World War Two

• Two Sides• Beginning• Significant Events

– Maginot Line– Blitzkrieg– Dunkirk– The Battle of Britain– Holocaust– French– D-Day– Significant Characteristics of

WWII - Europe

Sides of WWII

• Axis Powers– Germany– Austria– Italy– Japan– France

• “Vichy France”

– Libya– Albania

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

• “Free France”

– Canada– Australia

World War II– In Asia

• Japanese expansion– Natural resources

– Japanese/Chinese conflict

• July 7, 1937

– In Europe • Germany & the 1919 Treaty of Versailles

– Rearmament– Expand borders– Unification of Aryan race

• September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland

• September 3, 1939 Great Britain & France declare war

World War Two

European Theater

Maginot Line• French fortifications • French-German border

Blitzkrieg

• German attack plan

• Paris is captured

• France surrenders

• Becomes VichyFrance

DUNKIRK

• Evacuation of British Troops from France

• 338,000 were trapped

• Small boats were used to “ferry” soldiers

• Saved Britain’s fighting force

The Battle for Britain

Holocaust

Vichy French vs. Free French

• German Controlled

• Ruled by Petain– Hero of WWI

• Resided in Africa

• Led by de Gaulle– Charles de Gaulle

Utah= American, Omaha=American, Gold=British, Juno=Canadian, Sword=British

Characteristics of WWII in Europe• Hedgerow Fighting

• Automatic Weapons

• Snipers

• Tanks

World War Two: Asian Theater

Axis Power rally -1937

Japan invades China

•Japan invades

•Japan withdraws from League of Nations

•US places oil embargo on Japan

•Japanese capture China’s capital city

PEARL HARBOR

D

E

C

7

1

9

4

1

Significant Characteristics

• Americans vs. Japanese

• “Island Hopping”

• Japanese sense of duty– Kill 10 Americans before

killing self or being killed

Wake Island• Controlled by the US

• Captured by the Japanese Dec. 23, 1941

• US soldiers and construction workers were captured or killed

• Island was fortified by POW’s

• Japan surrendered the island September 4, 1945

• Many of Japan’s Wake Island soldiers convicted of war crimes

Bataan “Death March”• April 10, 1942

• US soldiers march to POW camps

• 26.2 miles

• Mistreatment of US soldiers

• Pointless executions

Midway• Japan meant to finish off the

US navy• US Intelligence discovered the

Japanese plan• US defeats Japan • June 4-7, 1942

Guadalcanal

SaipanSuicide Cliffs

Abandoned American TankSunken Japanese Transport

US Enters Saipan

Philippines

• Filipinos– Resistance

Fighters– Logistical

Support

Guam

Iwo Jima

Okinawa

Sugar Loaf Hill

• Landing April 1, 1945

• Enabled Americans to bomb Japan easier

Kamikaze Pilots

• Traditional Characteristics:– Attempting to protect their homeland– Brave– Young (90% between 17-24)– Individuals, not nameless faces– From the educated elite

Hiroshima & NagasakiReasons for the bombs:

1. Japanese surrender

2. Ensure US dominance

3. Actual attack

• September 2, 1945, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. General Douglas MacArthur stands at the microphone. Japanese General Yoshira Umeza signs for Japan.

• Much tragedy had occurred for both countries since Commodore Perry had arrived in Japan in 1853.

Leaders: Emperor Hirohito

• 124th Meji ruler• August 15, 1945 the people

heard their emperor for the 1st time ever

• Became a constitutional monarch

• Died January 7, 1989

Leaders: Benito Mussolini

• AKA: El Duce• Fascist Dictator• Executed on April 29, 1945

while trying to escape Italy• Hung by his feet

Leaders: Adolf Hitler

• Revived the German economy

• Persecuted the Jewish people

• Great orator

• Committed suicide???

Leaders: Winston Churchill

• Charismatic leader of Britain during the War

• Great orator• Retired in 1955• Died January 24, 1965

Leaders: FDR/Harry Truman

• Truman sworn in April 12, 1945

• Truman decides to drop the bombs anyway

• Truman approved the Marshall Plan (aid $)

FDR

• 4x elected president

• Died April 12, 1945

Leaders: Joseph Stalin

• Soviet leader after the death of Lenin

• Led Soviets through war

• Great purges > Hitler

• Entered into Cold War with the United States

End of World War Two

• Surrender– Germany on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day)– Japan on August 15, 1945 (V-J Day)

• Treaty– Yalta Conference (February 1945) – Potsdam Conference (August 1945).

• Cold War begins– Communism vs. Capitalism

Nuremberg Trials

Sources