Transcript WWII in Europe Lecture

WWII Begins
September 1, 1939 – Germany
invades Poland
• Non-Aggression
Pact
• Hitler & Stalin agree
to invade Poland and
not to attack each
other
December 8, 1941
America Joins WWII
Which enemy should the US
first concentrate their
resources on? Why?
Japan?
Germany?
Big Three:
U.S. – Franklin D Roosevelt
Great Britain- Winston Churchill
Soviet Union – Joseph Stalin
• Agree that Germany is
the bigger threat
• Joseph Stalin (U.S.S.R)
asks for U.S. and
England to invade
Northern Europe
• Churchill thinks they do
not have the resources
for such an attack.
July 1942
Allies invade North Africa
• Patton vs. Rommel
– Tanks become
important part of
combat
• Stalin not happy
– Why?
War in the Soviet Union
• Hitler invades all the way
to Stalingrad and
Moscow(pg.431)
– Kills much of the
population along the way
• Of the almost 50
million people killed in
WWII almost half were
from the Soviet Union
– Half of those were
civilians
– Battle of Leningrad est.
1.6 – 2 Million Dead
• Early 1942 Stalin begins
to push Germans back
Axis
Military
Civilian
Total
Germany
3,500,00
700,000
4,200,000
Japan
2,000,000
350,000
2,350,000
Romania
300,000
160,000
460,000
Hungary
140,000
290,000
430,000
Italy
330,000
80,000
410,000
Other Nations
312,000
106,000
418,000
Allied
Military
Civilian
Total
Soviet Union
10,000,000
10,000,000
20,000,000
China
2,500,000
7,500,000
10,000,000
Poland
100,000
5,700,000
5,800,000
Yugoslavia
300,000
1,400,000
1,700,000
France
250,000
350,000
600,000
Czechoslovakia
200,000
215,000
415,000
United States
400,000
0
400,000
Great Britain
326,000
62,000
388,000
Other Nations
199,000
465,000
664,000
Est. Total Deaths
20,858,000
27,372,000
48,231,000
Operation Overlord
• Invasion of Northern
Europe becomes
priority in early 1943
• General Dwight D.
Eisenhower put in
charge of Allied
Forces in Europe.
• 2 Million U.S Soldiers
based on Southern
England
Operation Overlord in Actions
(D-Day) June 6, 1944 – July 25, 1944
• 1st Invasion
–
–
–
–
–
150,000 soldiers
1500 Tanks
5300 Ships
12000 Aircraft
24000 Airborne Troops
• Over 400,000 people
killed in battle
Germany caught between 2
fronts
• Allied bombing from
Western front
– Berlin 25,000 killed
– Dresden 60,000 killed
• Soviet invasion from
Eastern front
– June – Sept. 1944: 1.3
Million German
soldiers killed.
Hitlers last chance
• Battle of the Bulge
(Dec. 16 1944)
– Sends bulk of troops
into Belgium
– Attempting to:
• Split Allied troops
• Cut off supplies
– Allied troops vastly
outnumbered and
trapped by speed.
– Jan. 1945 Allies push
back and win
Allied forces invade Germany
• Soviet Union takes Berlin
from the east
• Allied forces invade from
the West
• Meet at Elbe River
• Results:
– April 29, 1944 Hitler
commits suicide
– Germany soon signs peace
• May 7, 1945: V-E Day
(Victory in Europe)
– Troops learn about the
Holocaust
WWII effects the World