Transcript World War II Begins ppt

World War II Begins
United States
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Roosevelt speaks out against growing
“epidemic of world lawlessness”
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American people favored isolationism
Roosevelt promised to keep out of the war but
saw danger posed by Japan, Germany, and
Italy
What caused Great Britain and
France to declare war on Germany?
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On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland (a
violation of the Munich Agreement). Great
Britain and France declared war on Germany
two days later. World War II had begun.
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Blitzkrieg (lightning war) – new method of
warfare introduced by the Germans. Stressed
speed and surprise in the use of tanks, troops,
and planes.
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Britain and France could do nothing to help
Poland
September, 1939 – Hitler and Stalin were
dividing Poland per their prewar agreement
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Stalin forces Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to
allow Soviet army bases in their countries
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Finland fights back but surrenders in 1940
Spread of War

Allied forces prepare for attack against France
on Maginot Line – string of steel-and-concrete
bunkers along French-German border
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April, 1940 – Germany attacks Denmark and
Norway to the north
May, 1940 – turn west to invade Netherlands
and Belgium
Dunkirk
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Allied troops retreat to Dunkirk following
surrender of Belgium
Trapped between the Germans and the French
coast of the English Channel
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800 British warships, ferries, and fishing boats
back and forth across channel and rescued
more than 300,000 British and French soldiers
France
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June – Germans crossed Somme River and
swept into France
Italy joined the war and attacked France from
the southeast
June 14, 1940 – German troops marched into
Paris
 France surrendered
one week later
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Britain Battles for Survival

Britain only country in western Europe not
controlled by Germany
Britain Battles for Survival

August, 1940 – German warplanes begin
bombing British air bases, shipyards, factories,
and cities destroying parts of London and killing
many people

Battle of Britain – German air forces (Luftwaffe)
and Britain's Royal Air Force battle until
October
Prime Minister, Winston Churchill refuses to
surrender leaving Hitler frustrated
 Germany suffers heavy losses; Hitler
abandons
plans to
invade

Germany Turns on Stalin
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Hitler decides he needs resources and land of
the Soviet Union
June, 1941 breaks Nonaggression Pact with
Stalin
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Destroys planes and tanks and captured over
half a million soldiers in the early phase of the
invasion
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Stalin orders scorched-earth policy
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Soviets burned their cities, destroyed crops,
and blew up dams that provided electrical
power
Germans had difficulty supplying their troops
and advancing