Transcript WORLD WAR II

WORLD WAR II
CAUSES OF THE WAR
• EUROPE:
– Harsh treatment of Germany after WWI
– New alliances (fascist countries)
– Hitler’s unification with Austria
– Signing of the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression
Pact
– Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939
CAUSES OF THE WAR
CONTINUED
• ASIA:
– Japan’s invasion of Manchuria
– Clashes with China (war)
– U.S. placed economic sanctions on Japan
– Japan’s retaliation of U.S. sanctions by
attacking U.S. and European colonies in
Southeast Asia
ALLIANCES
• AXIS POWERS:
Germany (Hitler), Italy
(Mussolini), Japan
(Hirohito)
• ALLIED POWERS:
Britain (Winston
Churchill), Soviet
Union (Stalin), United
States (F.D. Roosevelt)
FAMOUS QUOTES From
Allied Leaders:
• Franklin Roosevelt : “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a
date which will live in infamy – the United States of
America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by
naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
• Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister) – considered
Italy the “soft underbelly” of Europe: “We shall fight on
the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds in the
fields, in the streets, and in the hills. We shall never
surrender.”
THE COURSE OF THE WAR
• EUROPE: 1939-1940
– 1939 – Invasion of Poland
– Blitzkrieg (lightening war) using armored
columns and panzer units supported by
airplanes
– April 1940 – Invasion of Denmark & Norway
– May 1940 – Invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium, &
France
– June 1940 – France signs armistice & 3/5 is occupied
by Germany
– Britain appealed to the U.S. for help, but U.S.
maintained its neutrality
– August 1940 – Battle of Britain (attack by German air
force the Luftwaffe)
cont. 1941-1943
• June 1941 – Germany’s invasion of Soviet
Union
• German victories:
– 1942 – Africa and the Crimea
• Allied victories:
– 1943 – German and Italian troops surrender
in North Africa and Russia wins Battle of
Stalingrad in Russia (defeated the German 6th
Army)
– July 1943 – Battle of Kursk
Cont. 1944-1945
• June 1944 - allies capture Tunisia and
Italy falls to allies
• June 6 1944 – D-Day invasion of
Normandy
• August 1944 – Paris is liberated by allies
• March 1945 – allies advance into
Germany
• April 1945 – Hitler commits suicide and
Mussolini is shot by Italian rebels
• May 7, 1945 – Germany surrenders
THE COURSE OF THE WAR
• ASIA:
– December 7, 1941 – the Japanese launched a
surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet at
Pearl Harbor
– May 1942 - U.S. victory in the Battle of Coral
Sea
– June 1942 – U.S. victory of Midway. This was
the turning point of the war in the Pacific
RECLAIMING THE PACIFIC
– Fall of 1942 – dual operations:
• McArthur takes Philippines, New Guinea and the
South Pacific
• Joint Army, Navy, and Marines attack various
islands (island hopping) up to Japan, turning the
tide after fighting in the Solomon Islands from Aug.
to Nov.
End of the War
• August 6 & 14th of
1945 – atomic bombs
dropped on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki
• Decision was made
by President Harry S.
Truman in order to
save thousands of
American lives
RESULTS OF THE WAR
17 million died in battle
20 million civilians died
Holocaust (genocide of the Jews – Hitler’s final
solution to the Jewish problem)
Large movements of people in the U.S.
Changing social roles
The Cold War