Download MAJOR BATTLES OF WORLD WAR II f fru

MAJORBATTLESOF WORLDWARII
f
The Axis PowersMakeEarlyGains: 1939-1941
y*
fru
*,
Poland,
Great
into
TwodaysafterAdolfHitlerorderedhis armies
Eritainand Francedeclaredwar on Germany.The Britishand French
"appeasement"
whichfor fiveyearshad
thusendedtheirpolicyof
enabledHitlerto seizeterritoryin EasternEuropewithoutopposition.
But beforethe Britishand Frenchcouldsendhelpto Poland,the
dive
overranthe countrywithtanks,infantrymen,
German"blitzkrieg"
bombers,andotheraircraft.
Afterthefallof Poland,the Germanwar machinesweptthrough
northernandwesternEurope.Denmarkand Norwaysurrenderqd,
in a
Alliedforcesin Francefoundthemselves
andThe Netherlands.
then Belgium,Luxembourg,
port
along
Dunkirk,
a
city
to
desperatesituation.WithGermanarmiesclosingin, theAlliesretreated
the northerncoastof France.Fromthere,morethan300,000British,French,and Belgiantroops
the dictatorof
managedto escapeacrossthe EnglishChannelto GreatBritain.BenitoMussolini,
France
afterwards,
side.
Soon
war
on
Germany's
the
thathis countrywasentering
Italy,announced
surrendered,
Alliednationin WesternEurope.In July 1940,the
GreatBritainwasthe onlyremaining
"Luftwatfe"
- lfts Germanair force- beganbombingBritishairfieldsand ports. Hitlerhopedto
vowedthathiscountrywould
forcethe Britishto surrender.But PrimeMinisterWinstonChurchill
hadbetterplanesand pilots.
nevergiveup. Britain'sRoyalAirForce(RAF),thoughoutnumbered,
Nightlyraidswere
carriedon a massiveaerialbombardment.
Monthaftermonth,the Luftwaffe
resistance.The RAFshot
madeon Londonandothercities.Yetthe Britishkeptup a determined
the British
downmorethan2,000GermanplanesandforcedHitlerto abandonhis planfor capturing
isle. The Battleof Britain,as it cameto be known,was oneof the turningpointsof WorldWar ll. Not
couldbe defeated.
onlywas GreatBritainsaved,butthe Britishshowedthatthe Luftwaffe
in EasternEuropeandAfrica.
the Germansand ltaliansgainednewterritories
Meanwhile,
"AfrikaKorps,"
joined
theAxisPowers.Hitlersentthe
Bulgaria,andYugoslavia
Hungary,Romania,
Rommel,to helpthe ltalians
andheavilyequippedarmyunderGeneralEnruin
a highlymotorized
AxistroopsinvadedRussia.
seizelandsin NorthAfrica.Then,in the summerof 1941,3 million
vastsuppliesof food,
give
Russia's
quick
him
control
over
victorythatwould
Hitlerexpecteda
their
theyburnedor destroyed
petroleum,
andotherrawmaterials.Butas the Russiansretreated,
prevent
them
from
in orderto
andotherresources
foodsupplies,
dams,railroads,
ownfactories,
fallingintoGermanhands.
*#!
On the mapof Europeand NorthAfrica:
(1) LabelGERMANY
and ITALYthe leadingAxisPowersin Europe.Printthe namesin CAPITAL
witha coloredpencil,marker,leadpencil,or pen.
LETTERS.Lightlyshadethesecountries
thatwereunderAxiscontrolby the summerof 1941. Printthe
(2) Labelthefollowingcountries
namesin CAPITALLETTERS.
MOROCCO
THENETHERLANDS ALBANIA
AUSTRIA
ALGERIA
GREECE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA FRANCE
TUNISIA
LITHUANIA
HUNGARY
POLAND
LIBYA
LATV]A
ROMANIA
DENMARK
ESTONIA
BULGARIA
NORWAY
FINLAND
YUGOSLAVIA
BELGIUM
pencil,
marker,leadpencil,or penthatwas
withthe samecolored
Lightlyshadethesecountries
usedfor Germanyand ltaly.
nextto ltaly.
(3) PrintAdolfHitlerinsideof Germany,
andBenitoMussolini
(4) Drawan arrowfromGermanyto Poland.Nextto it, print1939: WorldWar ll begins.
(5) Labelthe two majorAlliedPowersin Europethatthe Germansfailedto capture- GREAT
BRITAIN
andRUSSIA.
(6) Labelthe countries
thatremainedneutral:
PORTUGAL SPAIN SWITZERLAND SWEDEN IRELAND
belowthe nameof eachof thesecountrieson the map.
Printthe wordneutralin parentheses
(7') Fillin the boxesand battlesymbolsandtracethe arrowsin the mapkeywiththe samecolors
usedto shadetheAxisPowersandAlliedPowers.
an Alliedvictory.Nextto it, print1940(8) Colorthe battlesymbolnextto Londonto represent
in Battleof Britain.
1941: RAFdefeatsLuftwaffe
(9) Tracearrow 1 andarrow2 to showHitler'sinvasionof Russia.Betweenthe arrowsprint1941:
GermanyattacksRussia.
AmericaEntersthe War: 1941
WhenWorldWar ll beganin 1939,the UnitedStatesremainedneutral.ButGermanvictories
thatthe UnitedStatesshouldstart
FranklinD. Roosevelt
in EuropesoonconvincedPresident
"arsenalof democracy."
to theAllies.He wantedAmericato becomethe
sendingwar materials
Great
Act in 1941. lt providedtheAllies,especially
by passingthe Lend-Lease
Congressresponded
Britainand Russia,withmorethan$50 billionworthof arms,food,andothersupplies.American
thesegoodsacrosstheAtlanticOceanto Europe.German
and Britishshipshelpedtransport
the war. Eventually,
Alliedshippinglanesthroughout
harassed
or U-boats,constantly
submarines,
couldsinkAlliedships.
the Allieswereableto destroymoreU-boatsthanthe submarine
had
comeunderattackby Japanin 1937.
aidwentto China,which
Someof the Lend-Lease
gasoline,
iron,
in 1940,the UnitedStatesstoppedshipping
Indochina
occupied
WhentheJapanese
betweenthe United
thatmighthelpJapan'sarmedforces. Relations
steel,andothermaterials
7, 1941,the Japanesesuddenlystruckthe
StatesandJapangrewsteadilyworse. On December
U.S.navalbaseat PearlHarbor,Hawaii.Thesecretraidwas carriedout by a fleetof 33 shipsand
3 cruisers,3 destroyers,
morethan300warplanes.Withintwo hours,the U,S.lost4 battleships,
werekilledor wounded.The U.S.PacificFleetwas
and 174planes.Morethan3,000Americans
7 "a datewhichwill livein infamy."He
Roosevelt
calledDecember
dealta cripplingblow. President
wasquicklyapproved.Germanyand
to declarewar on Japan,andthe declaration
askedCongress
war on Germany
by declaring
Italythendeclaredwar on the UnitedStates.Congressresponded
and ltaly.
On the mapof Europeand NorthAfrica:
supplylines.
attackLend-Lease
(1) Nextto arrow3, print1941-1945:
U-boats
On the mapof the PacificRegion:
(1) LabelJAPANin CAPITALLETTERS.ShowthatJapanwas an AxisPowerby lightlyshadingit
withthe samecoloredpencil,marker,leadpencil,or penusedfor Germanyand ltaly.
(2) Nextto the Hawaiianlslands,printDec.7. 1941: JapanattacksPearlHarbor.
The Allies Defeatthe Axis Powersin NorthAfrica and Europe: 1941-1945
Thetideof warturnedin favorof theAllieslatein 1941. Germanarmiesthathadsweptinto
Russiabecameboggeddownin the mud,snow,and bittercoldof the winterseason.Theyfailedto
forcedthemto retreat.
captureMoscowandStalingrad.A Russiancounter-offensive
in NorthAfricaduring1942and1943. Hitler
Americanand BritishtroopsendedAxisresistance
had hopedto seizeEgyptin orderto controlthe SuezCanalandgainaccessto oil fieldsin the
- n'rvw.l*armin6lcexfu'wsa"nct
l,earnimgCent*n U$A,I,{.} Xtx l$o$cit" NY },{S${}* 1"{*{}0-{!'86-042{}
AfrikaKorpswas caughtbetweentwoAlliedarmies.A Britishforce,
MiddleEast. But Rommel's
pushedthe Germansand ltalianswestwardfrom
by GeneralBernardL. Montgomery,
commanded
of the U.S.,advancedeastward
Egypt.A secondAlliedarmy,underGeneralDwightD. Eisenhower
'romAlgeriaand Morocco.TheAllieswondecisivebattlesat ElAlameinin Egyptand in the country
of Tunisia.
Seaand attackedltaly.
Aftertheirvictoriesin NorthAfrica,theAlliescrossedthe Mediterranean
politicalpressurein ltalyled FascistdictatorBenitoMussolini
ltaliangovernment
The
new
to resign.
to defendthe country.TheAlliesfoughttheirway up the
butthe Germanscontinued
surrendered,
peninsulaandcapturedNaples,Rome,and Florence'
backin GreatBritain,theAllieswerereadyto launcha greatinvasionacrossthe
Meanwhile,
and BritishPrimeMinister
Roosevelt
EnglishChannelto the northerncoastof France.President
of theAlliedExpeditionary
as supremecommander
WinstonChurchillselectedGeneralEisenhower
9,000boatsof
Force.TheAllieshad3 millionmen,16 milliontonsof weaponsandsupplies,
menlandedon the Normandycoastof Franceon
varioussizes,and 11,000aircraft.Eisenhower's
"D-Day,"
and
theAlliesdrovethroughFrance,Belgium,
June6,1944. Inthe monthsthatfollowed,
butweredefeatedin the Battleof
Tl'reGermanslauncheda fiercecounterattack,
The Netherlands.
the Bulge. Next,theAlliespushedforwardintoGermanyitself.The Russianarmyby thistimehad
foughtits waythroughPolandandintoGermanyfromthe east. TheGermansrealizedtheirposition
on May8, 1945.
andsurrendered
was hopeless,
theAlliescapturedMussoliniand
In the finaldaysof the war in Europe,ltalianswhosupported
suicide.
AdolfHitlercommitted
executedhim. In Germany,
On tle mapof EuropeandNorthAfrica:
to showthe victoriesby Russia(anAllied
(1) Colorthe battlesymbolsat MoscowandStalingrad
Power)againstthe invadingGermanarmy.
(2) Colorthe battlesymbolat El Alameinto showan Alliedvictory.
next
in NorthAfrica.PrintMontgomery
(3) Tracearrow4 andarrow5 to showAlliedcampaigns
nextto arrow 5.
to arrow 4, and Eisenhower
(4) Colorthe two battlesymbolsin the countryof Tunisiato showAlliedvictoriesthere. Nextto the
AfrikaKorps.
symbols,print1943:AlliesdefeatRommel's
Seato ltaly.Colorthe battlesymbolsto
(5) Tracearrow6 fromTunisiaacrossthe Mediterranean
and Florence.Nextto arrow 6, print1944: ltaly
showAlliedvictoriesat Naples,BO-me.,
surrenders
(6) Tracearrow7 to showtheAlliedinvasionof northernFranceandfinaldriveintoGermany.In
nextto the arrow.Colorthe
northernFrance,printJune6, 1944: D-Day.PrintEisenhower
battlesymbolto showan Alliedvictoryin the Battleof the Bulge.
(7) Tracearrow 8 fromRussiathroughPolandto Germany.Nextto it, printRussianArmy.
(8) Wherearrows7 and8 meet,printMay8. 1945: Germanysurrenders.
The U.S.DefeatsJapanin the PacificRegion: 1942'1945
ln the monthsfollowingthe attackon PearlHarbor,the Japaneseaddednewlandsto their
a vastareathatincludedKorea,Burma,Thailand,
empire.By the springof 1942,Japancontrolled
of
lslands,partof China,andhundreds
the Philippine
the DutchEastIndies,
Malaya,
Indochina,
fromAlaskato Australia.
islandsstretching
The UnitedStateswasfinallyableto haltJapan'sstringof victoriesby winningtwo crucial
batles in MayandJuneof 1942.The Battleof the CoralSea,in whichplanesbasedon aircraft
a Japaneseinvasionof Australia.The Battleof Midway
carriersdid all of the fighting,prevented
removedthe threatof anotherattackon Hawaii.TheseAmericanvictoriesprovedto be the turning
pointof the war in the Pacific.
itlzritl?iir*d:iw:'{|*e{ll{i[:-ii'}*{i;aC:&6,asc*i,-m139u;?uNV.i,*l$si'*
"island-hopping"
strategyfor pushingthe enemyback
The UnitedStatesthenadoptedan
towardJapan.The ideawasto capturecertainkey islands,one afteranother,untilJapancame
but onlyaftera longand
succeeded,
withinrangeof Americanbombers.The planeventually
believedin fightingto the death. Duringthe lastyearof the
difficultstruggle.Japanesesoldier:s
"kamikazes,"
crash
or suicideplanes.Pilotswoulddeliberately
war,the enemystartedusing
however,U.S.forcesachievedtheir
planesintoAmericanwarships.Gradually,
theirbomb-laden
(1942);Tarawa(1943);
victorieswerewon at the battlesof Guadalcanal
objective.lmportant
Saipan,Guam,andLeyteGulf(1944);and lwoJimaandOkinawa(1945).
Kwajalein,
in history.Americanforces
The Battleof LeyteGulfwasthe largestair-seaengagement
the SupremeAllied
destroyedmuchof the Japanesemainfleet. GeneralDouglasMacArthur,
Two-and-a-half
the Philippines.
Pacific,wasthenableto recapture
in the Southwest
Commander
that
time,he made
At
islands
by
the
Japanese.
the
from
hadbeendriven
yearsearlier,MacArthur
"l
the pledge shallreturn."He kepthispromise.
victoriesat lwoJimaand Okinawa,
andthe subsequent
The conquestof the Philippines,
mainland.PresidentRoosevelt
the
Japanese
miles
of
within
few
hundred
forces
a
broughtU.S.
by Vice-President
hisfourthterm. He was succeeded
diedin April1945,soonafterbeginning
American
bombers
Hundreds
of
on
Japan.
HarryS. Truman.Trumandirectedthe finalassault
madedailystrikesagainstTokyoandothermajorcities.Plansweredrawnup to invadethe
Truman
informedPresident
Japaneseislands.Butbeforean invasioncouldbegin,Alliedscientists
a powerfulatomicbomb.TheAlliesaskedthe Japaneseto surrenderand
thattheyhaddeveloped
accepta fair peacesettlement.Whentheyrefused,two atomicbombsweredroppedon the cities
persons
of Japan
werekilled.Thegovernment
and Nagasaki.Morethan100,000
of Hiroshima
2,1945.
thendecidedto giveup thefight.WorldWarll cameto an endon September
On the mapof the PacificRegion:
(1) Tracethe dottedlinethatshowsthe extentof the territoryheldby Japanat the heightof its
Empire,1942.
conquests.Nextto the line,printJapanese
Alliedvictories.Nextto each,
Seato represent
Coral
(2) Colorthe battlesymbolsat Midwayand
printTurningpointof the war.1942.
campaignin the southwest
(3) Tracearrow 9 andarrow 10 to showtheAllied"island-hopping"
Alliedvictories.Nextto eachsymbol,put the
Pacific.Colorthe battlesymbolsto represent
yearwhenthe battletookplace.
returnsto the Philippines.
(4) Nextto LeyteGulf,printGen.DouglasMacArthur
printU.S.dropsatomicbombson Japan;WorldWarll ends
(5) Nextto Hiroshima
andNagasaki,
2, 1945
on September
!,ealning (le*f*rr US'4, Il{} S*N i1},Scio.l\Y }4$$tt *