World War II The inevitable war

Part I

Axis Aggression

• 1) Invasion of Poland - German invasion of the Polish corridor finally led to a declaration of war by Britain & France

• 2) “phony War” - France & Britain stand by defensively while Germany conquers Poland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands & Belgium……..Allies not involved.

Invasion of Poland

Occupied Warsaw

•3) Dunkirk - French & British troops trapped by Germany’s rapid advance through France are evacuated to Britain

Blitzkrieg……...

Dunkirk after evacuation

France surrenders……Only 6 weeks

•4) Vichy Regime - S. France which became a fascist collaborating “puppet government”

• N. France occupied by Germany

Armistice signed in the same

train car...

• 5) Battle of Britain - Germany began a massive bombing campaign to demoralize the British

• Churchill- offers nothing but “blood, toil, sweat, and tears.”

• RAF successfully defended - • radar!

British bomb shelter

America’s support role expands

•6) Cash & carry - Allies could buy war goods from the US to transport in their own ships

•7)Lend-Lease - Allies could buy war goods from US on credit in exchange for leases on military base

•8)The Atlantic Charter - Churchill and Roosevelt agree on war aims…August 1941

•9) Germany invades Balkans - when Mussolini unsuccessfully invades Greece, Hitler has to divert attention to the Balkans to help

• Germany takes Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria

•10) North Africa - Italians and Germans attack French & British holdings in North Africa

Operation Barbarossa

•11) Invasion of the Soviet Union- Hitler needs raw materials - oil & grain

• Three pronged German attack: Leningrad Moscow Stalingrad

• Stalin responds with scorched earth policy

Leningrad

Moscow

Stalingrad

Germans invade Russia

12. Japanese get involved.

•Japanese in Asia - Japan moves to take Dutch & French colonial holdings

• US responds with trade embargo against Japan

• 13.Pearl Harbor - Japanese bombers attacked US Pacific fleet based in Hawaii

• sank battleships…but aircraft carriers were not at port!

Destroyed US battleships...

BELLIGERENTS ……...•Axis: • Germany

• Italy

• Japan

•Allies:• Great Britain• Soviet Union

(Russia)• United States• govts in exile -

“Free French”

•The Axis Powers seem invincible

World War II The Inevitable War

Part II

Allied Advance

Causes of WWII

• End of Old Order• Political instability• Disillusionment• Resentment• Economic suffering• Social chaos• Nationalism• Rise of dictatorships• Aggressive Expansion

Gradual gains for the allies

• 1. The Bismarck - “unsinkable” new German battleship

• British sink it - ends German ability to dominate the Atlantic with surface ships

The Battleship Bismarck

2.

•Battle of Stalingrad - prolonged German offensive

• Russians hold city against unbelievable odds

• Russian counteroffensive encircles entire German 6th army & forces its surrender

• Begins Russian offensive

Trapped German 6th army

3. German advance in North Africa……..

Erwin Rommel - the Desert

Fox

Halted by British and American Tanks in North Africa…...

British General Bernard

Montgomery“Monty”

British troops advance at4. El Alamein

Germans & Italians surrender in North Africa

5. Allied invasion of Italy

• Allies launch invasion of Sicily from North Africa

• Mussolini is denounced and arrested by Italian government

• Italy announces declaration of war against Germany

Mussolini & mistress

6. American Victories in the Pacific

• Battle of Midway - Americans sink Japanese aircraft carriers

• Americans begin “island leapfrogging”

• Japanese “kamikazes” -

Battle of Midway

Kamikazi about to hit Intrepid

7. D-Day June 6, 1944• American led Allied forces launch a

surprise invasion of German-occupied France at Normandy

paratroopers

Germans expect

landing at Calais

• Transport ships ferried troops for the largest amphibious attack in history

• high casualties

8. Allied Drive from West

Allied paratroopers land in the Netherlands- largest ever

Market Garden

• German counteroffensive in the Ardennes

• The Battle of the Bulge

9. Soviet Drive from East

• Supported by industry beyond the Ural Mountains

• Soviets Drive towards Berlin

• The Soviets reach Berlin FIRST

10. Yalta

Churchill Roosevelt Stalin

The Big Three agree that:• Germany would be divided.

• Part of Poland would go to the Soviet Union.

• The Soviet Union would declare war on Japan two to three months after defeating Germany.

11.V-E DAY

Montgomery presides over

German Surrender

• Germans sign unconditional surrender

• War in Europe is over! (May 8, 1945)

12. Potsdam

• New “Big Three”• Stalin (still there)

• Clement Attlee (replaced Churchill)

• Harry Truman (replaced Roosevelt)

Now to focus on the Pacific!

• At Potsdam, the Big Three finalized plans for administration of Europe

• Germany & Berlin to be divided into four zones of occupation

• administered by Big Three countries plus France

• free elections to be held later for self -determination

13. Hiroshima/NagasakiLittle Boy and Fat Man

Devastation Innocents

Nagasaki

14. V-J Day• Soviet Union declares war on Japan

day after Hiroshima bombing• Japanese won’t agree to

unconditional surrender• 2nd bomb dropped on Nagasaki• unconditional surrender by the

Japanese (Sept 2, 1945)

The End of World War II

Will we ever have to have another?

Effects of WWII

• Shift in balance of power- Britain, France and Germany lost world dominance.

• Emergence of superpowers-US and USSR

• Creation of New nations– Most of the colonial positions of the world were given independence.

• Founding of the United Nations

Effects Cont.

• 55 million people died in result of combat. (Russia lost the most at 22 million)

• 12 million died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust.

• Millions more died in Asia at the hands of the Japanese genocide campaigns.

• Total Cost of the war—1.5 trillion in 1940s money