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World War II

World War II. World War: Total war, with a total commitment from all the major superpowers in the world to win the war. Commitment economically, militarily and politically. Allies. Represent the “Free” world. Major players consisted of Great Britain, France, U.S., and the Soviet Union.

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World War II

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  1. World War II World War: Total war, with a total commitment from all the major superpowers in the world to win the war. Commitment economically, militarily and politically.

  2. Allies • Represent the “Free” world. • Major players consisted of Great Britain, France, U.S., and the Soviet Union. • Soviet Union switched sides.

  3. Axis Powers • Axis powers represented the totalitarian states. • Consisted of: Germany, Italy, and Japan. • “Rome, Berlin, Tokyo Axis”

  4. Main Causes of WWII • Aftermath of WWI: • Treaty of Versailles --> “Treaty of Vengeance”. • Weak League of nations. United States did not sign on. • Global Depression 1929 • Rise of Hitler and policies of Appeasement; violation of Munich Pact.

  5. WWII: Official Start • Hitler/Germany signs secret non-aggression pact with Stalin/Soviet Union which would give U.S.S.R. land in Poland for not defending Poland. • Hitler Invaded Poland September 1st 1939. • France and GB declared war on Germany next day. • “Phony war” 9 months no fighting took place.

  6. Germany’s Early Success • May 1940 overtook France in 2 weeks. • Battle of Britain • Hitler turned on Soviet Union and declared war on U.S, same time

  7. U.S. Entry • U.S. isolationists ---> 1938 94% of Americans thought the we should stay out. • Bad memories- Nye Committee, a Congressional committee had concluded that bankers motives had been the real motive why U.S. involved in WWI. • Neutrality led to rise of dictators (Hitler, Stalin, Hirohito)

  8. FDR Signing the Lend-Lease Act 1941 • 1939 U.S. had begun to send arms to GB 50$ million • FDR ran on neutrality, thought that world was in such bad shape he needed to stay. • U.S. ships needed escorts to get arms to GB • Lend Lease Act 1941 gave the power to the President to sell arms to any country that needed it

  9. Japanese Involvement • Japan had expanding population, no place to go. • 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria, China withdrew from League of Nations • 1936/7 Signed treaties with Germany and Italy “Rome- Berlin- Tokyo Axis”

  10. Japanese Resentment of U.S. • No Respect from Western nations • High tariffs • Embargo’s restricted trade • Anti Immigration laws • Debate as to whether or not U.S. “baited” Japanese into attack of Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. Code was broken 1 month earlier and knew it was coming.

  11. STATS • The Japanese devastated the U.S. fleet: • 18 ships were sunk including 6 battleships • 188 planes were destroyed • 128 planes were damaged • 2338 Americans were killed • 1177 servicemen were wounded • Only 29 Japanese planes were shot down • All this occurred in just over two hours • Even though the Japanese destroyed much of the U.S. fleet, they fell short in many ways: • They only sent two of the three waves planned. • They failed to hit the U.S. oil reserves and submarine ports • One half of the U.S. fleet was out to sea including all of the aircraft carriers

  12. Island Hopping • Moving from Island to Island in the Pacific trying to take back territory from Japanese expansion

  13. Philippines • Philippines lost in March 1942 after 3 months of fighting. MacArthur vowed, “I shall return”. • 75,000 POW’s taken • Bataan Death March killed and tortured many U.S. POW’s. • Regained in October of 1944

  14. Battle of Coral Sea (May 1942) • Japan attempted to takeover Australia. • 1st battle at sea when neither ship ever saw each other. Aircraft carrier battle. • Halted Japanese invasion of mainland Australia.

  15. Midway (June 1942) • U.S. broke Japanese codes and learned of attack, enabled them to be their waiting • Turning point of the War in the Pacific. • Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers, and many top pilots. • 1st Allied victory.

  16. Guadalcanal (August 1942) • Japan was building and air field on island. • One of the bloodiest battles. 6 months long. • U.S. victorious by cutting off Japanese supply lines and “starving them out”. • Island Hopping - cutting off supplies by taking surrounding islands.

  17. Leyte Gulf (August 1944) • Largest naval battle ever, in terms of material. • Japan had sent all remaining ships to the Gulf. They lost 350,000 soldiers. Japan not much of real threat after that. • Part of MacArthur’s return to the Philippines.

  18. Iwo Jima (February 1945) • U.S. had been bombing Island for 7 months prior to landing. 21,000 Japanese were held up in caves. • 15,000 marines died trying to take it • Rosenthall’s Mt. Surbachi photograph most famous of WWII.

  19. Okinawa (April -June 1945) • 350 miles off coast of Japan Vital to the U.S. for launching attack on Japanese mainland. • Kamikaze attacks on U.S. ships sunk 30 ships and damaged 350 others. • 50,000 U.S. casualties.

  20. Manhattan Project (1939-1945) • $2 Billion top secret project. Involved some 120,000 people. • Physicist Oppenheimer headed project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. • Created the A-bomb which lead to bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

  21. US takes actions to repair the world • Nuremberg Trials(1945-1949) • Division of Germany • Marshall Plan • Separation of Western and Eastern Europe

  22. End of War Chronology • April 30, 1945 -Adolph Hitler commits suicide in his bunker below the Berlin sewer system. • May 6, 1945 -Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering surrenders to the Allies. • May 23, 1945 -British tanks enter Flensburg, Germany. The British take several of the Nazis that will be tried in the Major War Figures Trial, including Donitz, Jodl, Keitel, Rosenberg, and Speer. Heinrich Himmler, the most powerful and terrifying of the Nazi leaders after Hitler, commits suicide. • November 20, 1945 -The trial of the major war criminals by the International Military Tribunal begins at 10 a.m. in Nuremberg, Germany. • November 21, 1945 -The defendants enter their pleas of "Not Guilty." Goering tries to make a statement, but is prevented by the Court from doing so. Justice Robert Jackson delivers his opening statement for the prosecution. • November 29, 1945 -The prosecution introduces a film shot by Allied photographers in liberated areas. The graphic footage of Nazi horrors causes weeping in the courtroom. Some defendants appeared shocked by what they see; others seem bored. • October 1, 1946 -The verdicts against the major war criminals are handed down by the International Military Tribunal. Eleven of the twenty-one defendants are sentenced to death. • October 15, 1946 -Goering commits suicide by swallowing a smuggled cyanide pill. • October 16, 1946 -Ten of the war criminals are hanged in Nuremberg

  23. John Marshall Marshall Plan • Secretary of State John Marshall introduced the idea that the United States should spend billions of $’s to aid Europe in their recovery from WWII. The catch was these countries must purchase and continues to trade with the U.S.. Remain Free

  24. Harry Truman Instigator • Potsdam conferences July of 1945, Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met to decide the fate of Europe. Truman knew of development of A-bomb and dominated the meetings, warning Stalin of the U.S. power. • Mistrust grew from this meeting Truman developed the idea and policy of containment. • Truman’s tough line stance set the stage for the Cold War for the next 45- 50 years.

  25. WWII Statistics • Most devastating war in History of mankind. • Lasted 6 years 1939-1945 • Involved 5 of the 7 continents. 61 countries involved • 1.7 billion people involved. • $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) spent

  26. WWII Statistics cont. • 56 million people killed: • USSR 21,300,000 • China 11,324,000 • Germany 7,060,000 • Poland 6,850,000 • Japan 2,000,000 • U.S. 500,000

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