Approaching War- 1920’s-30’s
• Europe is not doing well
• European powers almost bankrupt - only U.S.
and Japan came out of WWI better off
• European domination of world affairs declines
• New European democracies shaky- new
Democracies collapse
– Many political parties, difficult for one group rule
effectively, Coalition govts. form, fall apart quickly, no
strong leadership
– Struggle with war debt, rebuilding, social problems
• Treaty of Versailles creates resentment
– Germany blamed, lost land, paying reparations it cant
afford
– Russia lost land in E. Europe
– Does nothing to help rebuild
Dictators take over
• Totalitarian govt- total control of a people’s public
and private lives, use Indoctrination, censorship,
Propaganda (brainwashing, parades, rallies,
child activities, songs, radio/ TV, newspapers)
– Russian Revolution- 1917- Lenin helps to establish
Communism, 1920’s Joseph Stalin takes over- no
more private business, ownership- Russia becomes
Industrialized- people lose all privacy, rights, control
– 1920’s Italy- Mussolini- Fascism- strong central govt,
military dictator- Nationalism, wants to make Italy
powerful
– 1930’s Nazi’s rise to power, Hitler- promise to fix
Germany’s problems from the Depression, make
Germany powerful, expand (lebensraum)- Book Mein
Kampf, eliminate inferior races
– 1920’s- Military dictator take control of Japan
• Expansion/ Aggression– Japan expands into China (Manchuria) League of nations does
nothing, we send weapons, supplies, Roosevelt speaks out
against Isolationism
– Germany rearms, occupies Rhineland, takes Austria,
Sudetenland
– Italy takes Ethiopia
• Spanish Civil War- Franco, fascist dictator takes power,
US sends volunteers and relief aid, not enough,
Germany, Italy send troops
• Isolationism
– The US believed they were dragged into war by business men
making $, want to avoid Europe’s problems, public opinion
against war, marches and rallies. US ignore the dictators.
• Neutrality Acts- no arms sells/ loans to warring nations
– Great Britain, France, League of Nations- appeasement- make
them happy, look other way to avoid another conflict. Avoid war
at all costs.
Start of the Wars- Neutrality ends
War in Europe
• 1938 Germany takes Austria- unifies
Germans, no resistance, needs
Lebensraum
– Munich Conference/ Pact- Chamberlain
(British prime minister) gives Germany
Sudetenland, German Speaking N.
Czechoslovakia, appeasement (to avoid war)
• March 1939
– takes all of Czech.
– Non- Aggression pact- Soviet/ Germany agree
not to fight, share Poland
• Sept, 1939
– Germany invades Poland- Blitzkrieg (lightening war),
Britain/ France declare war, nothing happens 6
months (phony war)
– Stalin takes land lost in WWI
• May 1940
– Hitler invades Denmark, Norway, Netherlands,
Belguim
– June- Hitler takes France, Maginot (fortifications) line
useless, evacuate at Dunkirk by British, Italy invades
from South, S. France Vichy govt.(puppet)
– Battle of Britain- before invasion, Germany attacks by
air, Luftwaffe (German airforce) vs. RAF (Royal
Airforce) fight, bombed London/ major cities nightly,
almost 1year, people living in subways, basements,
air raid shelters
– Britain never gives up, Germany never invades,
US and War
• Moving away from Neutrality (revise Neutrality acts)
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Cash and carry-1939- pay cash, take on own ships
Ships/ supplies to Britain
Military spending and training (draft)
Roosevelt is reelected a 3rd time
Lend Lease act-1941- supplies to countries vital to US
($50 billion)
• Submarine warfare (German wolf packs), US navy protects
British ships
– Army keeps growing
– Atlantic charter-FDR, Churchill meet and agree- no
gaining land, support self determination, free trade,
international cooperation, disarmament, peaceDeclaration of United Nations– 1941- sept- unrestricted sub warfare, arm merchant ships
War in Europe 1940-1941
• Africa- Italy moves East from Libya attack British
Egypt, early victory, Britain turns it around pushes
back Italians, General Rommel/ Germans come to
help push back British, move back and forth across
N. Africa
• E. Europe- early 41- Hitler plans to attack, Romania,
Bulgaria, Hungry join Axis, Yugoslavia and Greece
fall, Hitler prepares for invasion of Soviet Union
• Invasion of Soviet Union- June 41- Russia attacked
pushed back, poorly trained, equipped, scorched
earth policy (500 miles). Surrounds Leningrad in N.
people starve before surrender, winter closes in on
Hitler in Moscow, refuses to retreat many die
(500,000)
Pacific Theater
• 1941- Japan takes islands in SE Asia, US cuts
trade with Japan
• Japan wants total control of SE Asia, wants to
get rid of US pacific fleet, wants Philippines,
Guam
• Emperor- Hirohito, General- Hideki Tojo
• Peace talks in Washington while plan for attack
• Dec 7, 1941- Pearl Harbor- Attack US pacific
Naval Fleet- 18 ships sank, 350 planes, 2400
people died, 1700 wounded
• Dec 7, 1941 US declares War on Japan,
Germany, Italy (Axis powers)
On the Home front- pg 570
Interactive notes
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Selective serviceWomen/ ChildrenMinoritiesIndustryLaborScientistEntertainmentInternmentEconomy/ govt-
Turning the Tide of the War
• Meeting w/ Churchill- Germany top priority, accept only
unconditional surrender
• Atlantic
– 681 allies ships sunk in ’42 by U boats, Convoy system,
protected by destroyers/ sonar, planes/ radar, sink U boats,
Us begins to win
– by ‘43 140 ships built each month
• Eastern Front
– Germans bog down in winter, fresh invasion to South
summer of 42, Stalingrad, hand to hand fighting, city
destroyed, Soviets refuse to retreat
– Germans trapped by the winter again, supplies cut off,
200,000+ Germans killed, forced to surrender in Feb. 1+
million soviets killed, Soviets win at Stalingrad begin to
push back German armies
• North Africa– Nov 42’- US troops land in west N. Africa (Eisenhower)
push back German troops, trap and defeat between British
on east and US on west – May 43
• Italy– Summer 43- invade Italy move N. July- Mussolini
overthrown, Italy switches sides
– Germany invades N. Italy US slowly fight N. through the
rest of the war (Anzio, 4 months)
• D-day
– June 6-1944 Invasion of France- Normandy- 60 miles of
beach
– Previous bomb supply routes, gather supplies, boats,
troops
– 3 divisions, paratroopers dropped behind lines, British, US,
Canada- 5 attack points-156,000 troops, 4,000 landing
craft, 600 warships, 11,000 planes- severe fighting (Omaha
beach) take the beaches
– June – Sept, push through France (Patton)
• Battle of the Bulge
– Oct, 1944- last attempt at German border,
Germans break through allied lines, Americans
stop them at Bastogne, push them back (1
month), Germans lost men/ tanks, continue to
retreat through Germany
• Russia pushing through Poland and into E. Germany
discovers concentration camps.
• April 1945- Soviets, Americans march on Berlin,
Hitler marries then commits suicide, blames Jews
and his generals; Germany surrenders (May 8).
War In the Pacific
• Dec 41-42- Japan takes Hong Kong, IndoChina, Malaya,
Burma, Thailand, Guam, Indonesia, Wake, Solomon
Islands, New Guinea (150 million people)
• Attacks Philippines, 80,000 troops hold out 6 months,
Bataan Peninsula/ corregidor- troops surrender- May 42,
Bataan Death March - forced march, hundreds of miles,
25% die, many more in prison camps
• Doolittle- bombs Tokyo prove Japans can be hit, more
morale than damage
• May, 42’ Battle at Coral Sea-N of Australia, new naval
warfare use of planes from carriers, Tie- Japan is finally
stopped (US recovers faster)
• June 42’ Midway- Admiral Nimitz- Japanese fleet caught by
surprise, planes gone to attack island while US planes
swarm in, lost 3 aircraft carriers, 322 planes- Turning point
in the war-
• Island Hoping- Skip Japanese strong holds, attack weaker
islands cut off supplies
• Submarines- sink ships and cut of supply lines, 13 in 1942,
200+ in 1944
• August 42’ - Guadalcanal, 6 months intense jungle fighting
• Oct 44’ Leyte Gulf- reinvasion of Phillipines- 178,000 troopsKamikaze- suicide pilots- lost majority of fleet, 4 carriers, 3
battleships, 400 planes,
• Iwo Jima- 20,000+ Japanese in hundreds of miles of
underground caves, stepping stone to Japan, 6,000 US troops
die, all but 200 of Japanese
• Okinawa- last step to Japan, 110,000 dead Japanese, 1,900
Kamaikaze attacks sink 30 ships kill 5,000 men, 7,600 more die
on island
• Next- Invade Japan???
• April 12th- FDR has a stroke and dies. (before Okinawa and
surrender of Germany). Nation mourns.
The Manhattan project• Truman learns of existence only after he is president- started
in 42’- controlled nuclear reaction, use uranium, plutonium Robert Oppenheimer, (Los Alamos, NM) test in July
- Use it??? Questioned by many- saving American lives
- warn the Japanese to surrender or fact total destruction
• Japan refused to surrender, US forced to invade or give up,
Death toll estimates in the thousands
• Hiroshima & Nagasaki- August 6th (Enola Gay) bomb- little
boy- city is destroyed 75,000 die at once,
• Fat man- dropped 3 days later, killed 37,000- end death count
200,000+ (many from radiation) 60,000 buildings leveled
• Sept 2- Official surrender on ship- Missouri in Tokyo Bay