Download World War II in Europe

World War II
STANDARD 5-4: THE STUDENT WILL
DEMONSTRATE AN UNDERSTANDING OF
AMERICAN ECONOMIC CHALLENGES IN THE
1920S AND 1930S AND WORLD CONFLICT IN
THE 1940S.
World War II Begins
 After WWI the United States returned to it’s policy of
isolationism. Which means to not get involved with
foreign affairs. It even reduced the size of it’s armed
forces.
 The Great Depression was not just an American
struggle, it caused hardships everyone.
 Because of these dictators were beginning to ride all
over Europe.
 A dictator is a ruler who has total power over a
country.
World War II Begins
 Axis Powers
 Allied Power
1. Japan
1. Britain
2. Germany
2. France
3. Italy
3. United States
4. Russia
World War II Begins
 The United States debated on going to war. So
instead they offered to help by sending ships and
equipment to Britain. This was known as the LendLease Act.
 However on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the
United States in the Attack of Pearl Harbor. This
brought the United States into the war as an active
participant.
World War II at Home
 American citizens were asked to help “win the war”.
 Doing so came in many forms:
Rationing- a system that limits the amount of
scarce good people can buy.
2. By recycling.
3. By planting victory gardens.
4. By buying war bonds. War bonds were a way
American lent money to the government for a
period and were paid back with interest.
1.
World War II at Home
 African Americans found new opportunities. They
found higher paying jobs in factories used for
making war equipment.
 They found themselves in the armed forces.
 They struggled in each area dealing with
discrimination, but over time they found themselves
making ground and being coming accepted and
active members in the fight.
World War II at Home
 Women found new opportunities during WWII.
 Since many of the men were off fighting, women
were put into their jobs. There were women in
assembly factories and there was even a women’s
baseball league.
 Women also allowed to enlist in the military. About
300,000 did.
New War Technology
 The war between the Allies and the Axis powers
affected nearly every country on Earth. It truly was a
“world” war.
 During WWI there had been advances in war
technology, but WWII proved to explode with many
new inventions and strategies.
New War Technology
 Both sides worked to build more powerful ships,
planes, tanks, and guns. They also came up with new
ideas.
 The biggest advancement in ships was the aircraft
carrier. Why do you think it was such an important
advancement in the war?
 The aircraft carriers were floating runways. This
meant that that bombers and fighter planes could
take off from and land on aircraft carriers. They no
longer had to be near a land base.
New War Technology
New War Technology
 During the war, airplanes called bombers destroyed
factories and part of cities. The planes came in
various sizes and were used for different things.
 One bomber carried a large number of bombs and
could fly 2,000 miles without running out of gas.
Why do you think it was important to be able to fly
so far without having to refuel?
 Another type of planer were called a fighter plane.
This plane carried a machine gun.
New War Technology
New War Technology
 While tanks were used in WWI, there had been
advancements made to make the tanks faster, more
powerful, and harder to destroy.
 One major advancement made after WWI was the
use of radar. Radar is an electronic system that uses
sound to identify objects from a distance. A radar
machine sends out little beeps of sound. The sound
waves hit the object and show up on a screen,
revealing the object’s location. A major use for this
during the war was to spot enemy aircraft.
New War Technology
New War Technology
 Radio played a big, new role in this war. Through
radio, officers could talk with pilots and troops.
 However, the Allies were not the only ones to have
this technology. The enemy could listen in on radio
conversations.
 This lead to code talkers. This allowed officers to
keep their messages a secret.
 The U.S. used Native Americans, especially the
Navajo to speak in their native language to send
messages. This proved to be very hard for the enemy
to break the code.
New War Technology
The Battle of Europe and North Africa
 In 1941 the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, but
the fighting had stalled. But the Germans did not
give up.
 Their goal was to conquer Stalingrad, which was a
major Soviet city. The Soviets were put on the
defensive and fought hard to defend their city.
 The Soviets finally had a break through and were
able to surround the German troops. The Germans
surrendered.
 Look on page 508, what do you see?
The Battle for Europe and North Africa
 In 1942, the Axis forces controlled most of Northern
Africa, except for Egypt.
 The aim was to take over the Suez Canal, which was a
key (important) Middle East shipping route.
 The British were there to force the Axis troops to
retreat.
 The next month, Allied troops landed in North Africa
and starting moving east. Between the British in
Egypt and the Allied troops coming in from the east,
they trapped the Axis powers.
The Battle of Europe and North Africa
 Now the Allies were free to cross the Mediterranean
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Sea to invade Italy.
The campaign began on the island of Sicily. Why do
you think the island of Sicily was so important?
Once the Allies controlled the island of Sicily they
began heavily bombing Italy.
Mussolini (the Italian dictator) resigned. Italy
surrendered.
A month later the new Italian government declared
war on Germany- their former ally.
What do you see?
The Normandy Invasion (D-Day)
 Though the Allies were making good progress,
Germany still controlled most of western Europe.
 The Allies knew they needed to push into Europe and
free it from German control, but it would not be easy.
 German forces had heavily armed the coastal areas of
Normandy. This is referred to as the “Atlantic Wall”.
 Dwight D. Eisenhower was made Supreme
Commander of all Allied forces and he chose a 60
mile stretch in northern France to invade.
The Normandy Invasion
 Eisenhower took over 150,000 troops, 4,000 ships
and boats, and prepared for battle.
 The United State, Britain, and Canada were finally
ready to cross the English Channel and invade
Normandy.
 On June 6, 1944, the Allies hit the beaches of
Normandy that is now known as D-Day.
 While they faced a greatly armed German force, this
part of Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” did not stop them.
The Normandy Invasion (D-Day)
 The battle for this beach and the ability to push into
Europe was a deadly one. The troops had to jump off
their ships, carrying their gear, run on to the beaches
which were littered with landmines, all while be fired
on by German forces.
 America suffered more than 2,000 causalities that
day.
 Because of the courage and willpower of the Allied
forces they fought through the German defenses and
pushed inland. This was truly the turning point of
the fall of Hitler and his Nazis.
The Normandy Invasion (D-Day)
Victory in Europe
 Even with the victory in Normandy, the German
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forces still were strong throughout France.
Each battled the Allies struggled but remained
determined.
Slowing the victories came until American troops
were able to push into Germany.
Germany fought back hard to defend their
homeland.
American and British armies were moving west to
ward the German capita, Berlin.
Victory in Europe
 While American and British troops were pushing
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from the west, Soviet troops were pushing from the
east.
Together they pushed toward Berlin. Soviet troops
reached Berlin first and began attacking the city.
German forces fought for a week, but finally
surrendered on May 7, 1945.
The Allies name May 8th V-E Day for “Victory in
Europe”.
While this was another great victory, the war still
was not over.