The Outbreak of War
On January 16th 1936th the first of a series of worldwide military conflict that would later be known as ‘’The Second World War’’ began as the Anti-Communist Sino-Japanese Alliance declared war upon the Soviet Union. Their casus belli for the war was made up of a mixture of Japanese territorial claims on Northern Sakhalin, Chinese claims to Tanu Tuva and Outer Manchuria and of course the belief that a war with the Soviet Union was a righteous Crusade against all that is evil.
At the outbreak of the war in Asia Europe was divided into three alliances and three very different ideologies: in the East lay the recently awoken soviet behemoth, across Europe the Fascist regimes of Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Turkey sat eager for conquest whilst in the North-West of the continent the British Empire stood alongside her allies in the Low Countries as the sole defenders of European Democracy. For now however Europe was at peace at looked likely to remain so for a few years to come at the very least.
Whilst the rest of the world was gearing up for war Africa seemed to be slowly adjusting to peace; during 1933, at the height of the Depression and following a lengthy war in the colonies, Britain granted independence to the Sudan, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Kenya whilst Rhodesia and Nyasaland had become a Dominion of the Empire in 1930. Shortly after gaining independence Tanganyika, allied with a large mercenary army waged war against Zanzibar, Uganda and Kenya between 1933 and 1935 to form the East African Union. Just a few months after this bloody conflict came to an end Italy (supported by the rest of the Axis) invaded Ethiopia but this is a relatively minor conflict in comparison with the wars that had ravaged Africa over the past few years.
So in 1936 four Great Alliances were poised for the war to end all wars in the greatest struggle of arms and ideology the earth has ever seen before or since …
On January 16th 1936th the first of a series of worldwide military conflict that would later be known as ‘’The Second World War’’ began as the Anti-Communist Sino-Japanese Alliance declared war upon the Soviet Union. Their casus belli for the war was made up of a mixture of Japanese territorial claims on Northern Sakhalin, Chinese claims to Tanu Tuva and Outer Manchuria and of course the belief that a war with the Soviet Union was a righteous Crusade against all that is evil.
At the outbreak of the war in Asia Europe was divided into three alliances and three very different ideologies: in the East lay the recently awoken soviet behemoth, across Europe the Fascist regimes of Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Turkey sat eager for conquest whilst in the North-West of the continent the British Empire stood alongside her allies in the Low Countries as the sole defenders of European Democracy. For now however Europe was at peace at looked likely to remain so for a few years to come at the very least.
Whilst the rest of the world was gearing up for war Africa seemed to be slowly adjusting to peace; during 1933, at the height of the Depression and following a lengthy war in the colonies, Britain granted independence to the Sudan, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Kenya whilst Rhodesia and Nyasaland had become a Dominion of the Empire in 1930. Shortly after gaining independence Tanganyika, allied with a large mercenary army waged war against Zanzibar, Uganda and Kenya between 1933 and 1935 to form the East African Union. Just a few months after this bloody conflict came to an end Italy (supported by the rest of the Axis) invaded Ethiopia but this is a relatively minor conflict in comparison with the wars that had ravaged Africa over the past few years.
So in 1936 four Great Alliances were poised for the war to end all wars in the greatest struggle of arms and ideology the earth has ever seen before or since …