World War II
Prelude to Global War
• U.S. and other developed countries
suffered from severe economic
depression
• Europe became a hotbed of tension. . .
several factors would lead to a second
world war.
Causes of WWII
•
Major factors that set stage for world
war:
1. Treaty of Versailles
2. Rise of Dictators
3. Appeasement
1. Treaty of Versailles
• Ended WWI (1919)
– Germany forced to:
•
•
•
•
Accept War Guilt Clause
Give up territory
Pay reparations
Reduce armaments
• Germany resented this treaty
– Wanted revenge
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2. Rise of Dictators
• Dictator: totalitarian leader with ultimate
power
• Totalitarian leaders rose to power in:
– Italy
– Soviet Union
– Japan (military leaders)
– Germany
Mussolini in Italy
• Benito Mussolini
founded Fascist Party
in Italy after WWI
– Fascism: welfare of state
(nation) is placed above
that of the individual
• Became leader of Italy
in 1922
– Called himself Il Duce
“the leader”
–
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Resources/graphics/news-images/mussolini.jpg
Stalin In the Soviet Union
• Josef Stalin rose to
power after the
death of Lenin in
1924
– Brutal and ruthless
• Signed nonaggression pact
with Germany
Military Leaders in Japan
• Military became more important during the
Depression years
• Japan wanted to control Asia
– Needed natural resources
• 1931-Invaded Manchuria, a province of
China, for resources
• U.S. became alarmed
– Cut off trade with Japan
– Began to build up military presence in Pacific
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media/China%20Adoption/Japa
nese_Empire2.png
Hitler in Germany
• Adolf Hitler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hitler%27s_Paintings_-_Landscape.jpg
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3. Appeasement
• Appeasement: policy of giving someone what
they want
– Hitler wanted to unite German-speaking people of
Europe
• 1936: Invaded Rhineland (DMZ bordering France)
• 1938: Annexed Austria
• 1938: Annexed Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia)
– Czech. Was closely tied to England
– Munich Conference: Sept. 1938
• Britain and France agreed to allow Hitler to keep new
lands IF he promised not to invade any other territories
http://www.libraries.psu.ed
u/maps/text/EUR1938tn.jpg
The War Begins
Invasion of Poland
• September 1, 1939: World War II began
with the German invasion of Poland
– Great Britain and France declared war on
Germany on September 3.
Major Alliances during WWII
• Allied Powers
–
–
–
–
Great Britain
France
Soviet Union
United States
• Axis Powers
– Germany
– Italy
– Japan
Blitzkrieg
• Hitler used a tactic called Blitzkrieg
“Lightning Warfare” to easily defeat
Poland
– Massive coordinated air and land attacks
– Poland fell to Germany in October 1939
Maginot Line
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Maginot_Line_ln-en.jpg/800px-Maginot_Line_ln-en.jpg
German Advance into
Western Europe
• Hitler went north and easily defeated the
Netherlands and Denmark
– May, 1940- Hitler launched blitzkrieg through
Luxembourg and Belgium in route to France.
• Great Britain and France move most of their forces north
to defend French border w/ Belgium.
• Crucial mistake b/c it left French border with
Luxembourg under defended. Germans easily pushed
into France.
France falls to Germany
• The Allies were trapped to north as Germans
moved into France.
– Unable to retreat and were forced to quickly
evacuate by air and water.
• Thousands of Allied troops died and they were forced to
leave behind valuable supplies
• June, 1940: France fell to the Germans.
– Hitler set up a puppet government in France to
help maintain control of the newly conquered
territory
The Battle of Britain
• Great Britain refused to give up
– Winston Churchill (P.M. of G.B.) said “we
shall never surrender”
– G.B. was separated from rest of Europe by
English Channel and Hitler knew he would
have to attack by air
– Sent his Luftwaffe (air force) to attack
Britain
– Known as the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
• Britain was defended by the Royal Air Force
(RAF)
– RAF used a new technology to help defeat
German pilots
• Radar: could detect incoming planes and intercept them
• Great Britain was able to hold out. By
November, 1940, Hitler changed his tactics
and cancelled the invasion of Britain
Hitler turns on the USSR
• The Soviet Union and Germany had
signed a non-aggression pact before
the war began (Nazi-Soviet Pact)
– Hitler saw USSR as a great place to
conquer new lands
– He went back on his agreement with Stalin
and invaded the Soviet Union in June,
1941.
United States Joins the
War
Tension with Japan
• U.S. and Japanese relations were very
tense
– Japan was sinking Allied ships- U.S.
angered
• U.S. cut off trade with Japan and began
sending aid to China (most of which was under
Japanese control)
Pearl Harbor
• Japanese continued negotiations with U.S.
– Secretly planning a surprise attack
– Wanted to cripple the U.S. fleet in the Pacific
• U.S. feared attack was imminent, but did not
know where
– Believed the U.S. controlled Philippines was the
most likely target
– Attack came at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor
• December 7, 1941
– Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor
– U.S. suffered heavy damage
• Over 2,000 men and women killed
• 21 ships sank or destroyed
• 188 planes destroyed
• December 8, 1941: U.S. Congress voted to
declare war on Japan
– December 11- both Italy and Germany declare
war on the U.S.
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/
2004/winter/images/pearl-harbor.jpg
USS Arizona
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/images/Europe/factfile/USSArizonaPearlHarbor.jpg
The Early Battles
• War took on two major fronts
– Europe
– Pacific
• Allies were not ready for an invasion
into mainland Europe
– Began to attack German-controlled
territory in North Africa
WWII in North Africa
• German forces in Africa led by Erwin
Rommel- nicknamed “Desert Fox”
– British and U.S. planned to trap Rommel in N.
Africa and force his surrender
– British moved in from the east
– Eisenhower and George Patton led the U.S.
forces from the west
• U.S. invasion of Africa known as Operation Torch
• By 1943, Germans had lost control of Africa
Operation Torch
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rs_history/erwin_rommel_iron_cross.jpg
Battle of the Atlantic
• Throughout much of the war, Germans used
submarines to control the waters of the
Atlantic
– Sank hundreds of Allied ships
– Destroyed millions of tons of supplies and cargo
• Allies began to employ use of radar, sonar,
and depth charges to fight subs
– Were slowly able to take control of the Atlantic
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Turning Point in Europe
• Battle of Stalingrad: turning pt. in Europe
• May 1942, Hitler ordered troops to advance into the
heart of Soviet Union
– Wanted to seize Stalingrad and crush the Soviet economy
– Reached city in Sept., but Soviets refused to give up
– By Nov. Germans were in trouble
• Running short on supplies and unable to deal with harsh winter
• Feb., 1943: Germans lose Battle of Stalingrad and
are forced to retreat
Germans put on the defense
• By 1943, Germans were on the
defensive, no longer gaining ground
– Allies began extensive bombing in
Germany
• Dropped 53,000 tons of explosives each
month
• Allies began invasion of Sicily and Italy
http://www.map-ofitaly.net/images/italy-map.gif
Allied victory in Italy
• Allies move from North Africa into Sicily and
Italy
– Sept. 1943- Mussolini was overthrown and Italy
seemed ready to surrender
• Hitler sent reinforcements to protect Mussolini and Italy
– Rome liberated in June, 1944
• Some fighting continued until April, 1945
• Mussolini attempted to flee the country; was captured
and executed (April, 1945)
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Operation Overlord
• Allies began to plan a massive invasion
of western Europe to liberate France
– Code named “Operation Overlord”
– Millions of troops and supplies were sent
to England to await “D-Day”
– Allies planned to cross the English
Channel and storm the beaches of
Normandy
Operation Overlord
• Allies had to wait for the perfect opportunity
to launch the invasion
– On June 6, 1944, Eisenhower gave order for DDay invasion to begin
• Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops landed on the
beaches
– U.S. landed on beaches code named “Utah” and “Omaha”
• Met heavy resistance by Germans, but were able to
break through and advance toward Paris
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Liberation of Paris
• D-Day invasion was a success
– August 25, 1944- Paris was liberated from
Nazi control
• Allies begin to push Germans back
– Soviet Union advancing from the east
– U.S., France and Great Britain advancing
from the west
Battle of the Bulge
• Germany was losing ground and Hitler
decided to make one last offensive
move
– Dec., 1945- German troops met Allied
troops in the Ardennes Forest near the
German border
• Hit Allies so hard it caused their lines to bulge
http://www.45thdivision.org/CampaignsBattles/Ardennes_Alsace/map2lg.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:P41%28map%29.jpg
Battle of the Bulge
• Germans were aided by poor weather
conditions
– Allies were nearly defeated, but received
critical reinforcements
– January, 1945: Allies were able to defeat
the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge
(Battle of Ardennes Forest)
Victory in Europe
• Allies continued to
advance toward
Germany
– April 30, 1945: Hitler
knew his war was over
• Committed suicide and
his body was burned
• May 7, 1945: V-E Day
(Victory in Europe)
– Germans officially
surrendered
– War was over in Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Adolf
_Hitler
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World War II in the
Pacific
War in the Pacific
• Days after Pearl Harbor, Japan
attacked the U.S. in the Philippines
– U.S. lost control of the islands in spring,
1942
– Gen. Douglas MacArthur promised the
Philippines that he and the U.S. would
return to liberate them from Japanese
control
http://www.yellow
pagescambodia.com/im
ages/maps/South
-East-AsiaMap.jpg
Philippines
Fighting in the Pacific
• Japan continued to attack the U.S. fleet
and seize islands in the Pacific
• U.S. needed to gain control of islands
closer to Japan in order to launch
attacks on Japan
Turning Point in the Pacific
• Japan attempted
another surprise attack
at Midway
– U.S. was ready, able to
defeat Japan
– Stopped the Japanese
advancement into the
Pacific
– Battle of Midway: June
4-7, 1942
• turning point in the
Pacific
Island Hopping
• After victory at Midway, the U.S. began
using island hopping
– Randomly attack and seize Pacific Islands
– See map on Page 636
Iwo Jima
• U.S. wanted to capture island closer to Japan
– Chose Iwo Jima for location
– Feb, 1945: 60,000 Marines landed on Iwo Jima
– Brutal fighting until March, 1945
• U.S. seized island
• Use island to launch bombing raids in Tokyo
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Okinawa
• April- June, 1945:
U.S. invasion of
Okinawa
– Island 350 mi. off
Japan’s coast
– Captured the island
• Yet, Japan still fought
on
The Manhattan Project
• April 12, 1945: FDR died in office
– His V.P. Harry Truman took office
– Truman soon learned of a new technology
• The Atomic Bomb
• Manhattan Project: secret plan to build an
atomic bomb
– Very few people knew about it
– July, 1945: first successful detonation of the bomb
Truman uses the bomb
• Japan seemed unwilling to surrender
– Truman weighed options for the next move
• Invade Japan OR use the bomb
• He decided to use the bomb, wanted to save American
lives
• August 6, 1945: atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima
– 80-120,000 people died instantly
– Thousands more died from burns or radiation
sickness
Hiroshima
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Victory in Japan
• Japan still refused to surrender
– August 9, 1945: 2nd atomic bomb dropped
on Nagasaki
• After threats of a 3rd bomb, Japan
finally agreed to surrender
– August 15, 1945: V-J Day, victory in Japan
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Building a new world
The United Nations
• United Nations was created before war
was over
– April, 1945: delegates from 50 countries
met in California to create the UN
• UN was created as an international
peace-keeping organization
– Still exists and very influential in
international affairs
Building a New World
• At the end of WWII, most of the
industrialized nations of the world were
crippled by the war.
– Only the U.S. and the Soviet Union stood
strong
– U.S. and USSR emerged as competing
super-powers.
• Thus, the Cold War!