Warm-Up – Copy Timeline
European Theater: Key Events &
Turning Points
• French surrender to the Nazis: June 22, 1940
• Battle of Britain: July 10, 1940 – Oct 31, 1940
– Sept 17: Hitler postpones invasion of Britain indefinitely
• Germans launch Operation Barbarossa and invade Soviet
Union: June 22, 1941
• Battle of Stalingrad: August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943
• D-Day (Allied invasion of France): June 6, 1944
– By August 25, Allies had liberated Paris from German control
• Battle of the Bulge: December 16th, 1944 – January 25,
1945
• Battle of Berlin: April 16, 1945 – May 2nd, 1945
WWII
• Two major theaters of conflict
– Europe
– The Pacific
• Axis
– Germany (Adolph Hitler)
– Japan (Emperor Hirohito & Prime Minister Hideki Tojo)
– Italy (Benito Mussolini)
• Allies
–
–
–
–
Great Britain (Winston Churchill)
France (Charles De Gaulle)
United States (Franklin Roosevelt & later Harry Truman)
Soviet Union (Joseph Stalin)
Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
What: Air offensive by Germans against British which
included the bombing of London.
Why: Germans wanted to decimate British air force so
they could invade Britain with the objective of landing
160,000 soldiers on British coast. However, in order to
do so needed air superiority.
Result: Germans cannot gain air superiority over British
air force and Hitler is forced to postpone plan to invade
Britain
Significance:
• Britain is not invaded
• Hitler is handed is first defeat
• First major battle to be fought entirely by air forces
Map of Europe 1941
By 1941, Hitler has conquered nearly all of
Europe. That summer, Hitler turned his eyes
toward the Soviet Union. Why did Hitler invade
the Soviet Union?
http://ww2history.com/videos/Eastern/Invasion
_of_the_Soviet_Union
http://ww2history.com/videos/Eastern/A_differ
ent_kind_of_war
Operation Barbarossa (includes Battle
of Stalingrad)
What: Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union beginning
on June 22, 1941.
Why:
• Hatred for Communists & Jews; large population of
Jews in Soviet Union
• Hitler obsessed with capturing “Stalin’s City”
Results:
• Hitler achieve early success, catching the Soviets by
surprise and pushing through the eastern front
easily, but ultimately is defeated at Stalingrad in
February of 1943
Stalingrad (continued)
Significance:
Often seen as THE turning point of WWII. Proved that Germans
could be defeated and swung the momentum of the war in favor
the Allies. Also, famous for being one of the bloodiest battles in the
history of the world
German Casualties:
• Estimated 750,000 total casualties
Soviet Casualties:
• 478,741 killed or missing
• 650,878 wounded
• Total of 1,129,619 casualties
Note: Casualties refer to killed, missing and wounded
Note #2: The movie Enemy at the Gates has a great scene which
depicts the German bombardment of Stalingrad and attacks on the
transport boats of soldiers on the Volga river.
The Battle of Normandy
What: Attack on German forces in France… Begins on June 6, 1944
with D-Day, the invasion of Normandy.
Why: Establish an opening in German defenses in order to land troops
and supplies in order to begin liberation of France and Western Europe
Results: Within a week, 326k troops, 50k, vehicles, 100k tons of
equipment had landed at Normandy
Significance:
Seen as the beginning of the end for Germany. Largest amphibious
invasion ever with 160k troops landing in one day
Note: The movie Saving Private Ryan features an amazing portrayal of
the battle of Normandy. So if you are interested, ask your parents to
let you check it out.
Battle of the Bulge
What: Major German offensive launched through the
densely forested Ardennes region in Belgium, France
and Luxembourg on the Western Front
Why: Hitler believed that if he could deal the British &
the Americans a huge blow they would sue for peace
and he could refocus on the eastern front
Results: German forces succeeded early, creating a
“bulge” in Allied line, but Allies later regained ground
and German attack failed
Significance: The Germans lost so many experienced
troops and equipment that there was no way their army
could launch another attack on Allied forces
WWII on Screen
There have been a number of great films/TV series
about WWII.
Some of my personal favorites:
• Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• Enemy at the Gates (2001)
• Band of Brothers (2001), HBO series
• Inglourious Basterds (2009)
I’ve also heard the HBO series The Pacific (2010)
was very good.
Battle of Berlin
What: Soviet offensive into Berlin
Why: Force surrender of Hitler
Result:
• Germans are outmanned and outnumbered
• Hitler and other leading Nazis commit suicide
• Germans surrender
Significance: Last major offensive in the
European theater; Germans sign unconditional
surrender 5 days later, ending signaling the end
of WWII in Europe.
The Pacific Theater: Key Events &
Turning Points
December 7, 1941: Japanese attack the U.S. naval
base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
June 4 - June 7, 1942: Battle of Midway
February 19 - March 26 1945: Battle of Iwo Jima
April 1 - June 15, 1945: Battle of Okinawa
August 6 - August 9, 1945: Atomic bombing of
Hiroshima & Nagasaki; Hirohito orders War council
to accept Allied terms of surrender
Sept 2, 1945 – Japan officially surrenders
Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
What: Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii
When: December 7, 1941
Why:
• After Japanese invasion of China, U.S. imposed economic
sanctions on Japan, which in time would cripple Japan’s ability
to wage war
• By attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan hoped the U.S. would want to
avoid a long war and would agree to lift economic sanctions
Result:
• Americans caught off guard and severe damage was done to
U.S. Navy
• Almost 2400 Americans were killed
Significance:
• Rallied public support for the United States to enter WWII
• First foreign attack on American soil since the War of 1812
Battle of Midway
When: June 4 – June 7, 1942
What: Japanese naval/air offensive against U.S.
naval base at Midway (About 1200 miles west of
Hawaii)
Why: Japanese plan was to cripple U.S. Pacific fleet
Results & Significance:
• Decisive victory for the U.S. in which Japanese
navy was crippled
• Turned the tide of the war in the Pacific
Significance of Battles of Iwo Jima &
Okinawa
• Demonstrated that Japan was willing to fight to
the last man and that defeating the Japanese
would inflict immense casualties on the U.S.
military.
• 18,821 killed
• Around 48,000 wounded
• Almost 67,000 casualties
• Led to Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb
• Wish we had time to cover the Manhattan project, but
we do not… would be a great topic for someone’s end
of the year project