The Road To The Second World War

The entry of Japan, and subsequently the U.S., into WWII was brought about by a number of factors. Much like the situation in Europe, many of these factors are directly related to the treaties that Germany and Japan were forced to sign after WWI. The first of these was the Treaty of Versailles. The other less well-known but equally important treaty was the Washington Naval Treaty.

These treaties bound their signatories to abide by certain conditions that limited their military build-ups. Even though Japan had fought alongside the U.K. in WWI, these treaties still placed what she considered were unfair restrictions on the size and composition of her military forces.

The Washington Naval Treaty bound its signatories (Britain, The United States, France, Japan, and Italy) to the following terms:

  • The United States Navy limited to 525,000 tons
  • Royal British Navy limited to 525,000 tons
  • French Navy limited to 175,000 tons
  • Italian Navy limited to 175,000 tons
  • Japanese Navy limited to 315,000 tons


    • The Treaty of Versailles forbade the German Navy from building ships larger than 10,000 tons and also banned her from having any submarines. Germany managed to get around this limitation with the Lutzow (Duestchland), which at 10,000 tons was dubbed a ‘pocket-battleship’. Carrier tonnages were also addressed in the treaty:

  • The United States Navy limited to 135,000 tons of carriers
  • Royal British Navy limited to 135,000 tons of carriers
  • French Navy limited to 60,000 tons of carriers
  • Italian Navy limited to 60,000 tons of carriers
  • Japanese Navy limited to 81,000 tons of carriers


    • These limits were the primary reason for the US Navy’s conversion from a Battleship fleet to a Carrier fleet. The US was already at the limit for capital ships when the treaty was signed, but was well under on the carrier tonnages, so two newly constructed battlecruisers were converted to carriers.