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World War II: European Theater
Mr. Langford’s Class
A brief look at the war.
Overview
 Beginnings of the war
 Where are the battles
 Who won
 What did that battle set up
Treaty of Versailles
 The treaty that ended WW I
 Called for Germany to repay countries for
their loses
 Required Germany to give up land
 Said that Germany was the blame
 Basically, it humiliated Germany
Hitler begins his move
 Hitler helps to organize the Nazi party
 Begins his political career
 He realizes his potential and seeks further
advancement
 Power takes over--his speaking ability
allowed him to appeal to the masses
 Began to assassinate people for more
power
Benito Mussolini
 Takes full power in 1922
 Vowed to keep the trains on time and
received the people’s trust
 Leader of the Fascist party
 Denounced the parliament and other
government positions
 Declared himself ruler of Italy
Germany rebuilds
 According to Versailles, Germany was not
allowed to build a military
 Hitler rebuilt any way and help build morale
in Germany
 Also, the factories and businesses thrived
off of the new industry
 The rest of the world tries “Appeasement”
toward Germany
The move of Germany
 March 1936
 Germany invades the Rhinelands
 Rhinelands are a vital agricultural area
where both the French and German people
live
 Used to belong to the Germans
Germans move again
 March 1938
 Germany takes Austria and Czechlosovkia
 Claimed that they were Germanic people
and belonged to Germany
 Rebuilds faith and trust among the people
of Germany
A Deal?
 Germans offer a pact with Russia
 Claims that they will not fight each other
 Signed in August of 1939
 Hitler and Stalin
 Was this a precursor of what was to come?
The Start of WW II
 Germany invades Poland in Sept. of 1939
 The France and England are outraged by
this attack--declare war
 Soviets join the invasion of Poland
 The Athenia sunk by U-boat starts the battle
of the Atlantic
The U.S. Role?
 The U.S. claim neutrality
 Still follows the isolation policy
 U.S. does lend a hand to the British and
French forces
 The Lend Lease Act-- sent provisions to the
Ally powers
Blitzkrieg
 A German fighting style
 Starts with planes and bombers
 Then artillery and tanks
 Then the troops are sent to “clean up” the
situation
 Extremely fast and furious assault
The Axis power
 1940- 1941
 Axis powers invade France, Belgium,
Denmark and other European countries
 Also, the Axis begins their world
domination by taking North Africa
 What countries are involved in North Africa
 Was this a smart move?
A Truly World War
 Japan bombs U.S.
 U.S. declares war on Japan
 Germany and Italy declare war on U.S.
 U.S. declares war on Germany and Italy
 Allied powers declare war on Japan
 Japan declares war on Allies
North Africa
 Germany and Italy take most of North Africa
 U.S. and Britain ally and fight after U.S. joins
the fight
 First allied invasion in Morocco and Algeria
 Two front war in the desert
 Fight for Africa ends in June of 1943
European area
 Germany invades France and other western
European countries
 Russia takes Finland
 Germany also moves into Norway
 Few countries stay neutral: Sweden and
Switzerland
 Who’s next?
England
 England safe because of English Channel?
 Hitler wants England
 Begins to bomb London to break morale
 Uses incendiary bombs
 Then uses V-1 rockets
 Never tries to invade by troops
Russia?
 Germany becomes frustrated with England
 Puts focus on Russia
 Begins to invade Russia
 Pact is broken
 Russia fights Germans but loses many;
Russia burns fields and kills animals as
they retreat--Why?
Aftermath of a battle in Russia
Time to Move
 Troops move from North Africa to Sicily and
Italy
 Allies begin to fight and liberate
 Montgomery and Patton
 Sicily was first then the troops moved to
Southern Italy and began to move north
 Italy is liberated 1944
D-Day
 Led by Eisenhower
 Allied invasion to begin liberation of Europe
 Five invasion points to land on beaches and
beat back German resistance
 Landed on French beaches code named:
Omaha Utah Gold Juno Sword
 Watch clip from “Saving Private Ryan”
Allies on the move
 After D-Day, Allies begin to move back the
German forces
 Russia joins the fight after defeating the
Germans at Stalingrad
 Begins a two front war
 Forces begin to take Italy, France and
Russia
Battle of the Bulge
 Dec. 1944 through Jan. of 1945
 Some considered it the breaking point of
the Germans
 A severe battle that caused heavy
casualties to both sides
 Known more for its tank battles
 After battle, more heavy fighting occurred
Air Attack
 The air attack proved crucial to the fighting
over Europe
 English and American bombers destroyed
vital areas of the Germans to stop
reproduction
 Note: The bombings however did not break
the morale of either side like anticipated
Tuskegee Airmen
Naval Attacks
 The U-boat was the best weapon for the
Germans
 Destroyed more cargo than bombers and
severely hampered the assistance
 Note: Proved fatal to thousands of Germans
as American and British ships were able to
locate and destroy U-boats- Watch clip from movie “U-571” if possible
Fall of Berlin
 Berlin fell in May of 1945
 All allies met in Berlin
 Hitler had committed suicide in April but no
body was found
 Many commanders were put on trial at
Nuremberg after the war for war crimes
Holocaust
 Many troops liberated these camps
 Often found people severely underweight
 Most of the camps turned into death camps
after 1943
 Genocide
 As mentioned, some were work camps,
some became experimental camps
 Watch a clip from “Schindler’s List”
A Concentration Camp