Download WORLD WAR II - Loudoun County Public Schools

The end of a 20 year truce!
WORLD WAR II – 1939-1945
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CAUSES OF WWII
Aggression by the totalitarian powers
 Nationalism
 Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
 Weakness of the League of Nations
 Tendencies towards isolationism and pacifism
in Europe and the U.S.
 Appeasement

MAJOR EVENTS OF THE WAR
German invasion of Poland
 Fall of France
 Battle of Britain
 German invasion of the Soviet Union
 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
 D-Day (Allied invasion of Europe)
 Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki

MAJOR LEADERS OF THE WAR
United States
*FDR – U.S. President
*Harry Truman – U.S.
President following death
of FDR
*Dwight D. Eisenhower –
allied commander in
Europe
*Douglas MacArthur –
General - Allies in the
Pacific
*George Marshall general
Britain
*Winston Churchill – prime
minister
Soviet Union
*Joseph Stalin – dictator
Germany
*Adolf Hitler – dictator
Japan
*Hideki Tojo – general
*Hirohito – emperor
LET’S REVIEW…
Italy, Germany, and Japan have formed the Axis
Powers
 Italy has taken Ethiopia (parts of it…)

 League

Germany has taken the Sudetenland, Austria,
and the Rhineland
 British

of Nations did nothing
and French following policy of appeasement
What next?
THE INVASION OF POLAND
September 1, 1939 – Germany invaded Poland
 Accomplished by the use of the “blitzkrieg” tactic

“lightning war”
 Planes rain bombs down at the same time as slower
troops and tanks cross the border—the goal was to take
the enemy by surprise


Even though France and England declare war
against Germany on September 3, 1939 Poland
falls within 3 weeks
“One People, One
Reich, One Führer!”
SOVIETS MAKE THEIR MOVE

The “secret” part of the nonaggressive pact
was that the Soviet Union could occupy the
eastern half of Poland.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WERE THE POLITICAL
REASONS BEHIND STALIN’S ACTIONS IN EUROPE
AT THE BEGINNING OF WWII???
INVASION OF FRANCE
May 1940 – Germany began its attack toward
France
 France held its defenses along the Maginot
Line

a
line of defenses built by the French along their
border to keep the Germans out
WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENS NEXT…???
What do you
see wrong with
this picture???
FRANCE FALLS
Germany kept the Allies’ attention along the
Maginot Line while sneaking his army through
the Ardennes.
 Italy declared war on France & Britain by June
10th
 June 14 – Paris falls to the Germans
 France is taken over in 6 weeks!

GERMANY ATTACKS GREAT BRITAIN
After the fall of France, Britain remained the only
country left to face Germany
 Winston Churchill – Prime Minister – declared
Britain would never surrender!
 Operation Sea Lion – Germany’s plan to knock out
the Royal Air Force (RAF)



Bombing by day and night continues until May, when
Hitler, surprised by the resistance, calls off the attacks
Battle of Britain continued until May 10, 1940
when Hitler turned his sights to Eastern Europe
and the Mediterranean
EASTERN FRONT & THE MEDITERRANEAN
1st objective – North Africa – mainly due to
Mussolini
 To gain access to oil, Mussolini sought to
control British occupied Egypt in Sept 1940
 Hitler gets involved to aid Mussolini as the
British begun to push the Italian troops further
back
 Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox” sent in to achieve a
victory for Germany – he is successful

OPERATION BARBAROSSA
Hitler’s plan to attack the Soviet Union
 Soviet Union was not prepared for this attack –
why???
 As the Russians retreat they use a scorched earth
policy – what is this???
 September 8th – Hitler attempted to starve the city
of Stalingrad into surrendering but the people
refuse
 Turned his sights to Moscow – the capital and
heart of the Soviet Union

UNITED STATES AIDS ITS ALLIES
What was the U.S. position at the beginning of
the war???
 March 1941 – Lend-Lease Act – the president
could lend or lease arms and other supplies to
any country vital to the U.S.
 Secret meetings between FDR and Churchill
 Undeclared naval war between Germany and
the U.S.

 What
does this mean???
EVENTS FOR YOUR TIMELINE - HW
France falls
 Hitler decides to expand
 Hitler invades Poland
 Hitler marches to Austria
 Munich Conference – giving Sudetenland over
 Battle of Britain RAF vs. German Luftwaffe
 Hitler claims Baltic States, Scandinavia and
Belgium
