Battles of World War II

1. Battles of World War II

3. Start of WW 2 Germany & Russia Invade Poland - 1939

4. Blitzkrieg (1939) • German “lightening war” • Rapid assault backed by tanks, artillery, infantry and airmen. • Invasion of Poland, then throughout Eur. clip

5. Battle of Britain (summer 1940) • Germany (Luftwaffe) outnumbers Britain (RAF) 4 to 1 in military planes. • British losing until Hitler changes plans to attack cities. Airfields + RAF rebuild. • End Result: British beat back German assault

6. Pearl Harbor(Dec. 7, 1941) • Japanese surprise attack on U.S. naval base; Hawaii. • Japanese pilots sunk 4 U.S. battleships; + planes & airfields • End Result: 2,402 Americans were killed, next day U.S. declares war on Japan clip

7. Midway (June 1942) • Most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign. • Japanese goal = Attack/destroy U.S. fleet to end U.S. involvement in Pacific. • Result = Japanese fleet destroyed; Japan’s defensive campaign begins clip

8. El Alamein (Oct.-Nov. 1942) • Allied Victory; major turning point in the North African Campaign. • German Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox” is defeated and goes to Normandy.

9. Battle of Stalingrad (Aug. 1942-Feb. 1943) • USSR vs. Germany for control of Russian City. • Russians win • Turning point on the eastern front. • Bloodiest battle of modern day warfare.

10. D-Day (June 6, 1944) • Operation Overlord • Allied storming Normandy (Fr.) beaches. • Led by General Eisenhower; largest amphibious attack ever used. • More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft • Allies gained stronghold in Normandy. D-Day clip

12. Battle of the Bulge(Dec. 1944-Jan. 1945) • German attempt to divide and encircle Allied line to force a peace treaty. • decisive Allied victory; turning point on W. Front clip

13. Germany Surrenders

14. Germany Surrenders - Allies close on Germany from 2 sides. - War ends in Europe

15. Hiroshima and Nagasaki(August 6 and 9, 1945) • Hiroshima bombed first; three days later Nagasaki. • Ended war. + Demonstration to gain respect from other countries.

16. Japanese SurrenderSept. 2 1945 • Hostilities of WW 2 over • U.S./Allied occupation of Japan begins; ends 1951.

17. Winston Churchill British Prime Minister during WW II; responsible for British resistance against German air assaults.

18. Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe during WW II. Planned & Commanded D-Day invasion

19. Franklin D. Roosevelt - U.S. President during most of WW II - worked with Churchill & Stalin leading Allies against Germany & Japan

20. Douglas MacArthur - Allied Commander in Pacific Theatre during WW II - defeated Japanese in S. Pacific/Philippines - Accepted Japanese surrender

21. Harry S. Truman • - U.S. President 1945-52 • authorized use of atomic bomb against Japanese • Truman Doctrine = support any country resisting communist aggression. • - developed policy of “Containment” against Russia/Communism

22. Erwin Rommel “The Desert Fox” - One of Germany’s most respected military leaders of WW II - Successfully commanded N. African campaign until El Alamein - Commanded D-Day defenses

23. Kamikaze Aerial Japanese suicide bomber. Aim= destroy U.S. warships

24. Marshall Plan 1948 - provided 13.3 billion dollars to participating Western European countries and was based on George Marshall’s conviction that economic recovery and stability were vital to the rebuilding of a democratic Europe. - contributed to the containment of the spread of communism. • considered one of the most successful foreign policy • initiatives in U.S. history.

26. Yalta Conference The Big Three Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin • Feb. 1945 Meeting of Big Three • Goals: • Post-war Europe • Partition of Germany • Borders of Poland • Russian help w/Japan for lands given to Russia • Framework for U.N. and NATO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrbcO2FoiDo

27. Iron Curtain military, political, and ideological barrier established between the Soviet bloc and western Europe from 1945 to 1990