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Pre-War. Britain and France assumed WWI alliance still existed with Russia Economies damaged by global depression Allied public deeply opposed to fighting another war. Czechoslovakia and Appeasement . September 1938- Hitler invades the Sudentenland, a part of Czechoslovakia
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Pre-War • Britain and France assumed WWI alliance still existed with Russia • Economies damaged by global depression • Allied public deeply opposed to fighting another war
Czechoslovakia and Appeasement • September 1938- Hitler invades the Sudentenland, a part of Czechoslovakia • On September 30, the Munich Agreement Britain and France agree to allow Hitler’s occupation of the Sudentenland, in return Hitler promised to stop invading other countries • March 14, 1939 Germany invades the rest of Czechoslovakia- Allies do nothing
Non-aggression Pact • Between Germany and the U.S.S.R. • August 23, 1939 • Temporary agreement which secured Hitler's eastern front • If Germany attacked Poland the Soviet Union would not come to Poland’s aid- in fact, Soviet Union would be allowed to take part of Poland as their own
Germany Invades Poland • September 1, 1939 • Germany invades Poland • Warsaw succumbs on September 28 • Soviet invasion from the East
Britain and France Declare War on Germany • September 3, 1939 • Resulting from Germany invading Poland
Germany Invades • Denmark and Norway • April 9, 1940 • Surrendered to Germany • Belgium and the Netherlands • May 10, 1940 • Netherlands surrender on May 15 • Belgium on May 28
Germany Invades France • May 14, 1940 • French relied upon the Maginot Line which was a system of heavily armed steel and bunkers stretching hundreds of miles along the German boarder • Germans outflank the line by going north of it, through Belgium • French surrendered June 22,1940
Battle of Britain • September 1940 to May 1941 • Series of air battles between German and British air forces fought over Britain. • Initially Hitler wanted to destroy the RAF but after he failed to do that he began to bomb British cities
Germany invades the Soviet Union • June 22, 1941 • Germany makes rapid advances but the frigid Russian winter and “scorched earth” tactics slows the advance • By September 8, Germany surrounded Leningrad • October 2, 1941 the Germans drove on Moscow
Battle of Stalingrad • 1942 – 1943 • German forces were defeated in their attempt to capture the city of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. • Turning point on the Eastern Front
Allied Troops Land in Algeria and Morocco • November 7, 1942 • In Operation Torch which applied western pressure as British attacked from East • Axis forces in N. Africa surrender May 13, 1943
Allied Troops Land in Italy • Allies invade Sicily in July 1943 • Mussolini’s government falls from power that month • Italy surrenders on Sept. 8 but the German army moves into Italy to protect Hitler’s Southern Flank • Sept 9, the allies land in Italy
Allied Troops Land in Normandy on D-Day • June 6, 1944- Operation Overload -- the largest land, sea and air invasion in history • Creates a third front confronting Nazi Germany • August 1944, Paris is liberated • By the end of summer France, Belgium, and Luxembourg are under Allied Control
The Plot to Assassinate Hitler Fails • Attempt on July 20, 1944 as a bomb is placed under a table during a meeting. • The bomb detonates and injures Hitler, but does not kill him • Hitler retaliates with a purge of military officers that he suspects of disloyalty – this purge further harms the German war effort
Battle of the Bulge • December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945 • Last major German offensive creates a “bulge” in the Allied lines that is 80 miles long and 50 miles deep • Allies push back the offensive and drive into Germany
Hitler Takes His Life in Berlin • April 30, 1945 • Hitler kills himself as Russian troops surround Berlin
Germany Surrenders to Allies in Reims, France • Unconditional surrender of Germany on May 7, 1945 • May 8, 1945 declared V-E Day
Pearl Harbor • December 7, 1941 • Surprise attack by Japan at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii • More than 2,400 killed • 180 aircraft destroyed, 19 ships sunk • Sub pens, refueling stations, repair facilities unharmed
America Responds • December 8, 1941, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan to avenge the “date which will live in infamy.” • After Pearl Harbor, Japanese seize Dutch East Indies, Burma, Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines in early months of 1942
Battle of the Coral Sea • May 1942, in the Pacific • American carrier-based planes bombard the Japanese fleet aimed at invading New Guinea’s southern coast – The Japanese counter attack with their carrier-based planes • Allies lost more ships than Japanese, but Japan turned its invasion forces around – halting Japan from expanding southward near Australia
Aftermath of Battle of the Coral Sea • American Carrier Yorktown is badly damaged (estimates put repairs at three months) and its aircrew almost gone • Japanese Carrier Shokaku is lightly damaged • Japanese Carrier Zuikaku is undamaged but needs to replenish 40 percent of its air crew • Yorktown is repaired in 68 hours with a new flight crew and plays a pivotal role in the Battle of Midway • Japanese Carrier Shokaku takes three months to repair • Japanese Carrier Zuikaku takes more than a month to replenish their airwing
Battle of the Midway • June 1942, three US carriers (including the Yorktown) attack four Japanese carriers to stop invasion of Midway Island • US Airplanes sink all four Japanese carriers, while the US loses only the Yorktown • Essentially ends the offensive capabilities of the Japanese in the Pacific
American Strategy • Island Hopping • forces went island to island in pitched battles against the Japanese. • Some islands were ignored as US forces isolated Japanese forces by cutting them off from sea or air supply • Goal was to move closer and closer to Japan’s mainland
Battle of Guadalcanal • Allies discover Japanese building airfield on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Island • 10,000 US Marines attack on August 7, 1942 • Marines take the airfield and hold it against repeated Japanese attacks • Japan lost 25,000 men, US about 2,000 • First Japanese land lost
Island Hopping US takes • Guam- July 1944 • Phillipines- January through June 1945 • Iwo Jima- February through March 1945 • Okinawa- April through June 1945 June 1944 • US begins bombing Japanese mainland • Firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945, killing 83,000 civilians • Japan refuses to surrender
Atomic Bomb • Pros • Estimated casualties of invading the Japanese mainland estimated at almost a million American deaths • A conventional invasion with strategic bombardments could take months and devastate Japan • Cons • The Atomic Bomb would kill and sicken hundreds of thousands of people • The US would be the first (and so far only) country to use such a devastating weapon
Defeat of Japan • August 6th, 1945- United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. 100,000 killed instantly, 100,000 die wounded • Japan didn’t surrender and the United States dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki on August 9- 40,000 deaths • The Japanese surrendered August 14, 1945