I. The War Begins- Sept. 1, 1939A. Germany invades Poland merely

days after the N-A Pact is signed

1. Implements Blitzkrieg attacks

a. Air attack damages defenses & panicks civilians

b. Fast-moving tanks & artillery

c. Foot-soldiers take out remaining resistance

2. Flat Poland collapses in just weeks

B. Hitler invades France-1940

1. Germany invades through Ardennes, a thick forest France had poorly defended

2. Push Allied troops NW to Dunkirk along the coast

3. 300,000 Allied troops rescued and brought to England

4. Germany takes Paris June 22, 19405. Much of France is under French

officials’ control who had been cooperating with Hitler- Vichy France

C. The Battle for Britain: Aug-Oct 19401.New Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave the public spirit and confidence

2. Hitler sends thousands of aircraft over English Channel to attack

3. British radar tracks German aircraft

4. Fall of 1940- German planes bomb British ports and cities

a. Goal was to break British spirits and will to fight

b. Cities destroyed, thousands of civilians die

c. Bombing lasts 57 days until Hitler calls of plans

German bombing of London- Sept. 1940

D. North Africa1. Italians fighting British back

and forth between Libya & Egypt in the fall of 1940

2. As the British take the offensive, Hitler sends German troops to help

3. These troops are known as the “Afrika Korps”

4. The Afrika Korps were led by German Erwin Rommel, aka “The Desert Fox”

E. The United States

1. Land-Lease Act- Signed in March 1941

2. A way for the United States to help out without being physically involved

3. Sent money and supplies to the Allies

Captain America comic before U.S. entered war

F. Germany invades Soviet Union—Operation Barbarossa

1. Germany breaks pact and sends 3 million soldiers to Soviet Union in June 1941

2. Begins with Blitzkrieg

3. Soviet troops ill-prepared and face losses

4. Autumn 1941- German troops deep into Soviet Union and racing to reach Leningrad & Moscow

5. Don’t mess with the Russian winter!a. Like Napoleons troops in 1812, German advance slowed by Soviet winterb. Soviets recover from mass losses and rebuild & start to fight back

HOW DID IT CONTRIBUTE TO THE ULTIMATE SUCCESS OF THE ALLIES?

QuestionOperation Barbarossa:

Germany’s plan to invade the Soviet Union

II. 1942the Axis Powers still on the offensive

A. Pearl Harbor had been attacked Dec. 7, 1941

Why did Japan bomb the U.S.?B. Siege of Leningrad began in

winter of 1941 and is still occurring

1. Hitler’s goal was to starve the Soviets into defeat

2. 3,000-4,000 people dying each day

The Axis Powers- 1942

1942

C. Nazi Germany surrounds Stalingrad in the springD. Japan defeats US-occupied Philippines & begins Bataan Death March in AprilE. Turning point in the Pacific, June, USA defeats Japan at the Battle of Midway Tortured POWS

during Bataan Death March

III. 1943the Allies make some gains

A. Soviets defeat Germans at Stalingrad

Stalin refuses to let the city fall to Hitler

B. USA beats Japanese at Guadalcanal after 6 months of fighting in February

Allies witness Japanese fighting to death for the first timeC. Rommel & his Afrika Korps are defeated in Africa in May

1943

The road to Stalingrad

Flooding in the already swampy,

jungle-like conditions

of Guadalcanal

1943D. Allies take Sicily in July, Hitler once again sends troops to defend Italy 1. What is the significance of blocking the Allies at Italy? 2. “The Soft Under-Belly of Europe”E. Tehran Conference held in November between Roosevelt, Stalin & ChurchillStalin wants a America & G.B. to create a Western European front

IV. 1944A. In January, Soviets finally

win Leningrad after 900 days

B. Allies land on beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944- D-Day

C. Kamikaze fighters appear at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October- USA wins.

D. Battle of the Bulge begins in December

A German view of the Allied invasion

The Battle of the Bulge

V. 1945A. Battle of the Bulge ends in

January with an Allied winB. Auschwitz is discovered and

liberated C. Yalta Conference is held in

February between The Big Three to plan peace negotiations

D. February-March- Allies advance closer to Japan through wins at Iwo Jima & Okinawa

1945E. April

1. Roosevelt dies & Truman becomes President

2. Mussolini executed

3. Hitler commits suicide (4/30)

F. May, Germany surrenders (5/7)

G. July

1. Allies give Japan ultimatum to surrender

2. Potsdam Conference- Stalin wants land Is this the beginning of the Cold War?

1945H. August

1. Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (8/6)

2. Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki (8/9)

3. V-J Day, Japan surrenders (8/15)

After six long years, World War II is finally over!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vcnH_kF1zXc&feature=player_embedded Japanese Surrender video