Transcript
World War II
How did WWII start?
Who was on each side?
Axis Powers• Germany• Italy • Japan
Allied Powers• Great Britain• Soviet Union• United States• France
▫ Surrendered to Germany in 1940 after 6 weeks
Status of War before U.S. enters• Hitler has invaded Poland• Hitler invaded and
controlled France• U.S. has a peacetime draft• 37 Billion U.S. dollars in
arms go to Allies
Battle of Britain• Germany attempts to get
air superiority over Southern England
• July to September 1940• The Royal Air Force was
successful
The two front warAtlantic (Europe) Pacific (Japan)
• Operation Torch (Nov 1942)
• Operation Overlord (June 6, 1944)
• Battle of the Bulge (Dec 44-Jan 45)
• Bataan Death March (April 42)
• Battle of Coral Sea (May 42)
• Battle of Midway ((June 42)
• Battle of Okinawa• Battle of Iwo Jima
Operation Torch• November 1942• Soviet Union wanted a two
front war• Britain didn’t feel strong
enough for an offensive through France
• Decided to attack Northern Africa and go up to Italy
WWII: European Theater (The Atlantic)U.S. declares war on Japan on December 8, 1941
Germany declares war on the U.S. on
Battle of Stalingrad• July 17, 1942- Feb 2, 1943• Hitler’s goal was to beat
Russia before the U.S. joined the fight
• Why Stalingrad?▫ Personal- hated Stalin▫ Blitzkrieg- needed a
surprise attack▫ Would cut off fuel lines
• Lasted 199 days• "...Effective command no longer possible...
further defense senseless. Collapse inevitable. Army requests immediate permission to surrender in order to save lives of remaining troops.">> General Paulus' radio message to Hitler on January 24, 1943
• Turning point of the war
Battle of the Bulge/ Ardennes• Hitler hoped he could catch
Allies by surprise around Christmas
• Get a favorable treaty for Germany
• Germany did surprise Allies • Bastogne was a challenge for
Germany• Weather cleared• Germany didn’t have enough
fuel• Patton came with
reinforcements• Battle with the largest amount
of American troops• 600,000
Operation Overlord• Code name for the invasion of
France• General Eisenhower would
lead invasion• British General Montgomery
would lead land force• 3 million men participated• 47 divisions, 21 of which
were American• Von Rundstedt believed Allies
needed 4 consecutive days of good weather
• Message was intercepted and Eisenhower knew they would be good for the surprise
D-Day Invasion• The Hoax
▫ Pas de Calais, France• 20,000 Paratroopers land
to seize roads and bridges around midnight June 5th▫ Their scattering worked
out for the better• By dawn on June 6th, Allied
warships begin appearing off Normandy
• Lost 11,000 out of 156, 000 soldiers in the first 24 hours
• 215,000 total Allies die securing Normandy
Yalta Conference• Held February 1945• U.S. represented by F.D.R.• Britain represented by
Winston Churchill• Soviet Union represented
by Joseph Stalin• Soviet Union wanted
control of Poland- used as a corridor for invasion
• Form United Nations• Agreed to divide up
Germany between the Allies
Victory in Europe• April 12- FDR dies.
Truman is President• April 21- Soviets reach
Berlin• April 28- Mussolini is
captured and hung by Italians
• April 30- Hitler commits suicide
• May 7- Germany surrenders
WWII: The Pacific
The Bataan Death March• March 1942• Bataan Peninsula,
Philippines• Began with a surprise air
attack• 60 mile journey after
surrender• 76,000 marched
▫ 12,000 Americans▫ 64,ooo Filipinos
• 5,200 Americans died on the March
• Japanese attitude that a soldier should die before they surrender
Battle of Coral Sea• May 1942• Check on the Japanese
offensive• Diverted Japanese
resources▫ Would pay a month later
at Midway▫ Two carriers would be
eliminated
Battle of Midway• June 1942• Before this battle, Japan
was superior• Goal of Japan was to draw
out U.S. and defeat them• U.S. intelligence
prepared Admiral Nimitz and he waited for attack
• After this, the two are virtually equal
• Japan lost 4 carriers• U.S. kept base at Midway
Battle of Iwo Jima• Arial offensive• 110,000 Marines• 880 ships• Fought for 2 airfields• Marines were above ground,
Japanese were below• Japanese “no surrender”• Used liquid gas, napalm, and
hand grenades against the “underground solders”
• Marines lost 6,891, 18, 070 wounded
• Showed how far Japan would go to defend their nation
Battle of Okinawa• April – June 1945• 250,000 died• 1/3 of Okinawa population
perished• Bloodiest and last battle of
WWII• U.S. Navy lost the most
ships in history▫ 36 lost▫ 368 damaged
Hiroshima and Nagasaki• Early August 1945• Killed 100,000• Exposed tens of thousands
to radiation• On Aug. 15, Emperor
Hirohito surrendered• Nagasaki footage
V- J DayAugust 15, 1945Times Square, NYPhotograph taken by Eisenstandt
Losses of the Major Wartime Powers in WWII, 1939-1945
• Germany▫ 4.5 million military▫ 2 million civilian
• Japan▫ 2 million military▫ 350,000 civilians
• Italy▫ 400,000 military▫ 100,000 civilian
• China▫ 2.5 million military▫ 7.4 million civilians
• USSR▫ 10 million military▫ 10 million civilians
• Great Britain▫ 300,000 military▫ 50,000 civilians
• France▫ 250,000 military▫ 350,000 civilian
• United States▫ 274,000 military
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