Eurasian War (Blood and Soil)

Eurasian War
Clockwise from top left: Template:Flatlist
Date 1 September 1939 – 12 January 1943 (1939-09-01 – 1943-01-12) (3 years, 4 months, 1 week and 4 days) Location {{{place}}} Result Axis victory
Belligerents
Axis Germany Italy Romania Hungary Finland Client states: Slovakia Croatia	Allies United Kingdom United States French Republic Poland Belgium Netherlands Norway Comintern Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Adolf Hitler	Neville Chamberlain Winston Churchill Anthony Eden Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Eurasian War was an armed conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1943, with theatres of operation in Europe, North Africa, as well as naval engagements in the Atlantic Ocean. The Axis, dominated by Germany and Italy, secured a partial victory over the Allies and Comintern, asserting dominance across continental Europe.

Following Poland's rejection of German demands, Hitler reacted with invasion. Britain and France subsequently honored their guarantee on Poland and declared war on Germany shortly after. Poland was partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union after a swift victory. Hitler then turned his attention towards Western Europe and cut off Allied access to the Baltic Sea by invading Denmark and Norway. Immediately after, Germany launched a large-scale offensive into the Low Countries, outsmarting the Allies' anticipation of a German invasion via Belgium. After the Dunkirk Catastrophe and the subsequent fall of France, the Allies were effectively locked out of continental Europe. The Eurasian War largely stagnated and most engagements were fought in the air and sea from June 1940 to April 1941. The Yugoslav coup d'état replaced the pro-German government with a pro-Allied body. Germany invaded Yugoslavia two weeks later and was joined by Italy, effectively bringing Italy and her war with Greece into the conflict. The entrance of Italy also opened up the North African campaign.

The war took a drastic turn in June 1941 when Hitler formally terminated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and launched an offensive into the Soviet Union, opening up the largest theatre of the war. Germany rapidly advanced through the Soviet lines. The largely underprepared Red Army was unable to halt the Germans and by January 1942, Moscow had fallen to Germany. While Germany advanced into Russia, the United States entered the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor and Hitler's subsequent declaration of war on the United States. The Eastern Theatre came to a stalemate as both sides struggled to rebuild their supply lines and dealt with the brutal winter. Germany resumed her advance into the Soviet Union as spring came and finally reached the A-A Line by September. Mikhail Kalinin moved Soviet operations from Perm to Tyumen, and Hitler subsequently declared victory over the Soviet Union. In October, an Anglo-American invasion force launched Operation Sledgehammer. Intended to take pressure off the Soviet Union and start a counteroffensive against the Germans, the operation was a total failure and crushed in a matter of weeks. Churchill, who had been reluctant to go through with Sledgehammer, announced via radio that the time for peace had come and that London would seek peace with Germany. Hitler responded with acceptance and agreed to discuss peace terms and issue an immediate ceasefire. The Americans remained in a state of war with Germany until late November, when the Treaty of Madrid was signed by Prime Minister Anthony Eden and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. As part of the treaty, American forces had to vacate all territories held by Britain and France immediately, effectively ending American involvement in the Eurasian War.

The war formally ended when the U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull signed the official Treaty of Rome, ending all hostilities between the Axis and the United States. The Eurasian War was the bloodiest war in history for both combatants and civilians, with millions of casualties on the Eastern Theatre alone. The war brought about social changes in the United Kingdom and the United States, with Remembrance Day becoming a holiday dedicated to Operation Sledgehammer.