Transcript world_ch_16_sect_1_notesx

Chapter 16 – World War II (19391945)
Section 1 – Hitler’s Lightning War
Main Idea: Using the sudden,
mass attack called blitzkrieg,
Germany overran much of
Europe and North Africa
Why It Matters Now:
Hitler’s actions set off
WWII. The results of the
war still affect the
politics and economies
of today’s world
Major Players in WWII
Axis:
Allies:
England- Winston Churchill
US- Franklin D. Roosevelt
USSR- Joseph Stalin
Germany- Adolf Hitler
Italy- Benito Mussolini
Japan- General Hideki Tojo
Germany Sparks a New War in Europe
• After taking Austria and Czechoslovakia,
Germany invades Poland on September 1,
1939
– Use blitzkrieg warfare to defeat Poland
• Planes bomb Polish cities, then tanks move in followed
by 1.5 million troops
A British View of blitzkrieg
Europe Joins the War
• September 3, 1939Britain and France
declare war on
Germany
Neville
Chamberlain
broadcast the
news to the
nation
• Soviets invade Poland, Baltic
states and Finland while
Hitler starts through Europe
Battle for France
• Germans go around Maginot Line (system of
fortifications along France/German Border)
– Push French and allies to the sea
• Italy now joins Axis Powers
– Declare war on France and Britain
– Italian troops force France to surrender on June
22, 1940
Battle for Britain
• Germany constantly bombs
England
– 3 things save England
1. Moral
2. Enigma Machine
3. Radar
– Force Hitler to call of bombings
• Operation Sea Lion Never used
Eastern Front and the
Mediterranean
• Led by Gen. Erwin Rommel (Desert
Fox), the Africa Korps achieve victory
in N. Africa
• Hitler takes Balkans as he secretly
prepares to invade Soviet Union
– Operation Barbarossa begins June 22,
1941
• Upset by German attack, Russians able to
stop Hitler’s forces near Moscow
U.S. Aids its Allies
• US remains neutral but helps Britain with
Lend-Lease Act (1941)
– Lend and lease weapons and supplies to countries
vital to the US
• FDR and Winston Churchill issue Atlantic
Charter
– Declare free trade among nations and the right of
people to choose their own govts
Germany Tests the US
• German submarines start to attack US ships
and destroyers bringing America close to war
• Hitler causes not to bring the US in to the war
yet