Download World War II – Battles and Strategies

World War II
Battles and
Strategies
Axis War Strategy
Strategies - Europe
• Blitzkrieg – fast, lightning attacks
on your enemy before they can
recover
• Invade and conquer France
• Use German Air Force to bomb
Great Britain until they surrender
Strategies - Europe
• Destroy Munich Pact and
quickly defeat Soviet Union
• Take complete control of
Europe before US got involved
in the war
Strategies - Pacific
• Japan wanted full military and
economic control of Pacific
• Felt US needed to recognize
their power in Pacific
Strategies - Pacific
• Attack US Pacific Ocean military
base and then invade Australia
and Hawaii
• They thought US would rather
respect them than fight a long,
costly war
Pearl Harbor
• Dec 7, 1941 Japan attacked
the US military base in Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii
• Destroyed US Pacific fleet of
warships
Pearl Harbor
• Dec 8 – US declared war on
Japan
• Dec 10 – Germany and Italy
declared war on US
• US now fully involved in World
War II
Allied Strategy
Strategy - Europe
• Defeat Hitler first
• Most US resources were sent to
Europe and Africa to fight
Germany and Italy
• Attack Hitler from all directions
and push back toward Germany
Battles – Europe
and Africa
Battle of Britain (Aug 1940)
• British cities were relentlessly bombed by
German Air force
• Churchill refused to allow British citizens to
give up
El Alamein (Nov 1942)
• German forces threatening to seize Egypt
and the Suez Canal were defeated by the
British.
• Importance
– Prevented Hitler from gaining access to
Middle Eastern oil and attacking the
Soviet Union from the south.
– Allies got access to Germany from the
South
Stalingrad (Sept 1942)
• Hundreds of thousands of German
soldiers were killed or captured in the
Russian city of Stalingrad.
• Importance
– This defeat prevented Germany from
seizing the Soviet oil fields
– Allies got access to Germany from East
Normandy (D-Day) June 6,
1944
• Allied troops under Gen. Dwight
Eisenhower landed in German-occupied
France
• Importance
– Despite intense German opposition and
heavy American casualties, the
Americans were able to liberate France.
– Allies were able to attack Germany from
the west
V-E Day (May 8, 1945)
• US and Russian forces closed in
on Germany from all sides
• Adolph Hitler killed himself before
he could be captured
• German forces surrendered,
ending the war in Europe