Transcript 31 World War II part 2

III. Conduct of the War: Battles
and Strategy
A. Germany and Britain
1. Following the invasion of
Poland, Hitler launched a
blitzkrieg, or lightning attack
against France
2. By 1941 most of Europe and
North Africa was under Nazi
control
3. Hitler send his air force, the
Luftwaffe, to Britain prior to an
invasion
4. In the Battle of Britain, the
Royal Air Force defeated the
Luftwaffe and the invasion was
postponed
5. Next, Hitler began bombing
British cities but it too failed
6. Germany stopped bombing in
May 1941
B. War at Sea
1. New technology determined
how battles would be fought
a. German submarines came
close to controlling the Atlantic
b. The Allies convoy system
protected the ships
c. In the Pacific, battleships and
mainly the aircraft carrier was
responsible for allied victory
2. Tanks played an increasingly
important role in Russia and
North Africa
3. Germany was first to use
missiles (against Britain in
1945)
4. Allies perfected saturation
bombing of German cities
C. Germany and Russia
1. The Nazis invaded Russia in
1941
2. Millions of soldiers died on
both sides in huge battles
3. Germany lost so many men in
the advance came to a halt after
Stalingrad
4. It was the turning point for
the Nazi on the Eastern Front
D. Normandy Landings (D-Day)
D-Day Memorial -Why Bedford?
 Lost 19 men that day - the largest per capita
loss of any town in America on that day
29th Infantry Division
116th Infantry Regiment
Co A Bedford
Co B Lynchburg
Co C Harrisonburg
Co D Roanoke
HQ Co 2nd Battalion Alta Vista
Co E Chase City
Co F South Boston
Co G Farmville
Co H Martinsville
1. American and Allied troops
under General Eisenhower
landed in German-occupied
France on June 6, 1944
2. Despite intense German
opposition and heavy American
casualties, the landing
succeeded and liberation of
western Europe began
E. War in the Pacific
War Comes to America
1. Japanese war planes from
aircraft carriers attacked the US
Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on
December 7, 1941
2. The attack destroyed much of
the American fleet and killed
several thousand Americans
3. FDR immediately asked for a
declaration of war calling
December 7 "a date that will
live in infamy."
4. US strategy called for an
"island hopping" campaign,
seizing islands closer and closer
to Japan and using them as bases
for further attacks
5. US used submarine warfare
against Japanese shipping to cut
off her supplies
F. Significant Battles in the
Pacific
1. Midway Island
a. American forces defeated a
much larger Japanese force as it
attempted to seize Midway
Island
b. A Japanese victory would
have allowed Japan to invade
Hawaii
c. American victory ended the
Japanese threat of invasion
d. Midway was the turning point
of the war in the Pacific
2. Iwo Jima and Okinawa
a. American invasion brought
American forces closer to Japan
b. Bloody battles in which many
on both sides died
c. Many Japanese soldiers and
civilians committed suicide
rather than surrender
3. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
a. President Truman ordered the
use of the Atomic bomb on the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
b. Done in order to save
thousands of American lives in a
full-scale invasion of Japan's
main islands
c. Tens of thousands were killed
in the cities
d. Japanese leaders soon
surrenders and accepted an
unconditional surrender
IV. Domestic Effects of the War
War’s Affect on America
A. World War II ushered in
social changes and established
reform agendas that would
effect the country through the
20th century
1. Women
a. Women entered into
previously male job roles
b. Worked in industry as well as
traditional roles: clerks, etc.
c. Jobs in the military were noncombat jobs
2. African Americans
a. Struggled to obtain
desegregation of the armed
forces and end discriminatory
hiring practices
b. In the military, they generally
served in segregated units and
assigned to non-combat roles
c. Demanded the right to served
in combat rather than support
roles (Tuskegee Airmen served
in Europe with distinction)
Native Americans – Code Talkers
V. The Holocaust
A. Called by the Nazis the
"Final Solution"
1. Specific groups were often
the object of hatred and
prejudices
2. Faced increased risk of
discrimination during wartime
Germany
B. The Affected Groups
1. Jews
2. Poles (from Poland)
3. Slavs
4. Gypsies
5. "Undesirables" (homosexuals,
mentally ill, political dissidents)
C. Significance of the Holocaust
1. Nazi leaders were convicted
of war crimes in the Nuremberg
trials
2. the Nuremberg trials
emphasized individual
responsibility
3. the trials led to increased
demand for a Jewish homeland
VI. Geneva Convention and POWs
 The Geneva Convention attempted to ensure the
humane treatment of prisoners of war by
establishing rules to be followed by all nations.
 The treatment of prisoners of war in the Pacific
Theater often reflected the savagery of the fighting
there.
 In the Bataan Death March, American
POWs suffered brutal treatment by the
Japanese after surrender of the
Philippines.
 The treatment of prisoners of war in
Europe more closely followed the ideas
of the Geneva Convention