When Germany occupied Denmark on April 1940, the Jewish Population was approximately about 7500, accounting for 0.2% of the country's total population. About 6,000 of these Jews were Danish citizens. The rest were refugees from Germany and eastern Europe. Most of the Refugees lived in the capitol, Copenghagen. Before it happened non-Jewish Danes hid Jews and transported them to safety in Sweden. Despite the rescute efforts, the Germans took around 470 Jews and deported them to Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia. 120 Danish Jews died during the Holocaust in total. On the same day, Germany invaded Norway.Germany tried to secure naval bases for use against the British fleet in the North Sea to guarantee major iron-ore shipments for neutral Sweden. British tried to help Norway but on June 10, King Haakon VII and the Norwegian government escaped to London. The Jews 2,100 Jews in Norway,including the disabled and children, Were arrested and deported on November 25th to 26th 1942. Soon they were taken to the Auschwitz-Kirkenau killing center. In May, Germans conquered Belgium and deported about 25,000 Jews by 1944. the Belgian government fled to Great Britain and formed a government-in-exile in London. But the King, Leopold the third remained in Belgium because he was under house arrest. On the same month, Germany invaded Netherlands.Many Jews were sent to Buchenwald and Mauthausen, concentration camps. The geography of the NEtherlands made escape difficult for them. One of the world's smallest countries, Luxembourg was occupied by germany in May. Stuka dive-bombers attacked crucially against low countries. The Jews in Luxembourg were also sent to concentration camps same as other countries and many were killed. In June 22, 1940 Germany occupied northern France and all of the France's Atlantic coastline down to the boarder with Spain as a part of the armistice agreement. They "Aryanized" Jewish property, interned many and Jews were transported to Auschwitz and murdered.France was rather Liberal than other countries welcoming Jewish immigrants, many of them being from eastern Europe after WWI. in 1939 the French authorities made strict limits to immigration and created detention camps for refugees. The German attack was from the early summer of 1940. Vichy Regime was a key person during the attack. He left eastern France unoccupied till 1942 until General Karl took his position. On March 25th 1941, Yugoslavia agreed to joining the Axis and Germans head for Greece. The Axis powers partitioned Yugoslavia and exploited ethnic tensions. In Greece a brutal occupation occured with 80% of Jewish population being murdered. Germany, Italy, Bulgaria all occupied parts of Greece. 40,000 of 43,000 Jews in Salonika were killed from the Holocaust. In September of 1943, Italy surrendered to the Allies and Germany captured the whole of Greece. By June, Germany also chose to invade the USSR. They launched a surprise attack since it was Poland's ally. Soviet Jews were killed. (Operation Barbarossa)

On July 6, 1942, Japan tried to invade Guadalcanal with consisting troops and labourers and began constructing an airfield. The Allies thought that operating from this airfield would menace bases in the New Hebrides, New Caledonia and Port Moresby. Immediate action were taken by the allies and used forces that were in the South Pacific to push them out.

On August 7, 1942, Alexander Vandegfrift's 6,000 men from U.S 1st Marine Division launched an surprising amphibious assault on Guadalcanal and Florida island, where the 2,000 Japanese defenders are. The airfield on Guadalcanal and the harbour on Florida Island were seized in 36 hours. The Marines named the airstrip Henderson Field, after Lofton Henderson, a Marine aviator.

On August 9, Japan reacted quickly to this counter attack and just before 2:00 am, they struck again hard at the Allied naval force. After roughly half an hour, the Japanese already sank the U.S cruisers Astoria, Quincy, Vincennes and the cripple of the Australian cruiser Canberra.

This battle had four parts, Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engano, and the Battle of Samar. These were the first battles that Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attack, it was also the last naval battle between battleships in history. After this, Japan suffered heavy losses where they stranded their ship for lack of fuel in its bases for the rest of war.

The last major amphibious battle of WWII was the Battle of Okinawa beginning on April 1, 1945. The U.S Marines landed under naval gunfire and aircraft support. Suicide plan attacks began during on March 26. Five days later a wave of 355 Japanese army kamikaze aircraft struck the armada of Allied ships supporting the invasion and continued until June. By the end, Japan launched almost 2,000 suicide attacks against the Allies. Including manned rocket-powered Ohka flying bombs. Allied ended with a victory after the campaign lasted for 82 days. Victory at Okinawa cost more than 49,000 American casualties with 12,000 deaths. About 90,000 Japanese combatants died in fighting and about 150,000 civilians were killed.

On August 6, 1945, American bomber called the Enola Gay dropped little boy into Hiroshima, Japan. After that, USSR declared war on Japan and started invading.

The Soviet attacks Mengjiang and northern Korea, and defeats Kwantung Army. After, Japan unconditionally surrenders since it became apparent that the USSR had no intention of negotiating an end. The reason for the USSR to attack is to prevent any Japanese incursions. They had 20 infantry division masses on the border of Manchukuo. They poured more than 1 million Soviet soldiers to defeat about 700,000 Imperial Japan soldiers.

After the U.S dropped Fat Man into Nagasaki, Japan surrendered and war was over.

The Germans were mainly successful in conquering Europe because of their military attack tactic, Blitzkrieg. It was also because of their technological superiority and most importantly their mentality. First, the blitzkrieg tactic was extremely powerful at this time because it included surprise attacks, combined arms having infantry, tanks, air power etc. The tactic also focused on concentrating at critical points to break through the border, straight into the capitol. Secondly, the weapons, technology used by the Germans could be seen as years ahead of other country's weaponry. the Germans used crucial military weapons such as the Panzer or the Luftwaffe, the famous German aircraft. Thirdly, the mentality of leaders of Germany were innovative and maintained a high level of discipline and motivation that can still be seen by the country's people nowadays.

2. Why couldn't Germany defeat Britain?

Germany couldn't beat Britain because of Britain's aircraft from the Royal Air Force, Support from Allies, Strategic Mistakes by Germany and Code-breaking. Firstly, the British had an air force to counter the Luftwaffe from achieving air superiority, which was ready for any potential invasion by the Germans. Furthermore, the Radar technology used by the Royal air force was far more efficient than Germany. The British used aircraft like Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane, which proved highly effective against German aircraft. Next, the Germans chose to bomb RAF airfields at first but, they shifted to bombing London and other cities. This strategy let the British recover and rebuild their weaponry. Thirdly, the support from the Allies made Britain have more resources and man power. Geographically, other European countries are to be on the way to the island country Britain. That made Germany harder to attack. The U.S provided many important material support through Lend-Lease. Lastly, the intelligence of Britain at Bletchley park helped code break German communications/enigma. In addition, the counterintelligence operations confused German commands. Concluding, Germany failed to defeat Britain due to the effective defensive tactics by Britain and the RAF, especially during the Battle of Britain. The strategic mistakes of Germany boosted Britain's potential. Allied countries such as France, Russia and many of the other European countries surrounding Germany. The intelligence efforts like the operations helped Britain's ability to sustain war production. These different factors made Britain not possibly be defeated by Germany.

3. Why did Germany invade the Soviet Union and why didn’t Operation Barbarossa succeed despite early German victories?

Germany invaded the Soviet Union because mainly of Hitler's ideas. It could be seen as Mein Krampf, Lebensraum, wanting economic resources, and countering the possibility of being attacked in the future. The worldview of Hitler, written in a book called Mein Krampf, included hatred for communism and superiority of the Aryans race. Hitler saw the Soviet Union as a government controlled by the Jewish-Bolsheviks. Furthermore, Hitler believed in "Lebensraum" which means living space in German. He thought that German people needed more space to live so they can grow and prosper. He saw that the enormous land of the Soviet Union would be one of the perfect places to expand into. The military of Germany believed that the USSR will soon attack Germany and prepared a pre-emptive strike to prevent a potential threat.

The Reason that Germany failed Operation Barbarossa was because they underestimated the strength of the Soviets, having vast reserves of manpower and millions of troops ready to fire against the Germans, the vast distance of the Soviet Union causing the Germany army to have difficulty to dig deeper into the Soviets territory. In addition, the Soviets had Allied support just like the British had Soviets. They all traded vehicles, food, and war materials. Overall, Germany invaded the Soviet Union due to the space in Russia, the Jews, and resources to conquer the rest of the earth. Operation Barbarossa failed due to the Soviets having more soldiers and supplies and being supported by closer allied countries. These points became the turning points of WWII.

I think that Germany lost because of the lack of allies in the tripartite pact close in Europe, Japan being too far to support, and the Allied strategies, technological and intelligence factors. Germany did not have any support from any other countries in Europe except for Italy which faced their back as soon as a rapid train. This created a huge gap in military troops for the mainland because of trying to invade many countries, especially advancing into North Africa. On the other hand, the coordination among the Allies allowed them to plan a strategic attack like the D-Day invasion to keep the liberation of Europe. The Allied strategy includes code breaking, radar and having advanced aircraft, (tanks) made Germany fully conquer the whole of Europe, mainly because of the strong British air force and support from the U.S. The entry of the United States brought powerful military power to the Allies. Also that the Soviets managed to relocate industry further across the mountains against the Germans which made Germany harder to get because of the poor infrastructure on the way. For example, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk turned heads of the countries. In conclusion, in World War 2, Germany lost because of the Allies intelligence leading to many other factors like code breaking and developed weaponry

5. Why was Japan so successful in conquering most of East Asia in 1941-1942?

Japan was successful in conquering most of the East Asian countries and islands because most of them were either colonized or did not have much military at all. It is also that they were colonized by the Allied countries such as the U.K or the U.S which took them a large amount of time to move their army to the colonized areas. Furthermore, the European powers were focused on the war in Europe. People might think that the Pearl Harbor was the biggest mistake for the Japanese but on the positive side, the Japanese were able at cripple the U.S Pacific Fleet, preventing immediate counter attacks of invading the East Asian land. The fact that Japan lacked natural resources such as oil, rubber, and minerals, to fuel the war machines, they had a great motivation to attack the Dutch East Indies. The motivation also included a strong mentality influenced by the long lasting Bushido code, emphasizing honor, loyalty and sacrifice. The soldiers were often willing to fight to the death rather than surrendering. Summarizing, Japan's success of conquering East Asia in 1941-1942 was because of strategic surprise and planning, military innovation, the weakness of colonized opponents. These points led Japan to rapidly succeed taking over the East Asian land.

6. Why were the island hopping tactics by the US so useful against Japan?

The island hopping tactics used by the U.S. during World War II were highly effective against Japan due to their strategic focus and operational efficiency. By concentrating on key targets, the U.S. maximized the impact of its resources by capturing critical islands that served as forward bases and airfields. These bases facilitated easier support for air and naval operations, extending the reach and effectiveness of American military power across the Pacific. Capturing these islands allowed the U.S. to cut off Japanese supply lines and neutralize isolated Japanese garrisons without engaging in costly, protracted battles on heavily fortified positions. With many of Japan's forces spread thin across far-flung East Asian islands, the U.S. capitalized on the opportunity to invade and overcome weakened Japanese defenses, steadily pushing the front lines closer to Japan itself. This continuous advance allowed the U.S. to leverage its superior naval and air power, ensuring logistical support and maintaining offensive momentum. The psychological impact of being systematically encircled and isolated further demoralized Japanese forces, weakening their resolve. This flexible and resource-efficient approach not only eroded Japan’s defensive capabilities but also facilitated the Allied push towards the Japanese home islands. The cumulative effect of these strategies ultimately led to the weakening of Japan's defensive perimeter and contributed significantly to the Allied victory, culminating in Japan's eventual surrender and the end of the war in the Pacific.

7. According to what you have learned, what do you think were the main reasons for Japan's defeat in the war?

Japan's defeat in World War II was due to several key factors. The attack on Pearl Harbor, intending to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet, instead they tensed the United States into full-scale war, leveraging its vast industrial and military power against Japan. Japan's rapid territorial expansion led to overextension, rapidly using its resources and defenses. Allied industrial superiority, particularly that of the United States, resulted in a massive production of war materials, overwhelming Japanese capabilities. Effective strategies like the island hopping campaign allowed the Allies to capture strategic islands and bypass heavily fortified Japanese positions, eventually dismantling Japanese defenses. Strategic bombing campaigns further devastated Japanese cities, factories, and infrastructure, crippling Japan's war production. Resource shortages, especially in oil and raw materials, were worsened by Allied blockades and submarine warfare targeting Japanese supply lines. The Allies' technological and intelligence advantages, including the breaking of Japanese codes, provided crucial insights into Japanese plans, enabling effective counter-strategies. Internal challenges, such as divided leadership and economic strain, further weakened Japan's war effort. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 and the Soviet Union's entry into the war against Japan forced a surrender. These factors ensured that Japan could not sustain its war effort against the increasingly powerful and coordinated Allied forces, leading to its final defeat.