World War II (1939-1945)

Quiz

• Choose any three of the following, and

explain (for each one) what happened and

why it was significant:– War in the Atlantic

– The War for North Africa

– The Invasion of Italy

– D-Day

– The battle of the Bulge

– The Surrender of Germany

Learning Targets

• I can

– Explain how WWII began

– Explain why the US entered the war

– Describe the events that led up to victory in

Europe.

– Describe the events that led up to victory over

Japan.

1939

• France and England declare war on Germany instead of attacking, they set up a defensive line along the border between France and Germany. (The Maginot Line)

Maginot Line

1939• FDR convinced

Congress to add a

“Cash –and –Carry”

provision to the

Neutrality Acts.

• This provision allowed

nations to buy American

arms as long as they

paid cash and carried

the goods home in their

own ships.

1940 – Operation YellowMay-June

• A Germany plan with a goal of smashing France

and forcing Great Britain into surrendering.

• Using Blitzkrieg –”lighting war,” German forces

smashed into the Netherlands and Belgium

defeating both in three weeks.

• Then Germany invaded France through the

lowlands north of the Maginot Line.

• Great Britain retreated back home from France.

1940 - France

• Italy declared war on France and invaded Southern France.

• France’s Prime Minister resigned; his replacement Marshal Petain signed an armistice with Germany.

• The terms of the armistices allowed Germany to occupy all of northern and eastern France.

1940- Vichy France

• The southern portion

was to be governed by

Marshal Petain based

out of the town of

Vichy.

• It was renamed Vichy

France.

1940 – Then there was One• Now only Great

Britain was left at war with Germany.

• Hitler offered to make peace, Churchill rejected and chose to fight on.

1940- Operation Sealion

July-September

• Hitler ordered a combined air, sea and land invasion of Great Britain.

• The vital part of this operation was given to the German air force. Its task was to win control of the airspace over the English Channel and thus prevent the British Air Force (RAF) from sinking their invasion ships.

• The German air force attacked Great Britain ships and its port cities.

1940- Operation Sealion

• The RAF was able to kept control of the air

over Britain.

• Hitler realized that he couldn’t now risk an

invasion so he cancel Operation Sealion in

September of 1940.

1940- USA• By late 1940, FDR

convinced Congress to replace the “cash –and –carry” plan with the “lend-lease” plan.

• Under this plan, the president would lend or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the United States.

• To prevent delivery of lend-lease shipments. Hitler deployed Germany U-boats to the North Atlantic.

The BlitzSeptember 1940-May 1941

• Germany continued

to drop bombs on

London and other

British cities.

• These attacks were

known as the

“Blitz.”

The BlitzSeptember 1940-May 1941

Germany had three goals related to the “Blitz.”

1. To damage communications by bombing railway centers.

2. To disrupt trade and production by bombing housing areas.

3. To destroy the British people’s morale by bombing housing areas.

The BlitzSeptember 1940-May 1941

• Great Britain had made preparations against bombings –air raid shelters, air-raid sirens.

• Barrage balloons were floated above cities, forcing German aircraft to fly higher to avoid them, thus reducing their chances of hitting their targets.

The BlitzSeptember 1940-May 1941

• British cities were made invisible to night-time bombers, by the use of “Blackout.”

• “Blackout” regulations banned the use of street lights, car headlights, or any other light that could be seen from above.

• Citizens were also issued gas-masks.

The BlitzSeptember 1940-May 1941

• As a result of these preparations, the Blitz

did less damage than many people on both

sides expected.

1941The Truth about the Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Hitler hated

Communism and had

long planned to

destroy Russia.

• He signed the pact

simply to keep Russia

neutral while he

occupied Poland and

Western Europe.

1941The Truth about the Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Stalin, who knew Hitler hated communist and Russia, signed the pact because the Russian armed forces were not yet ready to fight;the pact gave him time to prepare Russia for war.

1941

• By the start of 1941, the Nazi-Soviet Pact was

no longer useful to Hitler, now that he

controlled most of Western Europe; he could

safely turn his attention to the east.

• He therefore ordered his generals to prepare

an invasion of Russia as soon as possible.

1941

• Using blitzkrieg tactics, German forces poured into Russia.

• As Germany advanced on the capital, Moscow, it looked as if Russia was faced with total defeat.

1941Four factors stopped the Germans from defeating

Russia in the autumn of 1941.

1. Russia authorities moved many important weapons factories to eastern regions beyond the reach of the Germans.

2. Bad weather first autumn rains then winter’s subzero temperatures stopped Germany in their tracks.

3. The USA and Great Britain supported Russia with food, supplies and weapons.

4. The cruel behavior of the German soldiers strengthened the will of the Russian people to survive.

1941

• In June of 1941, FDR ordered the U.S. Navy to protect lend-lease shipments. He also gave American warships permission to attack German U-boats in self-defense.

1942What Should We Do?

1942What Should We Do?

• Germany and Italy control most of Europe.

• Japan controls most of the Pacific.

• USA feels Germany must be the focus of the

fighting: The USA forces needed time to build up

power and experience, so for the time being they

would let Russia handle Germany.

1943Casablanca Conference, January

• Roosevelt and Churchill

announced that their aim

was to force Germany, Italy

and Japan into

unconditional surrender.

• They hoped, by saying

this, to reassure Stalin that

they would not make a

separate peace with

Germany, leaving Russia to

fight Germany alone.

1943Casablanca Conference, January

• They did not, however, agree to do what Stalin really wanted –to open a second front in Europe.

• Instead they decided to continue with Operation Torch until they had driven all Axis forces out of North Africa.

• Then they would invade Europe via Sicily and Italy.

1943The Battle of Stalingrad (January)

• This battle took place in Russia.

• The Russia army defended this badly damaged city.

• For the first time since 1939 a Germany army in Europe had been beaten.

1943Operation Torch -May

• The Allied troops led by Field Marshall Montgomery defeat Germany’s Rommel the “Desert Fox.”

• The Allies now controlled North Africa and the Mediterranean.

1943Italy - July

• The Italian campaign

begins in Sicily and

works its way up the boot

towards Rome.

• Italy gives up and

imprisons Mussolini but

German troops move in

to fight.

• The Allied advance is

halted at the Gustav Line.

1944 -Italy

• The Allies broke through the Gustav Line in May.

• The Germans retreated to a second defense zone, The Gothic Line.

• The Allies tried to smash their way through this line in autumn but bad weather and fierce German resistance keptthem back.

1944Operation Overlord / June 6, 1944

• Code-name D-Day.

• Its aim was to transport an Allied army from England to France and thus open a second front in Europe.

• It was a difficult and ambitious operation, involving a cross-Channel invasion of the heavily-defended French coastline.

1944Operation Overlord / June 6, 1944

• The Allies landed on the five beaches of Normandy.

• After fierce battles they broke through the coast

defenses and advanced inland.

• By the end of the year, 2.1 million Allied soldiers

poured into northern France.

1944The Battle of the Bulge / December 16th

• Last counterattack made by Germany on the Western Front.

• It surprised the Allies and created a bulge in their lines.

• In the 6-week battle which followed the allies halted the Germans and drove them back to their starting point.

1945The End is Near in Europe

• Germany had to fight a war on three fronts.

• In the east, the Russian army attacked in January.

• In the west, Allied forces continued to advance towards the Rhine River, crossing it in March.

• In the south, the Allies broke through the Gothic Line in April and advancedinto France and Austria.

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1945Tragedy Strikes the USA!

• On April 12th, FDR dies of a stroke.

• Harry S Truman becomes the new president

and has to oversee the end of the war.

1945Victory in Europe

• In late April, the Allies

forces met at the River

Elbe.

• Berlin is encircled.

• On April 30th, Hitler and

his new wife commit

suicide.

• The next day, Germany’s

military leaders began to

negotiate peace with the

Allies.

1945Victory in Europe

• On May 7th, Germany

surrendered without

conditions.

• May 8th is celebrated as

V-E Day – Victory in

Europe Day.