World War II

World Issues

Aggression in Europe to 19391

Early Axis GainsBy 1941, the Axis powers or their allies controlled most of Western Europe.

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• Germany and Russia conquered and divided Poland.

• Stalin’s armies pushed into Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

• Soviet forces seized Finland.

• Hitler conquered Norway and Denmark.

• Hitler took the Netherlands and Belgium.

• France surrendered to Hitler.

• Axis armies pushed into North Africa and the Balkans.

• Axis armies defeated Greece and Yugoslavia.

• Bulgaria and Hungary joined the Axis alliance.

France Falls to Hitler

September 1940-May 1941: the Blitz

For the following nine months, the German air force (Luftwaffe) launched repeated bombing raids on British towns and cities. This was known as the BLITZ and was an attempt to bomb Britain into submission.

Methods of warfare:blitzkrieg or “lighting war”

Battle of Britain: Churchill “We shall go on to the end…We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender”- Winston Churchhill

The Soviet Union invades eastern Europe (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)

Hitler mistrusted Stalin, decides to betray their non-aggression pact and attack Russia.

What is Hitler’s major mistake? He decided not to concentrate all his forces against

Moscow and instead attacks Leningrad.Why was attacking Russia such a failure?

One million citizens died from starvation The Leningrad never fell to the Germans Hitler tries to instead attack Moscow but the Nazi’s

were stuck in the middle of one of the worst Russian winters.

The Soviet Forces were able to then drive the Germans back

GERMANY ATTACKS RUSSIA

When the war began in 1939, the United States declared its neutrality.

How did the U.S. help the allies fight Hitler’s advance? ◦ Lend-lease act: the lending or leasing of raw

materials, equipment, and weapons to the Allied nations. $50 billion of war goods sent to the Allies

The United States aids the allies

Pearl Harbor •What was the main source of conflict between

Japan and the United States ? ▫Japan advanced into French Indochina and the

Dutch East Indies.▫To stop Japanese aggression, the United States

banned the sale of war materials to Japan.•What were the immediate effects of the attack

on Pearl Harbor? ▫The United States declared war on Japan.▫Germany and Italy, as Japan’s allies, declared

war on the United States.

Pearl Harbor Re-cap What? :

Japanese warplanes bombed the huge American naval base at…

Where? Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

When? “A date which will live in infamy” December 7, 1941

Why did it happen? Conflict between the US and Japan- United States navy stood

in the way of Japan conquering the Dutch East Indies for OIL Why is it important?

2,400 Americans killed First time we are directly attacked US JOINS THE WAR

Main Idea: Both the Germans in Europe and the Japanese in Asia and the Pacific set out to build a “new order” in the lands they occupied

1. Hitler set up puppet governments in countries that were peopled by “Aryans.”

▫Eastern Europeans were considered an inferior “race,” and were thus shoved aside to provide “living space” for Germans.

2. To the Nazis, occupied lands were an economic resource to be looted and plundered.

3. Japan’s self-proclaimed mission was to help Asians escape imperial rule. In fact, its real goal was a Japanese empire in Asia.

▫The Japanese treated conquered people with great brutality.

Main Idea: The Big Three Allied leaders met periodically to plan their strategy for winning the war

4. In 1942, the Big Three-Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin-agreed to finish the war in Europe before turning their attention to Asia.

5. From the outset, the Allies distrusted one another. Stalin urged them to open a second front in Western Europe.

Main Idea: From 1942-1944, the Allied turned the tide of warPart I and I

The Battle in North Africa6. The British stopped Rommel’s advance and

drove the Axis forces back across Libya into Tunisia. (late 1942)

7. From North Africa, the Allies invaded Italy. The invasion weakened Hitler by forcing him to fight on another front. (mid 1943)

▫American General Dwight Eisenhower led the attack, finally successful in forcing the surrender of the Axis Powers in North Africa

Main Idea: From 1942-1944, the Allied turned the tide of warPart III

The Red Army Resists8. Stalingrad-The Red Army took the

offensive and drove the Germans out of the Soviet Union entirely. Hitler’s forces suffered irreplaceable losses of troops and

equipment. (late 1942)

Main Idea: From 1942-1944, the Allied turned the tide of warPart IV

Invasion of France: D-Day9. The Allies opened a second front in

Europe with the invasion of Paris. They freed France and were then able to focus on defeating Germany and Japan. (June 6, 1944)

EISENHOWER GIVES THE ORDER

1. Who is Eisenhower addressing in his Order of the Day? 2. What words and phrases does Eisenhower use to convey the idea of teamwork? 3. If he is trying to motivate the troops, why does he say, “Your task will not be an easy one”?

D-Day Re-cap What?:

Allied offensive- 130,000 US and British soldiers brought across the English channel to invade the beaches of…

Where? Normandy, France

When? June 6, 1944

Why is this important? Largest seaborne invasion in history Last chance for allied success More than 10,000 were killed or wounded by the

Allies secured the beaches The way was clear now to move into France and liberate

it from the Germans

World War II in Europe and North Africa3

April 1945- Soviets reach Berlin Hitler commits suicide

May 2 1945- Soviet Army captures Berlin May 7 1945- Germans

surrender May 8 1945- Declared

‘Victory in Europe’ day

The War in Europe is Over: V-E Day!

Pacific War May and June 1942: Us damaged

Japanese fleets during the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway Island Stops the Japanese Advance

Summer 1942: US goes on the offensive, begins “Island-hopping” campaign. (See strategy slide for definition)

Early 1944:US Navy blockading Japan

October 1944: MacArthur fights to retake the Philippines. The British were pushing back Japanese forces in Burma and Malaya.

STRATEGY: ISLAND HOPPING

Invading islands that were not heavily defended and then using captured islands to stage further attacks. Move within striking distance of Japan The captured islands served as

steppingstones to the next objective.

Chapter 31 , Section

December 1944- Hitler’s final assault, German troops counterattacked Allied forces at the Battle of the Bulge

Early 1944- Allied bombings of Germany

March 1945- Allied forces advanced from the West, Soviet troops beat back Hitler in the East

April 1945-Russia and US meet, Axis armies begin to surrender

May 8, 1945- V-E Day

European War Ends

Japan’s Defeat• By mid-1945: most of Japanese navy and air force had

been destroyed • Invasion verses the Bomb: estimated that an invasion of

Japan would cost a million or more casualties • In bloody battles on the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the

Japanese had shown that they would fight to the death rather than surrender • Kamikaze- Japanese pilots who undertook suicide missions,

crashing their explosive-laden planes into American ships

• April 1945: FDR dies, Harry Truman takes office and decides to use the Atomic Bomb against Japan

• July 1945: The bomb is tested • August 1945: Atomic Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and

Nagasaki

August 6, 1945 : Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima

70,000+ people die

August 9, 1945:Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki

40,000 die

By the end of 1945 another 70,000 people will die due to radiation and injures

Japan surrenders on August 14 1945

Summing up the Atomic Bomb

WHY DID PRESIDENT TRUMAN USE THE BOMB?

Dropping the atomic bomb brought a quick end to the war. It also unleashed terrifying destruction.

• Truman was convinced that Japan would not surrender without an invasion that would result in enormous losses of both American and Japanese lives.

• Truman also may have hoped that the bomb would impress the Soviet Union with American power.

Aftermath of War

• The appalling costs of the war began to emerge.

• The world learned the full extent of the horrors of the Holocaust. • Nuremberg War crimes trials were held in Germany, Italy, and Japan.

– “Crimes against humanity”

• People faced disturbing questions: What made the Nazi horrors possible? Why had ordinary people collaborated with Hitler’s “final solution”?

• The Allies worked to strengthen democracy in occupied Germany and Japan.

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