1943 – Columbia joins the second world war. The participants in World War II were those nations who either participated directly in or were affected by any of the theaters or events of World War II. World War II was primarily fought between two large military alliances. The Axis powers were a group of countries led by Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy (until its defeat), and the Empire of Japan. They were considered the aggressors of the conflict. The Allies, led by the United Kingdom, its Commonwealth (excluding the Irish Free State), and France (until its defeat), were joined in the European theater by the Soviet Union in June 1941 and by the United States in December 1941. In the Asia-Pacific theater, the Allies were led by the Republic of China, following the 1937 invasion of China by Japan, and the United States and the British Commonwealth, following the 1941–42 Japanese attacks. Colombia Main article: Colombia during World War II After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Colombia broke diplomatic relations with the Axis powers. Colombia provided the Allies with petroleum products. In 1943, the German submarine U-505 destroyed a Colombian schooner, which caused Colombia to declare a status of belligerency against Germany on 26 November 1943.[citation needed] The German ambassador left the country, and measures of control were implemented, including internment of German citizens in designated areas. Photographs and reconnaissance airplanes belonging to the Colombian-German company Scadta, which used to take aerial shots of Colombian and German cities, were also handed to the United States. During the recovery years, Colombia sent Nestle products (coffee, baby food, etc.) and carbon for heating all over Europe. Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Main article: Participation of Ceylon in World War II Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), was a British colony and a major Allied naval base. On 5 April 1942, over 300 aircraft from Japanese carriers bombed the island. Winston Churchill called it the most dangerous moment of World War II, because the Japanese wished to replicate a grander success of the attack at Pearl Harbor. British ships, however, were moved to Addu Atoll, Maldives Islands, 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) southwest of Ceylon. Nevertheless, the British lost an aircraft carrier, two cruisers, and two destroyers, while the Royal Air Force squadrons on Ceylon suffered severe losses. The British fleet retreated to East Africa until 1944.[citation needed] The Ceylon Garrison Artillery Regiment was stationed on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands, to defend it from Japanese attack. However, following agitation by the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the regiment mutinied on the night of 8 May 1942, intending to hand the islands over to the Japanese. The mutiny was suppressed and three of the Ceylonese soldiers became the only British Commonwealth troops to be executed for mutiny during World War II. Bombardier Gratien Fernando, the leader of the mutiny, was defiant to the end.[citation needed] Following the Cocos Islands Mutiny, no Ceylonese combat unit was deployed in a front-line combat situation, although Supply & Transport Corps troops were used in rear areas in the Middle East. The defences of Sri Lanka were beefed up to three Allied army divisions because the island was strategically important, as a producer of rubber. Rationing was instituted so that Sri Lankans were comparatively better fed than their Indian neighbours, in order to prevent disaffection among the ordinary people. Ceylonese in Japanese-occupied Malaya and Singapore were recruited by the Japanese for the Lanka Regiment of the Indian National Army, to fight against the Allies. While there was a plan to land them in Ceylon to start a guerrilla war, they never actually saw action.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 06:12:27 +0000
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