Download Chapter 19 Sec 2

Europe at War
Germany used a “lightning war” to
gain control of much of western and
central Europe, but Britain was
undefeated and German troops were
stopped in Russia.
Europe at War (cont.)
• Germany’s use of blitzkrieg, or “lightning
war,” to attack Poland stunned Europe with
the speed and efficiency of the attack.
• In September 1939,
Germany and the Soviet
Union divided Poland.
• By spring 1940, Hitler used
blitzkrieg tactics to attack
Denmark, Norway, the
Netherlands, Belgium, and
France.
Europe at War (cont.)
• On June 22, 1940, the French signed an
armistice allowing German armies to occupy
three-fifths of France.
• U.S. citizens did not want to
get involved in the war.
President Franklin D.
Roosevelt adopted a policy
of isolationism, but
denounced Germany’s
attacks. A series of
neutrality acts prevented
the United States from
becoming involved.
Europe at War (cont.)
• In August of 1940, the German air force, the
Luftwaffe, launched a major offensive on
Great Britain.
• The British air
force inflicted
enough damage
on Luftwaffe
bombers to
persuade Hitler to
postpone the
invasion of Great
Britain.
Europe at War (cont.)
• Hitler believed that
Britain would not
remain in the war
without the support
of the Soviet Union.
• Hitler confidently
invaded the Soviet
Union, hoping to
obtain full
occupation by
winter.
Europe at War (cont.)
• The German forces quickly captured two
million Russian soldiers and swept through
Ukraine.
• An early winter turned
the tide of German
successes; German
troops did not have
adequate winter supplies
and were forced to halt
their advances.
• The Soviet forces
launched a counterattack
in December of 1941.
Japan at War
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
outraged Americans and led to the
entry of the United States into the war.
Japan at War (cont.)
• On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft
attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl
Harbor, hoping to destroy the Pacific fleet
and any attempt of U.S. involvement.
• Japan quickly acquired
territory throughout
Southeast Asia,
creating the Greater
East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere.
Japan at War (cont.)
• With overwhelming public support, the
United States joined forces with European
nations and Nationalist China to battle
Japan.
• Four days later, Hitler
declared war on the
United States, creating a
global war.
The Allies Advance
The Allied forces stopped the advance
of the Germans and the Japanese.
The Allies Advance (cont.)
• The three major Allied forces (the United
States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain)
agreed to fight until the Axis Powers
(Germany, Italy, and Japan) surrendered
unconditionally.
• Hitler was still confident
in 1942, as Japan
continued to advance in
the Pacific, and
German forces fought
in the Soviet Union and
North Africa.
The Allies Advance (cont.)
• In May of 1943, the tide of the war turned
when a British and American coalition forced
German and Italian troops to surrender in
French North Africa.
• By the spring of
1943, Hitler realized
that the battle over
Stalingrad would
end in a German
defeat.
The Allies Advance (cont.)
• Japanese forces were defeated at the Battle
of Midway Island when U.S. planes
destroyed four attacking Japanese aircraft
carriers.
• With the help of General
Douglas MacArthur,
the U.S. Army, Marine,
and Navy forces freed
the Japanese-held
islands of the Pacific
and Southeast Asia.
Last Years of the War
Allied victories forced Germany and
Japan to surrender unconditionally.
Last Years of the War (cont.)
• The Allies turned the tide of the war with the
surrender of Axis forces in Tunisia on
May 13, 1943.
• In September, the Allies took
Sicily, an area Winston
Churchill referred to as the
“soft underbelly” of Europe.
• The Allied forces planned a
strategic invasion of France
from Great Britain known as
D-Day.
Last Years of the War (cont.)
• Allied Forces, under U.S. General Dwight D.
Eisenhower, landed on the Normandy
beaches in history’s greatest naval invasion
on June 6, 1944.
• Allied troops
liberated Paris
by the end of
August 1944.
Last Years of the War (cont.)
• With the imminent defeat of Germany and
the partisan murder of Mussolini, Hitler
committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
• Soviet forces
advanced through
Eastern Europe until
Germany
surrendered on
May 7, 1945.
Last Years of the War (cont.)
• Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945, after
President Harry S. Truman authorized the
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• World War II was
finally over, with
casualty estimates
totaling 60 million.
THE END