The Maximum Extent of Axis Advance in the Second World
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Copyrighted Material NETHERLANDS 7 SVALBARD HUNGARY 13 (occupied) (Norway) GREENLAND OSTLAND(Ger) 14 (Denmark) BELGIUM 8 UKRAINE (Ger) 15 (occupied) 75° CROATIA 16 LUXEMBOURG 9 1942 (occupied) 17 the maximum extent of axis advance in the SERBIA second world war SWITZERLAND 10 MONTENEGRO 18 VICHY FRANCE 11 Arctic Circle Up until 1939, Hitler’s territorial demands had concerned SLOVAKIA 12 ICELAND N only areas of German ethnic settlement. Britain and France (Denmark) E Y D A E FINLAND had acquiesced, hoping that German unity represented the Faroe Islands W W R S UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS limit of his ambitions. After Hitler’s annexation of what (Denmark) O N remained of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, it was all too CANADA GREAT DENMARK 14 clear that this was not the case. When Germany invaded BRITAIN IRELAND 7 M Poland in September 1939, Britain, France, Australia, New A 8 GERMANY 15 TUVA N ALBANIA 19 9 Z Zealand, South Africa and Canada declared war, beginning NEWFOUNDLAND 12 H (GB) O 20 the Second World War. BULGARIA U FRANCE 10 13 MONGOLIA G Dodecanese 21 U To ensure Germany would not be faced with a two-front St Pierre et Miquelon 11 ROMANIA O 45° (It) I 16 T 17 A ( J war, Hitler agreed with Stalin to divide Poland between p L 18 20 Y n 1 ) them. Polish resistance was quickly crushed by the German Jamaica (GB) SPAIN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PORTUGAL 19 2 BRITISH HONDURAS Azores TURKEY CHINA KOREA combination of fast-moving armoured divisions and close GREECE (Jpn) N JAPAN 3 Netherlands Gibraltar (GB) 21 A T air support, known as blitzkrieg (lightning war). In 1940 MALTA 37 S Antilles 22 TUNISIA CYPRUS I 47 Bermuda Madeira (GB) 36 IRAN N THAILAND (Vichy) (GB) IRAQ A Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, 4 Puerto Rico (USA) MOROCCO GH TIBET (GB) 39 AF 48 SINGAPORE (GB) 38 Belgium and France in just three months. France was 5 HAITI Canary (Fr) 43 44 NEPAL 49 SARAWAK Islands ALGERIA LIBYA partitioned, with German occupation of the north and a Cayman Bahamas 6 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 45 SPANISH (Vichy) (It) EGYPT SAUDI BHUTAN 50 BRUNEI Islands (GB) ARABIA 46 collaborationist government in the south at Vichy. France’s MEXICO (GB) US Virgin SAHARA TAIWAN (Jpn) 51 BRITISH NORTH BORNEO Islands British Virgin Islands OMAN INDIA Tropic of Cancer CUBA BURMA Hong Kong (GB) colonies were divided between those loyal to Vichy and 6 Leeward Islands (GB) (GB) (GB) 52 PORTUGUESE TIMOR Hawaii Guadeloupe (Vichy) Cape YEMEN (GB) Macau those loyal to the Free French government in exile. 2 Verde (Pt) (USA) 1 5 4 Dominica (GB) FRENCH WEST AFRICA Mariana Islands FRENCH ANGLO- 42 47 Martinique (Vichy) (Vichy) Pondicherry (Fr) PHILIPPINES Islands Following France’s surrender and the expulsion of Panama 3 ADEN(GB) Goa (Pt) FRENCH Marshall GUATEMALA Windward Islands (GB) EGYPTIAN (USA) (Jpn) Canal GAMBIA EQUATORIAL 41 Andaman INDO- British forces from the Continent, Hitler expected Britain Barbados (GB) SUDAN Socotra Mahé (Fr) Guam (USA) Islands EL SALVADOR Zone (US) (GB) 40 Islands Caroline Islands (Jpn) Trinidad & Tobago (GB) NIGERIA (GB) CHINA to seek peace. However, the British government, led by HONDURAS PORTUGUESE LIBERIA AFRICA (GB) (Vichy) Palau (Jpn) VENEZUELA BRITISH GUIANA (GB) ETHIOPIA NICARAGUA GUINEA (Fr) Maldive Nicobar 50 51 (Jpn) Winston Churchill, resolved to continue the war. Hitler’s DUTCH GUIANA COSTA RICA (Pt) 23 Islands CEYLON Islands MALAYA Gilbert FRENCH GUIANA ITALIAN (GB) (GB) (GB) hastily made plans to invade Britain were abandoned PANAMA SIERRA GOLD 24 BRITISH 49 Islands (GB) COLOMBIA (Vichy) BELGIAN 28 SOMALILAND LEONE COAST 25 EAST 48 Equator after the German air force was defeated in the Battle of 26 CONGO Nauru Galapagos ECUADOR (GB) (GB) FRENCH AFRICA NORTH EAST (Australia) Phoenix Britain. The war widened to the Balkans and Africa after 27 Islands CONGO (Fr) RUANDA- Seychelles NEW GUINEA Islands (GB) DUTCH EAST INDIES (Ecuador) Ascension URUNDI 29 (Australia) Solomon (GB) Italy joined Germany in June, forming the Axis Powers. Comoro Island CABINDA (Belgium) Islands (GB) BRAZIL Islands Chagos PAPUA However, the poorly equipped Italians needed to be rescued (GB) (Pt) Amirante Cocos Ellice French (Vichy) Islands Christmas 52 (Australia) Islands (GB) Islands Islands by the Germans in 1941 after suffering defeats by the Polynesia 31 Island PERU ANGOLA (GB) (GB) New (GB) (GB) Greeks and by the British in Libya and East Africa. Hitler’s SPANISH 22 (Pt) 30 35 Hebrides Tonga Mauritius (Anglo-French attempt to woo Spain’s new fascist dictator Francisco MOROCCO St Helena MADAGASCAR (GB) BOLIVIA (GB) (GB) condominium) CAMEROON (Fr) 23 32 (Vichy) Fiji (GB) Franco failed: Spain had not yet recovered from its Pitcairn Island (GB) (Allied occupation New Fernando Póo (Sp) 24 33 Tropic of Capricorn devastating civil war. in progress) Réunion 36 LEBANON (Fr) 41 FRENCH Caledonia PARAGUAY Walvis Bay SOMALILAND (Vichy) AUSTRALIA RIO MUNI (Sp) 25 34 (Vichy) 37 SYRIA (Fr) (Fr) With Britain still undefeated, Hitler turned on his E (South Africa) 26 SWAZILAND (GB) 42 ERITREA (It) L Príncipe (Pt) 38 PALESTINE (GB) former ally and invaded the USSR in June 1941, taking Axis power or dependency Easter Island I 43 KUWAIT (GB) (Chile) São Tomé (Pt) 27 SOUTH (GB) 39 TRANSJORDAN (GB) mid-1942 H BASUTOLAND Stalin completely by surprise. The Germans advanced AFRICA 44 BAHRAIN (GB) C 40 BRITISH rapidly through the summer but were unprepared for the Axis occupation mid-1942 URUGUAY SOMALILAND 45 QATAR (GB) onset of the bitter Russian winter and they were fought to a ARGENTINA Tristan da 46 TRUCIAL OMAN (GB) Allied state at war with the 28 UGANDA (GB) 33 BECHUANALAND (GB) halt outside Moscow in December. Despite the speed of the Cunha European Axis powers (GB) 29 TANGANYIKA (GB) 34 SOUTHWEST AFRICA NEW German advance, the USSR successfully removed much of (South Africa) Occupied by Allied powers 30 NORTHERN RHODESIA (GB) ZEALAND 35 MOZAMBIQUE (Pt) its industrial capacity to safety beyond the Ural Mountains. 31 NYASALAND (GB) 45° Allied state at war Officially neutral, the USA under President Franklin D. 32 with Japan SOUTHERN RHODESIA (GB) Kerguelen Roosevelt gave Britain considerable material support Maximum limit of Axis Other states and territories Island 188 through the Lend-Lease scheme begun in March 1941. advance mid-1942 Falkland Islands (GB) 150° 120° 90° 60° 30° 0° 30° 60° 90° 120° 150° 180°.