world war ii

World War IIWorld War IIThe War to End All Wars

(Round 2)

There are 2 main sites where fighting is happening in WWII

1. Europe1. Called the European Theater

2. Asia1. Called the Pacific Theater

There are 2 main sides fighting in the war:

Axis Powers– Germany, Italy, and Japan

Allied Powers– France, Britain, Soviet Union, US

Vocab Blitzkrieg: “Lightning War” tactic used by the

Germans in WWII (fast and surprise air attacks).

Luftwaffe: German Air force Vichy: city in Central France where a puppet

government governed unoccupied France (the area not controlled by Germany).

Puppet Government: a government in which a local leader is placed in charge, yet directed by an outside government.

Nazis and Soviets at Peace???? In August of 1939, Hitler and

Stalin sign a public nonaggression pact promising not to attack one another.

Secretly:– Poland is divided between the two. – Soviets get:

• Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland

– Germany gives USSR plans for naval vessels, subs, airplane engines

– USSR will supply Germany with many raw goods

Poland

September 1st 1939-– Germany lead a surprise

attack on Poland

They used Blitzkrieg (lightning war).– Using concentrated tanks and

dive-bombers to break a hole in the enemy line and followed quickly mobile infantry.

Hitler used over 1.5 million men – Luftwaffe (German Air Force)

bombed major cities, rail lines and communication lines

September 3– France and Great Britain

declare war on GermanyGreat Britain drops

“Confetti”– millions of leaflets of

propaganda over Germany

September 17th – Stalin orders Soviet

troops to occupy the eastern half of Poland.

– Poland fell in three weeks

The Phony War Seven months after France and Great

Britain had declared war on Germany the two sides had not fought each other. – In WWI the defender had the advantage and

many believed it would be the same in WWII.

The Allies had mobilized their armies.

The French waited for Germans behind the Maginot Line (a 87-mile long line of forts, concrete walls and underground barracks).

End of the Phony WarApril 1940

–Germany attacks neutral Denmark and Norway

–Denmark falls in hours, Norway will last months

Why did Hitler invade these areas?

– To gain naval bases/airfields to attack UK in the future

May 1940– Germans invade Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg

Surprise, Surprise… Germans attack

through Central France through the thick Ardennes Forest.– Experts believed that

it was impossible to drive tanks through it.

British and French Armies are divided.– British are encircled

at port of Dunkirk

Allied soldiers escaped aboard anything that could float (yachts, lifeboats, motorboats, fishing ships).– 338,000 were rescued

All large equipment was left behind

France is alone against Germany

Dunkirk

France Falls

On June 10, Mussolini declares war on France fearing that Hitler would take the entire nation for himself.

June 14, Paris is captured by Germany

On June 22, France surrenders – Germany takes direct control of the

northern two-thirds of France

Three Results of the Fall of France

1. Hitler creates a puppet gov. in France:

-The Vichy French who controlled southern France.

-“Free French” based in Britain.

2. Britain is the only nation still fighting Germany.

3. The Axis powers are masters of the European mainland

The Battle of Britain

After fall of France, Britain stands alone.

Germany must control air in order to successfully invade England.

Hitler launched air campaign in July 1940– Lasts until October

Despite 3000 to 1200 advantage in aircraft, the Luftwaffe is unable to defeat the RAF.

Why did Germany lose?Radar provides

early warning/eliminate surprise.

Allows British to focus their fighter effort where the Germans pose the greatest threat.

Vocab

1. Rosie the Riveter – symbol of women who built ships, planes, and produced ammunitions (weapons) on the home front.

2. Stalingrad – “turning point” in European Theater of WWII. USSR defeated the Nazis.

Early US Involvement in Europe The US is supposed

to be neutral– Lend-Lease Act: The

US “Lends” UK (and eventually the Soviet Union) ships, planes, and other war material for “Leasing” British bases in the Caribbean.

Lend-LeaseWhy is this a good deal for the

UK?

Why is this a good deal for the US?

Side Effects of the Lend-Lease Act

Hitler orders his U-Boats to target US ships

By Sept. 4th Roosevelt orders US Navy to shoot German submarines on sight

US is now in an undeclared war with Germany

Germany and the Soviet Union

Hitler signs Non-Aggression Pact

– violates it when he launches Operation “Barbarossa” in June 22nd 1941.

If Russia is so much bigger, why is Germany a threat?

Germany had a strong army

Stalin had killed many military leaders in the Great Purge

Soviets Advance

Soviet Union in secured…

What about North Africa? – While Germany and the Soviets are at war,

North Africa and Italy are at war

• Mussolini is still trying to re-create the old Roman Empire

For the Glory of Rome!

Italy’s Goal: to cut off Britain’s life line to India (Suez Canal) and take the oil rich Middle East.

Plan: Italian Army will strike east from Italian Libya and capture Egypt.

For the Glory of Rome: North Africa

British Offensive First Italy wins but the British

counter-attack and push the Italians back.

December 1940-February 1941 – British victories– Italians retreat – 130, 000 Italians captured

Germany is worried about British invasion from the south.

Vocab

1. General Erwin Rommel – “Desert Fox” German commander who conquered most of North Africa.

2. Dwight Eisenhower – commander of British and American forces in North Africa who defeated General Erwin Rommel

Operation Torch in North Africa

The score… North Africa once again controlled by the Allies

USSR once again controlled by the Allies

Italy once again controlled by the Allies

Britain STILL controlled by the Allies

– Let’s keep going!

Vocab

1. D-Day – June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of France at Normandy

2. V-E Day – May 8, 1945, Germany surrenders

D-Day

Normandy…D-Day Invasion

May 1944 the long awaited invasion of France was ready

Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower (supreme commander of the all Allied Forces in Europe)

Normandy…D-Day Invasion

Thousands of planes, ships, tanks and landing crafts

3.5 million troops

June 6th 1944– five beaches – 150,000 US, Canadian and UK troops.– 23,000 parachuted

Normandy…D-Day Invasion

Losses…Allies 12,000. Germans 9,000. By late summer 1944, Paris is liberated. All the Allies move towards Germany.

Battle of the Bulge Begins on December 16, 1944 in the Ardennes Forest

(N. France/Belgium)

Germany attacks with the hopes of dividing the Allies to force a peace treaty favorable to the Axis– Remember: the Germans used this strategy once before

Germany concentrated its fighting in the center of the Allied line due to its apparent weakness…causing a “bulge” effect which gave the battle its name

Battle of the Bulge The first three days saw the

most causalities for the US

Eventually the attack fails due to lack of troops and supplies.

January 1945, Hitler removes his troops from the Ardennes

Hitler’s Downfall Allies move to Berlin

– Hitler refuses to surrender

Hitler relocates to the bunker under the Chancellery in Berlin on winter of 1945.

As the Soviets enter Berlin in April 1945– Hitler marries Eva Braun– two days later commits suicide– his body is burned afterwards

The German army surrenders May 7th, 1945. War in Europe is over!

Vocab1. Concentration Camps – detention centers, prisons,

for civilians considered enemies of the state.

2. Holocaust – Nazi massacre of approx. 6 million Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Homosexuals, and political dissenters.

3. Genocide – the murder of a group of people based on their race.

4. Nuremburg Trials – European trials for Nazis who committed “crimes against humanity”