World War II will forever be talked about until the end of time. By far the deadliest war to ever take place with so much at stake. While many believe this war was just a continuation of World War I, this war has its own narrative and interesting facts that you need to read about. Flip through this gallery and learn all about this crazy war, from a Hitler vs Hitler match up to a death ray almost becoming complete, there is sure to be something here that you'll be glad you know.
Russia Lost the Most Soldiers
Out of the 30 countries that participated in this war Russia lost the most soldiers at 21 million. To put this in perspective Poland lost the second most amount at around 6 million, Russia nearly 4x that amount. Around half of those deaths were associated with illnesses and starvation. Keep in mind these numbers are just estimates and some historians say it is as high as 26 million.
The Allies Dropped Bombs!
The Allies were not shy about dropping bombs on the Axis powers, in a seven-year span, the Allies dropped an absurd 3.4 million bombs, most going towards Germany and Japan. This lead to Germany losing as many as 600,000 soldiers and Japan losing 500,000. The Axis powers would return the favor dropping bombs of their own killing thousands of soldiers from Russia, France, and Britain, but nowhere near the amount of firepower the Allies were able to apply.
Historians Can't Agree When it Started!
Unlike the start date of World War I that could be traced back to an assassination, historians often debate on why and when this war was started. Some say it was when Germany first invaded Poland on September 1st, while others say Japan actually started this war when they decided to invade Manchuria on September 18th. At least the dates are close enough to not make a significant change, it just all depends on who you want to blame. There is another explanation that historians use, and that is that there is no World War II and it is just a continuation of World War I since tensions were still brewing.
Germans used the Alias Max Heiliger to get away with Murder
We all know what happened during the Holocaust, but have you ever wondered what happened to the belongings of those poor individuals? Well after killing the jews a fake bank account under the name Max Heiliger was set up so that Germans were able to fill up bank vaults full of their possessions. The possessions included jewelry, dental gold, art, furniture, and wedding rings. Another code name used was Aktion Reinhardt. This was possible due to Heinrich Himmler and Walther Funk working together.
The Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was not only one of the longest battles, which lasted around 7 years, but also one of the most important as the winner would control the Atlantic Ocean so that they would deliver goods more freely. Britain needed its ships to travel along the Atlantic in order to receive vital supplies, but Germany was smart and stationed their submarines to sink any ships that crossed their paths. Britain then began to send combat ships along with its merchant ships which made it harder on Germany.
They Weren't Always Called Nazis
Many people don't know but the Nazis actually called themselves Nasos. This was because the word was an abbreviation for the National Socialist Party. A journalist then called them Nazis in order to make fun of them because in Bavarian Nazi meant simple-minded. The name then stuck because most people believed they were in fact simple-minded only following orders and not opening up their minds to accept people who were different than they were.
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was by far the worst blow the United States has taken. During this battle, they lost around 100,000 soldiers. This was Hitler's greatest strategy as he attacked the U.S. troops mid December when their troops were immobilized by the freezing temperature. The U.S. didn't get a chance to strike back until around Christmas time but by that time it was already too late and there was already a bloodbath around them. The Allies ultimately claimed victory during that battle but had still lost a lot.
Lots of Jews Helped in the Fight Against the Axis Powers
When you hear about the Jews during World War II, lots of people remember them as being victims, and while they were, many of them were actually soldiers. There were nearly 600,000 jews in the U.S. Army, not surprising when they were hearing about what was going on in their home country. Out of those 600,000, 80,000 never came back home but instead died fighting the good fight for the freedom of their people. Only two of the Jewish men that came back received a Medal of Honor.
Nazis Were the Focal Point of this War
While World War II was made of 30 different Countries the focal point and what people remember the most are the Nazis. They were ruthless and were responsible for 12 million deaths during this war. That was more than the population of some of the countries that fought. Sadly, of the 12 million, 6 million of those casualties were people of Jewish descent during the Holocaust.
Wind Ship Weapons
One of the most ambitious strategies to come out of the war was Japan's Wind Ship Weapons. The Pacific Ocean separates the United States from Japan, so Japan came up with an idea to send war balloons with little mini bombs across the ocean. Japan sent around 9,000 of these bombs and the majority actually reached their target though weren't very effective. The objective of these balloons was to start small fires in the forest around the U.S. Unfortunately they did manage to kill five children and a pregnant woman. These bombs took around an hour to cross the ocean.
Birth of the Kamikaze
This war gave birth to the idea of a kamikaze pilot. The Japanese knew they were behind in technology compared to the U.S. and therefore could not win a fair one on one fight. In order to even the odds, they decided to instead sacrifice their own hoping that one of their own sacrificing their lives would take out multiple troops at once. Not the fairest way to play but it was effective. Japan lost around 3,000 soldiers to this but in return were able to kill or wound 10,000 U.S. soldiers.
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was by far the battle with the most bloodshed during this war. It is estimated that over one million soldiers combined from both sides were lost that day. The famous words "Not a step back" were echoed during this battle as Germany began to get the upper hand, but the Russian forces were determined to not break and let them take Stalingrad. The Russians were able to hold off and allow a Russian winter to come which gave them a huge advantage and ended up winning that battle.
The United States Increased their Budget
Prior to this war, the United States had a budget of 1.9 Billion for its military. During the 5 year span of this war from 1940 to 1945 the United States would increase that number drastically to around 60 Billion dollars. If you adjusted that to meet inflation today, the war would cost 4 trillion dollars, without a doubt the most expensive war. The government was able to raise this money in such a short time due to taxes and bonds. Taxes were raised on the wealthy and lucky for the United States citizens bought over $185.7 billion worth of bonds. Even with those two measures that only covered for about 60% of the war.
United States Factories had to Put in Overtime
With the United States defense budget sky rocking, you may be wondering what it was used for. During this time American factories were putting in overtime to produce tons of equipment to supply the military. This arsenal included seven million rifles, three million machine guns, and eighty-nine thousand jeeps among other arsenals like air and sea crafts. It was a good time to be in the labor force, and even needed the recruiting of some women to help pick up the load.
A New Way to Get Information
It's no surprise to anyone that Pearl Harbor took its toll on the U.S. and is a story that will be passed down for generations to come, but it's hard to grasp just how much of an impact it had until you see the numbers. As far as deaths go, around 2,400 men were killed that day and 1,200 more injured. The United States also had 18 of their ships sunk and 350 aircraft destroyed. Safe to say that was a tough blow to the United States and is no wonder why that day has been depicted in tons of media from movies to books.
The Beast of Belsen
Josef Kramer was known as, "The Beast of Belsen" which came from how cold-hearted he was. Kramer was responsible for overseeing the Nazi camps, which means he was directly responsible for killing thousands of people and he did so without even flinching. he would later be executed for war crimes, but not before being asked if he felt any remorse and he earned his nickname by saying no because he was only following orders.
The Story of Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess was sort of like Hitler's right-hand man and it was believed that both shared homosexual tendencies. Rudolf Hess was a little more open about this thus leading to people in his inner circle referring to him as Fraulein Anna and Brown Mouse. Hitler at least to the outside world appeared straight seeing how he had been with multiple women. Rudolf is better known for eventually fleeing the country and heading to the United Kingdom to try to come to a peaceful solution and end the war.
Hitler vs Hitler
Oddly enough Hitler's half nephew William Hitler fought in World War II, but not on the side of his half-uncle, William actually fought alongside the United States Navy. When Adolf came to power, William decided to move back to Germany where instead of benefitting from his half uncle's power he witnessed how deranged he was. This caused William to flee to the United States and join the navy, of course, he first had to change his name and he chose William Houston. William was later granted American citizenship for his contribution to the war.
True Identities Never Revealed
Nazis weren't only keen on killing Jews but Poles as well, killing well over a million Polish people. However, during every batch the Nazis started to realize that some of their children looked German, because of this, the German's ended up kidnapping anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 Polish children in order to "Germanize" them. This meant they were abducted and given German parents and were punished if they ever spoke Polish. To this day, not all the children kidnapped have been discovered and the ones who have, have been left to deal with their trauma all on their own. This could also mean that to this day there could be people out there who believe they are of German descent when really they are Polish.
Japan's Change of Heart
Some may be confused as to why Japan is now on the opposite side of the battle from countries like The United States and France when during World War I Japan was their ally. During this time Japan was going through a government change and after looking at the peace treaty they decided that they felt like they got handed the short end of the stick when it came to gaining new territories. This prompted Japan to side with Germany during World War II fearing the same would happen and so they would have nothing to gain.
Germany's not so Peaceful Peace Treaty
World War I and World War II took place twenty years apart, so the question begs, why sign a peace treaty if you weren't ready for peace. That's what most Germans had in mind as well, they never wanted to accept their punishment of having to get rid of all their over sea empires as well as its neighboring lands, no to mention not being allowed to keep their large army. From the moment they signed the treaty they continued to hold resentment which is why the two wars were so close together and why many believe World War II was just a continuation of World War I.
Go For Broke
The 442nd regimental Combat Team was the most accomplished team for the United States during World War II. This team consisted of Japanese-Americans who volunteered as they believed the U.S. was in the right during this war. They had a famous motto that said, "Go For Broke" since they gave it everything they had any time they hit the battlefield. The team won an impressive amount of medals, including 4,667 of them receiving medals, citations, and awards.
Hiding in Plain Sight
When you think of the camouflage the army wore back in the day, it is so precise most people would think generals went out to study the jungles to imitate the colors. However, this is not the case, a gentleman by the name of Norvell Gillespie, who was a garden editor, was the one who came up with the colors. Makes sense too since a person with his background would know better than anyone else the colors needed in order to blend in with a garden, or in their case a jungle. You can see how the U.S. was able to gain significant advantages over the enemy by thinking outside the box.
Better Tanks
During World War I tanks didn't play a huge role since it was an early model and they didn't quite figure out all the kinks yet. However, during World War II tanks were largely involved on both sides, the greatest of these tank battles occurred on the Eastern Front near Kursk between Germany and Russia. During this battle around 3,600 tanks were involved. The battle only lasted a month and Russia was able to hold off the Germans during that battle but the sheer presence of tanks during that battle is something to see.
Spies in Mexico
During the war, the U.S. caught wind of a spy ring Japan had set up to infiltrate them. However, while the United States tried to find and dispose of this, the ring was actually in Mexico, not the United States. Japan used the cover of a brothel in order to keep an eye on the United States Atlantic Fleet. However, while in Mexico they were able to recruit a former U.S. navy man and have him relay information to them, and pay him monthly to do so.
Blending In
When news hit around Germany that the war was lost, Germans who were stationed at the camps knew they would most likely be either put away or sentenced to death for the war crimes they committed. However, it is said that many of them actually dressed like refugees when the Allies troops came to save them and were able to pass themselves off as refugees and by doing so were able to gain the same freedoms and perks the refugees were given.
A Third Bomb could have been Dropped
Most people remember the two devastating bombs that were dropped on Japan. The first in Hiroshima that killed well over 80,000 people and the second in Nagasaki that killed over 40,000 people. These two bombs forced Japan to surrender after seeing how much damage the bombs caused, people in Japan called it the "Cruel" bomb. However, before Japan surrendered the United States was getting ready to drop a third bomb. This bomb would have been dropped in Tokyo, with the amount of aftermath caused by the first two bombs leaving radiation exposure everywhere, a bomb in Tokyo would have ended Japan. Looking at Tokyo now and how beautiful it is, it is crazy to think what it would look like now had the third bomb been dropped.
The Most Accomplished 12 year old
In World War I we learned that 12-year-olds were enlisting into the army to escape their living conditions but were quickly found out with the help of their parents. Well, Calvin Graham did the same in World War II except he wasn't discovered quick and became a very accomplished soldier. Calvin Graham received a purple heart and a bronze gold medal prior to the navy discovering how old he truly was. Once they found out he was forced to withdraw but was able to keep all of his awards except for his purple heart.
The Introduction of The Katyusha
The Russian debuted a dangerous weapon during World Ward II called the Katyusha. It was a fragile weapon but could fire 320 rockets at once in just under 25 seconds, a real game-changer during the war as you could overwhelm your opponents. Although it was deadlier and quicker than anything else at the time there were also a few drawbacks. The Katyusha was very inaccurate just randomly shooting out the missiles and also took a really long time to reload. However, to give you an example of how revolutionary it was, the Katyusha is still used to this day and is still very effective.
Bulletproof was not easy to come by
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