World War II

Failure of appeasementSept. 1939-Germany Invades Poland

Blitzkrieg- “Lightening War”Britain & France declare war on Germany

May 1940-Evacuation of Dunkirk

•Allies trapped w/ backs to the seaForced to escape mainland Europe across the English Channel

June 1940-France falls

Northern France controlled by GermanyVichy France- Puppet govt. set up in Southern France (Marshall Petain)

German Blitzkrieg quickly overruns much of Europe & Northern Africa

Britain now stands alone against Germany

The Battle of Britain- Summer 1940- May 1941

•Germany’s devastating air bombardment of London

•Massive death & destruction

•Radar, Enigma machine, RAF pilots & leadership of Winston Churchill help English repel attack

1941- Germany invades USSR

Operation Barbarossa (Costly mistake)

Russian cold & shortage of supplies help save USSR1942-USSR defeats Germany @ decisive Battle of Stalingrad

90,000 German troops surrender

City was 99% destroyed

Germany on defensive for the rest of the war

Lend Lease Act- US ships arms & supplies to allies w/out paymentAtlantic charter Aug. 1941

Churchill & Roosevelt meet secretly to discuss post WWII plansUpheld free trade & self-determination

Plans for a United Nations after the war

D-Day June 6, 1944Allied troops land on Beaches of Normandy (France)Allies liberate France & push towards Germany

Hitler’s last ditch offensive of the WWIIDecember 1944The Ardennes Forest, BelgiumGermany now on the Run Allies cross the Rhine into Germany March 1945

April 1945 Mussolini caught escaping Italy with retreating Germans

Executed & hung in Milan town Square

1945 Allied troops surround Berlin

Soviets from the EastBritish & US from West

April 30 Hitler commits suicide rather than surrenderMay7, 1945 V-E Day – unconditional surrender of Germany