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World War II—Chapter 12 and 13 (pp. 503-561)
Chapter 12, Section 1
1. Why were Germany, Italy, and Japan at a disadvantage in the race for world power?
2. Why did so many people fear communism?
3. Why were the Japanese successful in their invasion of Manchuria?
4. How did Adolf Hitler persuade the German people to follow him?
Chapter 12, Section 2
1. The Rhineland was supposed to serve as a buffer zone between which two countries?
2. Why was the Sudentenland important to Czechoslovakia?
3. Why did Britain and France fail to stop the aggressions of Hitler and Mussolini?
4. What German demand led to the Munich pact?
5. What did Stalin gain by making the Nonaggression Pact with Hitler?
6. Why did the Germans attack Norway and Denmark (what did Germany get as a result of attacking these two countries)?
Chapter 12, Section 3
1. What was new about blitzkrieg warfare?
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2. What factor enabled the Germans to break through French lines at the Meuse River?
3. How did Hitler divide France?
Chapter 12, Section 4
1. Where was the German attack on the Soviet Union halted in December 1941?
2. Why was radar so important to Britain?
3. What actions taken by Congress in 1939 and 1940 showed that the U.S. was moving away from isolationism?
4. Why did the blitzkrieg fail against the Soviet Union?
5. What steps brought the U.S. near open war with Germany (before the U.S. actually declared war on Germany)?
WWII partial timeline of events
1931: -Japan invades Manchuria (northern China) in order to acquire land and natural resources to improve Japan’s economy.
1933: -Hitler attains power in Germany
1936: -*Hitler begins to move military forces into the Rhineland (a part of Germany bordering France which was to remain free of
military units according to the Treaty of Versailles).
-*Germany begins to build up its military beyond what had been proscribed by the Treaty of Versailles
-Italy invades and takes over control of Ethiopia (northeast Africa)—the League of Nations sanctions Italy for its actions but
does not take any action to force Italy out of Ethiopia.
-Germany and Italy side with General Francisco Franco in Spain’s civil war in which Franco’s fascists overthrew the
democratically elected republican government. The western democracies of Great Britain, France, and the U.S. do nothing.
1938:
-*Hitler invades and annexes Austria to complete his plans of “Anschluss”—the union of German speaking peoples
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-Hitler announces his intention of taking the Sudentenland from Czechoslovakia—an area that included many German speaking
people. British, French, German and Italian leaders met in Munich, Germany to discuss Germany’s the Czech situation. The British
and French agreed to the surrender of the Sudentenland to Germany in exchange for Germany’s promise to seek not further territorial
expansion. Czech officials were not invited to the conference. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain upon returning to London
proclaimed that he had achieved “peace in our time.”
1939
March 23—Hitler demanded that Danzig (Poland) be given to Germany and that the Nazis be allowed to occupy a narrow
corridor connecting Germany with East Prussia (Germany)— see map below.
* All of these actions were in violation of the Versailles Peace Treaty ending WWI. Why didn’t Great Britain or France protest these
actions? Many people believed that Germany had been wronged by the strict terms of the treaty—the terms made it virtually
impossible for Germany to solve its economic problems. Also—British and French officials at this time—were more worried about
the spread of communism (out of the Soviet Union) than they were about Hitler. A third reason was that the British and French
underestimated Hitler’s abilities and misinterpreted his intentions. They believed that letting Hitler win several small victories would
satisfy—or appease him—hoping that with each gain by Germany, Hitler would be satisfied and want nothing more. This policy has
become to be known as: appeasement.
1939
August 23—Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact—though each side did not trust the other—this pact
was regarded as a temporary measure that would delay war between the two nations until they were more prepared to do so.
Hitler was able to secure and protect its eastern flank from Soviet attack and Stalin was given extra time to build up his army.
Both sides agree to “peacefully” split up Poland between themselves.
1939
September 1—Germany army invaded Poland without a declaration of war.
1939
-September 3—Great Britain demanded that the invasion be halted immediately (Hitler ignores ultimatum).
-Great Britain and France declare war on Germany
1940
April 9—Germany invades Denmark and Norway (Germany obtained new air bases, additional food supplies and valuable
natural resources with these conquests)
1940
May 10—Germany invades Belgium and the Netherlands—then the Germans attacked France through the Ardennes Forest
skirting France’s Maginot Line . Belgium and the Netherlands surrender to Germany. British and French forces become
trapped at Dunkirk.
1940
June 4—335,000 British and French troops were evacuated by this date—using small boats and yachts that ferried the men to
Great Britain. The French army that remained in France collapsed.
1940
June 10—Italy declared war on Great Britain and France
1940
-June 14—Paris surrendered to Germany.
-France was cut in two—the northern part, which included Paris, became known as Occupied France—which was controlled
by the Germans. The southern part became known as Unoccupied France or Vichy France with the capital at Vichy.
Marshall Petain who was under the control of the Nazis administered Vichy France.
1941
December 7—Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor…U.S. enters World War II
1942
-Battle of Coral Sea
-Battle of Midway
-U.S. Marines invade Japanese controlled island of Guadalcanal
1943
-Casablanca conference
-Allies invade Italy
1944
-June 6—Allies invade France (D-Day)
-Battle of the Bulge
1945
-April—FDR dies and Truman becomes president
-April—Germany surrenders
-August: U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japan—Japan surrenders
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