Transcript WWII
WWII
Chapter 19 Section 2
Lead off 5/1
Read page 605 and answer the questions at the
end of the passage
I. Blitzkrieg
A. “Lightning War”
1. Fast attacks – avoid trench warfare
2. Tanks and planes support troop movement
B. Early Victories (1939-1940)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Poland (Sept)
Denmark, Norway (April)
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg (May)
France (June)
•
•
•
Dunkirk – British army evacuated back to England (live to
fight another day)
Northern France –controlled by Hitler
Southern (Vichy) France – controlled by sympathetic
puppet government
II. Battle of Britain
A.
Air Superiority
1. Hitler wanted to invade GB
2. Needed to destroy Royal Air Force (RAF) to cross the channel
• Destroy plane factories
• Destroy airfields
B. British Victory
1. Radar
2. Germans changed strategy and bombed cities
• Try to break population’s will to fight
• Allowed RAF to continue to operate
C. Importance
1. Hitler is stopped for the first time
2. GB (and the entire Allied effort) is saved
III. Eastern Front
A. Breaking the Pact
1. If Soviet Union was conquered, GB would quit
2. Securing the south
•
•
Greece
Yugoslavia
B. Invasion (operation Barbarossa – June 1941)
1. Early successes (within 25 miles of Moscow)
2. Early winter stops advance
IV. America and WWII
A.
Neutrality –Neutrality Act of 1939
1. European problem – no repeat of WWI (isolationism)
• GB exaggerated propaganda in WWI
• Nye Committee – WWI created huge profits for businesses
• European countries still owed money to US
2. Great Depression to deal with
B. Helping Britain – FDR found ways around Neutrality Act
1. Lend- Lease Act – let GB and USSR “borrow” equipment
2. Destroyers for Bases – trade ships for rights to build bases in
GB territory
3. Hemispheric Defense Zone – patrol Atlantic and tell GB where
U-boats were
4. Atlantic Charter – plans for post-war between GB and US
IV. American And WWII
C. Japan and the US
1. Embargo against Japan for invading neighbors
2. Japan attacks naval base at Pearl Harbor (Dec 7,
1941)
• US declares war on Japan
• Germany declares war on US
V. European Theatre (Allies vs.
Germany)
A. Battle of the Atlantic
1.
2.
US and GB fought German navy for control of the ocean
(lasted the entire war)
Allies win – troops and supplies can be sent to Europe
B. North Africa and Italy (Operation Torch)
1.
2.
Allies take back Africa and Italy (Patton and Montgomery)
Allies win and Italy surrenders (Mussolini executed)
C. Stalingrad (Soviets vs. Germans)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Germans take city but then get trapped inside
Worst battle of the war
Germans defeated
Soviets begin to push the Germans out of the Soviet Union
Turning point on the Eastern Front
V. European Theatre (continued)
D. Normandy (D-Day June 6, 1944)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Allies invade France
Commanded by Omar Bradley
US, GB, and Canadian land on beach
Liberation of western Europe begins
E. Battle of the Bulge (Christmas 1944)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Last offensive by Hitler
US troops trapped in Bastogne, Belgium (101st Airborne)
Allies led by Patton rescue 101st and push the Germans back
Germans back in Germany by April 1945
F. Surrender
1.
2.
Hitler commits suicide (April 30)
Germany surrenders unconditionally (May 7 – VE Day)
VI Pacific Theatre (Allies vs. Japan)
A.
Philippines (1942)
1. Japan drive US out of Philippines
2. Bataan Death March – captured US soldiers are massacred
A. Doolittle Raid (1942) – Carrier based bombers led by Jimmy
Doolittle bomb Japan
1. Goal: Surprise Japanese and revenge for Pearl Harbor
2. Effect: little actual damage but big morale boost for Americans
A. Coral Sea (1942) - First naval battle in history fought entirely with
aircraft
1. First Japanese loss
2. Japanese lose carriers
B. Midway (1942)
1. Americans (Nimitz) catch Japanese (Yamamoto) in a trap
2. Japanese lose most of their aircraft carriers
3. Allies begin to push the Japanese back
VI. Pacific Theatre (Continued)
E.
Island Hopping – selectively retaking Japanese territory for
strategic value
1.
2.
F.
Saipan – allowed land based heavy bombers to attack Japan
Iwo Jima – allowed fighter escort of bombers
Leyte Gulf
1.
2.
3.
Philippines retaken (Led by Douglas MacArthur)
Japanese navy destroyed
Japanese begin kamikaze attacks
G. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1.
Atomic bombs dropped
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2.
3.
Manhattan project: development of atomic bomb
Decision made by President Harry S. Truman
Reason: saved lives
Japan surrenders (August 14)