World War IIWorld History 1750- Present

Axis PowersWorld War II

Axis Powers• Mussolini set his eyes on conquest

• May 1936: conquered Ethiopia

“Italy finally has its empire.”

Rise of Dictators: HitlerWWII

Axis Powers• 1936: Hitler and Mussolini formed an

alliance Mussolini called it an axis

• March 7, 1936: German troops entered Rhineland

Rise of Dictators: Hitler

• March 1938: German troops annexed Austria

• Sept: 1938: Hitler demanded Sudetenland

Munich ConferenceWWII

Munich Conference• Hitler and Mussolini met with British PM,

Neville Chamberlain and French president, Edouard Daladier

• France and Britain agreed Germany could have Sudetenland if he promised no more expansion

• Czechoslovakia was not allowed to attend the meeting

Munich Conference• Chamberlain declared “Peace in our Time”

• Appeasement: giving into the demands of an aggressor in order to insure peace

Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war.”

Winston Churchill, British Parliament

Spanish Civil WarWWII

Francisco Franco

Spanish Civil War Spain was the site of numerous

strikes, riots, and assassinations

General Francisco Franco led a rebellion• Began Civil War

Spanish Civil War Germany and Italy provided planes,

tanks, and soldiers to Franco• 1937: Hitler’s Condor Legion bombed

Guernica

USSR sent weapons and supplies to the republic

Spanish Civil War Seen as “dress-rehearsal” for WWII

March 1939, Franco won and set up military dictatorship• Ruled until death in 1975

Pablo Picasso, Guernica

Axis ExpansionWWII

Axis Expansion March 1939: Hitler annexed the rest

of western Czechoslovakia

April 1939: Italy annexed Albania

No shots fired either time

PolandWWII

Poland 1939: Hitler demanded the Polish

port of Danzig to reunite Germany

Britain and France threatened war

Look at map on page 375

Poland Hitler feared Russian involvement

(two-front war)

August: Hitler and Stalin signed a Nonaggression Pact

Poland Publicly: agreed not to fight one

another

Secretly: agreed to divide rest of eastern Europe between themselves

Poland Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invaded

Poland using blitzkrieg (lightening war)

Sept. 3, 1939: Britain and France declared war on Germany

Poland Stalin joined and in less than 1

month, Poland was conquered

Poland was divided between USSR and Germany

Winter set in and fighting stopped• Known as the “phony war”

Maginot LineWWII

Maginot Line France built the Maginot Line after

WWI• Huge fortifications• Underground railway• Built only on France’s border with Germany• Guns only faced east

Maginot Line April 9, 1940: Hitler used blitzkrieg to

annex Denmark and Norway

May 10, 1940: Germany conquered the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg

Maginot Line France rushed to extend the Maginot

Line, but was too late

Germany went through Belgium and into France, splitting Allied forces

Miracle at DunkirkWWII

Miracle at Dunkirk Northern forces retreated to Dunkirk

For 9 days, troops used private boats to escape France and flee to Britain

Miracle at Dunkirk The British navy and volunteer

citizens rushed to the shore to rescue their countrymen

Bombarded by the Luftwaffe, 340,000 soldiers in 900 vessels reached Britain

France FallsWWII

France Falls June 22, France formally surrendered

to Germany

Germany occupied most of France

A puppet-government was set up in Vichy (southern France)

Battle of BritainWWII

“We shall fi ght on the beaches, we shall fi ght on the landing grounds we shall fi ght in the fi elds and in the streets, we shall fi ght in the hills; we shall never surrender.“

- Winston Churchill, British PM

Battle of Britain August – September 1940

• Large aerial bombing

• Originally, Hitler only targeted vital military locations

• When Britain refused to surrender, Hitler attacked British cities, hoping the citizens would demand peace

Battle of Britain The bombing of cities was known as

the Blitz

Lasted until May 1941

Battle of Britain Britain’s RAF rebuilt and never

allowed Germany to gain air superiority

Hundreds of pilots died, over 20,000 Londoners died, and 70,000 British were killed

“Never the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

- Winston Churchill

Japanese ExpansionWWII

Japanese Expansion Japan wanted Manchuria

Mukden Incident: Japanese soldiers (dressed like Chinese soldiers) destroyed a railroad

Japan then overtook all of Manchuria, claimed it was independent, and named it Manchukuo

Japanese Expansion League of Nations ordered Japan to

withdraw from China

Instead, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations

League did nothing (no real power)

Japanese Expansion Japan then began to move further

into China

Rape of Nanking (Nanjing)• Japanese killed 100,000 – 300,000 Chinese

civilians• Raped numerous women and children

Japanese Expansion Britain could not send men, but did

send supplies to China over the Burma Road• 700-mile highway linking Burma (Myanmar)

to China

Japanese Expansion China had been weakened due to a

brutal civil war, pitting Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek, nationalist) against Mao Zedong (communist)• The two eventually focused on fighting

Japan

Japanese Expansion Japan announced it wanted a Greater

East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere• All Asian nations joined together to remove

western powers• Really, an excuse to conquer more territory

and add resources to help it conquer China

Japanese Expansion Sept. 1940: Japan aligned with

Germany and Italy in the Tripartite Pact• (Axis Powers)

Japan then overtook French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies

Neutrality ActsWWII

Neutrality Acts After WWI, the U.S. retreated into

isolationism

To stay out of WWII, Congress passed Neutrality Acts

Neutrality Acts 1st, Banned U.S. from providing

weapons to nations at war

2nd, Banned loans to warring nations

3rd, Cash-and-Carry: permitted trade of non-military goods as long as the other country paid cash and transported the cargo

America First CommitteeWWII

America First Committee After Germany invaded France, the

U.S. changed the Neutrality acts to allow the U.S. to send supplies to Britain in exchange for naval bases

The America First Committee formed to pressure Congress to not send further aid

America First Committee Over 800,000 members

Most famous was Charles Lindbergh

Selective Training and Service Act

WWII

Selective Service and Training Act

1940

First peacetime draft in the nation’s history

Required all males, 21-36, to register

Lend-Lease ActWWII

“The moment approaches when we shall no longer be able to pay cash for shipping and other supplies”

- Winston Churchill, in a letter to FDR

“We must be the great arsenal of democracy. For us this is an emergency as serious as war itself.”

- FDR, in response to aiding Britain

Lend-Lease Act May 1941: Congress passed the

Lend-Lease Act• Stated Roosevelt could aid any nation

whose defense was vital to U.S. defense• FDR sent aid to Britain (eventually USSR

also)

FDR

If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t sell him a hose. You lend it to him and take it

back after the fire is out.

Atlantic CharterWWII

Atlantic Charter August 1941: Secret meeting

between Roosevelt and Churchill

Agreed Nazi tyranny must end

Pearl HarborWWII

“A date which will live in infamy”

Pearl Harbor As Japan continued to expand,

Roosevelt cut off all shipments of scrap iron and oil to Japan

He also froze all Japanese assets in America

Pearl Harbor October 1941: General Tojo Hideki

became PM of Japan (supported war against U.S.)

Dec. 7, 1941: Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor hoping to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet

Pearl Harbor 2,400 Americans killed 1,200 wounded 200 planes damaged or destroyed 8 of the 9 battleships had been

destroyed Japan only lost 29 planes

Pearl Harbor Dec. 8, 1941: FDR asked Congress to

declare war on Japan

Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

War-Time EconomyWWII

War-Time Economy War Production Board: Gov’t agency

that converted consumer industries into wartime industries

The economy recovered from the Great Depression due to the extra jobs and increased production

Smith-Connally ActWWII

Smith-Connally Act June 1943

Outlawed strikes until the war was over

FinancingWWII

Financing The gov’t increased taxes and

borrowed from banks and private investors

It also sold Treasury Bonds, known as Liberty Bonds

SacrificeWWII

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”- message from the Office of War Information

Sacrifice Rationing:

• Metal (zippers) for weapons, vehicles, and helmets

• Rubber (car and bicycle tires) for military vehicles

• Nylon (stockings) for parachutes• Cloth (clothes) for uniforms• Oil• FoodLook at picture on page 598.

Sacrifice Americans were asked to plant

Victory Gardens

Practiced nighttime blackouts in case of bombing raids

Women knitted scarves and socks for troops

Sacrifice Recycling increased:

• Tin cans, pots, pans, razor blades, shovels, and lipstick tubes

Battle of the AtlanticWWII

Battle of the Atlantic U.S. and Britain both used convoy

system to get supplies to Britain

They also used sonar to detect U-boats

Germany countered by using “wolf packs”

Battle of the Atlantic June 1942: over 175 ships sunk by

Germany

Some off the coast of Florida

Look at picture on page 601.

Battle of the Atlantic Sonar and communication technology

improved

U.S. used long-range bombers to attack subs, reducing their effectiveness

Operation BarbarossaWWII

Operation Barbarossa June 22, 1941: German troops

invaded USSR

Hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers captured

Germany drove deep into Soviet territory

Operation Barbarossa By Autumn, German troops were

outside Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad

Japanese Campaigns World War II

Japanese Campaigns 1941-1942: Japan conquered

numerous territories• Dutch East Indies (British) for oil• Burma and Malaya (British) for rubber• Hong Kong and Singapore (British)

Philippines FallWorld War II

Philippines Fall March 1942: U.S. general Douglas

MacArthur forced to flee the Philippines• Vowed ‘I shall return”• May 6: 76,000 Americans and Filipinos

forced to surrender

Philippines Fall Bataan Death March:

• Japanese forced the POWS to march over 60 miles to a POW camp over 6-12 days

• Denied water and rest• Many beaten and tortured, some executed• Over 10,000 died• In the camps, another 15,000 died

Battle of the Coral SeaWorld War II

Battle of the Coral Sea May 1942: American navy vs.

Japanese navy• Aircraft carriers were more than 70 miles

apart• Fought entirely by planes• Draw, but it prevented Japan from attacking

Australia

Battle of MidwayWorld War II

Battle of Midway Turning Point in Pacific

• Japanese failed to surprise Americans• 4 Japanese aircraft carriers sunk• One American aircraft carrier sunk• Japan never again went on the offensive

Island HoppingWorld War II

Island Hopping U.S. took over crucial Japanese

controlled islands• Cut off supplies to Japan• Made it possible for strategic bombings of

Japan

Battle of StalingradWWII

Battle of Stalingrad Germany needed Russian oil-fields on

other side of Stalingrad

Sept. 1942 – Jan. 1943• House-to-house and hand-to-hand combat• Few supplies for both sides• Harsh winter

Battle of Stalingrad 90,000 Germans surrendered

German casualties: 330,000

Soviet casualties: 1.1 million+

Turning point in Russia

North AfricaWWII

North Africa 1940: Britain and Italy clashed in

Libya and Egypt

Feb. 1941: Hitler sent General Erwin Rommel (Desert Fox) to secure Libya

Look at map on page 601.

North Africa Battle of El Alamein:

• Egypt• Desert Fox v. British General Bernard

Montgomery• British win and push Rommel into Tunisia• Turning Point in Africa

North Africa Operation Torch: Allied troops landed at

Morocco and Algeria

Feb. 1943: Americans defeated at Kasserine Pass

After George Patton was promoted, the Allies surrounded Germans

North Africa

240,000 surrendered

Rommel recalled to Europe

End of major battles in Africa

Air WarWWII

Air War Allied bombers heavily bombed

German industries and cities• Railway lines• Aircraft factories• Ball-bearing plants• Bridges

Ex. In Hamburg, 4 straight Allied bombing raids killed over 40,000 civilians

ItalyWWII

Italy 1943: Patton invaded Sicily

Mussolini arrested by his own Fascist party

U.S. forces march on Rome

Italy’s new gov’t surrendered

Italy Germans rescued Mussolini and took

over north Italy

Germans in Italy did not surrender until 1945

Mussolini was shot and killed by Italians as he tried to flee the country

MacArthur ReturnsWorld War II

MacArthur Returns Oct. 1944: MacArthur and a force of

160,000 soldiers invaded the Philippines

Allies did not gain control until June 1945

Operation OverlordWWII

Operation Overlord General Dwight D. Eisenhower was

assigned Supreme Commander of Allied Forces

Planned invasion of France

Operation Overlord June 6, 1944: 4,600 invasion

craft/warships crossed the English Channel

23,000 airborne soldiers parachuted behind enemy lines

Operation Overlord 150,000 troops stormed the beaches

of Normandy, France• Massive casualties• Eventually took control of the beaches and

began to march across France

Battle of the BulgeWorld War II

Battle of the Bulge Desperate attack by Hitler in Dec.

1944• Pushed through Allied lines (formed a bulge)• Germans defeated when Patton’s forces

arrived• Over 600,000 American soldiers involved• 80,000 American casualties• 100,000 German casualties

Last major German offensive

Yalta ConferenceWorld War II

Yalta Conference Big Three (FDR, Stalin, and Churchill)

met in Yalta (a USSR city) to decide the fate of post-war Germany

Decided to divide Germany and its capital, Berlin.

V-E DayWorld War II

V-E Day April 1945: American and Soviet

forces surrounded Berlin

April 25, 1945: Hitler commits suicide

May 8, 1945: German forces surrender

Known as V-E Day (Victory in Europe)

Iwo Jima and OkinawaWWII

Iwo Jima and Okinawa Last two islands before the Japanese

mainland

Multiple casualties on both sides

Resistance lasted until June 1945

Manhattan ProjectWorld War II

Manhattan Project April 1945: President Roosevelt

suddenly died and VP Harry S. Truman became President

Truman met with Stalin and new British PM Clement Attlee at Potsdam (part of Berlin) to finalize plans for Japan

Manhattan Project Truman was informed of the

Manhattan Project (secret project to build an atomic bomb) and that the bomb had been completed

Truman told Stalin he had a new, devastating weapon and Stalin simply nodded. Stalin’s spies had already informed him.

Manhattan Project After the bomb was completed,

Truman ordered its use

August 6, 1945: the Enola Gay dropped one on Hiroshima• c.80,000 died and many more injured by

fire, radiation sickness, etc.

Manhattan Project August 9, 1945: another bomb

dropped on Nagasaki

August 14, 1945: Japan surrendered (V-J Day)

HomefrontWWII

Homefront Bracero Program:

• Shortage of farmers in U.S. during war• Agreement between U.S. and Mexico• U.S. brought in 200,000 Mexican farm

laborers

Homefront 1942: All Japanese-Americans on the

west coast sent to concentration camps• 110,000 civilians• Most lost their business, farms, homes, etc.

Homefront Women:

• Filled in many vacant jobs• Eventually made up 35 percent of the

workforce• Songs and posters used to encourage

women to join Rosie the Riveter (most popular)

HolocaustWWII

Holocaust 10 million total deaths 6 million Jewish deaths

Nuremberg TrialsWWII

Nuremberg Trials Nuremberg, France: Many prominent

Nazi leaders placed on trial due to Holocaust and other atrocities

Known as Nuremberg Trials• 24 Nazi defendants• 12 sentenced to death• Established principle that individuals were

responsible for their own actions