WWII

1. WWII

2. Axis Powers Italy Benito Mussolini Nazi German Imperial Japan Emperor Hirohito Adolf Hitler

3. Allied Powers United States Great Britain Soviet Union France

4. Blitzkrieg “Lightning War” Quick strike by Panzer divisions, supported by airplanes—Germans used this tactic to take land quickly Junkers Ju87 Dive-Bomber (Stuka) fitted with siren Germans used their blitzkrieg tactics to dominate the war in Poland, France, and the low countries from September 1939-June 1940.

5. Maginot Line 5 years to construct Defense system consisting of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, and artillery and machine gun posts. Proved to be ineffective when Germans flanked Maginot Line when they invaded Belgium—French thought war would be like Western Front during WWI, but Germans were more mobile

6. Early German Victories Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Most European countries, including Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal (and U.S.) remained neutral Nazis used blitzkrieg to defeat the low countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands)

7. Dunkirk Germans trapped hundreds of thousands of British and French troops by the English Channel. Operation Dynamo evacuated troops from the Beaches of Dunkirk—338,226 troops 900 Boats helped with the evacuation

8. Battle of Britain “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Winston Churchill July to October 1940 Hitler began to bomb British cities, but ultimately the British propelled the attack and Hitler decided not to invade Britain German air attack on British naval bases, harbors, communication centers, and war industries Total war—target civilians to decrease morale

9. Battle of Britain Spitfires and Hurricanes played integral role in defeating the Luftwaffe Radar was very important to detect incoming aircraft and help the RAF win the Battle of Britain RAF had pilots from all around the world—Poles, Czechoslavs, Frenchman, Canadians, New Zealanders, and 7 Americans

11. U.S. Neutrality & Lend Lease U.S. lent over 50 billion to over 40 countries. FDR had the power to lend money for ammunition, tanks, airplanes, trucks and food for the war effort U.S. signed Neutrality Acts into law in 1941, before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Hitler retaliated by attacking U.S. ships FDR signs Lend Lease Act

12. NORTH AFRICA German and Italian troops surrendered in May 1943 Italy invades Ethiopia in 1935 Defeat in North Africa enabled the Allies to invade Italy British troops stop German advancement in El Alamein

13. Germans tried to take Stalingrad on the Volga in order to reap the resources of the South (Oil and Wheat) 500,000 troops on both sides died and 2 million Stalingrad civilians died Battle of Stalingrad Lasted from August 1942 to February 1943. Some of the most intense fighting took place in this battle. Germany’s surrender proved to be a turning point, Germany was no longer unbeatable

14. D-Day June 6, 1944—Opened up Western front against Germany 150,000 British, American, and Canadian soldiers invaded the beaches of Normandy Now Allies have a entry point for trucks, tanks, troops, and supplies to enter Europe Dwight D. Eisenhower was commander

15. Operation Neptune: 7,000 vessels from Battleships to landing Craft used in this Operation.

16. Final Days in Berlin Soviets advanced from the East and British/American troops from West to capture the capital city Denazification Germany surrenders in May of 1945 Russian soldier raises Red Flag over German capital Hitler and wife Eva Braun commit suicide

17. Japan invades China Japan eventually began to take over territory in Southern China and in French Indochina Needing natural resources, Japan attacked the northern region of Manchuria in China in September of 1931 Rape of Nanking is when the Japanese killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and raped over 20,000 women in 1937

18. December 7, 1941 Japan achieves a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii 19 Ships were destroyed and 2,403 sailors were killed Pearl Harbor Congress officially declared war on Japan and Germany on December 8, 1941

19. Policy to attack Japanese-held islands in the Pacific while getting close to the Japanese main islands A few decisive battles halted the advancement of Japan: Battle of the Coral Sea in May of 1942 & Battle of Midway Island in June of 1942 Island hopping Aircraft carriers played key roles in the Battles in the Pacific Kamikaze pilots were volunteer pilots who died for their emperor—700 attacked the US fleet off Okinawa on April 6, 1945

20. Battle of Midway Japan could never recover from damage sustained in the battle Decisive American victory in the Pacific 4 Japanese Aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser were sunk, to 1 American Aircraft carrier and a destroyer

21. Japanese Internment Camps

22. Hiroshima & Nagasaki More than 200,000 citizens were killed by the bombs and countless others affected by the nuclear radiation US developed the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project—based out of Los Alamos, New Mexico Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on August 6th and August 9th Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945

23. Holocaust Aryan race were superior, Jews were the opposite according to Hitler Einsatzgruppen were a strike force created by ReinhardHeydrich Initially tried to starve the Jews in Polish ghettos June, 1941 the Einsatzgruppen became mobile killing units The SS was given responsibility for eliminated the Jews in their “Final Solution”—total genocide and extermination Killed one million Jews this way—but too inefficient

24. Death Camps Over 90% of the Jewish population of Poland, Baltic countries, and Germany were killed In 1942, Eight extermination camps were set up to accelerate the killing process with gas chambers Bodies were cremated in ovens at the death camps More than 6 million Jews were murdered in the death camps Gypsies, Poles, Homosexuals, Soviet Prisoners, and Handicapped also killed

25. The Homefront Women and children worked in industries, mines, and railroads Millions of men were drafted to fight in the war Many civilians endured fighting for hundreds of days & withstood food shortages To create total war mobilization, Hitler closed schools, theaters, and cafes in 1944

26. Aftermath of War Cold War—political tension and conflict between the U.S. and Soviet Union from 1945 through the end of the 1980s