Transcript The Axis Advances

The Axis Advances
Chapter 14 Section 2
Eastern Europe Falls
Blitzkrieg
“Lightning war”
Luftwaffe
German Air Force
Germany invades from the west while
Russia invades from the east
Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and part of
Finland fall
Hitler Turns West
Hitler conquers Norway, Denmark,
Netherlands, & Belgium
Hitler goes around the Maginot Line and
invades France – May 1940
British army retreats – Battle of Dunkirk
saves British army
300,000 troops escape to Britain
The Maginot Line
Battle of Dunkirk
France Falls
Italy declares war on France
June 1940
France surrenders to Germany
France manages to survive all of 9 months of
World War II before giving up, and all of 1
month after Germany invaded
Battle of Britain
August 1940
German bombers begin
bombing England
Bombing lasted until May
1941, including 57 nights
straight from September to
November
Hitler is never able to
actually invade Britain
V1 & V2 Rockets
Trouble Amongst the Axis
Italy unsuccessfully invades Libya, Egypt,
& Greece
Germany is forced to reinforce Italian army
in all three fronts
Hitler begins questioning Italy’s strength
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
Hitler invades Soviet Union with 3 million
soldiers
Soviet army, weakened by Great Purge is slow
to respond
Soviet Union loses 2.5 million troops and is
forced to retreat to Leningrad
Russian scorched earth policy and winter
temperatures, -40F, combine to weaken
German army
Siege of Leningrad
Germans lay siege to Leningrad for 2-1/2
years
German army is starving
Russians don’t lose city
Stalin convinces Churchill to attack
Germany from the west
Extent of Axis Advance
U.S. Aids Allies
Lend-Lease Act
U.S. can lend materials to “any country whose
defense the President deems vital to the defense
of the United States.”
Atlantic Charter
Secret meeting with Britain sets goal of “the
final destruction of Nazi tyranny”
Japan Attacks the U.S.
In response to Japanese aggression in
Southeast Asia, U.S. bans sale of war
materials to Japan
Japan views this as an act of war
December 7, 1941
Japanese attack U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor
United States declares war on Japan
The Holocaust
Hitler created six death camps in Poland to
carryout the “Final Solution of the Jewish
problem”
Over 6 million Jews were executed
Germany was assisted in this by much of
Europe