[demz0815]

When did world war 2 start and finish ?

[Credendovidis]

Ww2 started 1 sept 1939 and ended 14 aug 1945

Although dates are important I feel it's more relevant to know WHY it started, and HOW it ended !

:>)

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[Fr_Chuck]

And/or are you asking when did the US get into the war? The start for the US. And as for as ended, the war in Europe or the South Pacific

I am assuming seriously this is a home work question, and the answer is what your teacher is expecting from the study material you were provided

[Credendovidis]

and/or are you asking when did the US get into the war ?? the start for the US. And as for as ended, the war in Europe or the South Pacific
I am assuming seriously this is a home work question, and the answer is what your teacher is expecting from the study material you were provided

As far as I can see the question did not say anything about the US involvement.

The second worldwar started at 1 sept 1939 and ended at 14 aug 1945.

I agree with you that the official US involvement was only from December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor)

:)

[Emland]

I'm sure the answer is in the reading assignment the OP was given.

[Credendovidis]

All we can relate to here is what was stated in the topic question :

"when did world war 2 start and finish ?"

:)

[FlyYakker]

Sorry I'm late to the discussion.

One could argue, and there are those who do, that WW 2 began on 18 September 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria.

[tadita83]

The textbook answer would be September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland since this is when a declaration of war was actually issued.

The War in the Pacific could arguably start when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, but then you could say that the War in Europe began when Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933 and the Nazi Party came to power or when Germany invaded the Saar Valley in 1935 or with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland in 1938. There are so many other points that could be considered starting points of the war because there was so many little skirmishes that led up to the big one that it is just safer to stick with the date on which countries actually declared war: September 1, 1939

[FlyYakker]

Perhaps tadita83 is correct. On the other hand the Japanese war in/on China was hardly a "skirmish" given the thousands of people involved and it seems a bit Eurocentric to discount the tens of thousands of lives lost in China before the 1 Sept '39 events. See, for instance, the little "skirmish" in Nanking China in 1937.

[tadita83]

My answer was not to take away from the fighting in china or discount the lives lost there it was simply to say that without a true declaration of war you cannot claim that world war ii began at that point. Besides fighting in china was between japan and china not multiple countries qualifying it to be considered a WORLD war

[FlyYakker]

Not sure lack of declarations of war mean doodley-squat when tens of thousands of people are dying.

It's kind of illogical to have a war (OK "major combat") that started early in one location, and a later war in another location, that eventually combined into one bigger war and then say the bigger war stated in the location of the later-starting smaller war.


I'm sure the original question was expected to be answered by the text-book response. I'm also confident the teacher didn't even know what in heck was going on in Chinia prior to Sept 1939.

[tadita83]

I'm sure the teacher DID know what was going on in China, since I know for a fact that it is part of what students need to know for World War II. I know that because I am a teacher and I know that we HAVE to teach about the conflict in Manchuria.

Declarations of war do mean "doodley-squat". No declaration, no war. Yes it was tragic and tens of thousands died, yet it is not considered a war unless the government actually says "I declare war on ____" Technically it was not a war until Japan actually declared war on someone. And the fact of the matter is, China vs. Japan can not be considered WORLD War because it only involved two countries. The conflict in China was a reason the U.S. got involved in the war yes, but was it technically part of World War II. No!

If you're going to include it then you'd also have to include the conflict in Spain that helped contribute to the rise of fascism.
Or any land skirmishes in Africa during the early 1900s as part of World War I.
And while we're at it, the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles were the main cause of World War II so why don't we just combine both world wars and make one big World War.

You see, it comes to a point when you have to actually draw a line and say this started here! Yes, many things led up to it starting, but it did not start with those things. The only way to measurably define the beginning of a war is based on official declarations of war.

[frangipanis]

Sorry I'm late to the discussion.

One could argue, and there are those who do, that WW 2 began on 18 September 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria.

Why do you say that?

[Credendovidis]

One could argue, and there are those who do, that WW 2 began on 18 September 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria.

The invasion of Manchuria was a local war.
The invasions of Austria and Czecho Slovakia were also local wars.

The second WORLD war started on 1 sept 1939, when the invasion of Poland was followed by many European countries declaring war on Germany.

:rolleyes:

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