Download CHAPTER 11, Section 2 Lecture Notes

CHAPTER 11, Section 2 Lecture Notes
-Germany used speed & power of the blitzkrieg (strike force of aircraft & panzer tanks) to conquer Poland in
only four weeks! Nazis & Soviets divided conquered Poland (late 1939.)
“I am going into this struggle strong in heart. My whole life has been nothing but a struggle for Germany.
I myself am ready to risk my life… I demand the same of everyone else… Anyone who thinks that he
can oppose this national commandment… will die!” (Hitler)
-Nazi blitzkrieg attacks defeated: Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium & France (early 1940!)
-Germans went around Maginot Line. French & British troops surprised & trapped at beaches of English
Channel. Heroic efforts rescued majority of Allied troops in “Miracle of Dunkirk.”
-France signed armistice June 22. Northern France occupied by Nazis. Authoritarian regime set up in south,
(Vichy France.) Britain stood alone vs. Nazis & began to appeal to U.S. for help!
-Franklin D. Roosevelt denounced aggressors but followed strict policy of isolationism. U.S. passed neutrality
acts, but F.D.R. believed our neutrality helped Axis Powers! U.S. policies were relaxed to supply ships
for Britain with the Lend-Lease Act.
-Aug, 1940 the Luftwaffe launched aerial attack in “Battle of Britain” (a.k.a. “the Blitz!)
-Hitler hoped to weaken British morale, but bombing had opposite effect (unified British vs. enemy, civilians
slept in the Underground.)
-British quickly rebuilt air strength & began inflicting major losses vs. German bombers.
-Royal Air Force outnumbered, but fought bravely: “Never before in the course of human history, have so
many, owed so much, to so few.” (Winston Churchill)
-Churchill elected prime minister of Britain: “We shall never surrender!” (inspirational orator)
-Mussolini failed to conquer Greece, so Hitler’s forces had to seize Greece & Yugoslavia in the Balkans.
-This delayed invasion of Soviet Union. Hitler’s forces would be caught in brutal Russian winter!
-Germany launched huge attack (1941) along 1,800 mile front & quickly captured two million Soviet soldiers!
-But an early winter & fierce Soviet resistance stalled German troops (wearing summer uniforms!)
-December 7, 1941 Japan launched surprise attack from aircraft carriers vs. U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.
-F.D.R. asked Congress to declare war on Japan “A date that will live in infamy”
-Pearl Harbor was devastated, but American aircraft carriers survived!
-Japan thought the U.S. would accept Japanese domination of the Pacific after the attack, because it believed
that Americans were too “soft” to counterattack.
-Pearl Harbor united American people! U.S. joined Allied Powers in Europe & China vs. Axis Powers.
-Japan attacked Philippines & other Pacific islands.
-Resistance was strong in the Philippines, but Japanese were brutal (Bataan Death March!)
-Spring 1942, Japan “liberated” S.E. Asia from Western powers and renamed the region “Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity Sphere!”)
-Grand Alliance (Soviet Union, U.S. & Britain) stressed military operations but ignored political differences.
-Grand Alliance demanded unconditional surrender of Axis.
-Gen. Erwin Rommel led Afrika Korps to many victories vs. British in North Africa. Hitler boldly predicted:
“The British Empire will collapse!”
-British stopped Rommel in 1942 at Battle of El Alamein, Egypt (turning point!)
-Hitler ordered siege of Stalingrad (major Soviet industrial center.)
-Battle of Stalingrad extremely bloody (turning point!)
-Soviet troops fought fiercely & Night Witches (female Soviet pilots) bombed Nazis.
-Feb.1943 Soviets encircled German forces & cut off supply lines (frigid winter.)
-Entire German Sixth Army at Stalingrad surrendered!
-In Pacific, U.S. planes destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway.
-Midway established U.S. naval supremacy in Pacific (turning point!)
-Allied forces in Pacific commanded by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur freed Philippines from Japanese
rule “I shall return!”
-Allies conquered Italian island of Sicily. Mussolini was removed from office & placed under arrest by
King Victor Emmanuel III.
-New Italian govt. offered to surrender, but Mussolini escaped prison w. help of Nazi commandos & became
head of a puppet state in northern Italy!
-Mussolini was captured and shot by Italian partisans in April, 1945. Allies captured Rome in June, 1944.
-Allies launched largest amphibious invasion in world history on June 6, 1944 (D-Day.)
-D-Day Invasion (planned since Tehran Conference) crossed English Channel & landed on beaches of
Normandy, France (turning point!)
-Nazi resistance was fierce, but Allies pushed inland & liberated Paris in Aug, 1944!
-Nazis launched last all-out offensive at Battle of the Bulge (highest number of American casualties in war!)
Nazis were stopped & began retreating into Germany.
-April, 1945 Soviets invaded German capital of Berlin. Hitler directed war from bunker deep under Berlin.
-Hitler’s final testament, he blamed Jews for the war! He commanded German leaders to continue: “the laws
of race and to merciless opposition to the universal poisoner of all peoples, international Jewry.”
-April 30, Hitler & wife committed suicide. May 7, 1945 German commanders surrendered (VE-Day!)
-April, 1945 F.D.R. died. Vice president Harry S. Truman became president.
-Because an invasion of the well-defended Japanese mainland would result in the loss of huge numbers of U.S.
troops and due to the continued fanaticism of kamikaze pilots, President Truman decided to use our
top-secret atomic bombs vs. Japan.
-August 6, 1945 first atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. Three days later, second bomb leveled Nagasaki.
-Emperor Hirohito forced his military generals to surrender unconditionally on August 14, 1945 (VJ- Day!)
-Fifty million people had perished in World War Two!
-Women were active in espionage (spying) during WWII.
-Yoshiko Kawashima was a Japanese female spy in China, raised in Japan who disguised herself as a young
man. She was an effective spy until her arrest & execution by the Chinese.
-Egyptian dancer Hekmath Fathmy was a Nazi spy and a nightclub singer and dancer, who seduced British
officers to gain information from them. She was arrested by British, but spent only one year in prison.
-Violette Szabo spied for the Allies to avenge her husband’s death. She joined British Intelligence and
parachuted into France to spy on Nazis. She was caught by German Gestapo, tortured & executed.