World War Two(1939-1945)

Key Terms• Blitzkrieg• Axis & Allies• Pearl Harbor• Churchill• Stalin• FDR• Stalingrad• D-day• Eisenhower• Yalta Conference• Dresden• Island Hopping

I. German Conquest (1939-42)A. PolandB. FranceC. Battle of BritainD. Russian Invasion

II. US (1939-12/7/41)A. Neutrality & Japan

III. Defeating Germany (1942-45)A. Diplomacy/Big ThreeB. The “Tide Turns”

IV. Defeating JapanV. Results

WWII Themes

• Technology-from the Blitz to A-bomb & in between

• Diplomacy-Allies cooperate• “Total War”-civilian casualties

Poland Faces A Blitzkrieg

• Germany invaded Poland September 1, 1939

New Technologies = Success

• Blitzkrieg = “Lightening Warfare”– Air attacks combined

with rapid troop movement

• Poland fell within one month

German air force targeted railroads

WWII Alliances

Allies• Great Britain• France

Axis• Germany• Italy • Japan

Following Germany’s invasion Alliances were formed:

France Falls To Germany

• 1940 France fell to Germany in 6 weeks (successful Blitz)

Victorious German Soldiers

The British Stand Alone: Battle of Britain

• Cities were bombed June, 1940-June 1941

• British radar helped & radio influenced morale

London under fire

Russian Invasion

• June, 1941 Germany invaded Russia (in violation of previous treaty)

• German “Blitzkrieg” again VERY successful (initially)

Hitler switched tactics

Pearl Harbor Attack(12/7/41)

• 19 Ships sunk• About 2,000

dead

USS Arizona explosions killed about 1,100

WWII Alliances

Allies• Great Britain• France• USSR

Axis• Germany• Italy • Japan

• US

“Big Three”

• Prime Minster of Great Britain

• Goal: Attack “Soft Underbelly” of Europe

Winston Churchill

(1874-1965)

Italy

“Big Three”

• Leader of Soviet Union (USSR)

• Goal: A Second Front in western Europe

• 20-30 million Soviets died during WWII

Joseph Stalin

(1879-1953)

“Big Three”

• US President• Goal: Defeat

Germany first with fewest US casualties

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

(1882-1945)

Battles Of Stalingrad & Leningrad (Leningrad: 1941-44)

• Turning point of European war

• USSR turned back Germans

• Leningrad/ St. Petersburg was under seige

The “Tide Turns” In Italy

• In 1943 following defeats in North Africa Mussolini was deposed & Italy surrendered.

D-Day(June 6, 1944)

• Allied invasion in western France (2nd Front).

• Technological success– 500,000 troops– 11,000 aircraft– 4,000 vessels

Dwight Eisenhower

(1890-1969)

Dresden, Germany

• Major German cultural center

• Site of massive allied bombing campaign February 1945– Up to 130,000

civilians killed

Yalta Conference(February, 1945)

1. Free elections would be held in Poland.

2. Germany would be occupied by Allied Powers.

3. USSR would join the war against Japan.

4. Allied Powers would participate in the United Nations.

It was decided that following Germany’s defeat…

Germany’s Defeat

• Germany surrendered May 8, 1945.

Island Hopping

• US strategy to defeat Japan.• US forces went from Island to Island in the

Pacific on their way to the Japanese mainland.

War In The Pacific: Midway(June 1942)

• Location of an important US based in the Pacific • US won a decisive victory• Significance: Turning point in the war in the

Pacific

Iwo Jima(February-March, 1945)

• 6,800 US dead

•19,000 US wounded

•21,000 Japanese dead

*Figures are approximate

Okinawa April-June, 1945

• 12,500 US/Allied dead

• 35,000 US/Allied wounded

• 100,000 Japanese soldiers dead

• 80,000 Japanese civilians dead or wounded

*Figures are approximate

“Kamikaze”• Japanese “suicide” planes increased as the

Americans neared the Japanese mainland.

Tokyo Was Firebombed

•March, 1945 (two days)

•About 80,000 dead

•250,000 buildings destroyed

Atomic Warfare

• US ultimatum rejected• Hiroshima (8/6/45):

100,000 Japanese dead

• Nagasaki (8/9/45): 40,000 Japanese dead

• Japanese Surrender (8/14/45)

The Aftermath of the Atomic Bombs

Image Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WWII-Deaths

Country Military Deaths

Civilian Deaths

USSR 13,000,000?

(min)

7,000,000?

(min)

Germany 3,250,000 3,500,000

Poland 125,000 6,000,000

Great Britain 325,000 65,000

United States 400,000

World War Two(1939-1945)

Key Terms• Blitzkrieg• Axis & Allies• Pearl Harbor• Churchill• Stalin• FDR• Stalingrad• D-day• Eisenhower• Yalta Conference• Dresden• Island Hopping

I. German Conquest (1939-42)A. PolandB. FranceC. Battle of BritainD. Russian Invasion

II. US (1939-12/7/41)A. Neutrality & Japan

III. Defeating Germany (1942-45)A. Diplomacy/Big ThreeB. The “Tide Turns”

IV. Defeating JapanV. Results