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World War II

World War II. Discussing the European and Asian theatres. Background Information. Following World War I, the countries of Europe wanted to return to normalcy Russia underwent a revolution in 1917 and was now making progress Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points ineffective and meaningless

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World War II

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  1. World War II Discussing the European and Asian theatres

  2. Background Information • Following World War I, the countries of Europe wanted to return to normalcy • Russia underwent a revolution in 1917 and was now making progress • Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points ineffective and meaningless • Wilson’s League of Nations ineffective and weak • The Treaty of Versailles a weak agreement that was not enforced

  3. Background Information • World War I destroyed most of Europe • France was either blown up or occupied the entire war • Germany suffered severe inflation problems • U.S. gets involved • Funds major rebuilding operations • U.S. industry profits from huge demand • U.S. still very isolationist • Germany forced to pay reparations for the war

  4. Background Information • With the stock market crash in 1929, the world economy was deeply impacted • Communist Russia, under Stalin, witnessed economic growth • A power vacuum was created in Europe after World War I – no strong leader • Power vacuum leads to Fascism • U.S. under Franklin Delano Roosevelt too busy with Depression to worry about Europe

  5. Fascism • Extreme nationalism / Conservative • Nothing good outside of the state • Anti-Semitic, Anti-Communist • Starts in Italy with Benito Mussolini, then spreads to Spain under Francisco Franco and then Germany • Most famous Adolf Hitler

  6. Adolf Hitler • Born in Austria • German army officer during World War I • Formed the SA (Sturmabteil), who were ordered to attack Nazi enemies • Hitler and his men staged a coup of the Weimar government in 1923 (Beer Hall Putsch), but they were captured and Hitler served jail time • While in jail, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf

  7. Adolf Hitler • Hitler grew in power and was named Chancellor of Germany by Hindenberg • When Hindenberg died, Hitler called an emergency and declared himself dictator • Hitler purged the SA in 1934 and replaced them with the SS (Schutzstaffel) lead by Heinrich Himmler

  8. Adolf Hitler • SS did the dirty work of Hitler – cast out the Jewish community, vagrants, gypsies • Hitler used racism and nationalism to build up the German military and confidence • Very effective public speaker who fooled the German people into believing him • Hitler wanted to establish a super race of Germans and unite all the German-speaking nations (Anschluss) to create the 3rd Reich • Hitler takes over Austria

  9. Adolf Hitler • Hitler wanted to occupy the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) but the French and British refused • Meet Hitler in 1938 and agree he could occupy German Czechoslovakia • Hitler promised he would take no more land, PM Neville Chamberlain proclaimed peace • Hitler then took the remaining parts of Czechoslovakia, signifying that he would not stop

  10. Adolf Hitler • Hitler realized that Europe and America would do everything to avoid another World War • Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Russia • Hitler believed that German aggression and European weakness would stop the other countries from making any moves

  11. Adolf Hitler "We will not capitulate - no, never! We may be destroyed, but if we are, we shall drag a world with us - a world in flames."

  12. FDR, President of the United States General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of Pacific Operations General George Patton, U.S. commander in Europe Major Allied Players General Bernard Montgomery, British commander in Europe Charles De Gaulle, General in command of French resistance forces Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain

  13. Major Axis Players Joseph Stalin, Dictator of Russia Erwin Rommel, Commander of the Afrika Korps and European forces General Yamamoto, Commander-In-Chief of the combined Japanese fleets “Fuhrer” Adolf Hitler, Commander of the SS, Dictator of Germany Heinrich Himmler, General of the SS Benito “Il Duche” Mussolini, Dictator of Italy

  14. It Begins • Germany invades Poland in 1939 using the Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) • Dive bombers and long range artillery devastated targets • Armored columns penetrate where the initial targeting had been carried out • Mechanized infantry follow the columns • The armored columns and mechanized infantry fan out forcing retreat or surrender • Foot soldiers clean up what’s left

  15. It Begins • Poland no match for German army and the Reds arrive to split Poland • Following the occupation of Poland, little action happened, nicknamed the “Sitzkrieg” • “Sitzkrieg” ends when Hitler attacks Norway and Denmark in 1940 • Denmark fell in an afternoon, and Norway was no match

  16. It Begins • Wehrmacht also took over Belgium and nearly trapped 150k Belgian, French, and British soldiers in Dunkirk • Hitler offers peace terms to Britain and France, both refuse • Winston Churchill replaces Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister (only one who knew what Hitler was up to the whole time)

  17. It Begins • Hitler invades France after they refuse to surrender • Hitler realized that Churchill would be a formidable opponent • Germans went right around the French Maginot Line and occupied the northern half of France • Germans set up a puppet government in south, called Vichy France • Only Britain remained to fight off the Germans • Closest Hitler comes to winning the war

  18. It Begins

  19. Allies Great Britain France U.S. (Later) Soviet Union (Later) Italy (Later) Axis Germany Italy Russia Turkey Japan Warring Parties

  20. Tanks Machine Guns Radar Sonar Submarines (U-Boats) Encryption Devices Grenades Snipers Field Radios Jets Airplanes Aircraft Carriers Kamikaze Pilots H-Bomb Blitzkrieg Light Mechanized Vehicles Rail Guns V-2 Rockets Chem and Bio Weapons World War II Technology

  21. German Panzer Panzerkampfwagen Earliest German tank Lightly armored 13 mm armor 57 hp Krupp gas motor 7.92 MG34 Gun 4 Variants Mechanized Infantry

  22. German Panther Medium Heavy Armor 80 mm front and side armor, 40 mm rear 700 hp Maybach V12 55 mph top speed Main gun 75 mm (2) 7.92 MG34’s Mechanized Infantry

  23. Mechanized Infantry • German • Tiger • Heavy Armor • 100 mm front and side, 80 mm rear • 690 hp Maybach V12 • 38 mph top speed • Main gun 88 mm • (2) 7.92 MG34’s

  24. Mechanized Infantry • U.S. • M3 Stuart • 1st American tank • Light armor • 44 mm front, 25 mm sides and back • 262 hp Continental gas motor • 58 mph top speed • Main gun 37 mm • (5) .30 cal machine guns

  25. Mechanized Infantry • U.S. • M4 Sherman • Medium Armor • 51 mm front, 38 mm sides and rear • 400 hp Continental gas motor • 34 mph top speed • Main gun 75 mm • (2) .30 cal and 1 .50 cal machine guns

  26. Mechanized Infantry • U.S. • M18 Hellcat • Tank Destroyer • 13 mm armor around • 460 hp Continental gas motor • 80 mph top speed • Main gun 76 mm • (1) .50 cal machine gun

  27. Mechanized Infantry • U.S.S.R. • T-34 • Most widely produced • Medium armor • 45 mm armor around • 500 hp Diesel v12 • 55 mph top speed • Main gun 76.2 mm • (2) 7.62mm guns

  28. The Blitz • Massive air attack of London planned by Hermann Goering, commander of the Luftwaffe (Aug 1940) • Initially attacked Royal Air Force (RAF) bases, then turned to cities • RAF pilots were better, with better planes (Spitfire and Hurricane)

  29. The Blitz • Luftwaffe called off in April 1941 after heavy casualties • British had radar, the Germans did not • London and Coventry were destroyed • Citizens lived in the subways for months • “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” ~ Winston Churchill

  30. The Blitz

  31. Mid-War Europe

  32. Invasion of Russia • AKA Operation Barbarossa • Hitler wanted to attack in spring 1941 but had to bail out Italy in Albania • Hitler follows Napoleon’s path with the same result, the Russians burn everything and the Germans are not ready for the cold weather and hardships of the Russian terrain • Partisans pick apart the German supply line

  33. Invasion of Russia • Hitler got as far as Smolensk and then split his forces • Germans never made it to Moscow • Part of his army attempts to take Leningrad • Brutal battle for the city named after the Communist founder • Hitler wanted to deal a morally degrading blow to the Russians

  34. Invasion of Russia • “Big Bertha” brought to secure oil supplies in Crimea • Hitler also tried to take Stalingrad (named for current dictator) but was cut off by Alexander Zhukov • Battles of Leningrad and Stalingrad extremely costly for Hitler and probably cost him the war

  35. Invasion of Russia

  36. Holocaust • Himmler lead the SS in war and ideas • Wanted to create the Nazi “super race” of blonde-haired, blue-eyed Germans • Concentration camps were set up to destroy Jews, elderly, sick, and mentally challenged to maintain German purity • All camps based on the Dachau model, most famous is Auschwitz

  37. Holocaust

  38. Holocaust

  39. Holocaust

  40. Holocaust

  41. Holocaust

  42. Holocaust • An estimated 6 million Jews were killed, along with another 2 million gypsies and an unknown number of elderly • Most were either buried in mass graves or incinerated in concentration camps • Nazis believed that their race was being “infected” by lesser nations • Not all Nazis believed this or were involved, including most citizens

  43. Pearl Harbor • U.S. only gave aid and weapons until Dec 7, 1941 • Japanese attacked Hawaiian naval base, Pearl Harbor, at 7:00 in the morning • “A Day which will live in infamy” ~ FDR • Hitler did not want to involve the U.S. • U.S. entered the war in 1941 with military and industrial fury

  44. Pearl Harbor

  45. Pearl Harbor

  46. Pearl Harbor • “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” ~ General Yamamoto, following Pearl Harbor

  47. Allied Counter • British decide to attack the Nazis in Northern Africa • German Afrika Korps under the control of Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox” -Rommel not prepared for attack • First time U.S. troops were involved in fighting • General Patton invades Italy • Montgomery forces Nazis out of Northern Africa

  48. D-Day (Operation Overlord) • Organized by Dwight D. Eisenhower • Greatest amphibious landing in history • U.S. used diversion techniques to fool the Germans • 100k men landed, plus paratroopers • Toughest Omaha beach – 80% dead • 101st Airborne parachuted in to provide support behind enemy lines

  49. D-Day (Operation Overlord) • You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. ~ General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander of European Operations

  50. Battle of the Bulge • U.S. forces enter France and liberate Paris in August 1944 • Germans concentrate their forces and the Battle of the Bulge begins • See-saw battle between Allied and Axis forces • Germans punched 50 miles into Allied lines but ran out of gas (literally) • Last significant German attack • Allies retake the ground and push forward

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