Goal #10 -wwii away

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