Download War Begins

War Begins
Warm Up: How did the Fascist
Dictators of Europe come to
power?
WWII
I. Beginning of the
War
A. Hitler’s Early Action and
European Appeasement
1. Militarizing in the Rhineland
– Treaty of Versailles prevented Germany
from putting military in a portion of the
border between France and Germany
– Hitler breaks treaty and puts military
along the border
– France didn’t like this but did not want to
go to war
2. The Anschluss
– Hitler wanted the country of Austria to
unite into one country with Germany
– This was called Anschluss
– Austrian Government refuses
– Hitler sends in troops and takes Austria
3. Sudetenland
– Hitler wanted to take a portion of
Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland
– This portion was filled with German
speaking people.
– He threatened military attack
– French and British heads of state met
with Hitler and allowed him to take this
area and avoid war. (appeasement)
B. Hitler Moves East
1. Taking all of Czechoslovakia
– March 1939, Hitler sends troops into the
rest of the country
– Takes it over without any fight
2. Attack on Poland
– Germany wanted to expand into more of
Eastern Europe
– September 1, 1939: Germany launches
major invasion of Poland
– The German Blitzkrieg (lightening war)
swept through the country
– Poland fell after one month
3. Allies Declare War
– France and Britain declare war on
Germany
– Do not attack Germany but wait for Hitler
to make his next move
C. Hitler Moves West
1. Netherlands and Belgium Falls
– May 1940: Germans make their way to
France through the Netherlands and
Belgium
– Germans met by French, British, and
Belgian troops
– Germans pushed these troops back and
capture both countries
2. Fall of France
– Hitler’s troops moved into France in two
places
– Surprise attack through the Ardennes
forest sweeps towards Paris.
– By the end of June France surrendered to
Germany
– Germany splits France in half
– One part occupied by Germany
– The other (Vichy France) under the
control of those who cooperated with
Hitler
3. Battle of Britain
– Great Britain stood alone against Germany
– Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused
to negotiate with Hitler
– Hitler’s plan involved first attacking
Britain by air
– British used new radar
system to detect
German planes and
inflict heavy damage
– Germany then began to
bomb London
– Raids lasted for
months and killed
thousands of Civilians
– End of 1940: raids
stopped and Hitler
called off his invasion
of Britain
II. Pre World War II
• Factories at home are back to
producing goods.
• Many factories are building arms and
weapons for the countries fighting in
Europe.
• Isolationism – Avoiding involvement in
foreign affairs.
• Pacifists – People who don’t believe in the
use of military force.
• Neutrality Act 1935 – The aim of this bill was
to keep us out of the European war. It
outlawed loans to warring countries.
• Ethiopia V Italy
• Spanish Civil War
• Neutrality Act adjustments – Cash and carry.
Countries at war could buy from us if they
paid in cash.
• Lend / Lease Act – This allowed us to send
weapons to Britain whether they could pay or
not.
• The German U-boats sunk the USS Kearney
and the US remained neutral.
• The German U-boats sunk the USS Reuben
James and the US remained neutral.
• The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and we
were no longer neutral.