Monday, November 10, 2014

World War Two

     
Part One
l  After World War I, the world was divided into two camps
l  Countries satisfied with the Versailles treaty
l  Countries upset with the Versailles treaty
l  Throughout the 1930s aggressive dictators challenged the resolve of peace seeking democracies.
l  Dictators viewed democracies failure to respond with force as weakness and responded with further acts of aggression.
l  By the 1930s military leaders seeking to build a large Japanese empire controlled Japan.
l  In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria.
l  When the League of Nations condemned the aggression, Japan withdrew from the organization.
l  When Japan took over much of eastern China in 1937, the League of Nations once again took little action.

Italy
l  In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia.
l  The League of Nations placed sanctions against Italy, which were not enforced.
l  Sanction—penalties
l  Without the support of the League of Nations, Ethiopia fell to Italy in 1936.

Germany
l  Adolf Hitler also took advantage of the League of Nations resistance to use force by violating several terms of the hated Versailles treaty.
l  First, Hitler built up the German military.
l  Then, in 1936, he sent troops into the Rhineland.
l  Rhineland—Demilitarized area bordering France.
l  Western democracies adopted a policy of appeasement
l  Appeasement—Giving into the demands of an aggressor to keep peace.
l  Reason for Appeasement
l  Britain and France were still ailing from World War I adopted a policy of sanctions and did not want to become involved in further conflict.
l  Pacifism—Opposition to all war.
l  Many people across Britain believed that the Versailles treaty was too harsh and that the actions of Hitler were therefore justifiable.
l  Britain and France feared Communism and viewed Italy and Germany as a potential defense against the spread of Communism.
l  As war clouds gathered the U.S. maintained isolation from Europe.
l  Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
l  Italy, Germany and Japan formed an alliance in defiance of western democracies.
l  The Axis powers agreed to fight Soviet communism.
l  Spanish Civil War
l  In 1936, Spanish general Francisco Franco led a revolt against the Spanish government, leading to a bloody civil war.
l  Germany and Italy sent forces to help Franco overthrow the Spanish government
l  Britain, France and the United States remained neutral.
l  Germany used the Spanish Civil War to prepare and test the German military for possible war.
l  Largely due to German and Italian support Franco triumphed in Spain and quickly began his own reign of terror.
l  In 1938, Hitler once again violated the Versailles Treaty and took over his homeland of Austria.
l  Anschluss—Union of Austria and Germany
l  Despite a brief war scare the western allies took no action.
l  Next, Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland be given to Germany.
l  Sudetenland—A region of western Czechoslovakia which included three million Germans
l  In September 1938, Britain and France met Hitler at the Munich Conference.
l  France and Britain gave into Hitler’s demands and persuaded the Czechoslovakia to surrender the Sudetenland without a fight.
l  In return, Hitler promised that he had no further plans to expand his territory.
l  By March 1939, Hitler overtook the rest of Czechoslovakia.
l  Nazi-Soviet Pact
l  Rivals Hitler and Stalin signed a nonaggression pact and made plans to overrun eastern Europe together.
l  Invasion of Poland
l  On September 1, 1939, one week after signing to Nazi-Soviet Pact, Germany invaded Poland.
l  Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later.

World War Two
Part Two
A.    Anschluss-unification of Austria and Germany
B.     Britain and France met with Hitler during the Munich Conference
C.     Nazi-Soviet Pact is announced
D.    Hitler takes over Czechoslovakia
E.     Invasion of Poland
F.      Rebuilds German military
G.    Send troops into the Rhineland
l  Invasion of Poland
l  September 1, 1939 – Germany attacked Poland without declaring war.
l  Germany used a “blitzkrieg” strategy meaning “lightening warfare”
l  The invasion of Poland caused Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany.
l  Neville Chamberlain would soon be replaced by Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
l  Russia followed Germany’s lead and attacked Poland.
l  Within a month, Germany and Russia had taken over Poland.
l  Battle of France
l  France built a series of defensive fortifications 200 mile long called the Maginot Line along the French-German border.
l  Designed to protect France against a German invasion.
l  1940 – Germany avoided the Maginot Line by moving through the heavily wooded forest near Belgium.
l    
l  Since the Germans went through the Ardennes Forest, they were met with very little opposition.
l  The quickly moving German army surrounding French and British troops along the French side of the English Channel.
l  Miracle at Dunkirk
l  This evacuation provided the British forces with a temporary morale boost.
l  However, this morale boost would be short-lived.
l  In June 1940, France fell to Hitler.
l  French government went into exile in Great Britain under the control of General Charles de Gaulle.
l  With France nearly defeated, Mussolini of Italy declared war on France and Great Britain.
l  Battle of Britain
l  After France fell to Germany only Britain remained.
l  Adolf Hitler opted not to invade Great Britain, fearing the superiority of the British navy.
l  Rather, Adolf Hitler decided to bomb Great Britain into submission using the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe.
l  Most of these bombing focused on London.
l  Great Britain used good intelligence information and radar to help them hold off the German attacks.
l  Great Britain’s RAF gained superiority over Germany’s Luftwaffe.
l  After several months, Adolf Hitler abandoned his attacks on London and focused his attention the Soviet Union.
l  Following the German defeat at the Battle of Britain, Churchill rallied the free world against Germany.
l  For the first time, the US began to believe that Britain could win the war.
l  This prompted the U.S. to become more involved in World War II.
A.    Anschluss-unification of Austria and Germany
B.     Britain and France met with Hitler during the Munich Conference
C.     Nazi-Soviet Pact is announced
D.    Hitler takes over Czechoslovakia
E.     Invasion of Poland
F.      Rebuilds German military
G.    Send troops into the Rhineland
l  Hitler attacks Stalin
l  Operation Barbarossa
l  Following the German defeat at the Battle of Britain, Adolf Hitler focused his attention on conquering the Soviet Union.
l  Despite the Nazi Soviet Pact, Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941 using 3 million soldiers.
l  The Soviet Union was not prepared for war, most of its top officers were killed during the Great Purge.
l  The Soviet Union once again used the “scorched earth policy”
l  Scorched earth policy—Burning crops and destroying all building and equipment while retreating.
l  However, Germany was not prepared for the winter weather.
l  Germany was forced to retreat while thousands of soldier froze to death.
l  Battle of Stalingrad
l  In 1942, Hitler launched a new offensive against the Soviet city of Stalingrad.
l  This battle became one of the bloodiest conflicts in history.
l  Germany began the invasion Stalingrad by bombing the city.
l  This, however, was a huge mistake.
l  The ruins from the bombings were so severe that the Germans struggled to enter the city.
l  The battle was fought in the streets, in houses and even in the sewer.
l  People on both sides were without food or shelter as winter closed in.
l  Eventually, the German commander went against Hitler’s orders and surrendered to the Russians.
l  Following the Battle of Stalingrad, Russia launched an offensive, driving back German forces.
l  Following the Battle of Britain, the United States became more involved in the war.
l  The United States became the “arsenal for democracy” by providing financial aid and weapons to those who were fighting against Germany, Italy and Japan.
l  Fearing German submarine attacks and wanting to avoid war, the U.S. adopted a “cash and carry” policy. 
l  This policy maintained the neutrality of the U.S. while providing Britain with the necessary war supplies needed to fight against Germany.
l  Cash and Carry—The U.S. would sell war materials to feuding countries who would pick up the cargo using their own ships and pay for the material immediately
l  As Great Britain and other European nations neared bankruptcy, the U.S. introduced the “Lend-Lease” program.
Lend-Lease Act—The U.S. provides the Allies with war material without cost.  However, materials must be either destroyed or returned following the war.
l  On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
l  The caused the United States to declare war on Japan as well as Germany and Italy.
l  North African Campaign
l  Following the Battle of Britain fighting in Africa picked up.
l  Britain and Italy fought for key resources in Africa such as iron and oil.
l  Upset by Italy’s lack of success, Hitler sent the “Afrika Korp” to help Italy.
l  The German “Afrika Korps” were led by “Desert Fox” Erwin Rommel
l  The British army was led by General Bernard Montgomery
l  The America army was led by Generals Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton.
l  By 1943, the Allies won several victories in Africa that would push back the Axis powers.
l  Victory in North Africa helped the Allies enter Italy
l  Invasion of Italy
l  In July 1943, the Allies landed first in Sicily and then in southern Italy.
l  The Italian forces were quickly defeated.
l  Benito Mussolini was overthrown and the new Italian government was created.
l  Germany was forced to send troops to defend Italy, weakening Germany elsewhere.
l  Battle of Normandy
l  By 1944, the Allies were ready to open another front in Europe—with the invasion of France.
l  American general Dwight Eisenhower was made supreme commander.
l  On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded France.  This became known as D-Day.
l  The attack came as a surprise to the Germans.
l  The Allies eventually clawed through the hedges of Normandy.
l  After breaking through the Allies quickly advanced, entering Paris on August 25, 1945.
l  The Allies could now turn their attention to conquering Germany itself and then defeating Japan.
l  World War Two
l  The Battle of Normandy ended in disaster for Germany.
l  Allied forces quickly moved through France toward Germany.
l  Battle of the Bulge
l  In December 1944, Germany launched a massive counterattack, known as the Battle of the Bulge.
l  Germany was able to delay the Allied advance, but was unable to break through enemy lines.
l  Germany was on the decline, facing round-the-clock bombings and assassination attempts.
l  By March, Britain and the United States had entered German territory from the west.
l  The Soviet Union closed in on Berlin from the east.
l  Battle of Berlin
l  By the time the Soviet Union entered the German capital of Berlin, Germany was completely depleted.
l  Berlin was left to be defended by the police, World War I veterans and the Hitler Youth.
l  As Soviet troops fought their way into the city, Hitler committed suicide in an underground bunker.
l  On May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered.
l  The war in Europe officially ended the next day, known as V-E Day (Victory in Europe)

World War TWO
Pacific Theatre
l  Fighting in the Pacific Theatre was initially dominated by Japan.
l  By May 1942, Japan had gained control of most of southwest Asia, including the Philippines.
l  The Japanese killed hundreds of American and 10,000 Filipino soldiers during the 68 mile Bataan Death March.
l  By June 1942, the Americans began to gain the advantage.
l  Following the Battle of Midway, the Americans were able to take the offensive.
l  America began an “island hopping” strategy.
l  Island-hopping—Attacking strategically important islands, while bypassing more heavily defended Japanese islands.
l  Following the defeat of Germany, America began focusing on Japan.
l  Most of the Japanese navy and air force had been destroyed.
l  However, the Japanese army still possessed over 2 million men.
l  As America approached mainland Japan, each battle seemed to result in the loss of more American lives than the previous battle.
l  At Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Japanese had shown that they would rather fight to the death, rather than surrender.
l  By 1944, the Japanese had begun using kamikaze pilots.
l  Kamikaze—Pilots who purposely crashed their airplanes into American warships.
l  American officials estimated that invading Japan would result in over one million casualties
l  July 1945, Allied scientists successfully tested the first atomic bomb, allowing America another way to win the war.
l  At the Potsdam Conference, the U.S. demanded that Japan surrender or face “utter and complete destruction”
l  After Japan refused to surrender, Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb against Japan.
l  On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
l  On August 9, 1945 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan.
l  On August 14, 1945 Japan surrendered.
l  This became known as V-J Day.


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