CH.16 Sec.1 “Hitler’s Lightning War”

1. CH.16 Sec.1 “Hitler’s Lightning War” WWII 1939-1945 Sept. 1939 –Hitler’s BLITZCREIG or lightning war. German planes bomb airfields, factories, cities on Poland.. Stalin invades from the east. Apr 1940- Hitler launches blitzkrieg on Norway and Denmark then on the Netherlands and Belgium

2. May 1940 Italy declares war on France June 1940- Force French to sign surrender documents in same railroad car in which Germany had to sign armistice Without the French, Winston Churchill rallies the British fight Aug 1940- Battle of Britain begins- Germany sends 1st bombs Sept 1940- Shower bombs over London for 57 nights. City did not break under the blitz and Brit morale was not destroyed June 1941- Hitler abandons the operation and then targets the Soviet Union

3. July 1941 Hitler pushed the British back across the desert toward CairoJune 1941 Hitler embarks on Operation Barbarossa- the conquest of the Soviet Union. He wanted to gain living space for Germans and gain resources. 3 million Germans pour into Russia and it caught Stalin unprepared. Russia loses 2.5 million soldiers. Factories/crops were destroyed… However, Hitler was not prepared for the Russian winter

4. US Pres Roosevelt (FDR) found ways around the neutrality acts to give aid to Britain • 1941 FDR and congress pass Lend-Lease Act= allows to sell or lend war materials to any country “Whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the US” (Arsenal of Democracy) • Aug 1941 Roosevelt and Churchill met secretly on warship in the Atlantic and wrote the Atlantic Charter= goals for WWII • Dec.1941 Japan join war/ advance into French IndochinaTo stop Japanese aggression the US ban the sale of war materials to Japan • Dec.7 1941 General Tojo orders surprise attack on American fleet at Pearl Harbor. Japanese airplanes destroy 19 ships, smash planes and kill 2400 people • FDR asks congress to declare war on Japan and 3 days later Germany and Italy declare war on US