World War 2! Tracing The History And Weapons Used

A Look back at some brief World War 2 history
World War II (WWII) is the long bloody battle that most believe started when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. However, many argue WWII began with the invasion of Manchuria by Japan on September 18, 1931. Nonetheless, on October 2, 1935, four years before the invasion of Poland, Fascist Italy invaded and conquered the annexes Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia). The following year, on October 25, 1936, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy agree to a treaty of cooperation, which spawns the announcement of the Rome-Berlin Axis one month later. During the same month they were partnering with Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany signs the Anti-Comintern Pact with Imperial Japan, directed against the Soviet Union and the International Communist Movement. On July 7, 1937, World War II in the Pacific started as Japan attacks China.

On March 11, 1938, Germany continues to occupy additional properties by taking control of Austria in the Anschluss. Then on September 29, 1938, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement, which forces the Czech Republic to relinquish power of the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. Subsequently, the Germans violate the Munich agreement less than one year later by forcing the Slovaks to declare their independence, forming the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. This breach causes France and Great Britain to react and guarantee the integrity of the Polish borders. Only after Italy invades Albania on April 7, 1939, does Nazi Germany invade Poland on September 1, initiating World War II in Europe. The Axis Powers and the Allies (United States and British forces) battled in Europe until May 1945, when the Axis Powers surrendered. War continued in Asia until September 1945, when Japan officially surrendered, ending World War II.

Countries Involved World War II
As with any skirmish, there were two sides with vastly different agendas. On one side you had the Axis Powers that consisted of Nazi Germany, Italy, and the Empire of Japan. Conversely, you had the Allies, led early on by China, the United Kingdom, its British Commonwealth (excluding Eire), Poland, and France. In 1941, the Soviet Union joined the United States to become a member of the Allied Powers. With such a vast array of countries in the war, the weaponry used provided us a diverse set of artillery, sought after by collectors all over the world.

Weapons Used By Different Countries Involved In WWII
As previously mentioned, there were myriad of weapons used during WWII and below is a selection of weapons, grouped by their respective nations. This list was not intended to be exhaustive of all weapons used, by a selection of the most widely utilized weapons in the war.

American WW2 Weapons
Pistol and Handgun:

• M1917 Revolver
• Smith & Wesson M&P
• Colt M1911/A1
• Colt General Officer’s Model

Rifle:

• M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle
• M1 Garand
• M1 Carbine
• M1903 Springfield

Machine Gun:

• Browning M2
• Browning M models

Submachine Gun:

• Thompson M models
• M3/A1 ‘Grease Gun’

Anti-Tank Weapon:

M1/A1 “Bazooka”

Grenade:

• MK2

German WW2 Weapons
Pistol and Handgun:

• Walther P38, PP, PPK
• Luger P08
• Selbstaldepistol

Rifle:

• Mauser Karabiner 98 Kurz

Machine Gun:

• Maschinengewehr 1934, 1942 (MG 34)

Submachine Gun:

• Maschinenpistole & MP model

Anti-Tank Weapon:

• Panzerfaust
• Raketenpanzerbüchse “Panzerschreck”
• Panzerbüchse 38 & Panzerbüchse 39
• Raketen-Panzerbüchse 43 (Dolly)

Gernade:

• Model 24, 43, 39 Stielhandgranate
• Splittering

Italian Weapons
Pistol and Handgun:

• Beretta Modello 1934, 1935
• Glisenti M1910

Rifle:

• Carcano M1891
• Carcano M1891 Moschetto da Cavelleria (Cavalry Carbine)
• Carcano M1891 TS Moschetto per Truppe Speciali (Special Troop Carbine)
• Carcano M1938 Carbine

Machine Gun:

• Breda Modell 30, 1937
• Fiat-Revelli Modello 1914, 1935

Submachine Gun:

• Breretta Modello 1918
• Moshchetto Automatico Beretta 1938
• FNAB-43
• TZ-45

Grenade:

• Bomba a Mano mod. 35, mod. 42

Japanese Weapons
Pistol and Hand Gun:

• Nambu Type 14
• Type 26
• Nambu Type 94

Rifle:

• Type 38 Rifle
• Type 2 Rifle
• Type 38 Cavalry Rifle
• Type 99 Rifle
• Type 97 Sniper Rifle
• Type 44 Cavalry Rifle

Machine Gun:

• Type 11 Light Machine Gun
• Type 96 Light Machine Gun
• Type 97 Light Machine Gun
• Type 99 Light Machine Gun
• Type 1 Heavy Machine Gun
• Type 3 Heavy Machine Gun
• Type 4 Heavy Machine Gun
• Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun

Flamethrower:

• Type 93
• Type 100

Grenade:

• Type 10 Fragmentation Hand/Discharger Grenade
• Type 91 Fragmentation Hand/Discharger Grenade
• Type 97 Fragmentation Grenade
• Type 99 Hand/ Rifle Fragmentation Grenade

Grenade Discharger:

• Type 10
• Type 89

Soviet Union WW2 Weapons
Pistol and Handgun:

• Nagant M1895
• Tokarev TT-30/TT-33

Rifle:

• Mosic-Nagan M1891/30, M1938, M1944
• Tokarev SVT-38, SVT-40

Machine Gun:

• DP-28 Light Maching Gun
• Maxim PM1910 Medium Machine Gun
• DShK 1938 Heavy Machine Gun

Submachine Gun:

• PPD-40
• PPSh-41
• PPS-43

Anti-Tank Weapon:

• PTRD-41 (Bolt action Anti-Tank Rifle)
• PTRS-41 (Semi-Automatic Anti-Tank Rifle)

Flamethrower:

• ROKS-2
• ROKS-3

Grenade:

• F1 Fragmentation Hand Grenade
• RGD-33 Fragmentation Hand Grenade
• RG-41 Anti-Tank Hand Grenade
• RG-42 Fragmentation Hand Grenade
• RPG-6 HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) Hand Grenade
• RPG-43 HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) Hand Grenade

United Kingdom WW2 Weapons
Pistol and Handgun:

• Enfield Revolver No. 2 MK.1
• Webley Mk.VI (.455) & Mk.IV (.38/200)
• Smith & Wesson “Victory”
• Browning FN-Inglis No. 2 Mk.1 Pistol
• Colt M1911/A1

Rifle:

• Lee Enfield SMLE’s
• Pattern 14 (P14) “No. 3”

Machine Gun:

• Bren Ligh Machine Gun
• Lewis Light Machine Gun
• Vickers Medium Machine Gun

Submachine Gun:

• Sten
• Lanchester

• Thompson M1928, M1928/A1, M1, M1A1

Anti-Tank Weapon:

• PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank)
• Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55 in, Boys

Flamethrower:

• No. II Mk.II Flamethrower “Lifebuoy”

Grenade:

• No. 36M Mk.I (Fragmentation Hand/Rifle Grenade; “Mills Bomb”)
• Grenade, Rifle No. 68 AT- HEAT anti-tank rifle grenade
• No. 69 Mk.I Bakelite Concussion Hand Grenade
• No. 73 Anti-tank hand grenade “Thermos Grenade”
• No. 74 ST Grenade “Sticky Bomb”- anti-tank hand grenade
• No. 75 Anti-tank Hand Grenade “Hawkins Grenade”/ “Hawkins Mine”
• No. 76 Special Incendiary Phosphorus Hand Grenade
• No. 77 White Phosphorus Hand Grenade
• No. 82 Anti-tank Hand Grenade “Gammon Grenade/ Bomb

War Weapons List Citation (http://whitney05.hubpages.com/hub/World_War_2_Weapons)

Other crazy weapons used in the war were Railway Guns, Goliath Tank Busters, Fire Balloons, Electic Guns, the VC Cannon, Exploding Rats, the Yokosuka MXY-& Ohka Kamikaze Attack Plane, Hobart’s Funnies, The Sherman Crab, and the Avre Bobbinand. Probably the cruelest was the Soviet Anti-tank dogs. Yes, cruel, they strapped bombs to dogs so they could run them under tanks and blow them up. With so many different countries and weapons no wonder this was one of the bloodiest wars in history.

Sources and Citations
WWII Time Line
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007306
http://world-war-2.info
http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwarii/

Weapons
http://trcs.wikispaces.com/World+War+II
http://www.maxgadney.com/ww2_magazine/
http://whitney05.hubpages.com/hub/World_War_2_Weapons
http://wwiifrecker11r.wikispaces.com/Technology+and+weapons
http://elginhistory12.wikispaces.com/American+Weapons+Used+in+World+War+2
http://englishrussia.com/2010/03/26/top-russian-machine-guns/
http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f108/til-dogs-were-used-anti-tank-weapons-wwii-77680/
http://mezazacollection.blogspot.com/2013/03/world-war-ii-4-weird-weapons-photos.html
http://io9.com/11-jaw-dropping-weapons-from-world-war-ii-you-probably-511010752
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weapons/enemy_ww2.htm
http://www.historyofwaronline.com/WW2-4.html

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