ALLIES & AXIS
By: Miss. Wintz
ESSENTIAL HISTORICAL QUESTIONS:
• Who are the Allied & Axis powers?
• What role did geography play during WWII? Did geography have an effect on
the any part of war?
THE ALLIED POWERS:
•
Countries that opposed the Axis
powers during WWII. Sought to defeat
the aggression of Germany, Italy, and
Japan.
•
Generally governed by democracies.
•
Upheld religious tolerance and
freedoms.
•
Although composed of many countries
around the globe, the three major
Allied powers included:
• Great Britain
• Russia
• United States
THE AXIS POWERS:
•
Countries that used forced to take territory they
deemed to be rightfully theirs.
•
United under a general dislike of the Western
world and its leaders.
•
Generally governed by dictators or totalitarian
regimes.
•
Restricted religious and other freedoms.
•
Although many other countries joined, the three
major Axis powers included:
•
•
Germany
•
Italy
•
Japan
Membership was fluid, meaning some countries
entered and exited the pact during the war.
•
Russia agreed upon non-aggression with
Germany in return for part of Poland, but
ultimately switched to the Allied forces
when Germany began a Russian invasion.
STRATEGIC DECISIONS & TURNING POINTS
DURING THE WAR:
•
•
•
The Allies invade Italy – July 1943
•
U.S. and British troops invade Sicily
•
Eight days after the initial invasion, Allies had captured the Western half of the island and proceeded
to take back the island from German troops in the East and South.
•
By August German troops evacuated the island.
•
With the success of the Allied Sicily campaign, Italy’s king placed Mussolini under arrest and publicly
surrendered in September.
D-Day Invasion – June 6, 1944
•
7,000 ships
•
100,000 soldiers
•
23,000 paratroopers
•
Five beach landings were made, code-named “Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Sword”, and “Juno.”
•
After many causalities, the invasion was a success and Allied troops proceeded to move inland.
General MacArthur’s return to the Philippines
•
Upon MacArthur’s return, the Allied powers attempted a two-pronged attack to push the Japanese
back to their home island.
•
One fleet would island hop towards Japan while another fought to claim New-Guinea and re-take the
Philippines.
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT:
• How did these decisions and events signal turning points in the war? List at
least two reasons for each of the points listed.
WAR CONFERENCES:
Conference
Date
Participants
Highlights
MolotovRibbentrop
Conference
August 1939
Germany, Russia
Hitler & Stalin sign non-aggression
pact. Russia would not intervene if
Poland is invaded.
Atlantic
Conference
August 1941
Great Britain,
United States
Passed Atlantic Charter, creating a
new general security system
Casablanca
Conference
January
1943
Great Britain,
United States
Agreed to increase war in Pacific,
increase pressure on Italy & invade
Sicily, and insist on unconditional
surrender from Germany.
Tehran
Conference
November
1943
Great Britain,
United States,
Russia
Allies agreed to launch two-front war.
Russia would attack from East as soon
as Great Britain & United States
invaded France
Yalta
Conference
February
1945
Great Britain,
United States,
Russia
Russia agrees to help defeat Japan
after war with Germany ends.
Potsdam
July 1945
Great Britain,
United States,
Allied powers agree Japan must
surrender. Atomic bombs dropped
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT:
• What issues may have arisen from these war conferences? Identify issues
for at least two of the conferences.
THE WESTERN FRONT:
•
The territory at the center of Allied and Axis
fighting. Encompassed Denmark, Norway,
Luxemburg, Belgium, the Netherlands,
Great Britain, France, and Western
Germany.
•
Organized into two phases:
• Phase 1 - 1940:
• Invasion and fighting in Belgium,
Netherlands, and France.
• Air war with Great Britain that
ended with the Battle of Britain.
• Phase 2 - 1944:
• Allied invasion of Normandy until
the defeat of Germany in 1945.
THE EASTERN FRONT:
•
After Germany’s defeat by Great Britain, the Axis
powers shifted their focus to conquering Russia
and Eastern Europe for new territory.
•
Germany waged war against Russia,
Poland, and Norway.
•
Germany’s decision to go against their nonaggression pact with Russia and subsequent
invasion will ultimately turn the tides of the war.
•
Germany’s push on Russia began in June 1941.
•
German troops claimed early victories
through September.
•
November – December, Russia has the
upper hand as cold weather causes
difficulties for German troops.
•
Instead of continuing to spread across the
entire Eastern front, German troops are
focused on certain points.
•
Russian troops continue to push back and
ultimately defeat the Germans by early
1945.
THE PACIFIC THEATER:
•
War fought in the Pacific ocean and East Asia
included:
•
•
New Guinea, Philippines, the Solomon
Islands, Borneo, and the Dutch East Indies.
Began in December 1941 with the bombing of
United States naval base located in Pearl Harbor.
•
The Japanese had retaliated on the Untied
States for cutting off their oil supply in an
attempt to prevent them from continuing war
in the Pacific.
•
Japanese and Allied troops participated in island
hopping as Allies attempted to drive back the
Japanese to their home island.
•
War in the central Pacific was highly dangerous due
to large coral reefs and shallow waters off the
coasts of the islands.
•
The war ended with the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT:
• How might the geography in each theater of war (the Western front, the
Eastern front, & the Pacific theater) pose problems for the Allied or Axis
powers? List at least one problem that geography provided in each of these
areas.
FINAL THOUGHTS – ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
ON A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER:
•
On the blank map provided, color in the Allied powers discussed in the lesson with one
color and the Axis powers with another color. With a pen or pencil, carefully label these
countries.
•
On the back of the map answer the following question: What role did geography play
during WWII? Did geography have an effect on the any part of war?