is
today a popular motorcar racing facility. Goat Island was located in Old Harbour Bay. The Americans
ran submarine training manoeuvres from the base. Many of the submariners were deployed to the Pacific
after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. They were part of the U.S. Navy's highly successful
submarine Pacific campaign. The U.S. Navy abandoned Goat Island after the War in1949. American
servicemen enjoyed Kingston's night life. The Glass Bucket nightclub was especially popular. The
American servicemen deployed to Jamaica were the first major contact between Jamaicans and
Americans on a large scale.

Strategic Importance

Some of the other Caribbean islands proved of more strategic importance than Jamaica. Jamaica is set in
middle of the Caribbean south of Cuba. Island bases in the Antilles facing the Atlantic like Barbados and
Trinidad were of greater importance. From these bases air and naval assets could be projected into the
Atlantic to participate in the all-important Battle of the Atlantic. Even as the German U-boat fleet was
being expanded, the Caribbean was not well suited for U-boat operations, especially as Allied anti-

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submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities improved. The long distances from French bases, the relatively
shallow depths and clear water were not ideal conditions for U-boat operations.

Jamaican Servicemen

Jamaicans volunteered for military service. They served with British units. Some trained in the United
States. There were some problems as both the British and American military at the time was segregated.

Gibraltar Refugees

With the fall of France and Italy's entry into the War (June 1940), the Mediterranean went from a
backwater of the war to a hot spot. Franco's Spain was close to the Axis and the Germans expected him
to bring Spain into the war. Elements of the German military, especially the Krieg marine, tried to
convince Hitler to attack Gibraltar. It became ‘Plan Felix’ which was never executed. It was a strong
position, but could not have withstood a strong Spanish-German land attack. Hitler met with Franco on
the French-Spanish border (October 1940). Spain did not enter the war however. The British thus
evacuated most of the civilian population from Gibraltar. There were also evacuees from Malta. Some
British civilian refugees from the Mediterranean were cared for in Jamaica. About 2,000 civilians were
evacuated to Jamaica. Evacuees were also sent to England and Madeira. The evacuees to Jamaica were
housed at what became Gibraltar Camp, now the grounds of the University of the West Indies.