Early Axis Triumphs

 In April 1940 the quiet time of the war exploded into action.
 Hitler launched a series of blitzkrieg.
 Norway and Denmark both fell.
 Germany had overrun the Netherlands and Belgium.
 Germany along with Italy forced France to surrender.
 The Holocaust
 Hitler’s policy of Nazi racism
targeted Jewish people and fed on
European anti-semitism
 Hitler began implementing his
Final Solution—elimination of
Jewish people by sending them to
concentration camps and then
executing them in gas chambers.
 The extermination of nearly 6
million Jews, as well as Gypsies,
Slavs, and other people deemed
undesirable came to be known as
the Holocaust.
 Russia and Finland
 Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939,
and Joseph Stalin ordered his own invasion of Poland
on 17 September.
 Later the Soviets demanded that the Baltic States
allow Red Army garrisons on their territory
 Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia acceded
 Then Russia made similar demands of Finland
 The Finns agreed to cede some territory but refused
any terms that compromised their independence.
 On November 30, Russia attacked Finland, but instead
of the expected swift victory the Russians met stiff
resistance
 Russia and Finland
 Only after massive artillery
bombardments did Russians
finally compel the Finns to
surrender in March, 1940.
 The Russian Army was
plagued by shortages in
leadership.
 The poor performance
made Hitler think the
Russians would not be much
of a challenge if Germany
invaded. Finnish infantry passing
a destroyed Russian tank
 Denmark and Norway
 Germany quickly moved
into Denmark, but had a
more difficult time
capturing Norway
 In April, British destroyed
most of the German Navy
at Narvik, including
sinking half of Germany’s
destroyers
 These losses would make
it impossible for the
German Navy to
adequately support any
upcoming invasion of the
British Isles
 Fall of France
• By May 1940, Europe had been at war for nine
months.
• The ‘Phoney War’ – met an abrupt end on 10 May
1940, when Germany launched an invasion of
France.
• Just four days into the invasion German troops
crossed the Meuse river, and had broken through the
French lines. Attempts by the Allies to launch
counterattacks by air and land either failed with heavy
losses.
 The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to aid in the
defence of France.
 Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands on 10 May
1940, and three of their corps attacked France through the
Ardennes and rapidly drove to the English Channel.
 By 21 May, the German forces had trapped the BEF and French
armies in an area along the northern coast of France.
 Commander of the BEF General John Vereker immediately saw
that evacuation across the Channel was the best course of
action, and began planning a withdrawal to Dunkirk, the closest
location with good port facilities.
 Miracle at Dunkirk
 Retreating Allied forces made it to
Dunkirk and found themselves
trapped between the advancing Nazis
and the English Channel. The British
sent every boat they could get across
the English Channel to pick up
troops off the beaches of Dunkirk.
 The event at Dunkirk is called a
miracle because the retreating allies
had lost hope and then the British
pulled through for them and rescued
338,000 men.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6C5P-AYGdY
 Fall of France: June 22, 1940
 On June 22, 1940 France signs an armistice with Germany in
occupied France.
 The Franco-German Armistice divided France into two zones.
One zone was under German military occupation and the
other was under French control.
 In 1942 Germans occupied all of France.
 Refusing to recognize defeat, General Charles de Gaulle
escaped to London and organized the Free French forces.
 Britain now stood alone against Germany.
 US Neutrality before World War II
 1935— Neutrality Act passed by Congress to
stay out of European conflicts
 1940 -- U.S. imposes embargo on Japan after
its invasion of China
 1941– Roosevelt is convinced that the U.S.
cannot stay out of the war much longer, even
though most citizens favor neutrality.
 1941 - Congress passes Lend-Lease Act to
allow President Roosevelt to send aid to Great
Britain
 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
 Dec. 7th 1941—Japan launches surprise attack on
U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
 Disputes With Japan
 By 1940 U.S. relations with Japan were
becoming increasingly strained. Japan’s invasion
of China & territorial ambitions to extend its
conquests to Southeast Asia
 Beginning in 1940, Japan was allied with
Germany & Italy as one of the Axis powers
 U.S. Economic Action
 When Japan joined the Axis in September
1940, US responded by prohibiting the
export of steel and scrap iron to all
countries except Britain and nations of the
Western Hemisphere.
 FDR cut off Japanese access to vital materials,
including U.S. oil (trade embargo).
 Secretary of State Hull insisted that Japan pull
its troops out of China, which Japan refused to
do.
Negotiations
 Negotiations failed.
 In October, a new Japanese
government headed by General
Hideki Tojo made a final attempt, but
neither side changed its position.
 Britain’s military advisers hoped that
an armed confrontation with Japan
could be delayed until U.S. armed
forces in the Pacific were sufficiently
strong.
 Japan believed that quick action was
necessary due to its limited oil supplies
 Why did Japan Attacked America?
 Japan was trying to become the dominant
power in East Asia and the Pacific
 They wanted to use their territories for
oil and raw materials.
 Japan was trying to become the dominant
power in East Asia and the Pacific.
 Japan decided to attack first
PEARL HARBOR
THE DAY OF INFAMY
December 7, 1941
 Japan’s Carefully-planned & well-executed
attack removed the U.S. Navy’s battleship
force
 America was unprepared.
 U.S. Naval fleet in the Pacific was
anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
 Major Combatants
Japan
- Fleet of 6 Aircraft Carriers under the command
of Admiral Nagumo and Admiral Yamamoto
- Aerial Assault Force under the command of
Mitsuo Fuchida
United States
- Pearl Harbor Naval/Army Base under the
command of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and
Lt. General Walter C. Short
USS Arizona
 On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941
while most American sailors were still
asleep in their bunks, Japanese planes
from aircraft carriers flew over Pearl
Harbor
Battle Sequence
 5 PHASE ATTACK BY JAPANESE…
(as noted by the U.S. Navy)
 PHASE 1: Combined torpedo plane and dive
bomber attacks lasting from 7:55 a.m. to 8:25 a.m.
 PHASE 2: Lull in attacks lasting from 8:25 - 8:40
a.m.
 PHASE 3: Horizontal bomber attacks from 8:40 –
9:15 a.m.
 PHASE 4: Dive bomber attacks between 9:15-9:45
a.m.
 PHASE 5: Warning of attacks and completion of
raid after 9:45 a.m.
 Attack at Pearl Harbor
 Lasted less than 2 hours
 2,403 Americans were killed (including over
1,100 when the battleship Arizona sank)
 68 civilians were killed
 Almost 1,200 were wounded
 Approximately 150 airplanes were destroyed
 20 warships were sunk
 Approximately 150 airplanes were destroyed
 Warfare & Casualties During Attack
 Japan
- Less then 100 men
- 81 Fighter Planes
- 135 Dive Bombers
- 104 Horizontal
Bombers
- 40 Torpedo Planes
- At least 5 Midget
Submarines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvhwtv6Vr98
United States
- 2,335 servicemen killed, 68
civilians killed, 1,178
wounded
- 188 planes
- 18 ships (8 battleships, 3
light cruisers, 3 destroyers,
4 other vessels)
 US entered the war
 The U.S. finally was forced to join World War II
(“The Sleeping Giant was awakened”)
 The U.S. & Great Britain declare war on Japan (Dec.
8, 1941)
 Germany & Italy declare war on the U.S. (Dec. 11,
1941).
 Over the course of World War II, American and
German scientists were both working on
developing nuclear weapons
 America developed them first
 Germany & USSR
 In 1939, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with
Stalin. It was an agreement that neither country would
attack.
 Both men believed the pact was a strategic move:
Hitler saw it as a way to keep the USSR from attacking
Germany, while Stalin saw it as a way to provide the
USSR with time to prepare for Germany’s inevitable
invasion.
 He also felt he needed the agricultural and raw
material resources of Eastern Russia
 Ideologically Hitler viewed the Soviet Union as an
amalgamation of his greatest enemies, the Jews and the
Slavs
Moscow, August, 1939: German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signs non-aggression pact with Russia
 Operation Barbarossa
 June 22, 1941
 Operation Barbarossa was the code-name
given to Nazi Germany’s invasion
of Russia on June 22nd 1941. Barbarossa
the largest military attack of World War
Two, based on blitzkrieg
 Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers
invaded the USSR along an 1,800 mile
front.
 Operation Barbarossa
 The Germans caught the Russians
unprepared and made great advances
 The Soviet Army seemed on the verge
of collapse
 At this point the weather broke and
autumn rains turned the roads to mud
 The German advance stalled, allowing
the Russians to hurry reinforcements
from the interior
 Operation Barbarossa
 Plans for the attack on Russia had been
around since 1940.
 Original Plan was to fight on three fronts:
1. Moscow – his primary target
2. Kiev - a secondary attack
3. Leningrad and in Moldavia - two
masking attacks
 But later changed to major one against
Moscow, a smaller attack on Kiev and a
major attack on Leningrad
Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow

 By Day 17 of the attack, 300,000 Russians had been

captured, 2,500 tanks, 1,400 artillery guns and 250 aircraft
captured or destroyed.

 The Russian Army was on the verge of a total collapse and

Moscow seemed destined to fall.

 Though Germans were capturing fast, they had

underestimated both the resources of the Soviet Union and its
willingness to accept massive losses. German offensives
were running out of steam, as front-line units halted for
resupply and replacements.

 At a crucial phase of the operation, Hitler insisted that the

panzer divisions of Army Group Centre, which were
advancing on Moscow, were diverted to overcome resistance
in the north and south.
 Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow
 Again they resumed their drive towards Moscow on 2
October, codenamed Operation Typhoon.

 Ten days later German units were within 90 miles of the

Russian capital, but stubborn Soviet resistance and
heavy German casualties, combined with heavy rain
which turned bad roads into rivers of mud, slowed the
advance to a crawl.

 By Dec 4 the Germans had clawed their way to

Moscow’s outskirts, but they could not continue
◦ That night temperatures were -25 degrees Fahrenheit
◦ One infantry regiment suffered 300 frostbite casualties
◦ On Dec 6 the Soviets counterattacked using fresh units brought in
from the East
German soldier in the Battle of Moscow
 Operation Barbarossa : Battle of Moscow

 Rundstedt commanded Army Group

South, responsible for the largest
encirclement in history, the Battle of Kiev.

 He was dismissed by Adolf Hitler in

December 1941, following the
German retreat.

 Field Marshall Walther replaced Rundstedt

Field Marshall Walther
and confirmed the withdraw order and
von Reichenau
then suffered a heart attack

 Hitler was in the midst of a high command

crisis and lost confidence in his generals.
 Germans resistance and control of roads and supply
took the punch out of the Russian counterattack.

 German Army survived but it suffered losses from

which it never recovered.

 Both sides licked their wounds and prepared for

renewed operations in the spring.

 Operation Barbarossa was one of the decisive

moments of the war in Europe. Despite enormous
losses in territory, men and weaponry, the Soviets had
fought on, and survived.
 Name: Jason 9B

Operation Blue: Battle of Stalingrad

- Code name for the attack that Adolf Hitler ordered

on the Soviet Union’s oil fields in the Caucasus
region in 1942.
 Battle of Stalingrad
 In spring 1942, German commanders
recommended remaining on the defensive but
Hitler believed the Germans must destroy Soviet
military before the America could come into play

 Hitler developed a plan to capture Soviet oil.

 August 23: Massive German bombing destroys

80% of the city’s residential buildings

 The Soviets mounted a stubborn defense

Stalingrad before the war
Stalingrad, September 1942
Stalingrad: street fighting
Stalingrad: street fighting
 Battle of Stalingrad
 In Nov, Soviets launched a massive
counterattack.

 Hitler’s overly centralized and completely out-

of-touch command system broke down.

 The Soviets encircled Stalingrad and Hitler

ordered his commanders to stand fast
anyway

 But still no one was willing to confront Hitler

 Battle of Stalingrad
 All attempts to breakout or break through
failed and on Feb 2 the Germans surrendered
 The Battle of Stalingrad claimed over 2 million
casualties, more than any other battle in
human history, and was also one of the
longest: it raged for 199 days.
 Killed, wounded or captured at Stalingrad:
◦ Soviets: 1,290,000
◦ Germans and allies: 850,000
◦ Out of 250,000 soldiers trapped in the Stalingrad
pocket, approximately 90,000 became prisoners
◦ Barely 5,000 survived the war
German POWs
German POWs outside Moscow
Maximum Axis Control (Sept 1942)
 Allied Powers meet at Tehran
 In 1943, leaders of the
three major Allied
Powers (Churchill—
Britain, Roosevelt--US,
Stalin-- USSR)
met in the Tehran
Conference to discuss
plans for defeating
Germany
D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944
 D-Day June 6, 1944
United
States

VS.

Britain
Germany

Canada
 Before the Invasion

 The night before

the invasion, Allied
troops parachuted
behind enemy lines
in France

 They tried to
destroy railroad
lines and disrupt
communication

General Eisenhower speaking to airborne troops on the evening

before the invasion
 What Happened?
 On June 6, 1944 more than 150,000 Allied soldiers
crossed the English Channel
 They attacked the German military along a 60 mile
stretch of the coast in Normandy, France.

US troops in a
Higgins landing craft
approaching the
coast of Normandy
Normandy Invasion, D-Day
D-Day - June 6, 1944
Landing on Normandy Beach

It was the largest sea borne invasion in history.

 Towards end……
 D-Day - June 6, 1944
 Aug 1944 - The Liberation of Paris
 Dec 1944 – Battle of Bulge
 7 May 1945 – Germany Surrenders
 1944-45 – Pacific wars

U.S. soldiers raise the American flag after

capturing Iwo Jima
The Yalta Conference
 Roosevelt, Churchill and
Stalin met in February,
1945 at the Yalta
Conference to discuss
plans of dividing up
Europe anticipating the
defeat of Germany
 Germany was divided
and most of Eastern
Europe was controlled
by the Soviet Union
 The Potsdam Conference
 The Allied leaders met after the defeat of Germany in
July,1945 at the Potsdam Conference to discuss plans for
defeating Japan and its unconditional surrender
 President Truman (who succeeded Roosevelt after his death)
learned of the successful tests of the Atomic bomb while at
the conference
 The Atomic Bomb
 Led by Robert Oppenheimer, the
Manhattan Project successfully
produced two Atomic bombs at
Los Alamos, New Mexico (called
Fat Man and Little Boy)
 On August 6th, 1945 a B-29 bomber
called the Enola Gay dropped the
first Atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
Japan
 Three days later, a second bomb
exploded over Nagasaki
 Japan surrendered on August 14th,
1945—thus ending World War II
and beginning the Atomic Age

Japan Surrenders
However, the Allied Powers began to turn the tide of the
war in 1942 & defeated the Axis Powers by 1945
 The Marshall Plan

 Europe’s economy was in shambles after World War II

 Marshall proposed aid to “all European countries who
needed it”
 Plan also worked to keep communism from spreading
to western Europe
The United Nations

 International peacekeeping
organization
 FDR was the “principal
architect” of the UN
 The Postwar World Order
 Of all the Allied nations, the United States emerged strongest
from World War II.
 Britain and France were physically & economically devastated.
Neither would be a dominant world power after 1945.
 Although the Soviet Union had suffered greatly during the war, it
emerged in a much stronger position than Britain and France.
 Despite U.S. efforts to keep the technology behind the atomic
bomb a secret, Soviet scientists (thru espionage) developed a
nuclear bomb by 1949. “superpowers” by the start of the 1950s.
 The United States and the Soviet Union had fought together as
Allies, but ideological differences became a major point of
contention. (communism and capitalism)
 This would dominate international politics for the next 40 years
as America and the USSR engaged in a “Cold War.”