Transcript world war ii - the world of World History!

WORLD WAR II
WORLD WAR II BEGINS
Road to War
• Aggressive nations
– Japan invades Manchuria in 1931
• The League of Nations does nothing
– Japan then invades China
• Millions of Chinese will die, Rape of Nanjing
– Italy in 1935 invades Ethiopia
• The Ethiopian leader appealed to the League of
Nations, which once again did nothing
– Italy also takes over Albania
• Hitler began to ignore and violate the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles
– Once in power, Hitler began to secretly rebuild the
Germany army
– A few years later he sent troops into the Rhineland,
Germany territory that bordered France
• The Treaty of Versailles made this area a
demilitarized zone
• The French and British complained, but took no
action
– Realizing that the other Europeans powers wouldn’t
risk war to stop him, Hitler set his plans for an empire
into motion
• Lebensraum = living space for the German people
• Germany begins to acquire territory
– First step in Hitler’s plan was to annex Austria
• German troops marched into Austria in 1938
without opposition and took over Austria, called
the Anschluss
– Next Hitler turned to Czechoslovakia, demanding the
Sudetenland, a region with a large German
population
• The French and British met with Hitler at the
Munich Conference in 1938 to decide the fate of
the Sudetenland
• Hitler demanded it or else war
• France and Britain told Czechoslovakia to give
Germany the Sudetenland - appeasement
• Hitler got what he wanted without any fighting
and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
returned home claiming to have achieved “peace
in our time”
– Six months later Hitler violates the Munich
agreement and takes over the rest of Czechoslovakia
– France and Great Britain realized that Hitler would
never be satisfied and decided they would have to
make a stand
• Hitler next began demanding Poland or else
• France and Great Britain stated they would fight to
protect Poland
• New alliances
– Rome-Berlin Axis = between Italy and Germany
– Anti-Comintern Pact = between Germany and Japan to
oppose the spread of communism
– Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact = between Germany and
the Soviet Union
• Stalin first tried to make an alliance with the French
and British, but they refused
• Hitler made this agreement because he was trying to
prevent a two front war
– Had every intention of invading Russia, wanted the
land for the German people and to turn the Soviets
into slaves or kill them, especially the communists
• Stalin knew Hitler would eventually betray the pact
and invade, needed time to rebuild the Soviet army
World War II Begins
• German Invasion of Poland – Sept. 1, 1939
– Britain and France declare war on Sept. 3
– The Germans use blitzkrieg against the Poles who are
still using horses
– The Soviet Union invades Poland from the other side
• Hitler and Stalin had agreed to divide Poland
– It takes only three weeks to crush Polish resistance
• Blitzkrieg “lightning war”
– Emphasized speed – it is quick and devastating
– The Luftwaffe (German air force) leads the way,
bombing and damaging defenses
– The planes are followed by fast-moving tanks and
artillery, then soldiers who finished off any resistance
• The two opposing sides
– Axis Powers = Italy, Japan, and Germany
– Allied Powers = France and Great Britain (will be
joined later by other nations)
• After a winter spent planning, Hitler was ready to begin
his assault on western Europe
– On April 9, 1940, German forces invaded both
Denmark and Norway
– Hitler’s next focus was to attack and conquer France
• France feels safe behind the Maginot Line, a
concrete fortress built along the French-German
border
–The best soldiers are stationed there,
concentrating on defense
• Belgium refuses to allow British and French troops
into the country to set up defenses
• Hitler’s assault on France begins on May 10, 1940 when
he launches three separate attacks
– Invades the Netherlands and Belgium – two countries
that lay in between France and Germany
– The Allies come too late to save Belgium, which
surrenders on May 28
– At the same time Nazi forces blitzkrieg at the
Ardennes Woods, where the French least expect it
• It is a dense forest region along the border
between France and Belgium
• The French believe it impossible for an army to get
through
• The Germans get through in a couple of days and
face inexperienced French troops
– In five days the road to Paris is open
• Paris declares itself an open city to avoid being
bombed
• Captured on June 14th as Nazis make a victorious
march through the Arc de Triumph
– Italy invades France on June 10th and declares war on
Britain as well
• French lose 8 soldiers to Italy’s 5,000
• Evacuation at Dunkirk
– German tanks and troops have trapped hundreds of
thousands of Allied troops who retreated to the
coastal city of Dunkirk
• Almost the entire British army is in France
– Hitler halts the march into France because of losses,
this gives the Allies time to get away
– Between May 26th and June 4th, 800 boats from
Britain, ranging from warships to fishing boats,
evacuate 340,000 soldiers from France, including
over 100,000 French soldiers
• Soldiers run into the water and swim to ships
while Allied airplanes hold off the Luftwaffe
–235 ships sunk and 68,000 soldiers killed
• Leave all weapons and tanks behind
Fall of France
• France surrenders on June 21st
• Harsh terms, Hitler wants to humiliate France, sign a
peace treaty at the Versailles palace
– North France given to Germany and southeastern
France goes to Italy
– The rest of southern France gets to remain
independent, but must be loyal to Germany and
cooperate with Hitler, called Vichy France
– Army reduced to 100,000 men and no more navy
• French ships are to go to Germany
• The British steal whatever French boats they
can or sink them from falling into Nazi hands
– Must pay for war and German occupation – way
more money than Germany had to pay after WWI
• Some French leaders, including General Charles de
Gaulle, escape to Britain
– They will organize French resistance and work
with the Allied powers
• Britain is now all alone
– “The Battle of France is over. I expect that the
Battle of Britain is about to begin.”
- Winston Churchill
Battle of Britain
“Where Napoleon failed, I shall succeed. I shall
land on the shores of Britain.” - Hitler
• Lasted from August 1940 – May 1941
– The British were now being led by Winston Churchill
– Hitler’s plan was to destroy the British Royal Air
Force (RAF) to make it possible to invade Britain
– Needs to destroy the RAF before ships can safely land
troops on British soil
• In WWII, planes sink ships
– Would be mostly an air battle
• The Luftwaffe attacks British ports and shipping
– The Luftwaffe also attacks RAF airfields and factories
• British inflict heavy losses on the Germans
• Have something the Germans don’t: radar
– Bomb London in September
• British repay by bombing Berlin
– Lend-Lease Act
• Britain can no longer pay for the military
equipment it needs due to the war
• The U.S. “leases” Britain the military aid it needs
and under the program, the weapons would be
returned at the end of the war
• London Blitz
– More than 70 attacks against the city, ends in May
1941
– At one point London is bombed for 57 consecutive
nights
• The goal is to terrorize the British people and
cause them to lose their will to fight
• 1300 Londoners killed in one week
– Thousands of civilians are killed and large parts of
London and other cities are destroyed
• Hitler calls off the operation, even though Britain was
weakening
– Too many losses: Luftwaffe lost 1400 planes to RAF’s
800
– The RAF shot down German planes faster than
German factories could build them
• Britain survives: “Never in the field of human
conflict was so much owed by so many to so
few.” - Churchill
Invasion of the Soviet Union
• Operation Barbarossa – German invasion of the
Soviet Union – June 22nd, 1941
– Hitler hates communism and views the Russian
people as just a step above Jews
• Has no respect for the Russian army
• Orders the execution of Russians wearing the
Communist insignia
– Attacks with 3 million soldiers and at first the
German blitzkrieg is highly effective
• German troops and tanks race across the Soviet
countryside
• The Soviet army has lots of soldiers, but they are
poorly trained and equipped
– Within six weeks one German army group is 220
miles from Moscow
• Expect to win before winter arrives
• By winter the Germans are deep into Soviet
territory, but have not captured Moscow or
Leningrad
– As winter sets in, German progress slows and then
stops
• Were unprepared for the Russian winter
• The Germans commit horrible atrocities against the
Russian people: murder, torture, cities starved or
completely wiped out
– The Russians knew this would be a fight to the death
and they fought with a sense of desperation
Pearl Harbor – Dec. 7, 1941
• Why the Japanese attack
– Island nation – need resources and raw materials, so
they have an expanding empire
– Feel provoked by the U.S.
• The U.S. has placed embargoes on resources, such
as oil, and has frozen Japanese bank accounts
• Other defensive measures due to the Japanese
invasion of China
• Why Pearl Harbor
– Need a quick win
– Center for the U.S. Pacific Fleet
– Destroy fleet, take colonies, and sue for peace
• The attack
– Was a two prong attack
• Planes bombed airfields and ships at Pearl Harbor
in three different waves
– Lasted just under two hours
• 200 aircraft destroyed all 8 battleships were either
damaged or sunk in the harbor
– Casualties
• 2,403 dead and 1,100 wounded
• 1,177 men die aboard the U.S.S. Arizona
– At the same time the Japanese attack U.S. colonies of
Wake Island and the Philippines
• The Philippines fall and General Douglas
MacArthur leaves with a promise to returne
• Bataan Death March
–70,000 prisoners march towards a distant
prisoner camp
–Thousands die due to lack of food, water, and
violence from their Japanese captors
–Many more will die at the prisoner camp
– They also attack Hong Kong, Thailand, Burma,
Malaya, Guam, and French Indochina
• Why fails
– Didn’t eliminate the fuel tanks or other ships (didn’t
launch the third wave)
– All aircraft carriers not in port – they were sent out to
sea a week before
• Aircraft carriers are crucial to battles at sea since
they are able to launch planes
– U.S. reaction
• U.S. Congress declares war on Japan on Dec. 8
• Three days later Germany and Italy declare war on
the U.S.
• The U.S. and the Soviet Union are now part of the
Allied Powers
• Revenge – Doolittle’s raiders bomb Japanese cities
– Bring war home to the Japanese
War in the Pacific
• The Japanese start off with an advantage as the U.S.
works to overcome the damage from Pearl Harbor
• Battle of Coral Sea – May 1942
– Japanese and Americans meet in battle off the coast
of Australia as the Japanese were getting ready to
invade British-controlled New Guinea
– Both sides lose an aircraft carrier, which hurt the
Americans more
• Battle of Midway Island – Turning Point *
– June 1942 – Japanese want to capture this American
military base
• Japan wants to lure the Americans into battle and
finish what they started at Pearl Harbor by
destroying their fleet
– The U.S. had broken the secret Japanese code and
knew of the attack – U.S. ready and waiting
• They destroy four aircraft carriers in five minutes,
only lose one of their own
– The Americans now have the advantage
• Island-hopping = take islands that are not as well
defended and cut off supply lines to Japanese
strongholds
– Bypass strongholds and capture weaker targets,
which are then used as bases for the next attack
– Will “hop” from one island to another as they
advance towards Japan
• Battle of Guadalcanal – summer 1942
– Japanese are building an airstrip there
– Brutal series of battles that lasts for six months
– Thousands of Japanese die or kill themselves to avoid
capture
• women and children jump off cliffs, soldiers carry
out old samurai traditions, suicide charges
• Tarawa
– It takes the Americans three days to capture the 8
square mile island
– 17 out of 5,000 Japanese survive
– 3,000 American casualties
• From 1942 to 1944 the Allies capture the Solomon,
Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline, and Mariana islands
• MacArthur returns to the Philippines in fall of
1944
– Battle of Leyte – largest naval battle ever fought
• First major use of a new Japanese weapon, the
kamikaze attack
• Kamikazes = Japanese pilots who load their planes
with explosives and deliberately crash into Allied
ships, sacrificing their own lives
• Battle ends in victory for the U.S.
– America recaptures the Philippines
• Iwo Jima – Feb. 1945
– Want to capture the island to make the regular
bombing raids on Japan easier for U.S. pilots
– The Japanese decide to make the Americans think
twice about invading Japan
• Takes 25 days to capture the five mile island
• Approximately 7,000 Americans dead and 20,000
wounded
– Out of 21,000 Japanese, only 216 surrender
• Fought to the death
– Raising the flag
• Okinawa
– Many casualties, war of attrition
• 82 days of combat
• Kamikazes sank or damaged 245 ships
• U.S. casualties = 75,000, with 12,000 dead
• Approx. 120,000 Japanese killed, along with
150,000 Okinawan civilians
• Now at Japan’s doorstep
War in Africa
• Fighting begins in Africa in 1940 when Italian forces
based in Libya attacked British-controlled Egypt
– Italy wants an African empire
– The British eliminate the Italian threat and even
invade Libya – the Italians were now on the
defensive
• Feb. 1941 – 30,000 British soldiers capture
130,000 Italian prisoners, gain 500 miles
• Only lost 500 men and Ethiopia is freed
• Hitler steps in and sends the Desert Fox
– The new German and Italian force was called the
Afrika Korps and was led by General Erwin Rommel
• He pushes the British out of Libya and back into
Egypt
• Rommel and the British go back and forth
– The Afrika Korps lacks supplies – Rommel is
outnumbered and has less fire power
Allied Invasions
• Allied Invasion of Africa – known as Operation Torch
– Nov. 1942 – three amphibious landings in the French colonies
of Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco
• Led by American general Dwight Eisenhower
• Landed with 107,000 Allied troops and the Vichy-controlled
colonies soon joined
• As a result, Germany occupies all of France
– Rommel is in trouble, has Allied forces to the east and west
• Rommel goes to Berlin to plead for more troops and
weapons
– May 1943 the Afrika Korps surrenders and the war in Africa is
over
• 250,000 Axis soldiers taken prisoner and the Allies control
all of North Africa
• Allied Invasion of Italy - known as Operation
Husky (June 1943)
– The Italians remove Mussolini from power
• Italy leaves the war in September
– The Allies next invade mainland Italy
• Germany sends Rommel to defend northern Italy
• German resistance slows the Allies
• They reach Rome by May 1944
• Don’t gain total control of Italy until five days
before Germany surrenders
Battle of the Atlantic and Berlin
• Battle of the Atlantic
– Germany relied once again on U-boats since they
couldn’t match the battleships of Great Britain
• The German U-boat fleet consisted of 400 subs
• They fought in wolf packs for protection
• Sank 2,452 merchant ships and 174 warships at a
cost of thousands of lives and millions of dollars
– Eventually the Allies won control of the Atlantic
• Better-equipped convoys that hunted and
destroyed the U-boats
• Allies had broken the German code, knew the
location of the U-boats
• Battle of Berlin
– November 1943 to spring 1944
• Allies bomb Berlin and other cities
• Also bomb railways and infrastructure in France
Tehran Conference
• Nov. 1943 – meeting of the Allied Powers
– Main issue was the plan to launch the cross-channel
invasion
– Decide to create the United Nations to replace the
failed League of Nations
• Would be dominated by Britain, U.S., the Soviet
Union, and France
Invasion of France
• American generals Eisenhower and Marshall are
put in charge
– Assemble and train troops, also develop specialized
equipment to transport troops and tanks across the
channel
• Hitler doesn’t know where the attack will happen,
sends Rommel to defend the coast of several
nations
• Rommel builds the Atlantic Wall
• D-Day June 6, 1944
– Allied forces invade France, known as Operation
Overlord
– 150,000 troops land on the beaches of Normandy
and force their way through German defenses
– High amount of casualties, but D-Day was a huge
victory
• With the beaches secured, more Allied troops sent in
– 1 million soldiers in France by the end of June
– The Allies quickly reconquered most of France and
Paris is freed in August
Battle of the Bulge
• Dec. 1944 – the Germans launch a massive
counterattack in Belgium
– The Germans advance, creating a bulge in the Allied
battle lines
– By Jan. 1945 the Allies regain the land and crush the
German offensive
• Within two months the Allied forces had crossed the
Rhine River into Germany and were racing towards
Berlin
Allied Invasions
Allies
Invade
Code
Name
Who does Hitler
send to defend
AFRICA
OPERATION
TORCH
ROMMEL
ITALY
OPERATION
HUSKY
ROMMEL
FRANCE
OPERATION
OVERLORD
ROMMEL
War on the Eastern Front
• Siege of Leningrad
– Germans fail to capture the city, so Hitler orders a
siege, or military blockade
• Designed to force the city to surrender
– Winter of 1941-1942 people starved to death at a
rate of 3,000-4,000 a day
• As many as one million will eventually die in the
siege
– The Soviets end the siege in early 1944 after 900 days
• Spring of 1942 German forces renewed their attacks on
the Soviet Union
– Fought well at first and by August looked ready to
capture the city of Stalingrad
• One of the largest in the nation and its factories
produced military equipment vital for the Soviet
war effort
• Battle of Stalingrad – Aug. 1942
– One of the most brutal battles of the war
– The Luftwaffe and artillery bomb the city into rubble
• German troops then go in to wipe out the
remaining Soviet defenders
• Vicious house-to-house fighting ensues
• Tens of thousands die on each side
– Soviets manage to hold off the German attack by the
fall of 1942 and organize a counterattack
• A Soviet force breaks through and surrounds the
Germans, around 250,000 men
• The Germans could escape the trap by retreating,
but Hitler won’t allow it
– By Jan. 1943 the Germans are out of ammunition,
food, and medicine, but Hitler tells them that
surrender is forbidden
• 90,000 Germans that are left surrender shortly
after, making Hitler mad
• Most of them will die in Soviet camps
– This was the first major defeat of Hitler’s armies
– Turning point for the war on the Eastern Front
• June 1944 – the massive Soviet offensive against the
Germans
• Pushes the Germans out of Russia and into central
Europe
• Leads to another 800,000 German casualties
– July the Soviets capture Poland
– Captures Romania and Bulgaria in Sept. 1944
– Captures Hungary at the end of 1944
– Vienna captured in April 1945
• By January 1945 the Germans were within 40
miles of Berlin
Yalta Conference
• Meeting of the Allied Powers
– Purpose was to discuss the final strategy for defeating
Germany and Japan
• Division of Germany and Berlin into occupation
zones
– UN Security council featuring Britain, U.S., Soviet
Union, France, and China
• Would have more power than other member nations
Victory in Europe
• The race to Berlin is on between the Soviets and the
other Allies (Americans, British, and French)
– The Soviets win
• Take 200,000 casualties to gain the last 39 miles
– Half a million Soviets surround Berlin in late August
1945
• Hitler commits suicide on May 2 and Berlin
surrenders the same day
• On May 7th Germany surrenders
– May 8th is proclaimed V-E Day = Victory in Europe
Day
World War II Conferences
T = Tehran Conference
Y = Yalta Conference
___1.
___2.
___3.
___4.
___5.
___6.
Stalin promises to declare war on Japan
Creates the United Nations
Final strategy for defeating Germany and Japan
Security Council that includes France and China
Plan the cross-channel invasion
Division of Germany into four zones
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
• The Manhattan Project
– Scientists create the atomic bomb
• Many of the scientists are European Jews who
escaped
– The principal motivation for this project was the fear
that the Germans would develop the bomb first
– Tested the bomb successfully in New Mexico in July
1945
• President Roosevelt dies, his Vice-President Truman
takes over and orders the dropping of the bomb
• Reasons for dropping the bomb
– “An Okinawa from one end of Japan to the other”
– Save American lives – est. it would cost 1 million
killed soldiers
– Save Japanese lives
– Save time and money
– People tired of the war
• The Allies issue a demand for Japan’s surrender on July
26 – Japan doesn’t respond
• Little Boy falls on Hiroshima
– Aug. 6th, the Enola Gay drops the atomic bomb on the
city of Hiroshima
• 80,000 die instantly, 35,000 injured
• 2/3 of the buildings are destroyed
• Over the years it is believed that up to 200,00 died
– At ground zero
• 7,000 degrees fahrenheit
• Wind 980 m.p.h.
– The Japanese still do not surrender
• Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki – August 9th
– Between 40,000 to 75,000 die
• The Japanese agree to unconditional surrender
on August 14th
– August 15th is known as V-J Day = Victory Over Japan
Day
– Huge number of casualties inflicted by just two
planes dropping only two bombs
The Internment
• Removal of Japanese from the American west
coast to internment camps
– Fear of sabotage and spies
– 110,000 interned, 2/3 are American born
– They had to leave their homes and businesses, most
lose everything
• Most of the camps are located in the desert
– Harsh climate, surrounded by fences and guards
The Holocaust
• Holocaust = the mass murder of the Jews by
Germany
• Why were the Jews hated?
– Hitler and many German people blamed the Jews for
Germany’s problems
• The Jewish people were blamed for Germany’s
loss in World War I
– Racial superiority of the German master race
• Hitler is obsessed – diverts the war effort to destroy the
Jews
– He is fighting two wars: one in Europe and one
against the Jews
• First isolate and dehumanize
– Boycott of businesses, some violence, property and
rights taken away
• Laws aimed at excluding Jews from mainstream
German life
– Nuremberg Racial Laws (1935)
• Created a separate legal status for German Jews
• Took away their citizenship and many civil and
property rights
– Night of Broken Glass (Nov. 1938)
• Known as Kristallnacht – refers to anti-Jewish riots
across Germany and Austria
• Jews were attacked and windows and store fronts
shattered
• Thousands of Jewish buildings and businesses
destroyed and about 100 Jews were killed
– Hitler issues the “Night and Fog” decree
• Authorized the arrest of anyone endangering
German security
• Those who were seized were to “vanish without a
trace into the night and fog”
• The Final Solution
– Hitler and his advisors come up with the final
solution to the Jewish question = kill the Jews
– First removed the Jews into ghettos = confined areas
within a city
• Starved, disease spreads, thousands die
• Guards shot Jews trying to escape
– From the ghettos Jews were sent to concentration
camps
• Long, crowded train ride in cattle cars – many die
• Concentration Camps
– At first special Nazi squads went from village to
village carrying out mass executions of Jews
• These mobile killing units were too slow, so Hitler
established the concentration camps as a more
efficient way of getting rid of the Jews
– The Jews arrive, families are separated, and then the
selection process begins
• Separated into strong and weak, slave labor or
“shower”
– Gas chambers killed thousands every day and
furnaces were used to get rid of the dead bodies
– The ones who escaped the gas chambers worked as
slave laborers and endured much hunger
– Some were subjected to cruel medical experiments
• Victims
– 6 million Jewish people perish in the Holocaust
• 2 out of every 3 in Europe – there were 9 million
Jews in Europe when Hitler took power
– Other groups at the concentration camps that the
Nazis viewed as inferior:
• Gypsies, homosexuals, Slavs, Poles, people with
disabilities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other
political enemies
• Another 6 million from these groups died
Post War
• Six years of fighting led to millions of lives lost, millions
more injured, horrific property damage, and economies
were on the verge of collapse
• Peace treaty
– The Allies wanted no territorial or financial gains, just
peace
– Germany was divided into four occupation zones
–The Soviet Union received 1/3, the French, British,
and U.S. divided up the rest
–Berlin, which was in Soviet-held territory, was also
divided
–Nuremberg trials – couple hundred Nazi officials
put on trial, some were executed
– Japan was also placed under Allied occupation for
several years
• Had to adopt a new constitution that forbid it to
wage wars
• The United States and the Soviet Union emerge as world
powers and leaders
– Britain won the war, but at great cost
• Economy nearly destroyed, will begin to dismantle
their empire because they can no longer afford to
keep it
– France makes a successful recovery, but will never
again regain its status as a major world power
• Two months after the war in Europe ends, a new conflict
called the Cold War begins, once again dividing Europe