Download The Course of WWII

The Course of WWII
CHAPTER 17
SECTIONS 2-4
Europe at War
 1939: The invasion of Poland took just four weeks
 The Germans used a new style of war called Blitzkrieg
“Lightning war”
 Germans also used something called the Panzer Divisions
 These were strike forces of about 300 tanks and soldiers
support by airplanes
 By September 28, 1939 – Germany and the Soviet Union
divided Poland
 1940: Hitler invades Denmark then he attacks the
Netherlands, Belgium, and France
 Maginot Line
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The fortified border between Germany and France
France thought the Germans would go right through it
However, Germany surprised the French by going around it
 June 22, 1940
 The French sign an armistice with Germany
 Germany occupied 3/5 of France
 A French Authoritarian regime was set up by the Germans
 Only G.B. remained undefeated in Europe
 Great Britain
 Asked the U.S. for help
 The U.S. refused due to the strict policy of isolationism
 The U.S. did publically denounce the Germans
 But, the U.S. did nothing at first
 Overtime, laws relaxed and the U.S. shipped
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Food, ships, planes, weapons
 Hitler knew he could not attack G.B. by sea
 He had to control the air
 He began a major bombing offensive in England
 To retaliate, the British bombed Berlin
 Then the Germans began to bomb British cities
 Battle of Britain
 July 10, 1940 – October 31, 1940
 This is the only battle in military history to be fought entirely
in the air
 2,936 pilots took part
 The British prevailed and prevented all of Europe from being
taken over
 Hitler believed the British resisted because they were
waiting for Soviet support
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So, Hitler invades the Soviet Union
 Early Winter in the Soviet Union
 German troops marched too far in Russia
 Low of supplies
 Strong Soviet resistance
 These factors helped the Soviets stop the Germans
 The first time the Germans were stopped
 Soviets then counter attack the Germans in December 1941
Japan at War
 December 7, 1941
 Japan launches the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor
 By 1942, the Japanese controlled almost all of southeast Asia
and most of the western Pacific
 Greater East-Asia Copropriety Sphere
 The entire Asia region was under Japanese control
 To make this sphere work they needed natural resources
 It treated the countries under their rule as conquered land
 Pearl Harbor
 The Japanese thought that the attack on a U.S. fleet would
leave them as the dominate power in the Pacific
 However, this had the opposite effect
 The U.S. was now going to commit to war
 “They awoke a sleeping giant”
 Hitler
 Believed the U.S. would be too involved with Japan
 He would declare war on the U.S. four day later
 WWII was now a global war
The Allies Advance
 The Grand Alliance
 Great Britain, Soviet Union, and the United States
 They focus mainly on military operations
 They also ignore political differences
 They all agree to fight the Axis Powers
 The Axis Powers
 Germany, Italy, and Japan
 1942: The Germans are fighting in three spots
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Great Britain
The USSR
Africa
 Erwin Rommel - Germany
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Known as the Desert Fox
Broke through British lines in Africa
Helped the Germans gain an advantage in Africa
 Summer 1942
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G.B. stops the German advances in Africa
 Fall 1942
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U.S. and G.B. attack in French North Africa
Germans surrender by May of 1943
 The Eastern Front
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Hitler attacks Stalingrad
Soviets cut off supply lines
By May 1943, Hitler knew he would not defeat the Soviet Union
 Pacific Front
 Battle of Coral Sea, 1942
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Americans save Australia from a Japanese Invasion
 The Battle at Midway
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Turning point for the Pacific front
Led by General Douglas MacArthur
U.S. destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers
This battle would establish U.S. supremacy in the Pacific
Last Years of the War
 By 1943, the war had turned against the Axis powers
 The Allies will invade Italy
 Mussolini is removed from office
 Germany defends Rome in 1944 – many casualties are lost
 Winston Churchill
 British Prime Minister
 Referred to Italy as the “Soft underbelly of Europe”
 His refusal to give into Nazi Germany inspired the country
 He worked tirelessly throughout the war to build relations with
U.S. President Roosevelt and the Soviets
 Normandy – P.584
 June 6, 1944
 Known as D-Day
 Allied invasion of France from across the English Channel
 Allies are led by Dwight D. Eisenhower
 Germans thought this was a diversion at first
 Slow to respond
 Allies break through German Lines
 1945 – Hitler moves to an underground bunker
 April 30, 1945 – Russia outside Berlin
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Hitler commits suicide on April 30, 1945
Two days later Italian Resistance Fighters shoot Mussolini
 May 7, 1945 – WWII Ends
 May 8, 1945 – official end of WWII; V-E Day
 Asian Front
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War continued
Harry S. Truman – U.S President
Decides to drop the Atomic Bomb
Hiroshima –Aug. 6, 1945:Nagasaki – Aug. 9, 1945
 By the end of the war, 17 million people died
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Include civilians, it is closer to 50 million