Major Conflict and
Outcomes of World War II
Chapter 26 p. 806 – 838
Primarily p. 814- 822
Origins of World War II
• March 15, 1939 Hitler invaded and took
control of Western Czechoslovakia
• Declared he would be the greatest German
of all
• France & Britain begin negotiations with the
Soviet Union
• August 23, 1939 Germany and the Soviet
Union sign the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression
Pact
• September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland
• September 3, 1939 Britain and France
declare war on Germany
Japanese Path to War
• Sept. 1931 seized Manchuria
• Began to spread into Northern China
• Chiang Kai Shek ignored Japan to deal with
Communists
• July 1937 – Chinese & Japanese forces clash
in Beijing
• December 1937 – Rape of Nanjing
• Summer of 1940 – Japan demanded right to
exploit economic resources in French
Indochina
• U.S. objected & threatened to impose
economic sanctions
Two Sides
Allied Powers
Axis Powers
• Great Britain • Germany
• France
• Italy
• United States • Japan
(after Dec 7, 1941)
• Soviet Union
(after Summer 1941)
Europe at War
• Germany stunned Europe with
speed & efficiency of attack on
Poland
• Blitzkrieg or “lightning war” used
armored columns, called panzer
divisions, supported by airplanes
• Within 4 weeks –Sept 28, 1939–
Poland surrendered and was divided
between Germany & the Soviet
Union
Hitler’s Early Victories
• April 9, 1940– Blitzkrieg against Denmark &
Norway
• May 10, 1940 – Germany launched an attack
on Belgium, the Netherlands, & France
• Main assault was through Luxembourg
• Raced across northern France; France
signed an armistice on June 22
• Approximately 3/5 of France occupied by
German armies
• Vichy France– authoritarian regime under
Germany control ruling the rest of France
Battle of Britain
• Germany realized an Amphibious (land &
sea) invasion could only be successful if
Germany gained control of the air
• August 1940, the Luftwaffe, German air
force – launched a major offensive,
bombing British air & naval bases, harbors,
communication centers, and war
industries
• In September after British bombed Berlin,
Germany began bombing cities to weaken
British morale.
Attack on Soviet Union
• Germany had no desire for a two front war,
but were convinced Britain only remained
in the war b/c it expected Soviet support.
• June 22, 1941 – Germany invaded the Soviet
Union
• Massive attack stretched across 1800 miles
through Ukraine, Leningrad, and a third 25
miles from Moscow (the Soviet capital)
• Early winter & fierce resistance halted the
German advance
Pearl Harbor
• December 7, 1941 – Japanese aircraft
attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor
in the Hawaiian Island
• Hoped to destroy the US fleet in the
Pacific & cause the US to accept Japanese
control of the Pacific
• BUT… it unified American opinion about
being involved in the war
• US joined European nations and China to
defeat Japan
• Believing American involvement in the
Pacific would make them ineffective in the
European theater, Hitler declared war on
the United States December 11, 1941
http://www.thesoundsofhistory.com/pearlharbor.html
El Alamein
• In early 1942, defeat was far from Hitler’s
mind.
• In North Africa, German forces under
Gen. Erwin Rommel broke through British
defenses in Egypt & advanced toward
Alexandria.
• British forces stopped Rommel at El
Alamein – Summer 1942 – causing Germans
to retreat across desert
• November 1942 – British & American forces
invaded French North Africa– forced
German & Italian troops to surrender in
May 1943
Stalingrad
• Major industrial center on the Volga
• One of the most terrible battles of
the war
• Nov 1942 – Feb 2, 1943 – Soviet troops
stopped, encircled, & cut off supply
lines of Germans
• Entire German sixth army, considered
best of the German troops, were
forced to surrender
ASIAN THEATER
Battle of Midway Island
• Turning point of war in Asia
• June 4, 1942 US planes
destroyed attacking
Japanese aircraft carriers
• Established US naval
superiority in the Pacific
Guadalcanal Campaign
• Aug 7, 1942 – Feb 9, 1943
• First major offensive launched by Allied
Forces against the empire of Japan
• First significant strategic combined arms
victory
• Combined Allied land, naval, and air forces
– 60,000 ground forces (allied) v. 36,200
Japanese ground forces
• Marked transition to Allied offensive rather
than defensive
• Island – hopping approach promoted by
generals such as Douglas MacArthur
The Battle for the Philippines
• 1941 – 1942
• US and Filipino forces led by General Douglas
MacArthur
• Japan wanted to remove as a US base
• Japan invaded but were strongly resisted
• US- Filipino outnumbered Japanese but were
low on food & medical supplies and lacked air
support (attacked by Japanese 12/7/41)
• Japanese victory but became a symbol of hope
for US in early days of war and caused Japan to
expend more resources than they had planned
• Clearly showed US was unprepared for war in
1941
End of War in Europe
• June 4, 1944 – Rome fell to Allies after
heavy casualties as Allies fought through
Italy
• June 6, 1944 – D – Day – Allied forces under
US General Dwight D. Eisenhower landed
on the Normandy Beaches in history’s
greatest naval invasion.
• Fought past mines, barbed wire, and
machine gun fire to establish a beachhead
• Within 3 months, Allies had landed 2 million
men & half a million vehicles into France
D-Day Photos
• http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/en_inde
x.html
• http://www.6juin1944.com/espace/omaha/
cartomah.php
• http://www.6juin1944.com/espace/omaha/
omaha.php?ref=memoria&id=1&idmax=10
• http://www.6juin1944.com/cimetier/index.
php?cim=collevil&id=1
• http://www.6juin1944.com/cimetier/index.
php?cim=james&id=9
End of the War in Europe
Continued…
• In August 1944 the Allies liberated Paris
• March 1945 advanced into Germany
• Battle of Kursk, July 5 -12, greatest tank
battle of WWII- Soviets defeated
Germany
• April 30, 1945 – Hitler committed suicide
• May 7, 1945 – German commanders
surrendered
• May 8, 1945 – VE Day
End of the War in Asia
• Harry S. Truman became President of the U.S.
April 1945
• Hoped using the atomic weapons would keep the
US from having to invade Japan
• August 6, 1945 – Bombing of Hiroshima
• August 9, 1945 – Bombing of Nagasaki
• http://www.gensuikin.org/english/photo.html
• Both cities were leveled; thousands died
immediately and thousands more from radiation
in the months following
• August 14, 1945 – Japan surrendered
• August 15, 1945 – VJ Day
Summary Results of WWII
• Total deaths approximately 62 million
• Civilian deaths approximately 32
million
• Military deaths approximately 24
million
• Holocaust deaths- Jewish 6 million
• Total destruction of Europe
Results of World War II
Country
China
Military deaths
Civilian deaths
Jewish Holocaust deaths
Total deaths
3,000,000
7,000,000
212,000
267,000
83,000
562,000
5,500,000
1,840,000
160,000
7,500,000
306,400
145,100
8,000
459,500
2,000,000
600,000
400,000
2,200,000
3,000,000
5,600,000
10,700,000
11,500,000
1,000,000
23,200,000
United Kingdom
382,600
67,800
450,400
United States
407,300
11,200
418,500
24,456,100
32,326,600
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Poland
Soviet Union
Totals
10,000,000
2,600,000
5,754,000
62,536,700
Each symbol indicates 100,000 dead in the appropriate theater of operations