Transcript Buildup to War

World
War
II
British & French waited for Germany to attack
1940 – Germany invades France
and the Netherlands
Blitzkrieg
“Lightening War”
 Germany used Blitzkrieg tactics
to invade France and the
Netherlands.
 British troops were forced to
retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk
in northern France.
 British miraculously rescued
338,000 troops from Dunkirk
 Lost all their equipment.
 By June 1940, France had
surrendered to the Germans
September 1940-May 1941: “the Blitz”
“Battle of Britain”
The German air force (Luftwaffe) launched repeated
bombing raids on British towns and cities.
Lasted nine months,
This was known as the BLITZ or the Battle of Britain
An attempt to bomb Britain into submission.
Both the U.S. and Britain had broken the
Japanese codes before the start of the war.
 U.S. broke the military code
 Britain broke the diplomatic code
The British had broken the German codes
early in the war, thanks to a captured
enigma maching
The British built Colussus – the first super
computer – to speed up decoding.
The British established a code breaking
center at Bletchley Park, outside of London
 Leader of British Empire during
World War II
 “Never in the field of human
conflict was so much owed by
so many to so few.”
 Refused to consider defeat,
surrender, or a compromise which
inspired British resistance.
 Leader of Free French Forces
supported by the British & Americans
 de Gaulle always insisted on full
freedom of action for the French
 Led allied entrance into Paris
Franklin D. Roosevelt
U.S. President during
the Depression & WW II
Elected to four terms as
President
Cash & Carry and Lend
Lease Policies
Four Freedoms & Arsenal
of Democracy
Died in office before the
end of the war
 America “officially neutral”
as European war began
 FDR increased military
production and skirted
Neutrality Acts after Nazi
victories
 FDR ran for third term
 Cash and Carry Policy
 Lend-Lease Act passed
 U.S. embargoed oil and
scrap-iron sales to Japan
1939 - 1945
German submarines
(U-boats) sank millions
of tons of allied ships
ammunition, equipment,
and supplies.
1940 - 1943
 British army destroyed an Italian army
attempting to invade Egypt.
 Hitler sent the Afrika Korps to
reinforce Italian forces
 A series of battles followed.
 British forces defeated to the Axis
forces & pushed them back to Tunisia.
 American forces saw their first action
during Operation Torch, the invasion of
Algiers
 Commanded the German
Afrika Korps in North Africa
 Nicknamed “The Desert Fox”
 Helped Germany prepare
to defend against Allied
invasion of Normandy
 Top British general in World War II
 Led British forces to victory in
North Africa.
 Led British forces in the invasion
of Sicily and D-Day.
Operation Barbarossa, June 1941
May, 1941, Hitler ordered an invasion of Russia.
He betrayed Stalin and ignored the promises he had
made.
A bold move that would prove to be an important
turning point in the War.
 Top Soviet general during
World War II
 Planned & led Soviet
counterattack at Moscow
 Directed Soviet forces at
Stalingrad and Kursk
 Led Soviet forces in the
invasion of Eastern Europe
and Germany