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File:Ww2 allied axis.gif
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 with their total 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 "Rome-Berlin-Tokyo" 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

Greater German Reich

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

File:Flag of Japan - variant.svg
Empire of Greater 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

Kingdom of Italy

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

Kingdom of Hungary

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

Kingdom of Romania

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

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

Kingdom of Bulgaria

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 [citation needed] 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

Kingdom of 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

Independent State of 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

Kingdom of 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

Republic of Finland

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

Kingdom of 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)

State of Manchuria

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 United Autonomous Government

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)

State 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)

Second Philippine 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)

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)[citation needed].

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

Empire of 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

Kingdom of 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

Kingdom of 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

Albanian Kingdom

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)

Independent State of Montenegro

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 Social Republic

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)

File:SDKZastava.gif
Government of National Salvation (flag is of the collaborationist Serbian Volunteer Corps)

Serbian General Milan Nedić formed the Government of National 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.

The regime had far less popularity than other puppet regimes set up by the Axis because of the ongoing genocide of Serbs taking place in Croatia at the time as well as oppression imposed on Serbs by the German armed forces in Serbia. Also the regime had little power of its own other than to endorse objectives dictated by Nazi Germany.

Nedić's armed forces, the Serbian State Guards and Serbian Volunteer Corps, which were initially largely members of the fascist ZBOR party. These forces wore the uniform of the Royal Yugoslav Army as well as helmets and uniforms purchased from Italy. 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)

French State

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

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.

The case of Denmark

Kingdom 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]

The case of Portugal

Estado Novo

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.


The case of the Soviet Union

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

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 invaded Poland from the east 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.

The case of Spain

Spanish State

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

  • Weinberg, Gerhard L. (2005). A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II (2nd edition ed.). NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521853168. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help) Provides a scholarly overview.
  • Dear, Ian C. B. (2005). The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019280670X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); line feed character in |coauthors= at position 30 (help) A reference book with encyclopedic coverage of all military, political and economic topics.
  • Kirschbaum, Stanislav (1995). A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-10403-0. 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 Template:Da icon
  9. ^ Trommer, Aage. ""Denmark". The Occupation 1940-45". Foreign Ministry of Denmark. Retrieved 2006-09-20.
  10. ^ Lidegaard, Bo (2003). Dansk Udenrigspolitisk Historie, vol. 4. Copenhagen: Gyldendal. pp. 461–463. ISBN 87-7789-093-0. Template:Da icon
  11. ^ "Danish Legion Military and Feldpost History". Retrieved 2006-09-20.
  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 Template:Da icon

See also

General information

Pacts and treaties

External links