World War I (1914-1918)

Several problems were affecting the main European nations at the beginning of the century.
XX. The previous century had left wounds that were hard to heal. Some countries were
extremely dissatisfied with the division of Asia and Africa, which took place at the end of
19th century. Germany and Italy, for example, had been left out of the process.
neocolonial. Meanwhile, France and England could exploit various colonies,
rich in raw materials and with a large consumer market. The dissatisfaction of
Italy and Germany, in this context, can be considered one of the causes of
Great War.
It is worth remembering that at the beginning of the 20th century there was strong competition.
trade between European countries, mainly in the competition for markets
consumers. This competition generated several conflicts of interest among nations.
At the same time, the countries were engaged in a rapid arms race,
as a way to protect themselves, or to attack, in the near future. This race
war generated an atmosphere of apprehension and fear among the countries, where one tried to
to assemble more than the other.

There was also, between two powerful nations of the time, a rivalry very
great. France had lost, at the end of the 19th century, the region of Alsace-Lorraine to
Germany, during the Franco-Prussian War. French revanchism was in the air,
and the French waiting for an opportunity to regain the lost rich region.

Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism also influenced and increased the state

of alert in Europe. There was a strong nationalist desire among the Germans to unite,
in just one nation, all the Germanic origin countries. The same happened
with the Slavic countries.

The beginning of the Great War

The trigger for this conflict was the assassination of Francisco Ferdinand, prince of
Austro-Hungarian Empire, during its visit to Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). As
Investigations led to the criminal, a young member of a Serbian group.
called Black Hand, against the influence of Austria-Hungary in the Balkan region. The
The Austro-Hungarian Empire did not accept the measures taken by Serbia regarding the
On July 28, 1914, declared war on Serbia.

Alliances Policy
European countries began to form political and military alliances since the
end of the 19th century. During the world conflict, these alliances remained. From a
On the side there was the Triple Alliance formed in 1882 by Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and
Germany (Italy switched to the other alliance in 1915). On the other side, the Triple Alliance.
Entente, formed in 1907, with the participation of France, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

Brazil also participated, sending nurses to the battlefields and

medications to assist the countries of the Triple Entente.
Development.
The battles developed mainly in trenches. The soldiers
they often spent hundreds of days entrenched, fighting for the conquest of
small pieces of territory. Hunger and diseases were also the enemies.
of these warriors. The battles also saw the use of new technologies
war-like such as, for example, war tanks and airplanes. While the men fought
in the trenches, women worked in munitions factories as employees.

Causes of the First World War

Main causes (reasons) that triggered World War I:

The partitioning of the lands of Africa and Asia in the second half of the 19th century generated
many misunderstandings among European nations. While England and France
They were left with large territories with many resources to explore, Germany and Italy.
They had to settle for a few low-value territories. This
Italo-German discontent persisted until the beginning of the 20th century and was a
two reasons for the war, as these two nations wanted more territories to explore
and increase your resources.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, European nations began to
invest heavily in the manufacturing of armaments. The increase in tensions generated
insecurity, causing military investments to increase in light of
a possibility of armed conflict in the region;

The economic competition among European countries intensified the for markets.
consumers and raw materials. Often, economically unfair actions were
taken by certain countries or companies (with government support);

The issue of nationalism was also present in pre-war Europe. In addition

the rivalries (example: Germany and England), there was pan-Germanism and pan-
Slavism. In the first case, it was the German ideal of forming a great empire, uniting
the Germanic origin countries. Pan-Slavism, on the other hand, was a strong sentiment that existed
in Russia and also involved other Slavic origin countries.

End of the conflict

In 1917, an event of extreme historical importance occurred: the entry of

United States in the conflict. The USA joined alongside the Triple Entente, as there was
commercial agreements to defend, mainly with England and France. This fact
marked the victory of the Entente, forcing the Allied countries to sign the surrender. The
defeated had to sign the Treaty of Versailles which imposed on them
countries strong restrictions and punishments. Germany had its army reduced, its
controlled arms industry, lost the Polish corridor region, had to return to the
France in the region of Alsace-Lorraine, besides having to pay for the damages of the war.
winning countries. The Treaty of Versailles had repercussions in Germany,
influencing the start of World War II.
 The war generated approximately 10 million dead, three times as many injured,
destroyed agricultural fields, destroyed industries, in addition to causing great losses
economic.

World War II (1939 - 1945)

The causes of World War II

A conflict of this magnitude does not start without significant causes or reasons.
We can say that several factors influenced the beginning of this conflict that began in
Europe quickly spread across Africa and Asia.

One of the most important reasons was the emergence, in the 1930s, in
Europe, of totalitarian governments with strong militaristic and expansionist objectives. In
Nazism emerged in Germany, led by Hitler, and aimed to expand territory.
Germany, disrespecting the Treaty of Versailles, including regaining territories
lost in the First World War. In Italy, the Fascist Party was growing, led by
Benito Mussolini, who became the Duce of Italy, with unlimited powers.

Both Italy and Germany were going through a serious economic crisis in
the beginning of the 1930s, with millions of citizens unemployed. One of the solutions
taken by the fascist governments of these countries was industrialization, mainly
in the creation of arms and military equipment industries (warplanes,
ships, tanks etc.)

In Asia, Japan also had strong desires to expand its territory to

neighboring territories and islands of the region. These three countries, with expansionist objectives,
they united and formed the Axis. An agreement with strong military characteristics and with
conquest plans developed by mutual agreement.

The Beginning

The starting point was in 1939, when the German army invaded the
Poland. Immediately, France and England declared war on Germany.
according to the existing military alliance policy at the time, two were formed
grupos : Aliados ( liderados por Inglaterra, URSS, França e Estados Unidos ) e Eixo
(Germany, Italy, and Japan).
Development and Important Historical Facts:
The period from 1939 to 1941 was marked by victories of the Axis, led by the
armed forces of Germany, which conquered Northern France, Yugoslavia, Poland,
Ukraine, Norway and territories in North Africa. Japan annexed Manchuria.
while Italy was conquering Albania and territories in Libya.

In 1941, Japan attacks the American military base at Pearl Harbor.

Pacific Ocean (Hawaii). After this event, considered a betrayal by the North-
Americans, the United States entered the conflict alongside the Allied forces.

From 1941 to 1945, the Axis defeats occurred, starting with the losses suffered
by the Germans in the harsh Russian winter. During this period, there is a regression of
Axis forces suffering successive defeats. With the entry of the USA, the allies
gained strength on the battle fronts.

Brazil participates directly, sending to Italy (Monte region

Cassino) the soldiers of the FEB, Brazilian Expeditionary Force. The approximately 25 thousand
Brazilian soldiers conquer the region, adding an important victory alongside the
Allies.

Final and Consequences

This important and sad conflict only ended in the year 1945 with the surrender of
Germany and Italy. Japan, the last country to sign the surrender treaty, still suffered.
a strong attack from the United States, which dropped atomic bombs on the cities
from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An unnecessary action that caused the death of thousands.
of innocent Japanese citizens, leaving a trail of destruction in these cities.

Atomic bomb
Atomic bomb explodes in the Japanese city of Hiroshima

The losses were huge, especially for the defeated countries. There were millions.
of dead and injured, destroyed cities, devastated industries and rural areas, and debts
uncountable. Racism was present and left a serious wound, especially
in Germany, where the Nazis sent to concentration camps and killed
approximately six million Jews. With the end of the conflict, in 1945, was created
the UN (United Nations), whose main objective would be maintenance
the peace among nations. A period known as the Cold War also begins,
now placing, on opposite sides, the United States and the Soviet Union. A dispute
geopolitics between American capitalism and Soviet socialism, where both
countries sought to expand their areas of influence without entering into armed conflicts.