Download World War II Time Line: 1941 * 1945 Key Battles - pams

World War II Time Line:
1941 – 1945
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Key Battles: Atlantic and
Pacific
Appeasement fails, Winston Churchill was convinced that this
strategy would not stop Hitler.
Hitler using a strategy of blitzkrieg, or “lightning war” to
attack Poland.
Blizkrieg, a massive attack using tanks and planes.
In August of 1940 Hitler ordered Luftwaffe to begin bombing
British cities in the hope of crushing British morale. But
Winston Churchill, the new prime minister, refused to give in.
“We shall fight on the beaches, he vowed. “We shall fight in
the fields and in the streets, we shall never surrender.”
Using the new technology of radar, the RAF was able to
detect and destroy some 2300 of German aircraft. Hitler
canceled the invasion.
Battle of Britain
Pearl Harbor
Japan was also quickly building an
empire. After conquering much of
China in the 1930s, Japanese forces
moved into Southeast Asia. Japanese
military leaders planned a large-scale
attack to destroy the U.S. naval fleet
at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii.
At 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, December 7,
1941, Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
Was Japanese attack on pearl Harbor
successful?
Key Battles
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad: by 1942, Axis armies
had driven deep into Soviet territory. German
forces hope to take over the key industrial city
of Stalingrad.. Joseph Stalin was determined
to hold on to Stalingrad at all costs. His
tenancies paid off, but at a high price.
Germans began to run out of supplies, and
not used to Russia’s harsh winters thousands
of of Germans froze or starved to death. In
January 1943 the German commander at
Stalingrad defied Hitler and surrendered to
save his remaining troops. The Battle of
Stalingrad became the turning point of the
war.
D - Day
 In 1944, Allied forces were ready to undertake the
invasion of France. Under the command of General
Eisenhower, the Allies carefully planned the landing.
 On June 6, 1944-known as D-Day-more than 155,000
American, British, and Canadian troops crossed the
English Channel. They landed on five beaches at
Normandy, in western France. Troops at four of the
beaches quickly overcame German opposition.
Beaches of
Beaches of Normandy
V-E Day: Victory in
Europe – May 8th, 1945
When Germany surrendered to the Allies,
officially ending the war in Europe, wild
celebrations took place all over the world –
but Americans still had another war to fight
– in the Pacific Theatre, against Japan.
Many predicted a long war.
War in the Pacific
Battling toward Japan:
A. Island Hopping: allied war planners developed a strategy
called island hopping where Allied forces took only the most
strategically important islands, instead of each Japanese -held
island.
B. Kamikaze – purposely crashing piloted planes into enemy
ships. Japanese planes struck U.S. ships with the tactic of
kamikaze.
 Battle of Midway began on June 4, 1942, when Japan started
bombing the islands. American dive bombers destroyed four of
Japan’s aircraft carriers, severely weakening Japanese naval
power. American forces finally took control of the island in
February 1943. The battle of Midway had halted Japan's advance
in the Pacific. After that , the Americans went on the offensive.
 Iwo Jima; The last stops on the way to Japan, Iwo Jima and
Okinawa. Americans were victories, but at a terrible price.
Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima
Ending the War in the Pacific!
Two Plans:
1. Plan one, invade Japan. They
estimated that the invasion could
result in more than 1 million death.
2. Plan two, use a new weapon, atomic
bomb.
3. The decision was a difficult one for
President Truman to make. One
could cause greater casualties for
American Soldiers, and the other
would bring enormous devastation
to Japan.
Roosevelt dies before the war
fiscally ends. President
Truman has to decide what to
do.
Which plan would you choice ?
Why?