Objective:
To examine the major battles in the European and
Pacific Theatres of WWII
The Invasion of Poland
• Date: 9/1939
• Purpose: Take over
Europe and Poland
• Key People
(Countries): Germany/
Poland/France/Britain
• Outcome: Hitler won.
Brought Britain and
France into WWII
The Fall of France
• Date: 6/1995 – Holy Crap!!! Mrs. Reed has
conquered Paris!
Holy crap! Mrs.
Blair was there
too!
The Fall of France
• Date: 6/1940
• Purpose: Conquer
France and W.Europe
• Key People (Countries):
Germany and Italy vs.
France/Britain
• Outcome: Hitler won.
Britain now stood alone
as the last remaining
enemy of Hitler’s
Germany in Western
Europe.
The Battle of Britain
• Date: 9/1940
• Purpose: Destroy British air
power and air industry- use
blitzkrieg
• Key People (Countries):
Germany vs. Britain
• Outcome: Britain won.
Avoided takeover of
Britain by Germany
Invasion of the Soviet Union
“Operation Barbarossa”
• Date: 6/1941
• Purpose: Germany
wanted more
land/resources
• Key People (Countries):
Germany vs. Soviet Union
• Outcome: Soviet Union
won. Harsh winters and
scorched-earth used by
Russians. End of nonaggression pact b/w Stalin
and Hitler.
Pearl Harbor
• Date: 12/7/1941
• Purpose: Destroy US
military power/fleet
• Key People (Countries):
Japan (Hideki Tojo) vs. US
• Outcome: Bring the US
into WWII
Pearl Harbor
Click Picture for video
D-Day: Allied Invasion of
Normandy or Operation Overlord
• Date: 6/6/1944
• Purpose: Invade France to push
Germany back across Europe
• Key People (Countries):
Dwight D. Eisenhower
US/British/Canadian troops
• Outcome: Allies win and move
through France towards Germany.
Begins decline of German power.
Hiroshima and Nagaski
Date: 8/1945
Purpose: To force a
Japanese surrender
through use of nuclear
power
Key People (Countries):
US President Truman
US and Japan
Outcome: Japan
surrenders, WWII ends
Yalta Conference
Date: 2/1945
Purpose: Major leaders must
decide what to do w/Europe
after WWII
Key People (Countries):
Roosevelt- US
Stalin- Soviet Union
Churchill- Britain
Outcome: Marshall Plan is
established, US to help Japan
and West Germany
Nuremberg Trials
Date: 11/1945
Purpose: Bring Nazi
leaders to justice
Key People (Countries):
Nazi leaders
US, Britain, Soviet Union
Outcome: Many key Nazi
leaders are punished,
many key figures
committed suicide
September 1940-May 1941:
the Blitz during the Battle of Britain
For the following nine months, the
German air force (Luftwaffe) launched
repeated bombing raids on British towns
and cities. This was known as the
BLITZ and was an attempt to bomb
Britain into submission.
Operation Barbarossa, June 1941
But in May, 1941, Hitler ordered a change of tactics. He decided
to halt the bombing of Britain and launch an attack against
Russia. He betrayed Stalin and ignored the promises he had
made.
This was a bold move that would prove to be an important turning
point in the War.
Hitler soon ordered a program of rearming
Germany
Hitler visits a factory and is enthusiastically greeted. Many
Germans were grateful for jobs after the misery of he
depression years.
March 1936: German troops
marched into the Rhineland
The Rhineland was a
region of Germany that
was ‘demilitarised’ after
the Treaty of Versailles.
Germany was not
allowed to have troops
in the region.
Hitler’s actions showed
how he was willing to
directly challenge the
treaty.
March 1938: Nazi Germany
annexed Austria
Again, this went
against the terms of
the Treaty of Versailles
which banned
Germany from uniting
with Austria.
However, the arrival of
German troops was
met with great
enthusiasm by many
Austrian people.
March 1939: Germany invaded
Czechoslovakia
Hitler had ordered the
occupation of a part of
Czechoslovakia known as the
Sudetenland (in October
1938). Many hoped that that
this would be the last conquest
of the Nazis.
However, in March 1939, he
ordered his troops to take over
the remainder of
Czechoslovakia. This was the
first aggressive step that
suggested that a war in
Europe would soon begin.
August 1939: Germany and Russia signed a non-aggression pact
Hitler and Stalin (the Russian
leader) signed a
‘non-aggression pact’.
They promised that neither
country would attack the other
in the event of war.
As part of the deal, Hitler
promised Stalin part of Poland,
which he planned to invade
soon.
This photo shows the Russian foreign minister
signing the pact, whilst Stalin stands smiling in
the background
September 1939: Germany invaded Poland
But, the pact
allowed Germany to
march into Poland
without fear of an
attack from Russia.
On 3rd September
1939, Germany
invaded Poland and
started a War with
Britain and France.
German troops marching
into Warsaw, the capital
of Poland.
May 1940: Germany turned west and
invaded France and the Netherlands
In May 1940, Germany
used Blitzkrieg tactics
to attack France and
the Netherlands.
British troops were
forced to retreat from
the beaches of Dunkirk
in northern France.
Captured British
troops, May 1940
A Time of Peril
Germany:
· Germany had conquered
most of Europe and
invaded the Soviet Union
in 1941.
· The Soviets retreated as
the Germans advanced on
Moscow, burning crops
and farm equipment as
they went in order to keep
them out of German
hands.
Japan:
• After
attacking
Pearl Harbor,
the Japanese
seized Guam,
Wake Island,
Hong Kong,
Malaya,
Burma and
the Dutch
East Indies.
• The Japanese also defeated American and Filipino forces, led
by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, in the Philippines.
U.S. troops
surrender
to the
Japanese
in the
Philippine
Islands,
May 6,
1942. A
total of
11,500
Americans
and
Filipinos
became
POWs.
The Tide Turns
• The Allies enjoyed victories in the Pacific, North Africa, Italy
and Russia.
• In Italy, Mussolini had been overthrown and the new
government joined the Allies.
April 29, 1945
Mussolini and
15 other fascist
leaders are
executed and
hanged at an
Esso gas
station in the
Piazzale Loreto
in Milan.
Opening a Second Front
Help!! Attack
the Nazis on
the Western
Front, quick!
• In order to ease
pressure on the
Soviet Union,
Joseph Stalin
asked the Allies to
open a second
front by crossing
the English
Channel and
attacking the
Germans in
France.
Alright,
but you’d
better
appreciate
this!
• The planned invasion of Europe was called Operation
Overlord, and General Eisenhower was named commander of
the Allied forces in Europe.
• Eisenhower had to organize the eventual invasion of
Normandy France, known as Operation Overlord (D-Day),
which involved over 3 million Allied forces.
General Eisenhower gives the order of the day "Full victory
- Nothing else" to paratroopers in England just before they
board airplanes in the first D-Day assault.
World War II: Major Battles (1942 – 1944)
Battle of Midway Island:
When? – June 1942
Where? – Midway
Island (Pacific
Islands)
Results? - The U.S.
sank four Japanese
aircraft carriers.
Importance? – It
limited Japan's ability
to attack Hawaii again
or other Allied
positions.
Campaign for Guadalcanal:
• When? – August 1942
• Where? Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands (Pacific Islands)
• Results? – The U.S. defeated the Japanese, gaining
control of the island.
• Importance? – Guadalcanal became a military base from
which to counterattack the Japanese.
Soldiers take a breather after making camp. The 25th
Infantry Division was a large part of the effort to force the
Japanese off Guadalcanal.
Battle of El Alamein:
• When? – October 1942
• Where? - El Alamein, Egypt
• Results? – British and U.S. forces drove the German army,
led by General Rommel, from Egypt west into Tunisia.
• Importance? – U.S. Gen. Eisenhower led the Allies in an
invasion of Tunisia, from Algeria, forcing Rommel to
surrender in May of 1943.
Australian
soldiers at the
Battle of El
Alamein
D-Day:
• When? – June 6, 1944
• Where? – Normandy, France
• Results? – A fleet of 4,000 ships carried Allied troops to
Normandy in order to invade France in an attempt to
defeat the Germans.
• Importance? – On August 25, 1944, Allied forces
liberated Paris from Nazi rule.
American soldiers wading through water into Nazi machinegun fire on the coast of France.
At Utah Beach, members of an American landing party help
others whose landing craft was sunk by the Germans off the
coast of France. The survivors reached Utah Beach, near
Cherbourg, by using a life raft.
Crossed rifles in the sand placed as a tribute to this fallen
soldier.
Medics help an injured American soldier.
American assault troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment,
injured while storming Omaha Beach, wait by the Chalk
Cliffs for evacuation to a field hospital for further medical
treatment. Collville-sur-Mer, Normandy.
Battle of the Bulge:
• When? – December 16, 1944
• Where? – border areas near Luxembourg, France and
Germany
• Results? – The Germans began a counterattack against
the Allies as the Allies attempted to drive the Germans
completely out of France.
• Importance? – This battle showed the desperation of the
German forces. While the Germans were able to slow
down the Allied advance, they could not stop it
completely.