Download World War II - Major Events 1939

World War II - Major Events 1939 - 1945
1. German Invasion of Poland – September 1, 1939
 Blitzkrieg - “Lightning War” = swift military offense, usually combining land and air forces
 Germany invaded Poland setting off war in Europe
 The Soviet Union also invaded Poland and Baltic nations
2. Germany invaded France and captured Paris – 1940
 Italy invades France from the south and Germany takes over from the North – France
surrenders
3. Battle of Britain (1940)
 Also known as: Operation Sea Lion
 Germany bombed London
 Massive air strikes
 Germany was defeated
4. Lend Lease Act – United States gave war supplies to Britain
 At the start of the war, the United States remained neutral however, were closely allied with
Great Britain
 The United States gave Britain war supplies and old naval warships in return for military bases
in Bermuda and the Caribbean
5. German Invasion of the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941)
 Operation Barbarossa - Hitler’s Biggest Mistake (Hitler breaks his treaty with Stalin)
 Hitler’s biggest mistake because now he is fighting on two fronts
6. Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor – December 7th, 1941
 Known as: “a day which will live in infamy”
 After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the US declared war on Japan so Germany declared war
on the US
 In response, the US declared war on Germany
Stop and Think:
1930’s: What was the U.S.
position at the beginning of
WWII?
1940-41: How did the U.S.
help other countries? Who
did they help?
December 7, 1941: What
caused the U.S. to decide to
enter the war?
TURNING POINTS OF WORLD WAR II
7. Battle of Midway – June- 4-7, 1942
 US Navy destroyed Japan’s naval strength
 Japan’s navy never recovered and was on the defensive after this battle.
 Turning point of the war in the Pacific
8. Battle of Stalingrad (July 1942 – February 1943)
 Long battle between Germany and USSR
 Deadliest battle of World War II – 1.5 million casualties
 Germany lost
 Turning point of the war in Eastern Europe
9. D-Day: Operation Overlord (Allied invasion of Europe) June 6, 1944
 Led by General Eisenhower and the Allied forces
 Allied troops ferried across the English Channel and sailed from Britain to the beaches of
Normandy, France
 Germans retreat
 Beginning of the end of war in Western Europe
 V-E Day May 8, 1945
10. Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 In 1945, President Truman authorized the United States to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.
 The Manhattan Project led by Robert Oppenheimer was responsible for creating the atomic
bomb.
Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 “Little Boy”
 70,000 Killed immediately
 48,000 buildings destroyed
 100,000s died of radiation poisoning and cancer later
Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 “Fat Man”
 40,000 killed immediately
 60,000 injured
 100,000s died of radiation poisoning and cancer later
Japan surrenders – August 15, 1945 V-J Day