Unit VIII. World War II

B. Turning Points of War

B. Turning Points of War

1. Battle of Britain (1940)a. Hitler wanted to remove the threat of Britain

*First sought to invade, but feared the RAF (Royal Air Force)*Decided to use an all-aerial Blitz attack (Luftwaffe) on radar and military bases, then civilian targets (London)

-ended up being a large failure for Hitler because instead of breaking morale, the raids only strengthened the will of the British people

2. Entry of the United States (1941)a. President Roosevelt met with Britain’s P.M, Winston Churchill, 8/41

*Even though U.S. had declared itself neutral, still concerned with the war*Declared a common desire to end Nazi tyranny*Established the Lend-Lease Act: supply arms to the Allies

b. To stop Japanese aggression, the U.S. banned the sale of war materials to Japan

*Angered by the ban, Japan launched a surprise attack on American military bases at Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i (Dec 2, 1941)

-more than 2,00 people were killed and many ships and planes were destroyed

*FDR asked Congress to declare war on Japan-the entry of the U.S. gave the Allies the added strength they neededto combat the Axis powers

B. Turning Points of War3. Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)

a. The Germans broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact when Hitler’s armies invaded the Soviet Unions in 1941

*After steadily advancing they became stalled outside of Moscow and Leningrad *Hitler turned south in 1942 to try and take Stalingrad

-Russian troops (“scorched earth policy”) and a freezing winter caused German invaders to surrender in 1943

-The Red Army drove Germans out of the Soviet Union and began advancing toward Germany

4. Invasion of Normandy (1944)a. The Allies invaded France on June 6, 1944, also known as D-

Dayb. Allied troops were ferried across the English Channel, landing

on the beaches of Normandy*They broke through German defenses to advance

toward Paris and freed France from German control

*The Allies then moved from France into Germany