Events on March 7 in history

Prelude to World War II: In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.

The Unprecedented Global Conflict: World War II

Often referred to as **World War II** or simply **WWII**, this devastating global war raged from 1939 to 1945, drawing in the vast majority of the world's nations, including all the great powers, into two formidable opposing military alliances: the **Allies** and the **Axis powers**. It was a total war on an unimaginable scale, directly involving over 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants committed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific might to the war effort, effectively blurring the lines between civilian and military resources. Air power emerged as a critical element, facilitating strategic bombing campaigns against population centers and, tragically, the only two instances of nuclear weapons being used in warfare. Unquestionably the deadliest conflict in human history, **World War II** resulted in a staggering 70 to 85 million fatalities, with civilians accounting for the majority. Millions perished due to genocides, including the horrific **Holocaust**, as well as starvation, massacres, and disease. Following the definitive defeat of the **Axis powers**, both **Germany** and **Japan** faced occupation, and war crimes tribunals were convened to hold their respective leaders accountable for their actions.

The Spark and Early Campaigns

While the precise causes of **World War II** remain a subject of historical debate, several contributing factors set the stage for the global catastrophe. These included ongoing conflicts like the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Soviet–Japanese border clashes, alongside escalating European tensions in the wake of **World War I**. The war is generally considered to have ignited on 1 September 1939, when **Nazi Germany**, under the command of **Adolf Hitler**, launched its invasion of **Poland**. In a rapid response, the **United Kingdom** and **France** declared war on **Germany** on 3 September. It's worth noting that just prior to this, in August 1939, **Germany** and the **Soviet Union** had secretly signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, effectively partitioning **Poland** and delineating their "spheres of influence" across Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania. From late 1939 to early 1941, **Germany** executed a series of swift campaigns and treaties, consolidating control or direct occupation over much of continental Europe, and forming the initial **Axis alliance** with **Italy** and **Japan**, with other nations joining later.

War Spreads Across Continents

Following the onset of campaigns in North and East Africa and the dramatic fall of **France** in mid-1940, the conflict primarily pitted the European **Axis powers** against the formidable **British Empire**. This period saw intense fighting in the Balkans, the pivotal aerial **Battle of Britain**, the sustained bombing campaign known as the Blitz against the **UK**, and the critical naval engagements of the Battle of the Atlantic. A monumental shift occurred on 22 June 1941, when **Germany** led the European **Axis powers** in a massive invasion of the **Soviet Union**, opening the **Eastern Front**, which would become the largest land theater of war in human history.

The Pacific Theater and Shifting Tides

Meanwhile, in Asia, **Japan**, harboring ambitions of dominating the region and the Pacific, had already been at war with the Republic of China since 1937. A decisive turning point came in December 1941, when **Japan** launched nearly simultaneous offensives against American and British territories across Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific, most notably a devastating attack on the US fleet at **Pearl Harbor**. This audacious move prompted the **United States** to declare war against **Japan**, with the European **Axis powers** subsequently declaring war on the **United States** in solidarity. **Japan** quickly seized vast swathes of the western Pacific, but its rapid advances were finally halted in 1942 after its critical defeat at the **Battle of Midway**. Concurrently, **Germany** and **Italy** suffered significant setbacks in North Africa and at **Stalingrad** in the **Soviet Union**. Key reversals in 1943, including a series of German defeats on the **Eastern Front**, the **Allied** invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland, and relentless **Allied** offensives in the Pacific, stripped the **Axis powers** of their initiative, forcing them into a strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western **Allies** successfully invaded German-occupied **France**, while the **Soviet Union** not only reclaimed its lost territories but also began its powerful advance towards **Germany** and its remaining allies. Throughout 1944 and 1945, **Japan** faced increasing reversals in mainland Asia, as the **Allies** systematically crippled the Japanese Navy and captured strategically vital islands in the western Pacific.

The Atomic Age and Final Surrender

The war in Europe reached its conclusion with the liberation of German-occupied territories and the relentless invasion of **Germany** by both the Western **Allies** and the **Soviet Union**. This culminated in the dramatic fall of Berlin to Soviet troops, **Hitler's** suicide, and **Germany's** unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The focus then shifted entirely to the Pacific. Following the **Potsdam Declaration** by the **Allies** on 26 July 1945 and **Japan's** refusal to surrender on its terms, the **United States** deployed the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of **Hiroshima** on 6 August, and **Nagasaki** on 9 August. Faced with the immediate threat of a full-scale invasion of the Japanese archipelago, the terrifying possibility of additional atomic bombings, and the **Soviet Union's** declared entry into the war against **Japan** on the eve of invading Manchuria, **Japan** announced its intention to surrender on 15 August. The formal surrender document was signed on 2 September 1945, solidifying total victory for the **Allies** in Asia and bringing an end to the most destructive conflict in human history.

A World Transformed: The Aftermath of World War II

**World War II** fundamentally reshaped the global political alignment and social structure. In a collective effort to foster international cooperation and prevent future conflicts, the **United Nations (UN)** was established, with the victorious great powers—China, **France**, the **Soviet Union**, the **United Kingdom**, and the **United States**—assuming permanent membership on its Security Council. The **Soviet Union** and the **United States** emerged as rival superpowers, effectively setting the stage for the nearly half-century-long **Cold War**. In the wake of widespread European devastation, the influence of its former great powers waned significantly, which in turn spurred the rapid decolonization of Africa and Asia. Most countries whose industries had been ravaged by the war embarked on ambitious paths toward economic recovery and expansion. Political and economic integration, particularly across Europe, began to take shape as a deliberate effort to avert future hostilities, extinguish pre-war enmities, and cultivate a shared sense of identity among nations.

The Treaty of Versailles: A Prelude to Future Conflict?

The **Treaty of Versailles** (known in French as *Traité de Versailles* and in German as *Versailler Vertrag*) stands as the most pivotal of the peace treaties that formally concluded **World War I**. This significant document brought an end to the official state of war between **Germany** and the Allied Powers, and it was signed on 28 June 1919 within the grand Palace of Versailles, precisely five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an event that had famously triggered the preceding global conflict. Other Central Powers aligned with **Germany** during **World War I** signed their own separate treaties.

Key Provisions and Lingering Resentment

Although the armistice on 11 November 1918 effectively ceased the actual fighting, it took six arduous months of **Allied** negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to finalize the peace treaty itself. The **Treaty of Versailles** was officially registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on 21 October 1919. Among its numerous provisions, one of the most crucial and contentious was Article 231, which explicitly stated: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and **Germany** accepts the responsibility of **Germany** and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of **Germany** and her allies." This particular article became widely known as the **War Guilt clause**, a provision that other Central Powers also signed in similar treaties. The treaty mandated that **Germany** disarm its military, make substantial territorial concessions, and pay significant reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. In 1921, the total cost of these reparations was assessed at an immense 132 billion gold marks, equivalent to approximately $31.4 billion or £6.6 billion at the time, a sum roughly comparable to US$442 billion or UK£284 billion in 2022. Prominent economists of the era, such as John Maynard Keynes, vehemently criticized the treaty as being excessively harsh—a "Carthaginian peace"—arguing that the reparations were both exorbitant and ultimately counter-productive. Conversely, influential **Allied** figures like French Marshal Ferdinand Foch believed the treaty treated **Germany** too leniently. This fundamental debate continues to be a subject of ongoing discussion among historians and economists today.

A Compromise That Satisfied None

The outcome of these competing and often conflicting objectives among the victors was a compromise that, in the end, left no one truly satisfied. Notably, **Germany** was neither pacified nor genuinely conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened to the extent some desired. The inherent problems arising from the **Treaty of Versailles** directly led to subsequent diplomatic efforts, including the Locarno Treaties, which aimed to improve relations between **Germany** and other European powers. Furthermore, the reparation system itself had to be renegotiated, resulting in the Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, and eventually the indefinite postponement of reparations at the Lausanne Conference of 1932. Historians frequently cite the treaty as a significant contributing factor to the outbreak of **World War II**: despite its actual economic impact not being as severe as initially feared, its harsh terms fostered immense resentment within **Germany**, providing fertile ground for the rise of the **Nazi Party** and **Adolf Hitler**.

Beyond the Palace Gates: The True Venues of Negotiation

Although often colloquially referred to as the "Versailles Conference," it's important to clarify that only the actual signing of the **Treaty of Versailles** took place at the historic palace. The bulk of the intensive negotiations occurred in Paris, with the critical "Big Four" meetings primarily convened at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d'Orsay.