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The policy of neutrality was adopted by Ireland's Oireachtas at the instigation of the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera upon the outbreak of World War II in Europe. It was maintained throughout the conflict, in spite of several German air raids by aircraft that missed their intended British targets, and attacks on Ireland's shipping fleet by Allies ...
Ireland was officially neutral during World War II, but declared an official state of emergency on 2 September 1939 and the Army was mobilized. As the Emergency progressed, more and newer equipment was purchased for the rapidly expanding force from the UK and the United States as well as some manufactured at home.
Frank Aiken, Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures, 1939–1945 Recruitment Poster for the Volunteer Reserve Forces, 1939.. On 1 September 1939, German troops invaded Poland from the west (followed on 17 September by the Soviet Union from the east), precipitating war with the UK, France, and their allies.
The Allies of World War II began to form in September 1939 when Poland was invaded and Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany.Except for Ireland, which remained neutral throughout the war, the Commonwealth Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa) all declared war alongside Great Britain but no other nations joined their cause.
The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (USSR). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementation of the United Nations as an intergovernmental organization, and the decolonization of Asia, Oceania, South America and Africa by European and East Asian ...
Ireland, then part of the United Kingdom, was exempted from the original 1916 military service legislation, and although further legislation in 1918 gave power for an extension of conscription to Ireland, the power was never put into effect. Conscription was reintroduced in 1939, in the lead up to World War II, and continued in force until 1963.
Before World War II began, the rapid pace of aviation technology created a belief that groups of bombers would be capable of devastating cities. For example, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin warned in 1932, " The bomber will always get through ."
June 21–22, 1942 – Bombardment of Fort Stevens, the second attack on a U.S. military base in the continental U.S. in World War II. September 9, 1942, and September 29, 1942 – Lookout Air Raids, the only attack by enemy aircraft on the contiguous U.S. and the second enemy aircraft attack on the U.S. continent in World War II.