Transcript The Battles of WWII: 1942

TODAY’S AGENDA…
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War in Russia
War in Africa
Strategic Bombing
War in the Pacific
RUSSIA
• The German plan to launch another great
attack in the early months of 1942.
• Why:
– Hitler needs oil and resources to win the war.
– Hitler believes that another attack with would drain
Russian manpower.
RUSSIA
• However, Hitler
becomes obsessed with
capturing the city of
Stalingrad
• Both Hitler and Stalin
make this battle a
personal matter and
both side throw
everything they have
into it.
• Stalingrad is the most
brutal battle of the war
with intense street
fighting (building to
building, floor to floor,
room to room battles)
THE TWO SIDES
German Army Russian Army
General
General Zhukov
Paulus
1,011,500 men
10, 290
artillery guns
675 tanks
1,000,500 men
13,541 artillery
guns
894 tanks
1,216 planes
1,115 planes
THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
• As the Germans slowly take
the city, Russian forces to
the North and South
surround the city and trap a
large section of the German
Army inside
• Hitler refuses the army’s
request to have the trapped
men break out
• Germans are trapped…
THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
"Surrender is forbidden. 6 Army will hold their
positions to the last man and the last round
and by their heroic endurance will make an
unforgettable contribution towards the
establishment of a defensive front and the
salvation of the Western world.”
-Hitler
THE BATTLE OF
STALINGRAD
• Unable to break out,
the Germans also had
to face the winter.
Temperatures dropped
to well below zero
• Food, ammunition and
heat were in short
supply.
THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
• The Battle of Stalingrad is
considered by many
historians to have been the
turning point in World War
Two in Europe.
• The battle at Stalingrad bled
the German army dry in
Russia and after this defeat
• Nazi power never recovers
from this loss
AFRICA
• The battle for North
Africa was a struggle for
control of the Suez
Canal and access to oil
from the Middle East
and raw materials from
Asia.
IN AFRICA
• The American Army
attacks the Germans
in Africa
• The German Army is
defeated at the Battle
of El Alemein by the
British and flee Africa
in 1942
STRATEGIC BOMBING
U.S., Britain and Canada bomb Germany (city by city):
• Such much damage was done to German factories
that German could not produce enough weapons
and material for the war effort
Question
During the process of strategic bombing, many
innocent German citizens died and homes
were destroyed. Do you think what Canada,
U.S. and Britain did was right or wrong?
“Become a monster to destroy the monster.” –
Do you agree with this statement?
https://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/Ss0ii2eTVRvcOR8#
PACIFIC
• The USA wins a major Naval battle near the
Island of Midway and crushes the Japanese
Navy
• The USA begins taking back territory captured
by the Japanese using “Island Hopping”
• The Japanese continue to fight very hard and
the war tin the pacific is extremely bloody but
after Midway, they had little hope of victory
Revenge
• Four Japanese aircraft carriers, all part of
the six-carrier force that had attacked Pearl
Harbor six months earlier—and a heavy
cruiser were sunk
• America’s loss? 1 American aircraft carrier and
1 destroyer
• America is able to rebuild (they have
resources) – Japan can never get back up
Island Hopping
Island Hopping
• Advantages:
1. Allowed the United States forces to reach Japan
more quickly and not expend the time,
manpower, and supplies to capture every
Japanese-held island on the way.
2. Gave Allies the advantage of surprise and keep
the Japanese off balance.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY
• Naval warfare
• American advantage: decoding Japanese
communications
– American codebreakers were able to determine
the date and location of the attack, enabling the
forewarned U.S. Navy to set up an ambush of its
own.
• Japan loses
OVERALL
• Big turnaround:
– Allies have the upper hand over the Axis
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Germany loses Stalingrad (Russian success)
Germany loses Africa (British success)
Germany gets bombed (Canadian, Britain & U.S. success)
Japan loses the battle of Midway (U.S. Success)
1942 BIG NEWS!
You are a 1942 news broadcast station
• In your groups, create a short
(approximately 2 minutes) news
broadcast for the battle you were
assigned.
• While one person is reading the news, the
rest of your group members must create a
tableau of either the Allies or Axis reaction
to the outcome of the battle.