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Mr. Walter AP US History 2 Name: Introduction to the “WWII battle timeline” series… World War II was truly a war that was fought all over the world. As you know, it officially began on September 1, 1939 (when Germany invaded Poland). It continued until Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. It was fought on land, sea, and in the air, in deserts, jungles, and cities. It was fought in Western and Eastern Europe, North Africa and Italy, the Middle East, Asia, and on the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. There were literally thousands of conflicts, battles, and military operations; too many to count. Through this activity, you will learn about a select few by completing a series of “WWII timelines” organized by each geographic area: the eastern front, North Africa/Italy, the western front, and the Pacific. We will discuss each set of events, and cap off each timeline with primary documents of real soldiers’ stories and excerpts from outstanding Hollywood movies that depict the essence of the battles that took place in that geographic region. Directions You will utilize the web and the textbook (p. 887-897) to gain a better understanding of the timeline of WWII: how one event led to another, and how important battles led to the eventual defeat of the Axis. Fill in the blank boxes with the dates and locations. Then, write up a description of the battle/event, and what happened, including key facts, statistics, and other important details. Then, in the final box, explain the importance of the event and what it led to. Write everything down in your own words: do not just copy everything down that you see online. Whenever possible, explain cause and effect relationships between events, noting how one even led to another. World War II: A Timeline of Conflict, Part I: The Eastern Front Timeline Part 1: The Eastern Front This section deals primarily with the conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union. Most of the battles were fought in the Soviet Union itself. At this point in the war, the United States was on the defensive in the Pacific, and had yet to enter the fighting against the Germans. The first one is filled out for you as a model. Dates Location Event/battle June 22, 1941 Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa begins September 8, 1941January 27, 1944 October, 1941 Leningrad Siege of Leningrad Poland October, 1941January, 1942 January 20, 1942 August 22, 1942February 2, 1943 Moscow The Nazis open the Auschwitz extermination camp Battle of Moscow Suburb of Berlin Stalingrad Wannsee Conference is held Battle of Stalingrad What happened? Describe the event/battle and supply key facts. Germany and Soviet Union had signed a nonaggression treaty in 1939 allowing the two sides to invade Poland; Hitler tears it up and disregards his agreement Germany invades the Soviet Union along a 1,800 mile front in a massive invasion 4.5 million Nazi troops involved Largest military operation in human history Hitler hoped for a “quick” victory before the winter What was the significance/result of this event/battle? Germany succeeded in pushing 1,000 miles deep into the S.U.; but this was as far as they got Hitler clearly underestimated the Soviets and overestimated his military power Did not prepare for fighting in winter weather (-22 F) Over 250,000 killed on German side; over 800,000 on Soviet side A few final notes The Eastern Front of World War II was the largest single front in the history of warfare both in terms of size and soldiers involved. During the course of the fighting, the Eastern Front claimed 10.6 million Soviets soldiers and 5 million Axis troops. As the war raged, both sides committed a variety of atrocities, with the Germans rounding up and executing millions of Soviet Jews, intellectuals, and ethnic minorities as well as enslaving civilians in conquered territories. The Soviets were guilty of ethnic cleansing, mass executions of civilians and prisoners, torture, and oppression. The German invasion of the Soviet Union contributed significantly to the Nazis’ ultimate defeat as the front consumed vast amounts of manpower and material. Over 80% of Germany’s World War II casualties were suffered on the Eastern Front. Likewise, the invasion eased pressure on the other Allies and gave them a valuable ally in the east. World War II: A Timeline of Conflict, Part II: North Africa, Italy, and Western Europe Follow the same directions as you did when you completed the Eastern front timeline. N. Africa and Italy Dates October 23November 5, 1942 November 8, 1942 May 7, 1943 July 9-August 17, 1943 September 316, 1943 November 28December 1, 1943 Location Event/battle 2nd Battle of El Alamein Operation Torch begins German Afrika Corps surrenders in Tunisia Operation Husky Operation Avalanche Teheran Conference What happened? Describe the event. What was the significance/result? Western front-Europe June 6, 1944 Operation Overlord begins July 20, 1944 German assassination attempt of Hitler (Operation Valkyrie) Battle of the Bulge December 16, 1944-January 25, 1945 January 26, 1945 February 4February 16, 1945 February 1314, 1945 April 12, 1945 April 30, 1945 May 8, 1945 Auschwitz liberated Yalta Conference Warm Springs, Georgia Firebombing of Dresden, Germany FDR dies Hitler commits suicide V-E Day World War II: A Timeline of Conflict, Part III: The Pacific Follow the same directions as you did when you completed the two previous timelines. Special note: Please keep in mind that this timeline only highlights a selection of battles that U.S. forces participated in. The Pacific theater of WWII also took place on mainland Asia. Other nations that confronted Japan included Great Britain (and India), Australia, and the Netherlands, among many others. Dates April 9, 1942 Location Event/battle The Bataan Death March begins April 18, 1942 May 7-8, 1942 June 4, 1942 The Doolittle Raids The Battle of Coral Sea The Battle of Midway August 7, 1942 The Battle of Guadalcanal begins October 2326, 1944 February 19, 1945 April 1, 1945 The Battle of Leyte Gulf August 6, 1945 Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima August 9, 1945 Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki September 2, 1945 V-J Day! What happened? Describe the event. The Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Okinawa Some recommended sites are: http://www.onwar.com/chrono/ http://www.worldwar2database.com/ http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/famous_battles_of_world_war_two.htm http://www.pbs.org/perilousfight/timeline/ War in the Pacific: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/timeline/index.html War in Europe: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/timeline/timeline2.html http://www.history.com/content/worldwartwo http://www.history.com/maps.do?type=list&catId=0&letter=W http://www.usatwar.abc-clio.com/Wars/Display.aspx?warid=9 http://www.onwar.com/chrono/ http://www.worldwar2database.com/ http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/famous_battles_of_world_war_two.htm Battle of the Bulge and D-Day: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/guts/ http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/pacificwar/timeline.htm http://www.onwar.com/chrono/ http://www.worldwar2database.com/ What was the significance/result? http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/famous_battles_of_world_war_two.htm http://www.pbs.org/perilousfight/timeline/