ALLIED LEADERS
Britain
Winston Churchhill
Winston Churchill rallied the British people during WWII, and led his country from the brink of defeat to victory.Churchill gradually became a leading advocate for British rearmament. By 1938, as Germany began controlling its neighbors, Churchill had become a staunch critic of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement toward the Nazis. Churchill helped lead a successful Allied strategy with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and General Secretary Joseph Stalin during WWII to defeat the Axis powers and craft post-war peace.Churchill became the Leader of the Opposition Party and continued to have an impact on world affairs.Churchill proposed plans for social reforms in Britain, but was unable to convince the public
Weapons Used
Lee-Enfield (Series) Bolt-Action, Magazine-Fed, Repeating
This rifle served Britain for 62 years and was one of the most successful bolt-action rifles (Military Factory). The rate-of-fire was 20 rounds per minute and it could shoot up to 1,640 feet (Military Factory).
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Enfield No. 2 Service Revolver
Most widely used service resolver amongst Britain in World War II (Military Factory). Rate-of-fire was 25 rounds per minute and when shot it reaches up to 42 feet (Military Factory).
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Britain Warship
HMS Ark Royal/ HMS Pegasus
The HMS Ark Royal was a seaplane carrier that lasted from World War I to 1950 when it was scrapped (Military Factory). The HMS Ark Royal took on a new name in World War II and it was known as HMS Pegasus (Military Factory). She served as a training platform and also supplied transport and recovery services (Military Factory).
United States
Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.He helped develop a strategy for defeating Germany in Europe through a series of invasions, first in North Africa in November 1942, then Sicily and Italy in 1943, followed by the D-Day invasion of Europe in 1944. He also helped set up the United Nations as well.
Weapons Used
Colt M1911 Semi-Automatic Pistol
It is a single-action, short recoil-operated pistol that can shoot anything up to 82 feet (Military Factory).
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Browning M1918 BAR Light Machine Gun / Squad Support Weapon
Became the legendary support weapon of the United States Army in World War II (Military Factory). Not a traditional rifle, but not exactly a machine gun either. Rate-of-fire of this gun was 500 rounds per minute and it shot up to 1,069 feet (Military Factory).
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U.S. Warship
USS Arizona (BB-39)
The USS Arizona was a Super-Dreadnought Battleship that was stationed along Hawaii to defend the Naval base at Pearl harbor (Military Factory). While there, the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese happened and the USS Arizona was bombed and sunk with 1,177 men inside the ship (Military Factory). The USS Arizona now rests on the bottom of the ocean as a way to remember all those who died and what happened on that tragic day.
Soviet Union
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades, instituting a reign of terror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism. Lenin was in contol of Russia until he died in 1924, Stalin eventually outmaneuvered his rivals and won the power struggle for control of the Communist Party. By the late 1920s, he had become dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin aligned with the United States and Britain in World War II but the engaged himself in the Cold War.
Weapons Used
Tokarev TT-33 Semi-Automatic Pistol
Semi-automatic pistol that shoots up to 164 feet (Military Factory).
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Tokarev SVT-38 Self-Loading, Semi-Automatic Rifle
Replaced by the SVT-40 because SVT-38 was too frail (Military Factory).
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France
Charles de Gaulle was the dominant political leader and grand figurehead of France during and after World War II. De Gaulle was a career soldier in the French Army who had been wounded and held prisoner during World War I. He rose to the rank of general and was serving as France's minister for National Defense and War in June, 1940, when France capitulated to Germany early in World War II. Charles DeGaulle escaped to Britain, where he made a famous broadcast calling on the French people to resist . DeGaulle formed the Free French forces and led the provisional government that ruled France after it was retaken from Germany(http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/charlesdegaulle.html)
Read more: Charles de Gaulle Biography (President of France/World War II Figure) http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/charlesdegaulle.html#ixzz3a3dhNezg |
Weapons Used
Berthier Rifle (Series) Bolt-Action Service Rifle / Carbine
Two million of these guns produced 1890 to the 1960s (Military Factory). Rate-of-fire was 20 rounds per minute (Military Factory).
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Chatellerault Model 1929 (modele 1924/29) Light Machine Gun
Were most used on the Maginot Line when the German invaded (Military Factory). The rate-of-fire was 450 rounds per minute (Military Factory).
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China
Chiang Kai-shek was one of the most important political leaders in 20th century Chinese history, sandwiched between Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong. Early in the 20th century Chiang Kai-shek fought for Sun Yat-sen's United Revolutionary League and the Kuomintang party to overthrow China's imperial dynasty. The Republic of China was established in 1912, but by the end of the 1920s the Kuomintang split with the Communists (led by Mao Zedong) . After the death of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang became the leader of the Kuomintang army and seized control of the government. Still engaged in a civil war with the Communists, Generalissimo Chiang also led the army against Japanese invaders in Manchuria (1937). During World War II Chiang had the support of the Allied powers and was the supreme commander of the China theater for the length of the war, the acknowledged leader of a war-torn and impoverished China. After World War II ended, the Kuomintang and the Communists re-ignited the civil war, and Chiang was eventually driven off the mainland to the island of Taiwan (1949), where the Kuomintang set up a government-in-exile. (
Read more: Chiang Kai-shek Biography (Military Leader/Political Figure/World War II Figure) http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/chiangkaishek.html#ixzz3a3cn62ep
Read more: Chiang Kai-shek Biography (Military Leader/Political Figure/World War II Figure) http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/chiangkaishek.html#ixzz3a3cn62ep
Weapons Used
Type 24 (Chiang Kai-Shek Rifle) Bolt-Action Service Rifle
This gun is a copy of the German Mauser rifle (Military Factory). This gun is a manually actuated bolt-action rifle (Military Factory). The rate-of-fire was 15 rounds per minute and it can shoot up to 1,640 feet (Military Factory).
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Type 31 60mm 60mm Infantry Light Mortar
This gun is a copy of the American M2 but it does have some differences (Military Factory). One difference is the Chinese gun has a shorter barrel (Military Factory). This gun has a rate-of-fire of 30 rounds per minute and it shoots up to 5,018 feet (Military Factory).
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Axis Powers
Germany
Adolf Hitler
From serving in World
War I to becoming president of Germany, Adolf Hitler made his way up in
politics. After WWI Hitler became involved in an anti-Semitism group called the
German Worker’s Party, later named the Nazi Party. Hitler soon became the head of
the party and the party grew drastically. Once Hitler became popular among the
people in Germany, he ran for the presidency of Germany against Paul von
Hindenburg. Hitler lost to Hindenburg but that did not stop him from recruiting
more people for his party. The Nazi Party grew and it got past President Paul
von Hindenburg’s attention when Germany’s economy was not doing well.
Hindenburg ended up appointing Hitler as chancellor of Germany on January 30th,
1933. From there Hitler took the presidency after the death of President Paul
von Hindenburg on August 2nd of 1933. Hitler took all control and
kept his chancellor job and took over the presidency. September 1st,
1939, Hitler led Nazi Germany in the first forceful attack to expand Germany by
attacking Poland to obtain more land and start his expansion and domination of
the world. Hitler successfully had Germany occupy the Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Greece, Norway, and Western Poland
before being overcome by the Ally forces.
Weapons Used
Walther PP (Polizei Pistole)
Compact Semi-Automatic Pistol |
Fallschirmjagergewehr 42 (FG42 / FjG42) Automatic Rifle / Light Machine Gun
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German Civilian and Military police used this gun, along with some
military branches such as the Luftwaffe, staff officers, and Panzer tank crews (Military Factory). This gun is semi-automatic, straight blowback, and double-action. The rate-of-fire is 9 rounds per minute (Military Factory). |
For mobile German troops because of light weight (Military Factory). The rate-of-fire is 750 rounds per minute (Military Factory).
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German Warship
KMS Admiral Hipper
KMS Admiral Hipper was a heavy cruiser ship that was the lead ship of her class (Military Factory). The KMS Admiral Hipper was used to find and shoot down enemy convoys, while doing so Hipper took many shots and had to be repaired several times, but she always bounced back (Military Factory).
Japan
Emperor Hirohito
Emperor Hirohito of
Japan reigned from 1929 to when he died in 1989 (Hirohito). His role in World War II was
leading Japan in their expansion and signing a pact with Germany and Italy to
provide some peace between the three countries. At the start of the war Japan
tried to occupy French Indochina to stop the importing of arms and fuel by
China, Japan didn’t last long their though because the United States stepped in
and put an embargo on Japan. From there, Hirohito ordered an attack on the
U.S., which is now known as the attack on Pearl Harbor. This attack caused huge
damage to the naval base of the U.S., it destroyed 18 ship and killed over
2,500 people (Hirohito). The U.S. countered by
declaring war on Japan. Hirohito went on in trying to expand Japan. Japan ended
up occupying the Dutch East Indies, British Singapore, New Guinea, the
Philippines, and more places in the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia (Hirohito). Hirohito
had Japan expanding well until the Battle of Midway, where the Allies started
to take it all back. Three years later, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s
surrender to his people (Hirohito).
Japanese Warship
IJN Akagi
The IJN Akagi started out as a battlecruiser in the first World War and was then transformed into an aircraft carrier for World War II (Military Factory). During the attack on Pearl Harbor, torpedo bombers, dive bombers, and fighter planes used the IJN Akagi (Military Factory). The Akagi had a short life after the Pearl Harbor attack because just seven short months later at the Battle of Midway, the Akagi was destroyed (Military Factory).
Weapons Used
Arisaka Type 38 Bolt-Action Infantry Service Rifle
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Nambu Type 14 Semi-Automatic Pistol
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Had a bayonet at the end for close fighting (Military Factory). This gun is a bolt-action gun with a rate-of-fire of 30 rounds per minute (Military Factory).
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Pistol had a widespread use in the Japanese Army (Military Factory). It's a semi-automatic pistol that has a range of up to 164 feet (Military Factory).
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Italy
Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini rose
to power in 1922 as Prime Minister of Italy (Benito Mussolini). Mussolini brought many ideas to
the armies of Italy and made them all Facist-minded. Before World War II,
Mussolini accomplished “subduing Libya, pacifying Somalia, conquering Ethiopia,
helping the Nationalists win the Spanish civil war, and seizing Albania” (Benito Mussolini).
During the war, Mussolini didn’t have too many accomplishes, this was because
he wasn’t entirely ready for the war (Benito Mussolini). Mussolini allied Italy with Germany in
1939 to make his country a better place (Benito Mussolini). Mussolini forced Italy armies to make
an offensive against Greece and North Africa that only ended in disaster (Benito Mussolini). Luckily,
German forces were there to get them out of their predicament (Benito Mussolini). From there, in
July 1943, Mussolini was overthrown by the king of Italy, but once again Hitler
was there to rescue him (Benito Mussolini). Hitler made Mussolini dictator of a puppet state. As
dictator, Mussolini had his men produce significant amounts of war production
for Germany and he made “large, ruthless Fascist counterinsurgency forces” (Benito Mussolini).
From there, Germany surrendered and Mussolini fled then was caught and shot (Benito Mussolini).
Weapons Used
Pistola Automatica, Modello 1910 (Glisenti)
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Carcano Modello 1891 (M91) Bolt-Action Service Rifle / Carbine
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Self-loading, semi-automatic pistol that ended up failing the Italian Army (Military Factory).
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Manually-Operated Bolt-Action Rifle with a range up to 1,968 feet (Military Factory).
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Work Cited for Axis Leaders, Weapons, and Battleships
"Benito Mussolini." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/benito-mussolini>.
"Hirohito." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/hirohito>.
"Military Factory." - Military Weapons. Military Factory, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015. <http://www.militaryfactory.com/>.
"Hirohito." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/hirohito>.
"Military Factory." - Military Weapons. Military Factory, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015. <http://www.militaryfactory.com/>.