Axis leaders of World War II
The Axis leaders of World War II were important political and military figures during the war. The Axis was established with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in 1940 and pursued a strong militarist, racist and nationalist ideology, with a policy of anti-communism. During the early phase of the war, puppet governments were established in their occupied nations. When the war ended, many of them faced trial for war crimes. The chief leaders were Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Emperor Hirohito (alongside his Prime Ministers, Hideki Tōjō and Fumimaro Konoe) of Japan. Unlike what happened with the Allies, there never was a joint meeting of the main Axis heads of government, although Mussolini and Hitler did meet on a regular basis.
Greater German Reich (Nazi Germany)
- Adolf Hitler was leader of Nazi Germany, first as Chancellor from 1933 until 1934 and later as Führer from 1934 until his suicide in 1945. Hitler came into power during Germany's period of crisis after the Great War. During his rule Germany became a fascist state with a policy of anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust. Hitler pursued an extremely aggressive foreign policy that triggered the war.
- Heinrich Himmler became the second in command of Nazi Germany as Supreme Commander of the Home Army and Reichsführer-SS. As commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS), Himmler also held overall command of the Gestapo. He was the chief architect of the "Final Solution" and through the SS was overseer of the Nazi concentration camps, extermination camps, and Einsatzgruppen death squads. He held final command responsibility for annihilating "subhumans" who were deemed unworthy to live. Shortly before the end of the war, he offered to surrender "Germany" to the Western Allies if he was spared from prosecution as a Nazi leader. Himmler committed suicide with cyanide after he became a captive of the British Army.
- Hermann Göring was Reichsmarschall and Prime Minister of Prussia. He was the commander of the Luftwaffe. Hitler awarded Göring the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross for his successful leadership. Originally, Hitler's designated successor, and the second highest ranking Nazi official. However by 1942, with his power waning, Göring fell out of favor and was replaced in the Nazi hierarchy by Himmler. Göring was the highest ranking Nazi official brought before the Nuremberg Trials. Göring committed suicide with cyanide.
- Joseph Goebbels was Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda from 1933 until 1945. An avid supporter of the war, Goebbels did everything in his power to prepare the German people for a large scale military conflict. He was one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers. After Hitler's suicide Goebbels and his wife Magda had their six children poisoned and then also committed suicide.
- Rudolf Hess was Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party. Hess hoped to score a stunning diplomatic victory by sealing a peace between the Third Reich and Britain. He flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace, but was arrested. He was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Martin Bormann was head of the Party Chancellery (Parteikanzlei) and private secretary to Adolf Hitler. He gained Hitler's trust and derived immense power within the Third Reich by controlling access to the Führer and by regulating the orbits of those closest to him.
- Albert Speer was German Minister of Armaments from 1942 until the end of the war, in which position he was responsible for organizing most of the logistical aspects of Germany's war effort. He was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to twenty years in prison.
- Joachim von Ribbentrop was the German Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1938 to 1945. He was condemned to death at Nuremberg and hanged.
- Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an SS-Obergruppenführer and in January 1943 appointed by Himmler as Chief of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst), the SiPo, (Sicherheitspolizei) made up of the combined forces of the Gestapo (secret state police) and the Kripo (Kriminalpolizei) and the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt); after Reinhard Heydrich's assassination. Further, Kaltenbrunner was in command of the Einsatzgruppen death squads. He was the highest ranking SS leader to face trial at Nuremberg and be executed.de he became Chancellor for one day before his suicide.
- Wilhelm Keitel was an army general and the Chief of the OKW, the High Command of the German Military, throughout the war. He was condemned to death at Nuremberg for commission of war crimes and hanged.
- Alfred Jodl was an army general and Operations Chief of the OKW throughout the war. Like his chief, Keitel, he was condemned to death at Nuremberg and hanged.
- Walther von Brauchitsch was commander in chief of the army from 1938 until his dismissal in December 1941, when Hitler took personal command of the army.
- Erich Raeder, was Großadmiral of the Kriegsmarine from 1 April 1939 until 30 January 1943.
- Karl Dönitz was made Großadmiral of the Kriegsmarine on 30 January 1943 and was President for 23 days after Hitler's suicide. Under his command the U-boat fleet fought an unrestricted submarine warfare during the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war he was tried at Nuremberg.
- Fedor von Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in 1939 and commander of Army Group B during the Invasion of France in 1940. Following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 he was named commander of Army Group Center and commanded Operation Typhoon, the ultimately failed attempt to capture Moscow during the winter of 1941. His final command was that of Army Group South in 1942 before being dismissed by Hitler.
- Albert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe general. He served as commander of Luftflotte 2 for the early part of the war, commanding air campaigns in west and east, before being assigned as commander in chief of German forces in the Mediterranean, a position he would occupy for most of the war, commanding German forces in the defense of Italy. In March 1945, he became the last German commander-in-chief in the west.
- Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) in the German army and held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war. He commanded large formations during the invasion of Poland and Battle of France. During Operation Barbarossa, he was named commander of Army Group South. In 1942 he was appointed commander of OB West. He retained this command (with several interruptions) until his dismissal by Hitler in March 1945.
- Erich von Manstein is credited with the drawing up of the Ardennes invasion plan of France. In the Soviet campaign he also conquered Sevastopol in 1942 and was then made Generalfeldmarschall and took command of Army Group South. A command he held until he was dismissed by Hitler in March, 1944. He is often considered one of the finest German strategists and field commanders of World War II.
- Heinz Guderian was the principal creator of Blitzkrieg. He commanded several front line armies in the early years of the war, most notably Panzergruppe Guderian during Operation Barbarossa. Guderian later served as chief of staff of the army from July 1944 to March 1945.
- Erwin Rommel was the commander of the Afrika Korps in the North African campaign and became known by the nickname "The Desert Fox". Rommel was admired as a strategic genius by both Axis and Allied leaders during the war. Later he was in command of the German forces during the battle of Normandy.
- Walter Model was a general in the German army that became best known as a skilled practitioner of defensive warfare on both the Eastern and Western Front. Following the invasion of Normandy in June, 1944 he was reassigned to the west where he took command of Army Group B. He was also the principal architect of the Ardennes Offensive.
Empire of Japan
- Hirohito (posthumously known as Emperor Showa) was the Emperor from 1926 until his death in 1989. He was viewed as a semi-divine leader. He was Commander of the Imperial General Headquarters from 1937 to 1945 and authorized in 1936, by imperial decree, the expansion of Shiro Ishii's bacteriological research unit,[1] while, according to some authors, assuming control over the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons.[2] His generals took the full blame and he was exonerated from criminal prosecutions, with all members of the imperial family, by Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP).
- Hideki Tōjō was Prime Minister from 1941 until 1944. Tojo was a strong supporter of the Tripartite Alliance between Japan, Germany and Italy. Minister of War in the second cabinet of Fumimaro Konoe, he was chosen as prime minister by the emperor in October 1941. He was one of the main proponent of the war against Occident. Tojo strengthen the Taisei Yokusankai to create a single-party state. He was demoted in July 1944 by the emperor, following the Battle of Saipan and condemned to death by the Tokyo tribunal.
- Fumimaro Konoe was Prime Minister from 1937 to 1939 and 1940 until 1941. Konoe authorized the publications of Kokutai no Hongi (1937) and Shinmin no Michi (1941). He joined the military to recommended to emperor Shōwa the invasion of China and launched the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement, the League of Diet Members Believing the Objectives of the Holy War and the Taisei Yokusankai to promote total war effort. Konoe was opposed to war with Occidental powers. During the occupation of Japan, he refused to collaborate with the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers to exonerate Hirohito and the imperial family of criminal responsibility and came under suspicion of war crimes. He committed suicide in 1945.
- Mitsumasa Yonai was Prime Minister in 1940 and minister of the Navy from 1937 to 1939 and 1944 to 1945. During his second mandate as Navy minister, the Imperial Japanese Navy implemented the tokkōtai or suicide units against the Allied fleet. He cooperated with SCAP to fix the testimony of the high officers accused in the Tokyo trials and was exonerated from criminal prosecutions.
- Kuniaki Koiso was a senior Army General who served as Prime Minister from July 1944 to April 1945.
- Kantarō Suzuki was an Admiral who served as Prime Minister from April to August 1945. He agreed to Japan's surrender to the allies on August 15, 1945.
- Sadao Araki was Minister of the Army from 1931 to 1933 and Education Minister from 1938 to 1939. Araki was one of the main proponents of militarism and expansionism during the Shōwa era. He developed the fascist ideas of the Kōdōha and led the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement to promote the Holy war against China. After the war Araki was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment but was released in 1955 with all the other major convicts.
- Kotohito Kanin was Chief of Staff of the Army from 1931 to 1940. During his mandate, the Army committed the Nanking massacre and regularly used chemical weapons in China. Kan'in was one of the main proponents of State Shinto. He died before the end of the war.
- Hajime Sugiyama was Minister of the Army from 1937 to 1938, then chief of staff from 1940 to 1944. During this period, the Army kept using chemical weapons and implemented the sanko sakusen. He committed suicide in 1945.
- Hiroyasu Fushimi was Chief of Staff of the Navy from 1932 to 1941. Starting in 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service implemented strategic bombing of Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. He was exonerated from criminal prosecutions with all members of the imperial family by SCAP.
- Osami Nagano was Chief of Staff of the Navy from 1941 to 1944. During this period, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service committed the attack of Pearl Harbor and the strategic bombing of Chongqing. He was tried before the Tokyo tribunal but died in prison before his sentence.
- Isoroku Yamamoto was Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1939 to 1943 and was responsible for Japan's early naval victories, including the attack on Pearl Harbor. Considered the most brilliant Japanese naval commander of the war, his death in 1943 deprived the military of a skilled tactician and was a severe blow to Japanese morale.
- Tomoyuki Yamashita was Lieutenant-General of the Japanese Imperial Army from 1905 to 1945. He was most famous for conquering the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, earning the nickname "The Tiger of Malaya". He was hanged on 23 February 1946
Kingdom of Italy (1940-1943), Italian Social Republic (1943-1945)
- Benito Mussolini was Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943 commonly called Duce ("Leader") by his Fascist supporters. Mussolini was the de facto dictator of Italy during that period, as King Emmanuel III delegated his powers to Mussolini and opposition to Mussolini and the Fascist state was seen as treason. Mussolini was the official head of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN ("Volunteer Militia for National Security"), often called the "Blackshirts", who were Fascist partisans loyal specifically to him, rather than the King. Mussolini was later Head of State of the Italian Social Republic (regime under control of Nazi Germany), that succeeded the Kingdom of Italy in the Axis between 1943 and 1945. Mussolini was the founder of fascism and made Italy the first fascist state using the ideas of nationalism, militarism and anti-communism combined and state propaganda. Mussolini's regime was an influence on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
- Victor Emmanuel III of Italy was King of Italy and the supreme head, with Mussolini, of the Italian Army.
- Pietro Badoglio was Marshal of the Army. He led the Italian Army during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. He resigned in 1940 after the Italian defeat in Greece. In 1943 he arranged with the Allies for an armistice and set up a Royalist government in Southern Italy (Brindisi).
- Ugo Cavallero was the head of the Italian Royal Army during the Second World War, his powers being delegated to him from the King, who was the official supreme commander of the Italian Royal Army. He led Italian forces during the Greco-Italian War in which Italian forces faltered badly.
- Arturo Riccardi was the head of the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) from 1940 to 1943, his powers being delegated to him from the King, who was the official supreme commander of the Italian Royal Navy.
- Italo Balbo was the most important person of the Italian Royal Airforce (Regia Aeronautica) from the 1930s until his death in 1940. His powers were officially delegated to him from the King, who was the official supreme commander of the Italian Royal Air Force. He also commanded the Tenth army in Libya until his death.
- Galeazzo Ciano was appointed minister of foreign affairs in 1936 by Mussolini (who was his father-in-law) and remained in that position until the end of the Fascist regime in 1943. Ciano signed the Pact of Steel with Germany in 1939 and subsequently the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Japan in 1940. Ciano attempted to convince Mussolini to bring Italy out of the war as casualties mounted but was ignored. In 1943, Ciano supported the ousting of Mussolini as Prime Minister. Ciano was later executed by Fascists in the Italian Social Republic for betraying Mussolini.
- Rodolfo Graziani wasfire incident on June 28, 1940. Graziani was ordered to invade Egypt by Mussolini. Graziani expressed doubts about the ability of his largely un-mechanized force could defeat the British, however, he followed orders and the Tenth Army attacked on September 13. He resigned his commission in 1941 after being defeated by the British in Operation Compass. Graziani was the only one of the Italian marshals to remain loyal to Mussolini after Dino Grandi's Grand Council of Fascism coup, and was appointed Minister of Defence of the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI). Graziani had under his command the mixed Italo-German LXXXXVII "Liguria" Army (Armee Ligurien) of the RSI.
- Giovanni Messe was the commander of the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia, or CSIR). The CSIR fought on the Eastern Front, fighting with German forces against the Soviet Union.
Kingdom of Hungary (1940-1945)
- Miklós Horthy was the supreme Regent (Head of State) from 1920 until 1944.
- László Bárdossy was his Prime Minister from 1941 until 1942. After World War II, Bárdossy was tried by a People’s Court in November 1945. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1946.
- Miklós Kállay was Prime Minister from 1942 until 1944.
- Döme Sztójay was Prime Minister from March to August 1944. Sztójay was captured by American troops and extradited to Hungary in October 1945, after which time he was tried by a Communist People’s Tribunal in Budapest. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1946.
- Géza Lakatos was a General in the Hungarian Army during World War II who served briefly as Prime Minister of Hungary, under governor Miklós Horthy from August 29, 1944, until October 15, 1944.
- Ferenc Szálasi was the leader of the fascist Arrow Cross Party, the "Leader of the Hungarian Nation" (Nemzetvezető), and the Prime Minister from 1944 to 1945. He was tried by the People's Tribunal in Budapest. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1946.
- Béla Miklós was as acting Prime Minister, at first in opposition, and then officially, from 1944 to 1945.
- Iván Hindy was a Colonel-General in the Hungarian Army. He orchestrated the defence of Budapest. On February 11, 1945, Hindy was captured by the Soviets when he tried to escape just prior to the fall of the city on February 13. He was sentenced to death and in 1946, he was executed.
Kingdom of Romania (1941-1944)
Kingdom of Bulgaria (1941-1944)
Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945)
Provisional Government of Free India (1943-1945)
Slovak Republic (1939–1945)
Co-Belligerents
Republic of Finland (1941-1944)
Kingdom of Thailand (1940-1945)
- Ananda Mahidol was King of Thailand from 1935 until his death in 1946. During the war, Mahidol stayed in neutral Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in 1945 after the war.
- Plaek Pibulsonggram was Field Marshal of the Thai Army and was Prime Minister of Thailand from 1938 until 1944. The Pibulsonggram regime embarked upon a course of economic nationalism and anti-Chinese policies. In 1940, he decided to invade Indo-China in hostilities known as the French-Thai War. In 1941, he allied Thailand with Japan and allowed it to use the country for the invasions of Burma and Malaya. When Japanese defeat was imminent, he was pressured to resign in 1944.
- Sarit Thanarat was a Colonel who commanded troops occupied the Shan State of British Burma. Later he was promoted to Brigadier rank in the Pacific War.
- Phot Phahonyothin was a General who commanded Twenty-three army in the Pacific War.
- Paribatra Sukhumbhand was head of the Royal Thai Air Force, Naval Minister, Army Minister, Defense Minister, Interior Minister 1940–44
- Vang Sue was chief of the Thai Air Force in the north of Thailand, 1940–45.
- Pridi Banomyong a former revolutionary and cabinet minister, was appointed to the regency council in 1941. By 1944, he became sole Regent and de-facto Head of State, but this position was only nominal. He secretly became leader of the resistance forces or the Free Thai Movement in 1942.
- Khuang Abhaiwongse, Prime Minister of Thailand, 1944–45.
Kingdom of Iraq (1941)
Puppet States of Nazi Germany
French State (1940-1944)
- Philippe Pétain was an Army Marshal and Chief of State of Vichy France from its establishment in 1940 until the Allied Invasion in 1944. The Pétain government collaborated with the Nazis, and organized raids to capture French Jews. The Pétain government was opposed by General de Gaulle's Free French Forces, and eventually fell to them. After the war, Pétain was tried for treason and sentenced to life in prison.
- Pierre Laval was Pétain's head of government in 1940, and later from 1942 to 1944. Under his second government, collaboration with Nazi Germany intensified. In 1945, Laval was tried for treason, sentenced to death and executed.
- René Bousquet was the deputy head of the Vichy police force.
- Joseph Darnand was the commander of the paramilitary French Militia. A pro-Nazi leader he was a strong supporter of Hitler and Pétain government. He established the Milice to round-up Jews and fight the French Resistance. After the war, Darnand was tried for treason and executed.
- Jean Decoux was the Governor-General of French Indochina representing the Vichy government. Decoux's task in Indochina was to reverse the policy of appeasement towards the Japanese led by his predecessor general Georges Catroux, but political realities soon forced him to continue down the same road. Arrested and tried after the war, Decoux was not convicted.
Government of National Salvation (1941-1944)
Slovak Republic
Norwegian National government (1940-1945)
Puppet states of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Montenegro (1941–1944)
Hellenic State (1941-1944)
Albanian Kingdom (1940-1944)
Puppet States of Imperial Japan
Great Manchu Empire
- Puyi was the Emperor of Manchukuo from 1934 until the disestablishment of the state in 1945. Puyi was installed by the Japanese after the Invasion of Manchuria. He was captured and imprisoned by the Soviet Union, and later handed over to the People's Republic of China.
- Zhang Jinghui was the Prime Minister of Manchukuo. Zhang was a Chinese general and politician during the Warlord Era who collaborated with the Japanese to establish Manchukuo. After the war, he was captured and imprisoned by the Red Army.
- Xi Qia was the finance superintendent of Manchukuo in 1932, a minister of Manchukuo in 1934, and palace and interior minister in 1936. At the end of World War II he was captured by the Soviets and held in a Siberian prison until he was returned to China in 1950, where he died in prison.
- Chang Hai-peng, general of the Manchukuo Imperial Army.
Mengjiang United Autonomous Government
- Demchugdongrub was the vice-chairman, then the chairman. In 1941 he became chairman of the Mongolian Autonomous Federation.
Republic of China-Nanjing (1940-1945)
State of Burma (1943-1945)
Second Philippine Republic (1943-1945)
Empire of Vietnam (1945)
Kingdom of Cambodia (1945)
Kingdom of Laos (1945)
See also
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References
- ^ Daniel Barenblat, A plague upon humanity, 2004, p.37.
- ^ Yoshiaki Yoshimi, Dokugasusen Kankei Shiryō II, Kaisetsu(Materials on Poison Gas Warfare), 1997, pp.25–29., Herbert P. Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2001