THE BATTLES OF WWII: 1942

TODAY’S AGENDA…• War in Russia• War in Africa• Strategic Bombing• War in the Pacific

RUSSIA• The German plan to launch another great attack

in the early months of 1942.• Why: – Hitler needs oil and resources to win the war.– Hitler believes that another attack with would drain

Russian manpower.

RUSSIA• However, Hitler becomes

obsessed with capturing the city of Stalingrad

• Both Hitler and Stalin make this battle a personal matter and both side throw everything they have into it.

• Stalingrad is the most brutal battle of the war with intense street fighting (building to building, floor to floor, room to room battles)

THE TWO SIDES

German Army

Russian Army

General Paulus

General Zhukov

1,011,500 men

1,000,500 men

10, 290 artillery guns

13,541 artillery guns

675 tanks 894 tanks

1,216 planes 1,115 planes

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD

• As the Germans slowly take the city, Russian forces to the North and South surround the city and trap a large section of the German Army inside

• Hitler refuses the army’s request to have the trapped men break out

• Germans are trapped…

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD

"Surrender is forbidden. 6 Army will hold their positions to the last man and the last round and by their heroic endurance will make an unforgettable contribution towards the establishment of a defensive front and the salvation of the Western world.”

-Hitler

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD

• Unable to break out, the Germans also had to face the winter. Temperatures dropped to well below zero

• Food, ammunition and heat were in short supply.

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD

• The Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to have been the turning point in World War Two in Europe.

• The battle at Stalingrad bled the German army dry in Russia and after this defeat

• Nazi power never recovers from this loss

AFRICA

• The battle for North Africa was a struggle for control of the Suez Canal and access to oil from the Middle East and raw materials from Asia.

IN AFRICA• The American Army

attacks the Germans in Africa

• The German Army is defeated at the Battle of El Alemein by the British and flee Africa in 1942

STRATEGIC BOMBINGU.S., Britain and Canada bomb Germany (city by city):• Such much damage was done to German factories

that German could not produce enough weapons and material for the war effort

Question

During the process of strategic bombing, many innocent German citizens died and homes

were destroyed. Do you think what Canada, U.S. and Britain did was right or wrong?

“Become a monster to destroy the monster.” – Do you agree with this statement?

https://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/Ss0ii2eTVRvcOR8#

PACIFIC

• The USA wins a major Naval battle near the Island of Midway and crushes the Japanese Navy

• The USA begins taking back territory captured by the Japanese using “Island Hopping”

• The Japanese continue to fight very hard and the war tin the pacific is extremely bloody but after Midway, they had little hope of victory

Revenge

• Four Japanese aircraft carriers, all part of the six-carrier force that had attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier—and a heavy cruiser were sunk

• America’s loss? 1 American aircraft carrier and 1 destroyer

• America is able to rebuild (they have resources) – Japan can never get back up

Island Hopping

Island Hopping

• Advantages:1. Allowed the United States forces to reach Japan

more quickly and not expend the time, manpower, and supplies to capture every Japanese-held island on the way.

2. Gave Allies the advantage of surprise and keep the Japanese off balance.

BATTLE OF MIDWAY

• Naval warfare• American advantage: decoding Japanese

communications– American codebreakers were able to determine

the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to set up an ambush of its own.

• Japan loses

OVERALL

• Big turnaround:– Allies have the upper hand over the Axis

• Germany loses Stalingrad (Russian success)

• Germany loses Africa (British success)

• Germany gets bombed (Canadian, Britain & U.S. success)

• Japan loses the battle of Midway (U.S. Success)

1942 BIG NEWS!You are a 1942 news broadcast station

• In your groups, create a short (approximately 2 minutes) news broadcast for the battle you were assigned.

• While one person is reading the news, the rest of your group members must create a tableau of either the Allies or Axis reaction to the outcome of the battle.