Argentinian WWII Diplomacy Kees Humes

German-Argentine Sympathy Large German Immigrant population Argentina and Britain were traditional rivals- Neutrality was hurting Britain Corrupt conservative government under President Roberto Maria Ortiz Argentine army was heavily influenced by German training and tactics Respect for Germany did not stem from anti-democratic sentiment, and the Argentine military did not support Hitler

Argentine Theater Rio de la Plata- German pocket battleship Graff Spree fights it out with three British cruisers Argentina drew up plans to invade the Falkland Islands and seize them from Britain

Neutrality President Ortiz fell ill with diabetes, VP Castillo takes power Forced to stay neutral by the military under threat of coup Britain did not want Argentina to enter war, US did Argentina stayed neutral, due to British diplomacy and Argentine military

Coup Castillo’s government was deposed on June 4th Allies though coup was pro-Nazi, Germans though coup was pro-Allies Second coup took place in response to the planned war declaration against the Axis Juan Peron ends up in power and concentrates on internal problems US pressures Argentina to join war on March 27th, Argentina declared war against Japan and Germany

Quiz What was the one battle in the Argentine theater? Who took power in the June 4th coup only to be deposed three days later? Who did Argentina declare war against?

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