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First Shots

First Shots. The Sudentenland and Czechoslovakian Invasion. Sudentenland: Part of Czechoslovakia. Hitler wanted more “Lebensraum”. German speakers lived in this region. Hitler used propaganda to enrage Germans about treatment of Sudenten Germans. Hitler’s “last demand”.

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First Shots

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  1. First Shots

  2. The Sudentenland and Czechoslovakian Invasion. • Sudentenland: • Part of Czechoslovakia. • Hitler wanted more “Lebensraum”. • German speakers lived in this region. • Hitler used propaganda to enrage Germans about treatment of Sudenten Germans. • Hitler’s “last demand”. • Munich Agreement 1938: Turned the Sudentenland over to Germany. • Appeasement.

  3. Hitler takes Poland, 1939 • Uses same emotional ploy: Germans in Poland were in trouble. • No one thought he would do it because of Poland’s proximity to the USSR. • Britain and France committed to Poland’s safety. • Stalin signs “non-aggression pact” with Hitler. • Soviets sign a deal with Germany to split Poland. • Germans invade using Blitzkrieg tactics. • Fighting was over in 3 weeks.

  4. The Phony War, 1940 • Maginot Line: Series of fortifications protecting France. • Stalin annexes the Baltic States: • Estonia • Latvia • Lithuania • Hitler goes around the Maginot Line through the Ardennes, takes Paris. • Hitler uses “Anschluss” tactics to take over Denmark, Holland, Norway and Luxembourg.

  5. Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain • Dunkirk: 330,000 troops evacuated. • Germans take control of north France, Vichy Government, led by Marhsal Petain, in control of the south. • Gen. Charles de Gaulle flees to England. • 1940, Battle of Britain: German air offensive against Britain. • A new technology, radar, is used to beat the Germans.

  6. Ditching Neutrality • 1939: “Cash and Carry” policy. Roosevelt allows nations to buy arms from US. This contravenes the earlier Neutrality Acts. • The argument was, that arming Britain and France would prevent the need for the US to come into the war.

  7. The Axis • Germany, Italy and Japan sign Tripartite Pact which is a mutual defense agreement. They become known as the Axis Powers. • The pact was meant to be a deterrent to the US. If the US declared war on one actor, it would have to fight all of them. • 1940: US sends Britain thousands of machine guns, rifles and 50 destroyers.

  8. Ramping Up • US boosts defense spending. • US passes “peacetime draft”: The Selective Training and Service Act for men between 21-35. • 1940: FDR runs for 3rd Presidential term: There is no law preventing this. • He and his opponent, Wendell Wilkie (R), both support aiding Britain. Voters chose FDR.

  9. FDR and Hitler • FDR did not believe in appeasement. • Lend-Lease Act 1941: Britain was broke, FDR decided to lend them weapons and equipment. • Used the metaphor of a “burning house”. • 1941: Germany invades Soviet Union. • US sends aid to USSR.

  10. The Wolf Packs • Massive German submarine attacks on merchant convoys. • Tactics were like the Blitzkrieg, radios were used to link air and sea assets. • Radio was also a problem. • Allies had HF/DF for finding radio transmissions and “ASDIC” (sonar), also a new technology.

  11. FDR: Foreign Policy • The Atlantic Charter: FDR and Churchill meet secretly to work out a defense agreement. FDR promises to try to provoke an incident. • The charter is the basis for the following document, “The Declaration of the United Nations”, which is signed by 26 nations.

  12. USS Greer and the Pink Star • USS Greer becomes the first US naval vessel to be fired on by an Axis power (Germany), three months before Pearl Harbor.

  13. The USS Reuben James (DD-245) • The USS Reuben James is sunk by the Germans in October, 1941. (Similar to the USS Cole in Oct. 2000)

  14. Pearl Harbor • US knew that the Japanese were going to attack us somewhere. • FDR signaled military commanders across the western Pacific that Japan needed to strike the first blow. • Why would he do that?

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