War, when is it nessecary?

[Linus]

So you are saying the Polish just sat on their hands as they were decimated on both sides? Agreed the war escalated when the allies joined in but it was a defensive action. War was already happening. And Hitler was challenged LONG before Britain or France became involved.

Good point. Perhaps we should say that the Allies' involvement in the war was necessary. It needed to happen to stop Hitler. But you are right. It was NOt necessary for Hitler to do what he did.

 

[michel]

So you are saying the Polish just sat on their hands as they were decimated on both sides? Agreed the war escalated when the allies joined in but it was a defensive action. War was already happening. And Hitler was challenged LONG before Britain or France became involved.

Ahem!! don't forget poor old Belgium ! There were far more countries involved;

Participants of World War II Participants in World War II involves all nations who either participated directly or were affected by any of the theatres or events of World War II. Alliances World War II was primarily fought between two large alliances. ...
Axis Powers (signers of the Tripartite Treaty) The Axis Powers is a term for the loose alliance of participants in World War II led by Germany, Italy, and Japan. ... The Tripartite Pact, also called the Three-Power Pact, was signed in Berlin on September 27, 1940 by representatives of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Japan. ...

• Germany
• Italy
• Japan

Co-signatories of the Tripartite Treaty

• Hungary (November 20th, 1940)
• Romania (November 23rd, 1940)
• Slovakia(1) (November 24th, 1940)
• Bulgaria (March 1st, 1941)
• Yugoslavia (March 25th, 1941)(3)

Countries that were annexed by, or at war with, Axis Powers before World War II Austria (annexed by Germany, "Anschluss", March 13th, 1938)

• Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland annexed by Germany, October 10th, 1938)
• Ethiopia (annexed by Italy in 1936, after the Abyssinia crisis, independence restored in 1941)
• Republic of China (at war with Japan since 1931)

Allied Powers (United Nations) Forces

• Australia
• Brazil (from August 1942)
• Canada
• France (4) and her colonies(5)
• New Zealand
• Poland
• South Africa
• Soviet Union (from June 1941)
• United Kingdom and the British Empire.
• United States (from December 1941)

 

[michel]

Pt 2.
Countries that were attacked, occupied, or switched sides during the war
(Most countries below had declared their neutrality before being assaulted. Albania (occupied by Italy April 7th 1939, by Germany September 26th 1943)

• Belgium (invaded by Germany May 10th 1940)
• Czechoslovakia(1) (Bohemia and Moravia occupied by Germany March 15th 1939)
• Denmark (occupied by Germany April 9th 1940. Greenland stayed officially under Danish souvereignity, but was under American protection since April 9th 1941. The small Greenland Army was created to repel German invaders early 1943.)
• Estonia (annexed by the Soviet Union June 18th 1940, occupied by Germany September 5th 1941, re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944)
• Finland (attacked by the Soviet Union November 30th 1939 and June 26th 1941)
• Greece (invaded by Italy October 28th 1940, German occupation from April 6th 1941)
• Iceland (occupied by Britain May 10th 1940, by USA from July 1941)
• Iran (occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union, August 1941 to May 1946)
• Iraq (started with pro-Nazi PM, refusing military transit or base (treaty) rights to Britain, invaded by Britain 1941 to 1958)
• Latvia (annexed by the Soviet Union June 18th 1940, occupied by Germany June 25th 1941, re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944)
• Lithuania (annexed by the Soviet Union June 18th 1940, occupied by Germany June 22nd 1941, re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944)
• Luxembourg (invaded by Germany May 10th 1940)
• The Netherlands (invaded by Germany May 10th 1940)
• New Guinea (occupied by Japan, September 1942-August 1945)
• Norway (invaded by Germany April 9th 1940)
• Philippines (occupied by Japan, December 1941-June 1945)
• Syria (occupied by Free French and British, June 1940-April 1946)
• Thailand (Occupied by Japan, declared war on the United States and United Kingdom on January 25, 1942)
• Tunisia (Used by Italian and German troops to attack Egypt. Later occupied by Allied forces)

 

[michel]

Pt 3

Supporters of the Allies
Argentina
Bolivia

• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt(2)
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Lebanon
• Liberia
• Mexico(6)
• Mongolia
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Saudi Arabia
• Turkey
• Venezuela

Countries that remained nominally neutral

• Andorra
• Ireland
• Liechtenstein
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Uruguay
• Vatican City

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-countries-involved-in-World-War-II

 

[Fluffy]

Ah yes sorry Michel I didn't wish to imply that Poland was the only country affected before anyone leapt to their defence. Just that I felt that the war (or the starting of perhaps I should say) was not necessary and our defence of these countries should not be judged as a war in their own right because the war was already there.

 

[michel]

I agree, but don't forget that Britain "requested" Hitler to remove his troops from Poland. When he did not do so, Britain declared War on the Germans. There's no getting away from the facts.

 

[Fluffy]

I agree, but don't forget that Britain "requested" Hitler to remove his troops from Poland. When he did not do so, Britain declared War on the Germans. There's no getting away from the facts.

This is completely true but I would still define such an act as one of defence, just that of another country. The fact that Britain was the one who declared war does not mean that they created the war but merely joined in.

I think I will change my view ever so slightly at this point and instead take the position that STARTING a war is never necessary since I feel this wording is less open to confusion.

Thanks michel, by the way, for all that information, is WWII a subject which interests you?

 

[BUDDY]

"Except for ending slavery, fascism, nazism, and communism, war has never solved anything." - Anonymous

I hate the idea of war. It does serve its purposes though and is necessary as long as there are those who wish to prey on the innocent, or those who hate us so much that they would threaten us and our way of life. Whether you like it or not, there are those in the world who hate you, and wish to kill you, you husband or wife, children, grandchildren, etc., regardless of your politics, simply because you are different from them socially, religiously and politically. As long as these people exist in the world, there will always be a need for the good to war against the evil. I truly wish there was a different way, but right now the only way that I can see to end viciousness like this, is to meet it with violence and irradicate those that threaten freedom. This is when War is necessary.

 

[michel]

This is completely true but I would still define such an act as one of defence, just that of another country. The fact that Britain was the one who declared war does not mean that they created the war but merely joined in.

I think I will change my view ever so slightly at this point and instead take the position that STARTING a war is never necessary since I feel this wording is less open to confusion.

Thanks michel, by the way, for all that information, is WWII a subject which interests you?

Now that I agree with fully; I cannot explain my feelings about the war. It had a profound effect on me, vicariously, through my parent's experiences. My Father was captured twice, Walked from Germany to Spain being a Belgian army officer, by escaping from Belgium to help fight with the allies, had he been captured by the Germans (Which he actually was - twice) AND been recognized as being Belgian, he would have been shot instatly, as a traitor (Germany had occupied Belgium, and therefore the belgian army became part of the German army, by default.

When he decided he could no longer work for the Germans, because he was being asked, as a Civil engineer to booby-trap bridges with explosives for the day the allied troups invaded, he asked his C.O for permission to escape - and was encouraged to do so. When he asked the man how should he get in touch with the resistance, his CO looked at him with total astonishment "But surely you know that your mother is the local resistance leader !". Can you possibly imagine living that type of life ?

Mum was involved in the bombings both in London and Coventry- her family lost everything during the war.

As I say, I have, somehow, a connection to the war; I only hope that I could have been half as brave as both my parents were, had I been through it.

 

[Neo-Logic]

War is ALWAYS NECCESSARY for whatever the reasons maybe. While it is true that some wars are waged with no other purpose than the ego of the leaders (dictatorship) or the government, most wars are very much a neccessity. Sometimes, war is the only thing that can end pain and suffering of others. For example, the terrorists from the Middle East with their fervent belief that Allah in fact wants them to do the audacious acts that they commit and their belief that all who are against them are infidels and their practice of attacking civilian targets must be stopped. To do this, war is often neccessary to get to the bottom of things.

War in order to help police or intervene in a civil affair is another neccessity. Having come from a country which had a dictatorship, I understand the acts of mass murder that often occurs while the whole world is oblivious to the situation until it's too late to do anything. This and seeing Hotel Rhonda convinced me that we should, as a world, do more to police the dictators and other governments all around the world to make sure the innocent do not suffer.

 

[NothingIsNot]

War is ALWAYS NECCESSARY for whatever the reasons maybe. While it is true that some wars are waged with no other purpose than the ego of the leaders (dictatorship) or the government, most wars are very much a neccessity.

So you're saying even when wars are fought to satisfy the ego of a goverment it is still necessary. If that is incorrect, maybe you should change the first sentence of your post.

 

[Neo-Logic]

I think I'll leave it alone. For whichever war we think is being fought to satisfy the ego of the leaders are strictly in our opinions. There are things that one can only speculate on (mainly because we as civilians sometimes do not fully grasp the significance and all the data pertaining to the situation at hand) and may only seem as if the war is being fought for unneccessary reasons.