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What were the war strategies of the two sides during World War II?

The Axis Powers and the Allies had different strategies in World War II. The Axis Powers wanted to strike as quickly as possible to gain and control land in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Japanese moved into Manchuria in 1931 and into China in 1937. The Italians conquered Ethiopia in 1935 and Albania in 1939. Between 1938 and 1940, Germany rapidly conquered most of Western Europe. Germany and Italy also controlled much of North Africa....

The Axis Powers and the Allies had different strategies in World War II. The Axis Powers wanted to strike as quickly as possible to gain and control land in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Japanese moved into Manchuria in 1931 and into China in 1937. The Italians conquered Ethiopia in 1935 and Albania in 1939. Between 1938 and 1940, Germany rapidly conquered most of Western Europe. Germany and Italy also controlled much of North Africa. The Axis Powers also wanted to control the oceans, using their naval power to reduce trade between the United States and Great Britain in the Atlantic Ocean. The Japanese wanted to control as many islands as possible in the Pacific Ocean. Their goal was to isolate the Allies as much and as quickly as possible. For a period of time, this strategy was very successful.


The Allies developed a strategy for fighting in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific Ocean. The Allies had a five-part plan for regaining control of North Africa and Europe. The Allies wanted to regain North Africa first. When the Axis advance was stopped at El Alamein, the Allies began to pinch the Axis armies. Eventually, the Axis Powers fled North Africa in May 1943. After North Africa was secured, the Allies then moved into Italy to conquer that country. This took about a year to accomplish. To try to secure the Atlantic Ocean, the Allies used convoys and new technology to protect Allied shipping. Radar and sonar helped locate German submarines while the navy protected the merchant marine. The fourth part of the plan was to invade and liberate France. This began with the D-Day invasion in June 1944 and ended in January 1945. The final part of the plan was to invade and defeat Germany. This was accomplished in May 1945.


In the Pacific, we used a strategy called island hopping. The goal was to retake the islands we had lost one at a time as we moved closer and closer to Japan. Eventually, we would be close enough to Japan to invade. Ultimately, we used the atomic bomb to end the war in Japan in August 1945.


While the Axis Powers had initial success before the war began and at the beginning of the war, the Allies were eventually able to implement their plans and strategies to defeat the Axis Powers and win the war.

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