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World War II
Sides
Axis Powers: Known as the
Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis, these
three powers tried to conquer
territory for themselves while
other powers were in decline.
Germany
After World War I, Germany fell into
economic problems that weakened
the new democratic government.
Former soldier, Adolf Hitler led the
new National Socialist Party that
railed against the weakness of the
government and its many failures.
Hitler Highlights
Burning of Reichstag: Shortly after Hitler
took power, the Reichstag building was
burned. Communists were blamed for a
fire probably set by the Nazis
Enabling Act: Fearing a Communist coup,
the Reichstag voted to allow suspend the
Constitution and to allow the Chancellor
(Hitler) to run the government alone for
four years (later indefinitely)
Japan
After World War I, Japan initially
enjoyed economic success.
However, during the Depression,
the democratic government could
not fix the economy.
So, the Japanese military seized
control of the government.
Japan’s
Strategic Weakness
Upon their ascension to power, the
military sought to spread Japan into a
true empire.
To do so, they needed access to
many natural resources. Something
that their nation lacked.
They made plans to seize areas of
Asia where these resources could be
found.
Italy
After World War I, the Italian
monarchy was torn by rising
threats from the Communist left
and the Fascist right.
Former army officer Benito
Mussolini founded the Italian
Fascist party in 1920.
Fascism
A right-wing political
philosophy based on
order over liberty
Celebrates militarism
Celebrates obedience to
authority
Celebrates Private
Property
Hates democracy
Hates Communism
Hates Socialism
Fasces: Roman symbol
of power and status
Allied Powers
Britain and France: Both nations,
weakened by World War I, tried to
rebuild their economies.
The Great Depression hit both hard
and made them unable to challenge
the rise of Fascism in Europe.
They relied on the League of Nations
to stop Hitler and it failed.
Soviet Union
Following the rise of the
Communist party in 1917, the
USSR went through a bloody civil
war.
In 1923, Lenin died and Josef
Stalin became the new leader of
the USSR.
USSR
Stalin was a paranoid who oppressed
and often killed anyone who was
perceived as a threat to his power.
He purged most of the best officers
and politicians out of his army and
government.
By the late 1930s, the USSR was
weak from the removal of its best and
brightest.
United States
After World War I, America had
receded into its safety behind its two
oceans and went back to its own
business.
During the 1930s, America’s
economy kept its focus internal and it
was not a member of the League of
Nations to do anything about the rise
of aggressive states in Europe.
March to War
Germany
Rhineland: In 1936, Hitler seized
the DMZ as his first act of
defiance. He challenged the
Allies to do something. They
declined.
Anschluss
After the 1934 assassination of
Austrian dictator Englebert
Dollfuss, the Nazis engineered a
bloodless union with Austria
absorbing it into the Reich.
Czechoslovakia
In 1938, Hitler put pressure on
Czechoslovakia to give up the
Sudetenland.
The Sudetenland is the section that
juts into Germany and is mainly
populated with ethnic Germans.
Czechoslovakia
When the Czechs refused, Hitler
threatened to take the area by
force.
In an effort to avert war, the
British and French PMs met with
Hitler and Mussolini in Munich.
Munich
In the Munich Accord, Hitler agreed
that the Sudetenland would be his
last territorial demand.
British PM Chamberlain declared that
they had achieved “Peace in Our
Time”.
By the end of 1938, Hitler took the
rest of Czechoslovakia.
Poland
In 1939, Hitler demanded access to
their separated lands in East Prussia
through Poland, including the port city
of Danzig.
Stung by his lies from Munich, France
and Britain promised the Polish
government that if they would assist
Poland if it were attacked.
Nonaggression Pact
Given their reluctance to go to war, Hitler
did not fear the Western Allies.
He was concerned about the USSR joining
the war.
So, he signed a nonaggression pact with
Stalin where each side promised not to
attack the other and to split Poland evenly
between them.
Poland
After dealing with the Soviets,
Germany invaded Poland on 1
September 1939.
In response, Britain and France
declared war on Germany.
Japan
Launched wars of aggression to
secure natural resources.
Manchuria in 1932
China in 1937
US opposition to Japanese
expansion fomented crisis with
America.
Japan/US Conflict
The United States objected to
Japanese aggression in China.
They asked Japan to withdraw from
China.
When Japan refused, the US cut
Japan off from vital military resources:
oil and scrap metal.
Sparks
Europe: On September 1, 1939,
Germany invaded Poland.
Britain and France declared war on
Germany, but they could not save
Poland.
USSR also invaded Poland from the
East.
Poland surrendered on September
20th.
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, the
Japanese fleet launched a surprise
attack on the US fleet in Hawaii.
They sunk several battleships and
killed 2,500 American troops.
The US declared war on Japan the
next day, FDR decrying the “Day
which will live in infamy”.
Early War in Europe
1939-1941
By December 1941, Hitler had overrun all
of Western and Southern Europe including
France, Holland, Belgium, Greece,
Yugoslavia, and Norway.
The Fall of Western Europe
On December 7, the Germans were
stopped 3 miles short of Moscow in
Russia, their first land defeat of the war.
Early War in the Pacific
1941-1942
After their victory at Pearl Harbor, the
Japanese overran most of the
Western Pacific including Indochina,
Malaysia, Burma, Philippines,
Indonesia, and the Marianas.
The US rapidly sought to even the
odds with the Japanese and launched
their first counterstroke in May 1942
with the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
Turning Points
Europe
El Alamein: In 1942, Rommel’s
Afrika Korp was driving across Libya
and into Egypt.
British General Bernard Montgomery
(Monty) stopped them, saving Egypt
and the oil of the Middle East from the
Germans.
Battle of El Alamein
Stalingrad
In 1942, Germany was making a
bid for the oil fields of southern
Russia, and they needed to take
the city of Stalingrad.
To do so, the Germans sent the
6th army with its 250,000 men,
500 tanks, and 1,000 planes.
Stalingrad
In the city, 55,000 defenders
turned every building into a
fortress.
While the Germans fought house
to house, the Russians
assembled a 1 Million man army
east of the city.
Stalingrad
The Russians surrounded the city
and cut off the Germans from
retreat.
Russian Counterattack
The Germans surrendered their
entire force, their worst defeat of
the war.
Stalingrad
The largest battle in history
claimed:
1.5 million lives
3,000 aircraft
3,500 tanks
75,000 total vehicles
Turning Points
The Pacific
Midway: In 1942, the Japanese
fleet wanted to bring the US into
decisive battle to finally destroy
the US carriers that it had failed to
destroy at Pearl Harbor.
Midway
The US carriers were widely
dispersed at the start of the battle.
The Japanese had completed an
attack on the American base at
Midway and were returning when
the US carriers struck.
Midway
Planes from the American carriers Hornet,
Enterprise, and Yorktown savaged the
Japanese carriers with bombs and
torpedoes.
In less than 20 minutes, the four Japanese
carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu
were burning.
Japanese planes that managed to sink the
Yorktown in response.
The cream of Japan’s Navy was gone.
Guadalcanal
Just after Midway, the US made
its first offensive landing on an
island in the Pacific.
Guadalcanal in the Solomon
Islands became the scene of the
first major land battle of the war in
the Pacific
Guadalcanal
From August 1942 to February
1943, Japan tried everything to
eject the US from the island.
Their defeat cost them 25,000
dead and created an American
foothold in the Pacific.
Allied Advances
Europe
North Africa: Following El
Alamein, a US/British force
landed in Morocco and pushed
East while Monty pushed West.
The Germans were squeezed out
of Africa by early 1943.
Sicily and Italy
In 1943, the US and British invaded the
island of Sicily and the Italian peninsula.
They were trying to open a second front in
Europe to ease pressure on the USSR.
They Allies knocked Mussolini out of
power and captured most of Italy by early
1944.
Battle of Sicily and Italy
D-Day
On June 6, 1944, 170,000 Allied troops
supported by 500 warships and 11,000
aircraft landed in France to open the longsought second front.
Intense misdirection against the Germans
had allowed the Allies to make the
landings a nearly complete surprise.
D-Day Landings
D-Day
After the landings on 5 beaches:
Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and
Sword, the Allies broke out and swept
across France.
Allied Breakout
They liberated Paris by July and
approached the German border from
the West.
Allied Advances
Pacific
Island-Hopping: After the victory
at Guadalcanal, the Allied moved
forward jumping from island to
island.
They used Marine landings
supported by warships and carrier
aircraft.
Island Hopping
This flexibility allowed the Allies to cut
off Japanese retreats and bypass
strong points to strike the most
strategically important islands.
By mid 1945, they were approaching
the Japanese home islands.
Major victories included Philippines,
Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
New Advances
Blitzkrieg: Also known as “combined
arms warfare” combined aircraft and
massed tank attacks for maximum
shock and speed.
Blitzkrieg Tactics
It is considered the model for modern
armored warfare.
Panzer Divisions
Germany removed the tank from
simple infantry support
They massed them into armored
formations (200 per division)
supported by mechanized infantry
They could drive fast and deep
into enemy territory.
RADAR
Radio beams used to locate and
identify objects on the ground or in
the air.
Works with direct LOS using radio
reflection.
It was the key tool in the British
victory in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
SONAR
Sound waves used to locate
objects underwater
It uses echo-location to locate
ships and submarines.
It was a key tool used against
German U-Boats in the Atlantic.
SONAR
Ballistic Missiles
A German invention
V-2 Rocket: One of
Hitler’s Vengeance
Weapons to win the
war.
This design was later
adopted by the US
and USSR for space
launches and ICBMs.
ICBMs
Russian SS-20
American Pershing
Jet Engines
Even though several nations were
working on jets, Germany got there
first with the Messerschmitt 262 (the
first jet fighter)
It was over 100 miles faster than the
fastest Allied plane.
However, it did not enter service until
the end of the war.
If it had come sooner…
Jet Planes
Me-262
Atomic Bomb
Fat Man
The most devastating
weapon known to
man.
It was used by the US
to end the war.
It would succeed in
changing the world
and the way of war.
Little Boy
End of the War
Europe
Hitler and Berlin: As the
Russians advanced on Berlin,
Hitler married his longtime
girlfriend Eva Braun in the late
hours of April 30, 1945.
Later he killed himself.
Germany surrendered on May 7.
Holocaust
6 Million Jews and 4 Million other
“undesirables” were
exterminated by the Nazis
People who did not fit the Nazi
vision of the “Master Race” were
targeted for destruction.
Hitler’s Final Solution
Nuremberg
The top Nazis were put on
trial.
It had never been done
before.
They were charged with
Crimes Against Humanity.
It is still used today in the
ICC.
The German defense was
that they were following
orders.
It didn’t save them from
justice.
Sectioning of Germany
To prevent a German rise to power
again, Germany was divided into four
zones controlled by the US, USSR,
Britain, and France.
The Western three zones were joined
into West Germany.
Map
Berlin was divided into similar zones.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
These two cities were destroyed
by atomic bombs.
210,000 Japanese citizens were
killed.
They were used to end the war
quickly and to avoid a US
invasion of the Home Islands.
Hiroshima
Before and After
Japanese Surrender
On September 2, 1945, Japan
surrendered to the US.
Almost 6 years to the day, WWII
was over.
Worldwide, 70 Million people had
died.
War Crimes Trial
Just as the leaders of
Germany, the
Japanese leaders
were put on trial for
war crimes.
Japanese leader
Hideki Tojo was
executed for his
crimes.