Download World War II - Loudon High School

“If you wish to experience peace, provide
peace for another.”
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write War
and Peace.
World War II
The Outbreak:
Japan, Italy, and Spain
The Rising Sun of Japan
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With the growing power of the military,
militarism, and the need for more raw
materials, Japan invaded Manchuria in
1931.
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1932: Japan est. Manchuria as an
independent state and renamed it
Manchukuo and set up former Chinese
emperor Pu Yi as a puppet ruler.
www.britannica.com/ebi/art-54958/Manchuria?...
“Emperor” Pu Yi
The Rising Sun of Japan

When China protested in the L of N about Japan’s
actions, the League ordered a commission under
Brit. statesman Lord Lytton to investigate the affair.
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The commission found Japan guilty and ordered the
Japanese gov. to return Manchuria to China; the
League voted in favor of this verdict.

1933: Japan withdraws from the League.
The Manchurian incident: revealed L of N was
powerless; increased expansionism in Italy and
Germ.

Lord Lytton
The Rising Sun of Japan

In the early 1930s, the Japanese military wanted
the rich oil reserves in the East Indies for ships
and planes.
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However, to control the Indies, Japan needed
Chinese ports.

Summer 1937: Japanese forces invaded China
and captured major eastern and southern cities;
mass brutality in Nanjing: over 200,000 civilians
killed.
East Indies (Inside Red)
Nanjing Massacre
Japan
Nanjing
The Rising Sun of Japan

During Japan’s invasion, the gov. of
Chiang Kai-shek retreated inland and
later allied with the Western powers.

From 1937-1945, the Nationalists, the
Chinese Communists, and the
Japanese fought each other for
control of China.
Chiang Kai-shek

1931: Japanese Aggression in
Manchuria [01:53]

The China Incident [01:27]
Italy’s Conquest of
Ethiopia
www.answers.com/topic/mediterranean-sea
Italy’s Conquest of
Ethiopia
http://www.ccafrica.ca/country/
ethiopia/map_political.jpg
Italy’s Conquest of
Ethiopia

Japan’s success in Manchuria inspired Italy to make a
similar move in Ethiopia.

1934: Italian and Ethiopian forces clashed in a disputed
zone on the border of Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland.

Mussolini wanted to fulfill expansionist goals in Ethiopia
because:
It was one of the few independent African nations left.
It would serve to unify the Italian-held Eritrea to the
northwest and Italian Somaliland to the east.
It was considered to be militarily weak, and rich in
resources.
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Benito and the Blackshirt Youth
Eritrea and
Italian Somaliland
Italy’s Conquest of
Ethiopia

After the clash, Mussolini demanded an apology
and reparations, the Ethiopians responded by
asking the L of N to investigate.

The League decided that because each side
viewed the area where the incident took place
as its own territory, neither side was to blame.

Oct. 1935: Italy invades Ethiopia; Ethiopian
Emperor Haile Selassie appealed for help.
Emperor Haile Selassie
www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=8713
Italy’s Conquest of
Ethiopia

In response to Selassie’s appeal for help, the
League voted economic sanctions against
Italy: no arms and certain raw materials.

However, the sanctions did not include oil,
coal, and iron, materials vital to the Italian
war effort.

May 1936: League’s actions were ineffective;
Mussolini formally annexes Ethiopia.

Italy's Invasion and Conquest of
Ethiopia [01:04]
Spanish Civil War and
Rise of the Fascists

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A Civil War started in Spain because like
Germany:
Spain was experiencing social and economic
problems post-WWI.
King Alfonso XIII abdicated in 1931; Spain
became a republic.
Republican gov. began social reforms (limiting the
Catholic church, land redistribution, etc.) that were
opposed by right-wing political groups who
wanted to restore the old order.
Spain
Spanish Civil War and
Rise of the Fascists

July 1936: Right-wing army chiefs staged
an uprising in Spanish Morocco that
spread to Spain.

For the next 3 years the conservative
Spanish Nationalists led by General
Francisco Franco battled the left-wing
Loyalists (Spanish Republicans) for
control of Spain.
Spain
Morocco
General Francisco Franco
Spanish Civil War and
Rise of the Fascists
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Foreign powers soon became involved with the
civil war:
The Soviet Union supported the Loyalists.
Germ. and Italy supported the Nationalists.
Volunteers from Brit., Fr., the U.S., and other
countries joined the Spanish International
Brigade and fought for the Republican cause
against fascism.
The govs. of the Western demos., however,
refused to intervene because they feared a
general Euro. war.
International Brigade
Propaganda Posters
Spanish Civil War and
Rise of the Fascists

Hitler viewed Germ. participation as a way to strengthen
ties with Italy and to secure a vital supply of Spanish
iron ore and magnesium.

Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe (Germ. air
force) saw this an a opportunity to 1) prevent the spread
of Communism, and 2) an excuse to test out the new air
force: the Condor Legion, an all Germ. air and ground
force.

The Condor Legion used Spanish towns and cities as
testing grounds for new weapons and military tactics
(combined use of fire and high-explosive bombs).
Hermann Göring
Messerschmitt Bf 109
library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01843/wwII.html
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Fast, light, and considered to be the greatest prop interceptor
ever built.
Prototype in 1935; tested during the Spanish Civil War.
In WWII they were used to escort German bombers.
They were more agile then the British Hurricane, but less agile
then the Spitfire; thus British aviation prevailed.
35,000 different versions were built in Germany and in other
countries.
Spanish Civil War and
Rise of the Fascists

Summer 1936: Nationalists have taken over
most of western Spain.

1938: Soviets stop sending aid to the Loyalists;
Franco Francisco launches final offensive.

March 1939: Franco enters Madrid, the last of
the Loyalist strongholds, and is victorious.
Despite being a Fascist dictator, Franco does
not ally himself with Italy and Germ. at this time.

www.aboutromania.com/maps179.html

Germans and Italians Aid Franco in
Spain: New Weapons and Tactics
[00:52]