Axis Powers
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Area under Axis control over the course of the war shown in black |
The
Axis Powers were those nations opposed to the
Allies during the
Second World War. The three major Axis Powers,
Nazi Germany,
Empire of Japan and
Fascist Italy, referred to themselves as the "
Rome-
Berlin-
Tokyo Axis" and were part of an
alliance. At their zenith, the Axis Powers ruled
empires that dominated large parts of
Europe,
Asia,
Africa and the
Pacific Ocean, but the Second World War ended with their total defeat. Like the Allies, membership of the Axis was fluid, and some nations entered and later left the Axis during the course of the war.
The term was first used by
Benito Mussolini, in November 1936, when he spoke of a
Rome-
Berlin axis arising out of the
treaty of friendship signed between Italy and Germany on
October 25,
1936. Mussolini declared that the two countries would form an "axis" around which the other states of Europe would revolve. This treaty was forged when Fascist
Italy, originally opposed to
Nazi Germany, was faced with opposition to its
war in Abyssinia from the
League of Nations and received support from Germany. Later, in May 1939, this relationship transformed into an alliance, called by Mussolini the "
Pact of Steel".An Axis was declared between Germany and Italy by Galeazzo Ciano, foreign minister of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini on October 25, 1936.
The term "Axis Powers" formally took the name after the
Tripartite Treaty was signed by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan on September 27, 1940 in
Berlin,
Germany. The pact was subsequently joined by Hungary (
November 20 1940), Romania (
November 23 1940), Slovakia (
November 24 1940) and Bulgaria (
March 1 1941). The Italian name
Roberto briefly acquired a new meaning from
"Rome-
Berlin-
Tokyo" between 1940 and 1945. Its most militarily powerful members were the Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. These two nations also have signed
Anti-Comintern Pact with each other as allies before the Tripartite Pact in
1936.
The three major Axis powers were the original signatories to the Tripartite Pact:
*
Nazi Germany, officially
Deutsches Reich meaning German Empire, under
Führer Adolf Hitler, and during the last days of the war,
President Karl Dönitz and
Chancellor Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk.
*
Empire of Japan, officially
Dai Nippon Teikoku meaning Empire of Great Japan but sometimes called Imperial Japan, under
Emperor Hirohito and
Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, and during the last days of the war, Prime Ministers
Kuniaki Koiso and
Kantaro Suzuki.
*
Fascist Italy, first as the
Kingdom of Italy and then as the
Italian Social Republic (or
Repubblica Sociale Italiana), under
Il Duce Benito Mussolini who ruled in the name of
King Victor Emmanuel III until September 1943, when the King dismissed Mussolini and joined the Allies.
Membership of the Axis is the subject of continuing dispute, especially for those nations that joined the Axis under coercion or outright military occupation. Nations that formally adhered to the Tripartite Pact of 1940 (originally Germany, Italy and Japan) are considered Axis Powers, except for Yugoslavia which was occupied by Germany after its pro-Axis government was toppled days after signing the Treaty. Croatia, a nominally independent country created from dismembered Yugoslavia, is considered a minor Axis Power.
Thailand did not sign the Tripartite Pact but did conclude a military alliance with Japan in 1942 and declared war on the United States and Great Britain.
Finland did not join the Tripartite Pact, but did attack Soviet Union with Germany, actively and efficiently contributing to this fronts warfare, and later making an alliance pact with Germany.
Several minor powers formally adhered to the Tripartite Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan in this order:
Hungary
Hungary, under the authoritarian rule of Admiral
Horthy as Regent, had been allied with Germany during the First World War as a member of the Dual Monarchy of Austria and Hungary. Hungary participated in the dismantling of the Czechoslovak state, from which it regained
Ruthenia and the largely ethnic Hungarian parts of southern Slovakia. Hungary formally signed the Tripartite Pact on
November 20 1940. Hungary participated in the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In 1940, Hungary also regained parts of
Transylvania and other border lands that had been ceded to Romania after World War I. Following World War II, Hungary again lost these lands.
Romania
Traditionally an ally of
France and
England,
Romania sought German protection from Soviet aggression by adhering to the Tripartite Pact on
November 23 1940. The Soviet Union had occupied and annexed its province of
Moldova on
June 28 1940, and Germany had forced it to relinquish Transylvania to Hungary on
August 30 1940. German troops entered the country in 1941, and used it as a base for the invasion of the Soviet Union as well as a key supplier of resources, especially oil and grain.Romanian troops fought with Germany against the
Soviet Union, regaining
Moldova. At more than 300,000 men, Romanian military casualties are considered to be the second greatest of the Axis in Europe, second only to those of the Germans. After joining the Allies on
August 23,
1944, Romania fought on the Allied side, regaining the part of Transylvania lost to Hungary, but losing Moldova,
Basarabia and
Bucovina to the
USSR, as well as not regaining the
Cadrilater, lost to
Bulgaria in
1940.
Slovakia
Slovakia declared its independence from Czechoslovakia in 1939 and immediately entered into a treaty of protection with Germany on
March 23 1939. The treaty subordinated its foreign, military and economic policy to Germany. Slovak troops fought against Poland and then the Soviet Union. Slovakia even declared war on Great Britain and the United States of America. However, Slovakia was spared occupation by German troops until the
Slovak National Uprising, which began on
August 29 1944. After the fall of the uprising there was a strong resistance by guerrilla fighters and the country was liberated by Soviet and Czechoslovak troops in
1945. The Czechoslovak republic was reinstalled in the liberated areas immediately.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, a German ally during the First World War, joined the Axis on
March 1,
1941. Tsar
Boris III decided to join with Germany after Hitler promised to Bulgaria all the
San Stefano Treaty lands, which included the cities of
Nish,
Solun,
Skopje, and more. He also promised the Bulgarian people that they would finally unite with their brothersâ€"the Macedonians. In that course of action, the war became national for the people of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian soldiers fought many battles.
Bulgaria was forced to leave the Axis when the
Red Army approached its northern border, and on
September 9 1944, the
Bulgarian Communist Party staged a coup, and Bulgaria became the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Bulgaria joined the Allies in 1944, but did not receive any new territory after the war ended.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia's royal representatives joined on
March 25 1941, but the people of Yugoslavia organized a British-supported
coup d'état in Belgrade two days later and put Yugoslavia's participation in question (although King
Peter II of Yugoslavia actually reaffirmed Yugoslav adherence to the treaty), leading to a German occupation of Yugoslavia and ferocious bombing of Belgrade on April 6. The Yugoslavian alliance with the Axis lasted for 12 days.
Yugoslavia ceased to exist except as a "government-in-exile" headquartered in London, England. Germany and Italy annexed Slovenia, Italy annexed
Dalmatia, Bulgaria annexed Macedonia, and Italian-controlled Albania annexed Montenegro. Croatia was transformed into a new Nazi state called the "
Independent State of Croatia" which joined the Axis, and
Serbia was put under a puppet regime led by pro-Axis Serbian general
Milan Nedić.
In 1941
Ivan Mihailov's
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (
IMRO) welcomed
Bulgaria's annexation of
Vardar Macedonia. Bulgaria claimed that land was historically Bulgarian. In the beginning of September 1944, when the Bulgarian government left the Axis and declared war on Nazi Germany, Berlin offered Mihailov support to declare Macedonia's independence, but he declined.
There was a fierce Yugoslav resistance against the Nazis. The mainly communist
Partisans were the biggest resistance group; they were lead by
Josip Broz Tito. They temporarily managed to free parts of the land from the Nazi occupation and form a small free state called "The Uzicka Republic" within the Serbian territory. Serbian royalist
Chetnik troops fought the Croatian
Ustase and
Nazis.
Chetnik troops and the
Partisans fought each other during WWII because of their inconsonance in political views. Yugoslavia was liberated in 1944 by Yugoslav resistance fighters, Albanian partisans and Soviet troops.
Independent State of Croatia
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 previous mistreatment of
Croats and other
South Slavic people in Yugoslavia because of the Royal Yugoslav government's policy of pro-Serb bias. Fascist forces subsequently sent hundreds of thousands of
Serbs to concentration camps where most died.
Italian Social Republic
The
Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana in
Italian) succeeded the Kingdom of Italy as a member of the Axis in 1943. On
July 25 1943, King
Victor Emmanuel III, in agreement with Fascist leaders, dismissed
Benito Mussolini from office and had him arrested upon leaving the palace. Italy then switched sides declaring war on Germany. In a spectacular raid led by
Otto Skorzeny, Mussolini was freed. The northern half of Italy was occupied by German forces and on
September 23 1943, Mussolini proclaimed the Italian Social Republic. This state, centred at
Salò, decreased in territory as the Western Allied forces advanced north and eventually came to an end in 1945, when the last German forces on Italian soil capitulated and withdrew or surrendered.
Thailand
Japanese forces began
invading Thailand at nine areas on the morning of
December 8 1941. Thai border troops initially resisted the invasion, but Field Marshal
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 Division.
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 d'état 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 Indochina, French
Cambodia and French
Laos that had been taken.
Finland
At the start of the operation Barbarossa, Finland mobilised its own army, allowed German naval units to base in the Finnish archipelago before the mining of the
Gulf of Finland and allowed German bombers returning from bombing runs from Leningrad to refuel at Finnish airfields before returning to
German East Prussia. Also four divisions of German troops were present and preparing to attack Soviets in Finnish Lappland. One German division had been submitted to Finnish command in the southern Finland.
Finns refer to the conflict with the Soviet Union as the
Continuation War, viewing it as continuation of the
Winter War. The Finns sought to regain the territory lost in the Winter War and to conquer East Karelia.
Open warfare started with the Soviet air offensive on Finnish airfields
June 25, which was followed by Finland's declaration of war on the next day. Great Britain declared war on Finland on December 6, 1941, after repeatedly calling on Finland to cease its hostilities against the Soviet Union. The United States never declared war on Finland.
Finland was never a signatory to the Tripartite Treaty, although it did sign the
Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941. Finland refused to place Finnish forces under joint command with Germans and at times acted independently of the Germans, as in refusing to cut the railroad to Murmansk at Louhi and refusing to attack or bombard the city itself during the
Siege of Leningrad.
The relationship more closely resembled 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.
President Ryti shouldered the responsibility for the alliance with Nazi Germany personally. The alliance was decreed a "
personal union" and his successor, President
Mannerheim, declared it void right after Ryti left office, which he did after the Soviet offensive was stalled and separate peace again became a realistic possibility. The Soviets pushed the Finnish authorities to
organize a trial against Ryti and some members of his cabinet, in which they were given a prison sentence on the basis of a
retroactive law.
Finland switched sides in 1944 attacking the Nazi German forces in Finland according the armistice terms in what Finns call the
Lapland War.
Albania
Under the hapless King
Zog, Albania had been in Italian orbit since the 1920s. Italian had been taught in Albanian schools since before the Great War and a great degree of Italian forts existed to "protect" the Albanian people during the inter-war period.
On April 7, 1939, Italian troops landed in Albania, quickly occupying the country and forcing Zog into exile. Five days after the beginning of the invasion, the Albanian parliament voted to join the nation to Italy "in personal union" by offering the Albanian crown to
Victor Emmanuel III, who then became King of Italy, Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Albania. Albania followed Italy into war with Britain and France on June 10, 1940. Albania served as the base for the Italian invasion of Greece in 1941. Albanian troops participated in the Greek campaign, and Albanian volunteers later served in the SS Skanderberg Division. Albania declared war on the United States in 1941.
Belarusian Central Rada
In the Axis forces' occupation period, they attempted to establish a similar puppet state in
Belarus with local government under the name of
Belarusian Central Rada (BCR), with state symbols of the ancient Belarusian nation. (The chairman of the BCR was
RadasÅ‚aÅ AstroÅski). This "nation" vanished after the Axis defeat in the
Eastern Front in 1944.
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.
The Lokot Republic was the territory of one little anti-Soviet Russian pro-Axis local administration under Axis direct control. It was lead at first by Konstantin Voskoboinik and later succeeded by
Bronislaw Kaminski, himself also a commander of native anti-communist forces of the
Russian National Liberation Army or
RONA. The idea of liberation from the
Bolsheviks found some support in German-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.
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. The following 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.
Mengjiang
Mengjiang (Mengchiang) was a client state organized by Japan in Northern China 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 the Pan-Mongol nationalist spirit and the promise of a 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
During the
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), a
short-lived state was founded on
March 29 1940 by
Wang Chingwei, who became Head of State of this 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.
Provisional Government of Free India
The
Provisional Government of Free India was a shadow government led by
Subhas Chandra Bose. It operated only in those parts of
India which came under Japanese control. 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
Andaman and Nicobar Islands after they
fell to the Japanese, 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, the
Wang Jingwei Government in Japan-occupied parts of China, Thailand, Burma (under
Ba Maw),
Manchukuo, and the
Philippines under
de facto (and later
de jure) president
José Laurel.
Reichskommissariats of Ostland and Ukraine
The Axis military administration of
Reichskommissariat Ostland and
Reichskommissariat Ukraine managed to control the politics of some native parties. They permitted some aspects of the native cultures to survive in order to curry favor with the local citizenry. In The
Ukraine, some local
nationalists requested nominal military independence or autonomy from the Axis' military administration. Inclusive military tactics suggested that some native military volunteers did fight beside Axis forces in occupied territories.
In sharp contrast, the Axis Civil Administration assigned at
Schleswig-Holstein, Gauleiter
Heinrich Lohse (for
Ostland), and
East Prussia, Gauleiter,
Erich Koch (for
Ukraine) was very harsh, punctuated with massive exploitation of natural resources, deportation of local workers, and deplorable conditions for
Jews during the period of their control.
Vichy France
Marshal
Henri Philippe Pétain was named Chief of State of France after its surrender on
June 22 1940. Under the terms of the armistice, Germany occupied approximately two thirds of France, including Paris. Petain established his seat of government at the resort town of
Vichy in the unoccupied zone.
The Allies feared that the French fleet would fall into German hands and launched several attacks, including one attack leading to the
destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir on
July 3 1940. The Vichy regime broke relations with Britain after the attack and considered declaring war.
The
Vichy government maintained control of much of the French colonial empire and continued to be recognized as a lawful government of France by the United States until 1942. It was opposed by the
Free French headquartered in London under the command of
Charles de Gaulle.
Allied forces (including Free French forces) also attacked Vichy forces in
West Africa in 1940,
Syria and Lebanon in 1941 and the
Madagascar in 1942. The Vichy state signed the Anti-Comintern Pact and sent French volunteers to fight the Soviet Union. Vichy controlled
colonies were often used as bases for Axis attacks. French Jews under Vichy government were transferred to the Nazis.
Japan occupied
French Indochina, which became the starting point for the Japanese invasions of
Thailand,
Malaya and
Borneo.
German troops occupied southern France and the Vichy colony of Tunisia in 1943, after Allied forces attacked Vichy troops there.
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 two,
Croatia in 1991 and
Slovakia in 1993, would reemerge under separate democratic governments.
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.*Gerhard L. Weinberg.
A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II.(NY: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2005) provides a scholarly overview.
*I. C. B. Dear and
M. R. D. Foot, eds.
The Oxford Companion to World War II. (2001) is a reference book with encyclopedic coverage of all military, political and economic topics.
*
World War II*
Allies of World War II*All
Participants in World War II*
Military equipment of Axis Power forces in Balkans and Russian Front*
Axis History Factbook
