World War II
The World at War (Again)
World Leaders Before World War II
• Adolf Hitler – Nazi
leader of Germany
• Benito Mussolini –
Fascist leader of Italy
• Joseph Stalin –
Communist leader of
the Soviet Union
* Japan was controlled
by their military
World Leaders Before World War II
• Neville
Chamberlin /
Winston Churchill
– Prime Ministers
of Britain
• Franklin
Roosevelt / Harry
Truman –
President of the
U.S.
Hitler’s
Aggression
Prior to WWII
• Removal of Germany from
the League of Nations
• Began building up the
German military
• Invaded the Rhineland (a
demilitarized zone on the
French border)
• Supported Francisco
Franco in the Spanish Civil
War
• Conquered Austria
• Conquered the
Sudetenland (part of
Czechoslovakia)
American Neutrality
• The U.S. passes four neutrality acts
to keep us out of the growing
tensions in Europe
Munich
Conference
• Allied nations and the
League of Nations were
concerned with Germany’s
growing power and
aggressiveness
• War seemed near when
Hitler invited the leaders of
France and Britain to a
meeting in Munich,
Germany
• The Munich Agreement
granted Hitler control of
the Sudetenland and he
promised no further
aggression
Appeasement
• The practice of granting the
demands of an aggressor
to keep peace
Six months later, Hitler
invaded and conquered the
rest of Czechoslovakia.
Allied nations began to
realize that war was
imminent while Hitler
(backed by Italy and
Japan) set his sights on
Poland.
Nonaggression Pact
• Hitler and the Soviet
Union entered into a
nonaggression pact in
August of 1939.
• The both agreed not to
attack each other and to
split Poland once it was
conquered.
Hitler wanted to remain
friendly with the Soviet
Union until he was ready
to invade. He was trying
to avoid another two-front
war.
September 1, 1939
• Hitler invaded Poland
using his blitzkrieg
(lightning war) tactics.
• Poland was crushed in
just three weeks.
• The Soviet Union invaded
the country from the east
during the last week of
fighting.
• Two days after the
invasion, Britain and
France declared war on
Germany to begin WWII.
Time Line of WWII Events
• Phony War (sitzkrieg)
• April 9, 1940 – Hitler
surprise attacks
Denmark and Norway
• He then attacked the
Low Countries (The
Netherlands, Belgium,
and Luxembourg)
France Falls
• French and British troops
set up along the Maginot
line anticipating the
German invasion which
came through the
Ardennes Forest.
• Dunkirk EvacuationGreatest evacuation of
troops in history; 330,000
British, French, and
Belgian troops in less
than a week
• France fell to Germany in June 1940 and
Hitler began the Battle of Britain.
Disappearing Neutrality
• Britain pressures FDR to
help them
• Fourth Neutrality Act is
passed (cash and carry)
• Destroyer Deal –
weapons for military base
leases
• Congress increased
defense funds and
passed the first
peacetime military draft
U.S.S.R. Becomes an Allied Power
• In June of 1941,
Germany invaded the
Soviet Union breaking
the Nonaggression pact
from earlier in the war.
• Stalin became a
reluctant Allied Power.
• Hitler would now face a
two front war which
would give Britain some
relief.
• Britain successfully held
off the Germans in the
Battle of Britain and the
Soviet Union trapped the
German troops deep
inside Russia during the
winter and forced them to
surrender.
• Russia lost more troops
than any other Allied
nation (over 8 million
killed in battle)
• Lend-Lease Act (March 11, 1941) – Amended the
neutrality acts to allow the president to lend or
lease military equipment and supplies to countries
who were vital to the defense of the U.S.
– $1 billion in aid was sent to Britain and her allies
in October ($50 billion before the U.S. entered
the war)
• Quarantine Speech
Japanese/American Relations
• Japan had taken over large sections of China,
Indochina, and many Pacific islands
• The U.S. had placed an oil embargo on Japan and
frozen their assets in the U.S.
• FDR was trying to end Japanese aggression in
Southeast Asia
Pearl Harbor Attack
December 7, 1941
• Surprise Japanese attack on a U.S. naval
base in Hawaii that took place early on a
Sunday morning
• 2,403 Americans
killed/1,178 wounded
• 21 ships were
damaged and 300
aircraft destroyed
• This was the event
that brought the U.S.
officially into World
War II on Dec. 8,
1941 (Germany and
Italy declared war
Dec. 10)
America at War
• The U.S. adopted a
Europe-first strategy
and sent troops to
North Africa to help
protect the Suez
Canal which was
being threatened by
German troops.
• Dwight D.
Eisenhower- the
leader of the U.S.
forces in Europe and
North Africa.
• Germany sought to cut
off the Allied Powers’
oil supply from the
Middle East.
• U.S. and British forces
in North Africa held firm
at the Battle of El
Alamein and protected
the Suez Canal.
• German troops were
driven into Italy where
fighting continued until
late in the war.
D-Day
• The Soviet Union was pushing for a second
front in Europe to help divert some of the
German troops.
• On June 6, 1944, Allied troops invaded Nazioccupied France on the Normandy coast giving
Stalin his second European front.
D-Day
• D-Day (Decision Day) was the
code name for the first day of
Operation Overlord which was
the largest seaborne invasion
in history
• 156,000 soldiers in 6,939
vessels crossed the English
channel catching the Germans
completely off guard.
• German resistance was heavy
in places but the invasion went
well.
• German troops were then
gradually pushed back into
Germany to end the war.
Battle of the Bulge
• Germany’s last chance to win
the war came in Belgium
(December, 1944).
• Germany tried to break the
enemy lines but only created
a huge bulge in them.
• Casualties were high
because of the intense
fighting.
• Hitler lost and continued his
retreat into Germany.
Fall of Berlin
(April-May,1945)
• Three Soviet Army groups
attacked the city from the
east, west, and north.
• Soviets lost 81,116 men
while Germany lost
458,080 men.
• It was one of the bloodiest
battles in history.
• Hitler and many of his
followers committed
suicide before the end of
the war.
V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day)
• Berlin fell on May 2, but
fighting continued until
May 8, 1945 (V-E Day),
when the Germans
surrendered to the
Allied troops ending
WWII in Europe.
• The Germans fought
until they could
surrender to the British
or U.S. troops instead
of the Soviets.