September 1,1939, Germany invades Poland. September 3rd, England, countries of the Commonwealth, and France declare war against Germany. Still, the area of conflict is just Western Europe, which makes it a regional war. Why is that conflict declared the start of WW2? Japan invaded China, several years earlier but nobody is claiming that was the start of WW2? What's the difference?
I say that the war started when the first two major combatants engaged, i.e., 1937. Unfortunately, the ethnography gets in the way.
Big wars often start small. The first two (of nine) years of the Seven Years War were mainly a colonial squabble, as were the first three of the War of the American Revolution. I’m inclined to agree with you about 1937 - members of what would be the Axis and Allies were at war and would be without interruption to the end. But if that was WWII, what was the war which started in Europe Sept 1, 1939? Until Dec 1941, there were two separate wars on opposite sides of the world.
The difference probably lies in which historian one reads. No doubt a Chinese historian has a different view than a Polish historian. Even though, say, the Rape of Nanking was easily as brutal as anything in Europe, it doesn't count as WWII to European historians. And who amongst us reads non-Western historians?
The tricky thing about the beginning of any War depends on the location of the observer. This question comes up in many different topics on the Forum and the best I've been able to ascertain is once enough Countries : Kingdoms/Shires/Fiefdoms/Sheikdoms acquired a large enough population to fight each other Wars began.
I give pride of place to eastern Asia. One Japanese Monograph says that their forces were facing 100 Chinese divisions at one point prior to the start of hostilities in Europe. Thanks to Pearl S. Buck, the Soong sisters, and non-Chinese businessmen who were pretty much expelled from China the war stayed in American and European papers. AND I KILL ANYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH ME. Present company excluded, of course.
Because the Chinese historian is obeying official government policy- "On July 7, 1937, a skirmish broke out between Chinese and Japanese troops stationed on the outskirts of Wanping, a village southwest of Beijing, that subsequently became known internationally as the “Marco Polo Bridge Incident.” Although the local forces were able to come to an agreement, the event ignited the powder keg of latent tension between the Tokyo and Nanjing (then China’s capital under the Nationalists) governments. By the end of July, Japanese troops had launched their rapacious, full-scale invasion of China. Since then, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident became the unofficial marker of the start of China’s War of Resistance against Japan. That is, until January 2017, when China's Ministry of Education made an unprecedented announcement: the official starting date of the war would be shifted to an event six years earlier." How China’s leaders changed the history of the War of Resistance to bolster Party prestige "England" didn't; The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland did.
So what do Polish historians say about this? Understand I'm not pushing modern Chinese propaganda, but pointing out that war landed on their doorstep two years' prior, and when the war started for them. I've got no interest in modern Chinese historiography, insofar as it is tainted by the political correctness they themselves practice. That doesn't change the fact that the culture itself sees world history different than how we, in the West, see it. Nanking happened long before the Maoists took over. The war started for them long before it started for Europeans. But it not only killed a lot of people, it fed directly into the war between Japan and America, being a primary cause for the Pacific War. How might you separate them?
The Japanese Monographs are an interesting read on the Sino-Japanese phase of WWII. HyperWar: Guide to the "Japanese Monographs"
I'm sorry. I hadn't seen that discussion, and didn't know your views ... so I did what normal folk do and I asked. I'd be interested in reading your views on the aspect of cultural relativism in this topic. Perhaps you'd be so kind as to link to that discussion?
This is a frequent flier at axishistory.com. Sadly, I still have to teach a few people that I'm right and they're wrong. The labor continues.
No worries. This is the one; it actually ran intermittently for a while- http://www.ww2f.com/threads/when-did-ww2-start.74271/
