Transcript World War II

World War II
Causes of World War II
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The Treaty of Versailles
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Hitler’s rise of and the Nazi Party- Fascism
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Europe is in Great Depression
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Expansionism
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Causes of WWII
Who was fighting?
Axis Powers
Allies
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Germany
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United States
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Japan
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Britain
France
Soviet Union
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Italy
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The War Begins
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Japan, Italy, and Germany began taking over other
countries.
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Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland.
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British and French leaders had had enough!
Declared war on Germany on Sept. 3, 1939.
 British and French are not able to stop Germany
from taking over other countries.
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The Battle of
Britain 1940
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Hitler expected Britain to make peace, however,
Britain, led by a new Prime Minister, Winston
Churchill, refused to surrender.
Hitler began massive attacks on Britain to destroy its
air defenses.
Britain held firm during the Blitz despite devastating
destruction to English cities.
Battle of Britain Scene
Invasion of the Soviet Union
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It was then that Hitler made his pivotal mistake. He
invaded the Soviet Union.
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On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched Operation
Barbarossa, consisting of an attack army of 4 million
men spread out along a 2,000-mile front in three
massive offensives.
Pearl Harbor
Japan plans a “sneak” attack on the United States
naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941.
 The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20
American naval vessels, including eight enormous
battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than
2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the
attack, and another 1,000 were wounded.
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Pearl Harbor Movie Clip
Pearl Harbor US Response
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The day after the assault, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war
on Japan.
The Battle of Midway:
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(June 1942)
• Japanese Admiral Yamamoto hoped to capture Midway
Island as a base to attack Pearl Harbor again.
• U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz caught the Japanese by
surprise and sank 3 of the 4 aircraft carriers, 332
planes, and 3500 men.
Importance of Midway
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The Japanese defeat at Midway was the
turning point in the Pacific.
Japanese advances stopped.
 Japanese have shortage of able pilots.

Turning Points of the War:
The Battle of Stalingrad
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In 1942-43, a German army of over 300,000 was
defeated and captured at the Battle of Stalingrad.
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The Germans then lost the battle of Kursk and
began a long retreat.
.
Turning Points of the War:
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D-Day: Operation Overlord
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Germany had successful taken over France.
General Dwight Eisenhower launched an invasion of
Normandy, France on June 6, 1944 to stop the
advancement of the Axis powers from reaching Britain
and the US.
An invasion fleet of some 4,000 ships and 150,000 men
(57,000 U.S.)
Invasion successful. 5,000 killed and wounded Allied
troops.
It allowed them to gain a foothold on the continent from
which they could push Germany back.
D Day Clip
Victory in
Europe
Germany
surrendered
unconditionally on May 7, 1945
(V-E Day).
Fighting
in the Pacific would
continue until August.
The Beginning of the End in
the Pacific

Iwo Jima (February, 1945)
• American marines invaded this island, which was
needed to provide fighter escort for bombings over
Japan
The End of the War
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August 6, 1945 –Atomic Bomb on
Hiroshima
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August 9, 1945 – Nagasaki
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140,000 dead; tens of thousands injured;
radiation sickness; 80% of buildings
destroyed
70,000 dead; 60,000 injured
Emperor Hirohito surrenders on Aug.
14, 1945. (V-J Day)
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Formal surrender signed on September 2
onboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo
Bay
Cost of War
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Germany- 3 million combat deaths (3/4ths on the
eastern front)
Japan – over 1.5 combat deaths; 900,000
civilians dead
Soviet Union - 13 million combat deaths
U.S. – 300,000 combat deaths, over 100,000
other deaths
When you include all combat and civilian
deaths, World War II becomes the most
destructive war in history with estimates as
high as 60 million, including 25 million
Russians.
Postwar
Reality
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Consequences of World War II
 Soviet Union with agenda
 Unlike the isolation after WWI, the U.S.
was engaged in world affairs
 The triumph of Communists in China
 Decolonization
• The independence of nations from
European (U.S. & Japan) colonial
powers.