World War II

Prelude to Global War

• U.S. and other developed countries suffered from severe economic depression

• Europe became a hotbed of tension. . . several factors would lead to a second world war.

Causes of WWII

• Major factors that set stage for world war:

1. Treaty of Versailles

2. Rise of Dictators

3. Appeasement

1. Treaty of Versailles

• Ended WWI (1919)– Germany forced to:

• Accept War Guilt Clause• Give up territory• Pay reparations• Reduce armaments

• Germany resented this treaty– Wanted revenge

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2. Rise of Dictators

• Dictator: totalitarian leader with ultimate power

• Totalitarian leaders rose to power in:– Italy– Soviet Union– Japan (military leaders)– Germany

Mussolini in Italy• Benito Mussolini

founded Fascist Party in Italy after WWI– Fascism: welfare of state

(nation) is placed above that of the individual

• Became leader of Italy in 1922– Called himself Il Duce

“the leader”–

http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Resources/graphics/news-images/mussolini.jpg

Stalin In the Soviet Union• Josef Stalin rose to

power after the death of Lenin in 1924– Brutal and ruthless

• Signed non-aggression pact with Germany

Military Leaders in Japan• Military became more important during the

Depression years• Japan wanted to control Asia

– Needed natural resources

• 1931-Invaded Manchuria, a province of China, for resources

• U.S. became alarmed– Cut off trade with Japan– Began to build up military presence in Pacific

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Hitler in Germany

• Adolf Hitler

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3. Appeasement• Appeasement: policy of giving someone what

they want– Hitler wanted to unite German-speaking people of

Europe• 1936: Invaded Rhineland (DMZ bordering France)• 1938: Annexed Austria • 1938: Annexed Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia)

– Czech. Was closely tied to England

– Munich Conference: Sept. 1938• Britain and France agreed to allow Hitler to keep new

lands IF he promised not to invade any other territories

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The War Begins

Invasion of Poland

• September 1, 1939: World War II began with the German invasion of Poland– Great Britain and France declared war on

Germany on September 3.

Major Alliances during WWII

• Allied Powers– Great Britain– France– Soviet Union – United States

• Axis Powers– Germany– Italy– Japan

Blitzkrieg

• Hitler used a tactic called Blitzkrieg “Lightning Warfare” to easily defeat Poland– Massive coordinated air and land attacks – Poland fell to Germany in October 1939

Maginot Linehttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Maginot_Line_ln-en.jpg/800px-Maginot_Line_ln-en.jpg

German Advance into Western Europe• Hitler went north and easily defeated the

Netherlands and Denmark– May, 1940- Hitler launched blitzkrieg through

Luxembourg and Belgium in route to France.• Great Britain and France move most of their forces north

to defend French border w/ Belgium.• Crucial mistake b/c it left French border with

Luxembourg under defended. Germans easily pushed into France.

France falls to Germany• The Allies were trapped to north as Germans

moved into France.– Unable to retreat and were forced to quickly

evacuate by air and water.• Thousands of Allied troops died and they were forced to

leave behind valuable supplies

• June, 1940: France fell to the Germans.– Hitler set up a puppet government in France to

help maintain control of the newly conquered territory

The Battle of Britain• Great Britain refused to give up

– Winston Churchill (P.M. of G.B.) said “we shall never surrender”

– G.B. was separated from rest of Europe by English Channel and Hitler knew he would have to attack by air

– Sent his Luftwaffe (air force) to attack Britain

– Known as the Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain• Britain was defended by the Royal Air Force

(RAF)– RAF used a new technology to help defeat

German pilots• Radar: could detect incoming planes and intercept them

• Great Britain was able to hold out. By November, 1940, Hitler changed his tactics and cancelled the invasion of Britain

Hitler turns on the USSR

• The Soviet Union and Germany had signed a non-aggression pact before the war began (Nazi-Soviet Pact)– Hitler saw USSR as a great place to

conquer new lands– He went back on his agreement with Stalin

and invaded the Soviet Union in June, 1941.

United States Joins the War

Tension with Japan

• U.S. and Japanese relations were very tense– Japan was sinking Allied ships- U.S.

angered• U.S. cut off trade with Japan and began

sending aid to China (most of which was under Japanese control)

Pearl Harbor• Japanese continued negotiations with U.S.

– Secretly planning a surprise attack– Wanted to cripple the U.S. fleet in the Pacific

• U.S. feared attack was imminent, but did not know where– Believed the U.S. controlled Philippines was the

most likely target– Attack came at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Pearl Harbor• December 7, 1941

– Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor– U.S. suffered heavy damage

• Over 2,000 men and women killed• 21 ships sank or destroyed • 188 planes destroyed

• December 8, 1941: U.S. Congress voted to declare war on Japan– December 11- both Italy and Germany declare

war on the U.S.

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USS Arizonahttp://www.sheppardsoftware.com/images/Europe/factfile/USSArizonaPearlHarbor.jpg

The Early Battles

• War took on two major fronts– Europe – Pacific

• Allies were not ready for an invasion into mainland Europe– Began to attack German-controlled

territory in North Africa

WWII in North Africa• German forces in Africa led by Erwin

Rommel- nicknamed “Desert Fox”– British and U.S. planned to trap Rommel in N.

Africa and force his surrender– British moved in from the east– Eisenhower and George Patton led the U.S.

forces from the west • U.S. invasion of Africa known as Operation Torch

• By 1943, Germans had lost control of Africa

Operation Torchhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Operation_Torch_-_map.jpg/800px-Operation_Torch_-_map.jpg

http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/erwin_rommel_iron_cross.jpg

Battle of the Atlantic• Throughout much of the war, Germans used

submarines to control the waters of the Atlantic– Sank hundreds of Allied ships– Destroyed millions of tons of supplies and cargo

• Allies began to employ use of radar, sonar, and depth charges to fight subs– Were slowly able to take control of the Atlantic

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Turning Point in Europe• Battle of Stalingrad: turning pt. in Europe• May 1942, Hitler ordered troops to advance into the

heart of Soviet Union– Wanted to seize Stalingrad and crush the Soviet economy– Reached city in Sept., but Soviets refused to give up– By Nov. Germans were in trouble

• Running short on supplies and unable to deal with harsh winter

• Feb., 1943: Germans lose Battle of Stalingrad and are forced to retreat

Germans put on the defense

• By 1943, Germans were on the defensive, no longer gaining ground– Allies began extensive bombing in

Germany• Dropped 53,000 tons of explosives each month

• Allies began invasion of Sicily and Italy

http://www.map-of-italy.net/images/italy-map.gif

Allied victory in Italy• Allies move from North Africa into Sicily and

Italy– Sept. 1943- Mussolini was overthrown and Italy

seemed ready to surrender• Hitler sent reinforcements to protect Mussolini and Italy

– Rome liberated in June, 1944• Some fighting continued until April, 1945• Mussolini attempted to flee the country; was captured

and executed (April, 1945)

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Operation Overlord

• Allies began to plan a massive invasion of western Europe to liberate France– Code named “Operation Overlord”– Millions of troops and supplies were sent

to England to await “D-Day”– Allies planned to cross the English

Channel and storm the beaches of Normandy

Operation Overlord• Allies had to wait for the perfect opportunity

to launch the invasion– On June 6, 1944, Eisenhower gave order for D-

Day invasion to begin• Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops landed on the

beaches– U.S. landed on beaches code named “Utah” and “Omaha”

• Met heavy resistance by Germans, but were able to break through and advance toward Paris

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Liberation of Paris

• D-Day invasion was a success– August 25, 1944- Paris was liberated from

Nazi control

• Allies begin to push Germans back– Soviet Union advancing from the east– U.S., France and Great Britain advancing

from the west

Battle of the Bulge

• Germany was losing ground and Hitler decided to make one last offensive move– Dec., 1945- German troops met Allied

troops in the Ardennes Forest near the German border

• Hit Allies so hard it caused their lines to bulge

http://www.45thdivision.org/CampaignsBattles/Ardennes_Alsace/map2lg.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:P41%28map%29.jpg

Battle of the Bulge

• Germans were aided by poor weather conditions– Allies were nearly defeated, but received

critical reinforcements– January, 1945: Allies were able to defeat

the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge (Battle of Ardennes Forest)

Victory in Europe• Allies continued to

advance toward Germany– April 30, 1945: Hitler

knew his war was over• Committed suicide and

his body was burned

• May 7, 1945: V-E Day (Victory in Europe)– Germans officially

surrendered – War was over in Europe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler

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World War II in the Pacific

War in the Pacific

• Days after Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked the U.S. in the Philippines– U.S. lost control of the islands in spring,

1942– Gen. Douglas MacArthur promised the

Philippines that he and the U.S. would return to liberate them from Japanese control

http://www.yellowpages-cambodia.com/images/maps/South-East-Asia-Map.jpg

Philippines

Fighting in the Pacific

• Japan continued to attack the U.S. fleet and seize islands in the Pacific

• U.S. needed to gain control of islands closer to Japan in order to launch attacks on Japan

Turning Point in the Pacific• Japan attempted

another surprise attack at Midway– U.S. was ready, able to

defeat Japan – Stopped the Japanese

advancement into the Pacific

– Battle of Midway: June 4-7, 1942

• turning point in the Pacific

Island Hopping

• After victory at Midway, the U.S. began using island hopping– Randomly attack and seize Pacific Islands– See map on Page 636

Iwo Jima• U.S. wanted to capture island closer to Japan

– Chose Iwo Jima for location– Feb, 1945: 60,000 Marines landed on Iwo Jima– Brutal fighting until March, 1945

• U.S. seized island

• Use island to launch bombing raids in Tokyo

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Okinawa• April- June, 1945:

U.S. invasion of Okinawa– Island 350 mi. off

Japan’s coast– Captured the island

• Yet, Japan still fought on

The Manhattan Project• April 12, 1945: FDR died in office

– His V.P. Harry Truman took office– Truman soon learned of a new technology

• The Atomic Bomb

• Manhattan Project: secret plan to build an atomic bomb– Very few people knew about it– July, 1945: first successful detonation of the bomb

Truman uses the bomb• Japan seemed unwilling to surrender

– Truman weighed options for the next move• Invade Japan OR use the bomb• He decided to use the bomb, wanted to save American

lives

• August 6, 1945: atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima– 80-120,000 people died instantly– Thousands more died from burns or radiation

sickness

Hiroshima

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http://students.umf.maine.edu/~donoghtp/hiroshima2.gif

Victory in Japan

• Japan still refused to surrender– August 9, 1945: 2nd atomic bomb dropped

on Nagasaki

• After threats of a 3rd bomb, Japan finally agreed to surrender– August 15, 1945: V-J Day, victory in Japan

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/ops/images/nagasaki-002.jpg

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Building a new world

The United Nations• United Nations was created before war

was over– April, 1945: delegates from 50 countries

met in California to create the UN

• UN was created as an international peace-keeping organization– Still exists and very influential in

international affairs

Building a New World

• At the end of WWII, most of the industrialized nations of the world were crippled by the war.– Only the U.S. and the Soviet Union stood

strong – U.S. and USSR emerged as competing

super-powers.• Thus, the Cold War!