Transcript World War II - Reading Community Schools

World War II
From Appeasement to Victory
Which areas were under Axis control between 1939
and 1941?
- Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway,
Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France,
Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, parts of
the USSR and North Africa.
- Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland and
Sweden were neutral countries
-Britain was alone in Western Europe
Q.O.D. #12 2/3/10
U.S. Involvement
 1939 – U.S. declared neutrality
 Isolationist, pacifist
 Many sympathized with those fighting the Axis in
Europe
 FDR looked for a way around the Neutrality Acts
 Lend-Lease Act
 President could sell or lend war materials to “any country
whose defense the president deems vital to the United
States”
 Vowed U.S would not get involved in the war, but would
become the “arsenal for democracy
Japan
 Japan had overtaken Manchuria in 1931 and withdrew
from the League of Nations.
 In 1937 they took much of eastern China and began
the second Sino-Japanese War
 Japan saw a chance to take European possessions in
Asia when war broke out in Europe in 1939.
U.S.-Japanese tension
 In 1940 the United States banned the sale of war
materials to Japan.
 Japan saw this as interference into its sphere of
influence
 Tensions were growing, and the two countries had talks
to try to ease them
 Some Japanese wanted to expand their empire and
viewed the U.S. to be interfering with their plans.
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
 Japan attacked the United
States on December 7,
1941.
 President Roosevelt
addressed Congress the
next day.
 “A date which will live in
infamy.”
 Congress declared war on
Japan on December 8.
Big Three
 After the U.S. entered the
war, the Big Three –
Churchill, Roosevelt and
Stalin – met periodically to
discuss strategy
 They agreed to end the war
in Europe before ending it
in Asia
 Did not trust each other,
but did not want to hurt
their alliance
Allied Victories
 North Africa
 Rommel surrendered in May 1943
 Italy
 Defeated Mussolini and forced Hitler to fight on
another front
 Stalingrad
 Soviets pushed Nazis out of the USSR
 In 1944 the Allies were ready to open a
Western front in Europe.
D-Day
 June 6, 1944
 The Allied forces invaded German-occupied France
 Paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines
 156,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel to
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Normandy
American: Omaha, Utah
Canadian: Juno
British: Gold, Sword
Over 10,000 killed, wounded, missing or captured
Allies Advance
 The Allies continued to advance and liberated Paris on
August 25, 1944.
 The rest of France was freed within a month.
 The Allies continued to advance toward Germany from
the west while the Soviets pushed toward Germany
from the east.
Yalta Conference
 Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe, Churchill and
Roosevelt wanted self-determination
 Needed Stalin to help win the war
 Big Three agreed:
 USSR would enter the war against Japan after Germany
surrendered
 USSR would be given some territory in Asia
 Germany would be divided into four zones to be governed
by the USSR, Britain, U.S. and France
 Stalin agreed to hold free elections in Europe