What Is War Websters Encyclopedic Dictionary Describes It As An Arm

What is war? Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary describes it as: "an armed clash between nations or factions in the same nation." That's how a dictionary describes it, but in fact, it is something much worse. War is the epitome of what is wrong with human nature. War is devastating. Perhaps no other war was as devastating as World War II. (1)"World War II killed more people, destroyed more property, disrupted more lives, and had more far-reaching consequences than any other war in history. It brought about the downfall of Western Europe as the center of world power and led to the rise of the Soviet Union. The development of the atomic bomb in 1945 would begin nuclear war." There is no one simple cause to World War II. There were many causes, most of which grew out of World War I. World War II was known as the "war to end all wars." Instead of fixing old problems, it actually crated new ones. Germany was mad at the Allies for making it loose its territory. It lost one eighth of its land, and its army and navy were virtually wiped away. If Germany ever got strong again, it would definitely seek revenge. On September 1, 1939, the German army stormed across the borders of Poland. First came the "stuka", dive-bombers that blasted the Polish planes on the ground. Then the German pilots bombed major railroads and highways. After that came the motorcycle infantry ? the fast soldiers ? that moved in to finish the job. This was a new kind of war employed by the Germans known as "Blitzkrieg", which is a German word meaning "lightning war". The German soldiers were trained for this and the Polish soil was flat and just right for it. Poland had no chance against the German army. Its army had no chance to fight back or even retreat. Poland was overwhelmed. Within two weeks, Germans surrounded Warsaw, the biggest city in Poland. In a little over a month, Poland was conquered. (2)"The war was only nine hours old that September day. The passengers on the British liner the Athena ? which was traveling from London to Montreal ? were enjoying themselves. Suddenly someone cried, ?Look! There's a torpedo!'" Almost at once, there was a crashing explosion. The unarmed ship began to sink. Women and children were rushed into lifeboats. Nearly one hundred people lost their lives that day. This event was an example of the cruelty of war because so many innocent lives were lost. The British hadn't even done anything yet to protect their ships at sea. That's why this was such a blatant act of cowardice on the part of the Germans. The sinking of the Athena did however serve as a warning to the world that the Germans would stop at nothing to break British control of the seas. So on September 3, 1939, Britain along with France declared war on Germany. The US however remained neutral. (3)"Roosevelt said that "Even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind or his conscience.' Within weeks he asked Congress to lift the Neutrality Acts' arms embargo that prevented Britain and France from buying American weapons." The United States was determined to avoid war though. World War I had left the US billions of dollars in foreign debts that couldn't be collected. There were also moral reparations on the part of the American people. (4)"A congressional investigation revealed that the US manufacturers had made large profits by supplying arms and credit to the Allies during the years of 1914-1917. This lead to the notion that the US' participation in World War I had been arranged by ?Merchants of Death'". While the US watched the struggle in Europe, our relationship with China grew worse. The US resented the growth of the Japanese sea and air power in the pacific area. If Japan gained control of eastern Asia it would surely interfere with American trade and business interests there. (5)"Japan's brutalities in China and its joining of the Axis powers in 1942 made it clear that Japan would stop at nothing to conquest the free world". For their part, the Japanese were better at what they called American's interference in their plan to create