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** ] (until 1945) receiving certain military equipment, also poses political and commerce link with Axis for sometimes ** ] (until 1945) receiving certain military equipment, also poses political and commerce link with Axis for sometimes
** ] (pro-Axis neutrality until ] ] when declared war against Germany and Japan under American pressure.) ** ] (pro-Axis neutrality until ] ] when declared war against Germany and Japan under American pressure.)
** ]


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World Map with the participants in World War II.
The Allies depicted in green (those in light green entered after the Attack on Pearl Harbour), the Axis Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey.
File:Nazi Germany flag.JPG
Nazi Germany
File:Imperial japan.png
Imperial Japan
File:Kingdom of Italy flag.JPG
Kingdom of Italy
File:Fascist Italy flag.png
Italian Social Republic
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Bulgaria
File:Hungary 1940 flag.JPG
Hungary
Romania
Finland
File:Ind. St. of Croatia Flag.gif
Independent State of Croatia
File:Free India flag.JPG
Provisional Government of Free India
Siam
Manchukuo
File:Flag of Mengjiang.svg
Mengjiang
File:Vichy flag.JPG
Vichy France
File:Axis Slovakia flag.JPG
Slovakia

The Axis Powers were those participants in World War II opposed to the Allies. The 3 major Axis powers, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan, referred to themselves as the "Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis". At their zenith, the Axis powers ruled empires that dominated large portions of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, but they were ultimately defeated at the end of World War II. Like the Allies, membership of the Axis was fluid, and some nations entered and later left the Axis during the course of the war.

See also these articles: Native pro-Axis leaders, governments and Axis direct control of occupied countries; Axis plans for expansion and attacks and; Expansion operations and planning of the Axis Powers.

Origins

On September 18, 1931, Manchuria was an object of Japanese invasion during the Mukden incident. Italy, facing opposition to its war in Abyssinia from the League of Nations, forged an alliance with Germany, which had withdrawn from the League in 1933. The term was first used by Benito Mussolini, in November 1936, when he spoke of a Rome-Berlin axis in reference to the treaty of friendship signed between Italy and Germany on October 25 1936. The two countries would form an "axis" around which the other states of Europe could revolve. Later, in May 1939, this relationship transformed into an alliance, dubbed the "Pact of Steel".

The Axis was extended to include Japan as a result of the Anti-Comintern Pact of November 25th 1936 and the Tripartite Treaty of September 27, 1940. The alliance was subsequently joined by Hungary (November 20 1940), Romania (November 23 1940), Slovakia's puppet government (November 24 1940) and Bulgaria (March 1, 1941). The Italian name Roberto briefly acquired a new meaning from "Roma-Berlino-Tokyo" between 1940 and 1945.

Lesser Axis nations

Hungary

The first and most willing of the Central European Axis allies, Hungary started its collaboration with the fascist states of the Axis in 1927 signing a treaty with Italy. Formal and informal ties with Germany throughout the 1930s lead to Hungary's active participation in subduing and dismantling of the Czechoslovak state, from which it obtained a number of territories. Hungary formally signed the tripartie pact on November 20, 1940

Romania

Joined the Axis in on November 23, 1940 after Russia occupied half of one of its provinces (Moldova, June 28, 1940) and Germany and Italy forced it to relinquish half of another (Transylvania) to Hungary on August 30, 1940.

Bulgaria

Joined the Axis in November 1940.

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia joined on March 25, 1941, but a British-supported coup d'état two days later put Yugoslavia's participation in question (although King Peter II of Yugoslavia actually declared his adherence to the treaty), leading to a German occupation of Yugoslavia in April.

When Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, several nationalist groups used this to their advantage. The territory roughly consisting of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was made into a puppet state called the "Independent State of Croatia". Other parts of Yugoslavia were either annexed, governed directly by the coalition forces, or by other locals (e.g. general Milan Nedić in Serbia).

On April 10, 1941, the extreme-right nationalist Ustaše organization proclaimed the "Independent State of Croatia" on parts of occupied Yugoslav territory. The leader of the state was Ante Pavelić. The state was largely founded on nationalist aspirations due to the mistreatment of Croats and other South Slavic people within Yugoslavia because of the Royal Yugoslav government's policy of pro-Serb bias. Fascist forces subsequently sent thousands of Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and dissenting Croats and others to the concentration camps where most of them died.

In 1941 Ivan Mihailov's Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) welcomed Bulgaria's renewed control of Vardar Macedonia which was populated basically with ethnic Bulgarians. There was hardly any resistance in this area till 1944. In the beginning of September 1944, when the Bulgarian government left the Axis and declared war on Nazi Germany, Berlin offered Mihailov to declare Macedonia's independence with Berlin's support but he declined.

The Yugoslav Partisan forces under the command of Josip Broz Tito, a Croat, fought a guerrilla war throughout Yugoslavia and the ISC since mid-1941. By 1943 they became a major opponent, and in 1945 they were joined by the Red Army and the Bulgarian army and expelled the fascists. Croatia and other territories were then reincorporated into the second Yugoslavia.

Italian Social Republic

The Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana in Italian) was established in 1943 following Italy's defeat at the hands of the Allies. On July 25 1943, King Victor Emmanuel III stripped Benito Mussolini of his powers and had him arrested upon leaving the palace. Several months later, in a spectacular raid led by Otto Skorzeny, Mussolini was freed, declared his dismissal a coup, and proclaimed it put down on September 23 1943. On that same date he assumed control in the northern half of Italy, which he proclaimed to be the Italian Social Republic with its capital at Salò. The Republic came to an end in 1945 when Allied forces ousted the Germans from Italy.

Middle East

Iraq under the control of Rashid Ali al-Kaylani tried to join the Axis but there was internal resistance. When Kaylani was again appointed prime minister in 1940, King Ghazi had just passed away and the new four-year-old King Faisal II assumed the throne, with his uncle Emir Abdul-Illah serving as "acting monarch." While Abdul-Illah supported the British in the war, Kaylani was strongly opposed to them and refused to allow troops to cross through Iraq to the war front. Kaylani was also opposed to those calling for him to break off ties with the Fascist government in Italy. He subsequently sent his Justice Minister, Naji Shawkat, to meet with the then German ambassador to Turkey, Franz von Papen, to win German support for his government. At a later meeting, in which the Mufti's private secretary acted as the representative for the Iraqi government, Kaylani assured Germany that his country's natural resources would be made available to the Axis Powers in return for German recognition of the Arab states' right to independence and political unity, as well as the right to "deal with" the Jews living in Arab lands. When Britain found out about these dealings, sanctions were immediately placed on Iraq. The last chance for Iraqi entrance on the side of Germany slipped away when the Italians began to lose control of their territory holdings in North Africa. On January 31 1941, Kaylani was forced to resign from the post of Iraqi Prime Minister due to British pressure.

The Japanese had some contact with Islamic leaders in Southeast Asia and Middle East areas, such as British Malaya, Dutch Indies, Afghanistan or Sinkiang, before and during the war. Among these leaders were the Sultan of Johore, Afghan Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan, and Uiguir leader Ma Chung-ying. They coordinated some actions with Japanese agents, but these contacts did not result in significant action during the war. Certain Italian agents arrived to Persia and Afghanistan with similar purposes, but received little assistance..

South East Asia

During Axis operations in French Indochina, Japanese agents maintained contact with the Vichy France governor, Admiral Decoux. At the same time, these agents kept in contact with local Vietnamese chief Mandarin Tran Trong-kim, installing him as prime minister of the Vichy puppet regime. This ended with the Japanese invasion of Vichy Indochina, which Germany decided to ignore.

The Philippines was not officially or technically an Axis member. However, the Japanese military installed a puppet government which governed from 1943 to 1945. The government was compelled to cooperate with the Japanese. (However, the Philippine Commonwealth government-in-exile, led by President Manuel Quezon, and a significant Filipino guerrilla movement were opposed to the Japanese.) Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 the United States had declared war against the Empire of Japan. Japan had been annexing East Asian territory for nearly ten years before bringing the U.S. into the war. Following Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded the Philippine Islands. In 1943 most high government officials had fled off the islands but a justice of the Filipino Supreme Court by the name of José P. Laurel was instructed to remain in Manila by President Manuel Quezon. Quezon went into exile to Bataan and then to the United States. It is because Laurel was such a critic of the United States that he fell in favor with the senior members of the Japanese occupying force. He was appointed President of the Philippines on October 14, 1943. Attempts were made at Laurel's life by Filipinos trying to resist the Japanese. Laurel was shot on two occasions but recovered. Laurel was instrumental in intervening in protecting Filipinos against the harsh Japanese wartime rule and policies. During the Second World War, the Japanese massacred many Filipinos, and raped and molested Filipinas.

In Burma before the conflict, Japanese agents maintained contacts with Ba Maw (Saw), the indigenous Prime Minister in Burmese British administration. For this, British authorities arrested him, but the Burmese leader was liberated when Axis forces arrived. He conformed one Autonomous Pro-Japanese Government in Burma with Japanese advisers and supported by Japanese forces until 1944-45 when arriving American, British, and Chinese forces invaded and liberated the country.

In British Malaya (Malaysia), the Japanese sustained some contacts with the Islamic local leader, the Sultan of Johore. This leader visited Japan in 1934, received the Tenno, the Decoration of Rising Sun Great Cord and established relationships with the Japanese administration.

When Japanese Forces invaded Dutch Indies, during their 1942-45 occupation, they promised total political independence and proposed the organization of "Nation Defenders Army", under the guidance of Ahmed Sukarno, the local leader. He founded since 1927 the "Indonesian Nationalists Party", which during Japanese occupation received ideological support.

Countries in active or passive coalition with the Axis

Finland

After being attacked by the Soviet Union in the Winter War (1939–1940), the democratic Finland was a co-belligerent of Nazi Germany during the Continuation War (1941–1944), seeking to regain its lost territory and conquer East Karelia. Some Finns tended to view (and still do) these two conflicts as separate from World War II.

In Allied usage, Finland was often referred to as an Axis country, which is often deplored as an effect of Soviet propaganda depicting the Finns as fascists in disguise.This conflicts with Finnish self-perception, which considers Finns acting only for self-preservation. It is interesting to note, however, that unlike Great Britain and France, the United States did not declare war on Finland during World War II. American perceptions of Finland were generally more favorable than the rest of the Allied powers.

The Finnish government was very careful to nurture this political separation. Finland was never a signatory to the Tripartite Treaty, and Finns refused to put Finnish army under the joint command with Germans. Also Finnish high command refused to implement German wishes which it considered too damaging to Finnish interests, like attack to Leningrad or cutting Murmansk railroad at Louhi.

The relation did more closely resemble a formal alliance during the six weeks of the Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement, which was presented as a German condition for much needed help with munitions and air support as the Soviet offensive coordinated with D-day threatened Finland with complete occupation.

In the Lapland War (1944–1945), Finland as a co-belligerent of the Soviet Union pushed the German Wehrmacht out of Finnish territory to then-occupied Norway.

Thailand

Japanese forces began invading Thailand at nine points on the morning of December 8, 1941. Resistance to the Japanese invaders was swift and courageous, but Field Marshal Luang Phibunsongkhram, the prime minister, ordered the cessation of resistance. On December 21 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, 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 USA did not. The Seri Thai was established during these first few months. Thai forces conducted their biggest offensive of the war in May 1942, taking Kengtung in northern Burma from the Chinese 93rd Army.

Parallel Seri Thai organisations were established in Britain and inside Thailand. Queen Ramphaiphanee was the nominal head of the Britain-based organisation, and Pridi Phanomyong, then 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 Allied agents fluidly slipped in and out of the country.

As the war dragged on, the Thai population came to resent the Japanese presence. In June 1944, Phibun was overthrown in a coup engineered by the Seri Thai. The new civilian government attempted to aid the Seri Thai while at the same time maintaining cordial relations with the Japanese.

After the war, US 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, French Cambodia and French Laos that had been taken.

Soviet Union

In order to gain strength before the inevitable all-out war, under secret provisions in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union invaded several eastern European nations, which were previously part of the Russian Empire for centuries, on September 17, 1939. Poland was partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Baltic States capitulated to the Soviets on September 28. The Soviets invaded another part of former Russian Empire, Finland, on November 30 and seized minor parts of its territory. Relations with the Germans deteriorated after disagreements and mutual suspicions. Hitler never intended to continually honour the pact and invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 thus ending the treaty.

Free India

The Provisional Government of Free India was a shadow government led by Subhas Chandra Bose. It operated only in Japanese-controlled areas outside India. Bose was an Indian nationalist who did not believe in Gandhi's peaceful methods for achieving independence. Several key factors were vital in Bose's rise to power. The first was that even though India was a colony its army was largely autonomous. The second factor was that with Britain at war with Germany, an uprising could not be put down as easily as in years prior. The third and most important factor was the advance of the Japanese Empire through Asia. The Japanese Empire had earlier established Manchukuo (Manchuria) as independent in 1932 and later Indonesia and Vietnam independent without the approval of the latter two's European colonial masters. Bose led several units in mutiny against the British government and had come into alliance with the invading Japanese Empire to India's east. Bose and A.M.Sahay, another local leader, received ideological support from Mitsuru Toyama, chief of the Black Dragon 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. With its provisional capital at Port Blair on the Nicobar Islands, the state would last two more years until August 18 1945 when it officially became defunct. In its existence it would receive recognition from nine governments: Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Italy, Independent State of Croatia, Reformed Government of the Republic of China, Thailand, Burma (under Ba Maw), Manchukuo, and the Philippines under de facto (and later de jure) president José Laurel.

Spain

Although Spain under Generalissimo Francisco Franco stayed neutral throughout the war, the country was ideologically aligned with the Axis powers (the Nationalists had received considerable military support from Germany and Italy during the Spanish Civil War). Franco did allow Spaniards to volunteer for what was described as a struggle against Bolshevism, and eventually over 48,000 Spanish volunteers fought on the Axis side during World War Two (primarily on the Eastern Front) under the auspices of the Blue Division.

Under direct internal Axis control

Manchukuo (Manchuria)

Manchukuo, meaning Manchuria, was a puppet state set up by Japan on February 18, 1932. The country's independence was not recognized by the League of Nations causing Japan to withdraw from the League. Italy, Germany and the Japanese-puppet government of China under Wang Jingwei were the only major governments to recognize the Japanese backed state. In the following order, these other states later recognized the existence of this nation: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ba Maw Burmese Nation, Thailand, the Indian government of Subhas Chandra Bose, and The Vatican. Manchuria met its dissolution in 1945 following Japan's defeat ending World War II.

In Manchukuo there were also some anti-Communist White Russians leaders known as the "Duce" Konstantin Vladimirovich Rodzaevsky and General Kislistin. They sought to persuade the Imperial Japanese Army to invade Russian Siberia, for the purpose of establishing an anti-Soviet pro-Axis Russian government in the Russian Far East.

Mengjiang

Mengjiang (Mengchiang) was a client state organized by Japan on February 18 1936. The country's independence was merely theoretical, since principal political power remained firmly with "local" Japanese establishment. The local leader under the Japanese administration was the Mongol Prince Demchugdongrub.

The Japanese Army's ostensible purpose there was an eventual invasion of Soviet Siberia, during which it would advance the frontiers of Menchiang to Soviet Outer Mongolia. This was an attempt to exploit Pan-Mongol nationalist spirit and promise a future unified great Mongol nation.

Mengjiang vanished in 1945 following Japan's defeat ending World War II and the invasion of Soviet and Red Mongol Armies.

Nanjing puppet state

Reformed Government of the Republic of China is a term applied to a puppet state in central China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). This short-lived state was founded March 29 1940 by Wang Chingwei, who became Head of State of the Japanese supported collaborationist government based in Nanjing. Its flag was similar to that of the Republic of China, whose flag is still flown in Taiwan. On September 9 1945, following the defeat of Japan in World War II, the area was surrendered to General Ho Ying-ching, a Nationalist General loyal to Chiang Kai-shek. Additionally, Japanese forces organized other minor "independent" nations or political entities in occupied lands on the Chinese mainland, from the Inner Mongolia to Guangdong.

Vichy France

Following the successful invasion of France by German forces and the capture of Paris, France surrendered to Germany on 24 June 1940. Germany divided France into occupied and non-occupied zones with the latter under the leadership of the Vichy government, which was the de facto government of France led by prime minister Henri Philippe Pétain. The occupation resulted in a divided French state splintered into Vichy France and France. Charles de Gaulle directed forces called the Free French Forces in exile; The United States recognized Vichy France as the legitimate de jure government until 1942.

The Allies feared that Vichy French-controlled colonies around the world would be used by Axis forces as bases, and many were attacked by Allied forces, beginning with the destruction of the Vichy French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir on July 3, 1940. Vichy forces often fought back vigorously, and were occasionally assisted by German, Italian or Japanese forces. Perhaps the most notable example of a Vichy-controlled colony used as an Axis base was French Indochina, which became the starting point for the Japanese invasions of Thailand, Malaya and Borneo.

The Vichy government ceased to exist on September 3 1944 following the victory of Allied forces and restoration of the French Republic over all Vichy territories, colonies, and land holdings.

Lokot Republic

During the Axis actions of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, alongside occupation plans in Reichskommissariat Ostland and Reichskommissariat Ukraine, Axis forces developed a political and administrative experiment in the so-called Lokot Republic.

This territory of one little anti-Soviet Russian pro-Axis local administration under Axis direct control, lead at first by Constantine Voskoboinik and later succeeded by Bronislaw Kaminski, himself also commander of native anti-communist forces of Russian National Liberation Army or RONA. The idea of liberation from the Bolsheviks found noticeable support in Russian-occupied areas, and this state is one example of collaboration between natives and Axis forces. Another Russian anti-communist leader with similar thinking was Andrey Vlasov and his local anti-Stalinist pro-Axis force of Russian Liberation Army (ROA).

The Republic's life came to an end in 1943, soon after the war on the Eastern Front changed course at the Battle of Stalingrad.

Belarusian Central Rada

In Axis forces occupation period, theirs attempted to establish a similar puppet state in Belarus with local government under the name of Belarusian Central Rada (BCR), with similar state symbols of ancient Belarusian nation. (The chairman of the BCR was Radasłaŭ Astroŭski). This "nation" vanished after the Axis defeat in the Eastern Front in 1944.

Reichskommissariats of Ostland and Ukraine

In Axis direct military administration in Reichskommissariat Ostland and Reichskommissariat Ukraine, theirs managed the political control along some native collaborators, and permit at lasts certain rights and support local culture in purpose for gaining local friendship. In Ukraine exist some local nationalists why proposed to Axis military authorities nominal independence or autonomy. Inclusive military authorities joining natives suggest and permit some military volunteers units between Axis forces in occupied territories.

At contrary, the Axis civil administration, assigned at Schleswig-Holstein Gauleiter Heinrich Lohse (for Ostland) and East Prussia Gauleiter Erich Koch (for Ukraine) are very hard, with massive exploitation of natural resources, local workers deportations, measures for Jews, etc., during yours all administrative period. Alfred Rosenberg, previously at commenced of Axis Eastern Front campaign, suggest the some administrative organization in future USSR conquest lands in next Reichskommissariats: Ostland (Baltic States),Ukraine,Kaukasus (Caucasia lands) and Moskau (Moscow and the rest of Russian European areas surrounding). This territories extended from European frontier to Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line. Mentioned proposes stay in line with "Lebensraumpolitik" and "Lebensraum im Osten" (the creation of more living space for Germans in the east) geopolitical strategies for future German east provinces expansion in benefits of "Aryan" generations in next centuries.

These military and civil administrative policies in territories previously mentioned and respectives geopolitical and expansionist ambitious plans if maintaining until when Axis military situation turning in Stalingrad and Kursk during 1943-1944.

White Russian Client State in Soviet Far East

Axis forces in North Asian lands during Pacific War pretend the organization of Client State in Soviet Far East, similarly at Far Eastern Republic.

In accord with Hakko Ichiu Geopolitical doctrines, between Japanese strategic planning for mainland Asia (1905-1940), also theirs ideed, in eventually of land invasion in Siberia, the foundation of some political entity in Russian Far East, possibly leading by White Russian chief Konstantin Vladimirovich Rodzaevsky and General Kislistin, under orders of Axis direct administration, in similar form of ancient Japanese administration in Baikal, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok during 1918-1922, also included Kamchatka, occupied for theirs in 1918-1927. These leaders poses orders to establishing one "counterrevolutionaire antisoviet" pro Axis movement and new order government. These political entity served too how "Bulwark" along Chosen and Manchukuo, against Russian Soviet influence.

The excuse for such political entity are why at Japan poses debt to establish "order" in Siberia, debt at "chaos" provoked by suppose Soviet defeating for victorious Axis Forces in European Eastern Front and prevent eventual American aid to Soviet demoralized Government, finding refugee in these territory. At the same time, this areas, served how "springboard", for next anti-Stalinist operations in nearest Siberian lands, along Outer Mongolia. Axis commanders, considered at Red Army detachment in Far East, how "easy prey" under these situation, theirs expected your total defeating in December 1941.

These plans, originally ideed during 1929-1939 Russo-Japanese Incidents, more later retaken in 1941-1942 period, during European Eastern Front fight (Operation Barbarossa), for less needed of Axis forces arriving to Volga river at finish of July 1941, time chosen for commenced operations in the area, the "Kantouken Plan" or "Othsu or B Operation". This project to definitively stopped when occurred Stalingrad Axis defeat in 1943.

Summary

Of the lesser Axis powers, six would become defunct by the end of the war: Vichy France, the Independent State of Croatia, Slovakia, Manchukuo, the Italian Social Republic, and Provisional Government of Free India. Of the six, only three would reemerge, under entirely separate governments. These were:

Secondary Sources

  • Gerhard L. Weinberg. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II.(NY: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2005) is the best scholarly overview.
  • I. C. B. Dear and M. R. D. Foot, eds. The Oxford Companion to World War II. (2001) is the best reference book, with encyclopedic coverage of all military, political and economic topics.

See also

External links

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