Download W.47 Explain the major battles of the Pacific and European theaters

W.47 Explain the major battles of the Pacific and European theaters of war including the blitzkrieg,
Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Midway and Battle of the Bulge.
Document #1: On September 1, 1939, Nazi forces stormed into Poland, revealing the enormous
power of Hitler’s blitzkrieg, or “lightning war.” First, the Luftwaffe, or German air force, bombed
airfields, factories, towns, and cities, and screaming dive bombers fired on troops and civilians. Then,
fast-moving tanks and troop transports pushed their way into the defending Polish army, encircling
whole divisions of troops and forcing them to surrender.
Document #2: In 1940, German troops poured into France. Retreating British forces, who were
helping France, were soon trapped between the Nazi army and the English Channel. In a desperate
gamble, the British sent all available naval vessels, merchant ships, and even fishing and pleasure
boats across the channel to pluck stranded troops off the beaches of Dunkirk. Despite German air
attacks, the improvised armada ferried more than 300,000 troops to safety in Britain. This heroic
rescue raised British morale.
Document #3: From 1940 to 1941, Germany tried to beat Britain into submission during a monthslong bombing campaign known as the Battle of Britain. German pilots targeted London with night
after night of bombing. These nighttime raids sent ordinary civilians scrambling for safety—in
crowded public shelters, in homemade shelters, or even in the London Underground subways.
German bombers killed more than 40,000 British civilians and damaged millions of homes. Britain
never did fall to the Germans.
Document #4: The Soviets suffered appalling hardships. In September 1941, the two-and-a-half-year
siege of Leningrad began. Food was rationed to two pieces of bread a day. Desperate Leningraders
ate almost anything. For example, they boiled wallpaper scraped off walls because its paste was said
to contain potato flour. Although more than a million Leningraders died during the siege, the city did
not fall to the Germans.
Document #5: This Allied victory was followed by an even more impressive win at the Battle of
Midway in June 1942, which was also fought entirely from the air. The Americans destroyed four
Japanese carriers and more than 250 planes. The battle was a devastating blow to the Japanese. After
Midway, Japan was unable to launch any more offensive operations.
Document #6: After freeing France, Allied forces battled toward Germany; Germany launched a
massive counterattack. At the bloody Battle of the Bulge both sides took terrible losses. The Germans
were unable to break through the Allies on the west. Meanwhile, the Soviet army advanced to Berlin,
the German capital, from the east. Hitler’s support within Germany was declining, and he had already
survived one assassination attempt by senior officers in the German military. By early 1945, the
defeat of Germany seemed inevitable.
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