WWII Most costly ever in terms of lives lost and material destruction.

WWII

Most costly ever in terms of lives lost and material

destruction

WWIIBegan as a European conflict pitting Germany vs. Anglo-French coalitionEventually involving nearly every nation in the worldResulted in a New World Order—Dominated by US and USSR—Table set for the “Cold War”

Why do wars occur?Nations compete over natural resources.Individuals demand greater political and economic freedom.

We will study 3 aspects of WWII

The war in Europe against Germany and ItalyThe war in Asia with JapanThe home front

What caused WWII in Europe?

Germany wanted back what she lost from WWI, and revengeAppeasement – Great Britain and France gave Hitler land w/o fighting for it.Hitler was racist; he invaded countries simply to kill the Jews living there.

The Central issue leading to WWII is the fallout from

the TREATY OF VERSAILLES

Treaty of VersaillesWhile the US, France, Great Britain emerged satisfied, Germany, Italy, Japan were notJapan wanted control of ChinaUS developed isolationist policy in response to Allied (European) failure to make good on War debts

Treaty of Versailles – end of WWI

The main points of the Treaty [BRAT]  

1.   Germany had to accept the Blame for starting the war 2.     Germany paid Reparations for the damage done during the war.

Versailles cont. .3.     Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force.   She could have a navy of only six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men.  

Versailles

4.     Germany lost Territory (land) in Europe (see map). Germany’s colonies were given to Britain and France.

Review QuestionsHow did WWI help cause WWII?

Changes realized in the Nature of Warfare

1)Commitment of entire human and economic resources to the cause2)Battlefield came to include all of a Nation’s territory3)New weapons-long range rocket, atomic bomb4)Tremendous advances in aircraft and tanks

Failure of Peace Efforts1920-League of Nations formed-Hope for negotiated settlementsWould prove ineffective in many regions time and again1923-Paris Peace Pact-63 nations including all of the world’s greatest powers renounce war as a policy

Only USSR does not commitThe peace process will be tested by expansionist efforts by ambitious nations like Japan, Italy, and Germany

Japan 1st to Cause TroubleLimited land mass creates a need to expand in order to accrue natural resources and raw materialsMakes use of a minor clash with Chinese troops to take over ManchuriaChina appeals to the League of NationsJapan is ordered to return Manchuria

Japan withdraws from the League of NationsRevelation that the league is powerless encourages Italy and Germany in their expansionist ambitionsItaly’s goal was to secure control of Ethiopia (East Africa)

Italy in AfricaEthiopian Emperor appeals to the League of Nations—sanctions issued were ineffectiveDid not include resources vital to Italian War effortBoth Germany & Italy make use of participation in the Spanish Civil War to test their military machines

Spanish Civil War1931 Spain becomes a RepublicRepublican government pursues reformRedistribution of land/reduce role of the Catholic ChurchRight-wing (conservative) Nationalists under General Francisco Franco oppose the Republican loyalists

Gen. Francisco Franco

Soviets, British, France, and US support loyalistsGermany and Italy support NationalistsBrings Hitler and Mussolini togetherHitler was interested in Spanish resources (Iron ore, magnesium)

Herman Goering-Head of German Air force (Luftwaffe) and tested it in SpainThe alliance between Hitler and Mussolini came to include Japan in theRome-Berlin-Tokyo AxisBecomes known as the Axis Powers (1936-1937)

Review Rise of the Nazis

Depression in 1920s Europe

Economy was bad in EuropeWWI killed a lot of workers and customersAfter years of humiliation and starvation, Germans looked for a strong leader.

NAZIs elected to power!Nazis promised to build up their army and get revenge for the WWI This is Adolf Hitler 1933.

Totalitarianism

Mussolini (Italy) Hitler (Germany)

Germany late 1930sGermany escaped the Depression by militarizing.This is Berlin 1936

Lebensraum (Living Space)

Hitler’s expansion1936 –The Rhineland is taken without responseMarch 1938-Annexed AustriaFrance and Britain –awed by German armament-considered it an internal German affair

CzechoslovakiaNext was Czechoslovakia-had been only been a democratic state in central Europe by the late 1930’sStrong military, high standard of living, alliances with France and the Soviet UnionHitler coveted the western border of Czechoslovakia

SudetenlandThe Sudetenland home to 3.5 million ethnic GermansBritish Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain initiated peace talks (Sept 1938)Resulted in the Munich Pact

Peace in our TimeHe returned home to the cheers and adulation of his peopleIn reality the proposal was futile“Appeasement”

AppeasementGiving in to someone’s demands in order to prevent war

Appeasement – Hitler wanted land, Britain and

France let him have it without war

Less than 6 months later, Hitler invaded and seized the remainder of CzechoslovakiaHitler then threatens Poland, the British government pledged to defend the PolesFrance already had a mutual defense treaty with Poland

Hitler and the SovietsAttention was turned to the USSR-Joseph Stalin, Soviet dictator was courted by both sides.Hitler offer was more attractive—in exchange for Soviet neutrality Stalin was secretly promised claims in Finland, Estonia, Latvia eastern Poland, & eastern Romania(Nazi-Soviet Pact1939)

WWII started when Hitler invaded Poland 1939.

Invasion of PolandSept. 1 1939 in the early morning hours, the German invasion of Poland beganSept. 3, Hitler was surprised by the French and British declaration of war on GermanyHitler commits 1.5 million troopsThe Poles mustered 1.8 million

Blitzkrieg“Lightening War”This paralyzed PolandGerman had more firepower6 panzer divisions to 1 tank or armored Polish division1600 modern aircraft to 900 obsolete Polish planes

Lightning warfare German strategy1st bomb by air, then send in panzer divisions (tanks)

Bombers destroyed railroads, preventing mobilization then used armored divisions followed by mobile infantry encircled the PolesOn the 17th, as Germans closed in on Warsaw The Soviet Red Army lunged across the borderFinal surrender was complete by Oct. 6

The British were too late to prevent the occupation of Poland, but they may have delayed its surrender and the French were more concerned with self-defenseHolding the Maginot Line

“Phony War”in the months following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and preceding the Battle of France in May 1940 – that was marked by a lack of major military operations in Continental Europe.Also known as Sitzkrieg

Invasion of France

Maginot Line

Maginot LineHeavily fortified French line of defense fortifications on border with GermanyThere was a serious flaw-a 50 mile gap in the ArdennesWas built in response to WWIBecause the Ardennes was forested & swampy they believed an invasion there would be difficult

Hitler focused German attention upon the low

countriesLuxembourgThe NetherlandsBelgiumLow countries because of elevation

Charles de GaulleFrench CommanderCalled for more planes & tanksBut the French command said the Maginot Line was sufficient

Finland falls to the SovietsMay 10, 1940 a massive German airlift caught the Dutch off guardThey surrendered within 5 days of the invasionAt the same time the French & British moved to defend Belgium

German Planes swept into the ArdennesOther panzers broke through Luxembourg towards France

Hitler demands Norway and Denmark to accept Nazi protection from BritainDanes accept but Norway resistsApril 9th, 1940 Germans land unopposed in NorwayOccupied Oslo by noon

The remainder of the country held outFor about a monthThis proved costly to the Germans who lost several ships

Replaces Chamberlain as Prime Minister

After the fall of Denmark and NorwayWinston Churchill

Germany Defeats FranceRather than send its main force through Belgium as it had done in WWIGen. Eric Von Manstein advised an unexpected attack through the Ardennes ForestAttacking from the Northwest and then moving southeast behind the Maginot Line

Forces were equal in strength in areas of troops and tanksGermans maintained a superiority in aircraft

The same day The Netherlands surrendered, the German panzers emerged from the Ardennes and made their push behind French and British forces that were supporting the Belgians

DunkirkMoving toward the Channel, Allied forces were trapped in the N.W. corner of FranceEvacuation by sea was the only hope for the allies.

May 27 Belgium’s King Leopold III surrenderedGermany paused and 328,000 men were rescued from Dunkirk

The Drive to France Begins

June 10, Italy declares war on the AlliesThough the Maginot line was in tact, no way to protect ParisJune 17, Marshal Henri Petain (WWI hero) asked for an armisticeSigned June 25, 1940Terms gave control of Northern France and the Atlantic coast to Germany

Vichy GovernmentPetain sets up a capital at Vichy in the unoccupied Southeast—was a puppet government of GermanyIn Britain, de Gaulle organized a free French government and the French resistance operated underground in France

Hitler in Paris

Fortress EuropaIn no time, Germany conquered most of Europe with tanks, planes, railroads.

Battle of BritainBattle of Britain

One significant foe remained for Hitler n the west—BritainChurchill vowed to fight to the bitter endHitler misjudged the resolve of Churchill and the BritishExpecting Britain to seek peace when the situation facing them looked so bleak

The British had left many of their weapons on the beaches at DunkirkStalin did not seem eager to challenge HitlerThough the US, alarmed by the fall of France began peacetime conscription 1st time ever—public opinion opposed the war

Battle of the AtlanticGermany hope to starve Great Britain outUsing submarines warfare to cut British overseas lifelinesSubs were based in both France and Norway

The best way to force Britain’s surrender would be an invasion across The English ChannelHitler would not risk this however unless the British Air Force could be neutralizedThus the Battle of Britain was fought in the air not on the beaches

August 1940, the Germans launched daylight raids against airfields and inland cities in Southern BritainThe objective was to draw out British fighters and destroy themRoyal Air Force (RAF) were superior“So much owed by so many to so few”

Speech by Churchill

German casualties were too high, by September they were forced to resort to night bombings raids—57 nightsGoering sent more that 1,000 planes at a timeBetween this time and May 1941, the Germans conducted 71 major raids against London and 56 other cities

In 1 night the Luftwaffe dropped 70,000 fire bombsThe damage inflicted, though severe, was not militarily decisive

Children in East End of London

Newbury, England

On September 17, 1940 Hitler postponed the invasion of Britain indefinitely, thereby conceding defeat in The Battle of Britain1,700 German aircraft lostHitler shifts his focus to the Soviet Union—July 1940—still looking for living space

Russia’s NextHitler believed Britain was holding out for a falling-out between Germany and RussiaOnce the Soviets were defeated, he expected Britain would make peaceHitler wanted to begin the invasion in the fall of 1940

His advisers warned against a winter campaign in Russia—(Napoleon)He waited for springMeanwhile Germany’s ally Mussolini staged an unsuccessful attack on British occupied Egypt and GreeceBritain responded by occupying airfields on Crete and in Greece

Hitler feared British planes within striking distance of his one major oil source, Ploiesti (Ployisht) fields of RomaniaHe dispatched Erwin Rommel (the Desert Fox) and his tanks to support his allies—He would all but push the British out of Africa

Because he would need to cross their territory to get to Greece and the Soviet Union, Hitler brought Romania and Hungary into the Axis in November 1940, Bulgaria joined in March 1941When Yugoslavia refused to follow suit, Hitler ordered the invasion of that country

Events which caused the U.S. to become involved…

Meanwhile, in the USA. . .

Wanted to stay neutralCash & carryLend-Lease– U.S. “lent” $, materials to the Allies for “leases” to military bases

Lend-Lease Act cont’

$7 billion to lend or lease weapons and other aid to countries the president may designateCould assist in defeating the Axis w/o using US TroopsBy late summer 1941 we were in an undeclared war with GermanyUS Marines occupied Iceland, replacing the British

Atlantic Charter

August 9, 1941 Churchill and Roosevelt meetThey issue the Atlantic CharterFreedom of tradeThe right of people to choose their own governmentCalled for the final destruction of Nazi Tyranny

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. America enters

WWII.December 7, 1941

Axis Powers

Germany and Italy declared war immediately after Pearl Harbor.Germany, Italy and Japan made a deal to help each other in case on was attacked.

Allied Powers

The Allies were the USA, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union (USSR). These are called the “big three.”In addition were the colonies and territories of these countries.These include China, Canada, Australia, France, Poland and others.

USA’s contribution was production, not blood.

Women in workforce

Rosie the Riveter

People rationed goods for war use.

The Army was segregated, but African Americans

served.

Tuskegee Airmen

Women in the Forces

Women in Forces

How did USA pay for this war?

Internment of Japanese Americans

USA was afraid if Japan were to attack the Pacific coast, Japanese Americans would help them.The Government ordered them to move to camps.

Internment camp

Strangely, Japanese Americans served in the

Army

Any questions before the quiz?

Home Front Quiz1. How did USA pay for WW2?2. Who were the Allied powers besides the USA?3. Why did the USA intern the Japanese Americans?4. What was the Lend Lease Act?5. When was the Pearl Harbor attack?

Meanwhile, in Asia. . .

Japan wanted China and the USSR.

Japan is an island, and not a big one.They wanted more living space and resources for their “superior” people.

Japan wanted oil reservesJapan wanted

more oil to invade China.America embargoed their oil in Indonesia Japan considered this an act of war.

Japan joins Axis PowersGermany was sick of the U.S. helping Britain with its lend lease program. Japan agreed to attack Pearl Harbor and distract the U.S. from Europe war.

Battle for Midway Island

If won, Japanese could have bombed Hawaii more from here.Major turning point

Island Hopping – US fought to gradually reach Japan

Battle for Iwo Jima

Island hopping became fact of the war with Japan. Died: 6800 US 20000 Japanese.This flag raising was a serious morale boost to soldiers on the island.

Kamikaze attacks

This plane dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima

Atomic bombHiroshima-”Little Boy”Nagasaki- “Fat Man”

Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945

Victims in Hiroshima

Why drop the Atomic Bomb?

The Japanese had shown they would fight to the last man, woman and child.The atomic bomb saved as many as 1 million U.S. lives, and possibly many Japanese.Harry Truman said he dropped the bomb to end the war.

Japan surrenders 1945

World War II deathsUSSR 22 millionChina 11 millionGermany 7 millionPoland 7 millionU.S. 0.5 millionGreat Britain 0.3 millionJapan 1.5 million

Asia WW2 Quiz1. What cities were nuclear bombed?2. Define island hopping?3. What was the importance of Midway Island battle?4. Why did Japan want war with the USA?5. What ocean protected USA from Japan?

Operation Barbarossa

Invasion of USSRBegins June 22, 1941 More than 3 million German soldiers move into The USSRGerman preparation for this had been obvious for months, but Stalin, concerned about his military’s performance in the Finnish War had refused counteractively that might provoke Hitler

The Soviets are Unprepared

The Soviet military leadership concluded that blitzkrieg would not be possible on the scale of a German-Soviet WarSoviets had 2.9 million soldiers on the borderOutnumbered German tanks by 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 in aircraft

Large numbers of soviet aircraft destroyed on the ground the first day of fightingSoviet tanks are scattered among the infantry (like the French) proved ineffective against German Panzer groups

Soviet infantry had been ordered to counter-attack which was impossible, and then forbidden o retreat which insured their wholesale destruction or capture

Germany three-pronged attack

Designating army groups in the North, Center, and South to drive towardsLeningradMoscowKievThe objective was to lock the Soviet Army in battle and defeat it before it could disappear into the interior

War games had predicted a victory in about 10 weeksEssential because the Russian summer is shortBy the end of the first week (July)army group center had taken 290,000 prisoners-another 300,000 by Aug.5th

Was 2/3 of the way to Moscow

Winter comes to RussiaThe wet fall and cold of winter slowed and then stopped German progress 50km. From Moscow in DecemberSoviets counter-attack with reserves led by Gen. Zhukov and began rolling back the German Army which abandoned vehicles and weapons

Tough cold winters killed many NAZI troops in

USSR.Russian

people are tough! 21 million dead, yet no surrender!

German Low PointHitler consolidate to two armies pushing toward StalingradA mistake separating armies and making resupply for both over damaged RR impossible—Stalin ordered his retreating army “not another step back”

Battle of StalingradTurning Pt. in the WarBloodiest in Modern HistoryThe battle took place between 17 July, 1942 and 2 February, 1943.Russian Victory

Hitler needed to redeploy troops in Italy—The Americans had landed on Sicily in JulyHitler anticipated an European invasion—feeling he could repel it The allies would abandon the effort—He could then concentrate on the USSR

Operation OverlordNormandy InvasionJune 6, 1944—D-Day at Normandy under Omar BradleyEisenhower was the ETO CommanderAn unsuccessful attempt on Hitler’s life to save Germany (Valkyrie)

Invasion of Normandy, France

Tank!

Anti-tank weaponry

English Channel protected EnglandBritain resisted German air force

Hitler thought the invasion of Normandy was a feint—no counter-offensive—he expected an assault North of the Seine RiverAugust 3, Americans w/de Gaulle and the Free French Resistance forces liberate Paris

Race to BerlinUS and allied forces crossed the German border on September 11—difficulty in maintaining the supply line slowed progressNeeded the port of Antwerp to be made operational againIn a race with Russia (Stalin underestimates speed of US Troops)

Beginnings of CommunismGerman allies surrendering in the east and communist regimes installed by the Soviets (Cold War)The fall of 1944 saw air offensive against Germany until

Battle of the BulgeGerman counter offensive in the Ardennes in December

Yalta ConferenceFeb. 1945—Stalin agrees to fight Japan after Germany surrenders

Dates to RememberRoosevelt dies April 12Hitler commits suicide April 30 in his bunkerGerman surrender May 7May 8 – V/E DayJapan surrenders Aug 15, 1945

Germany’s end

Germany invaded the Soviet Union and lost a million troops due to the cold and Russian bravery.Germany spent too many resources trying to kill Jews and not supporting his troopsGermans fought Russians in the east and Americans and Brits in the West.

Germany surrenders April ‘45

Mussolini killed while trying to escape Italy dressed as Nazi officerHitler committed suicide in late April 1945Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) – 5/8/45; Germany surrendered

V-J Day

9/2/45 – representatives of Hirohito signed surrender terms aboard USS Missouri Japan lost all land taken after 1875Hirohito became a constitutional monarchWar crimes trials

July of 1945 – Potsdam Conference

Big Three metUSSR would declare war on Japan & invade Manchuria a.s.a.p.Japan – US occupied

Potsdam Cont’Korea would be occupied by Soviets N. of 38th parallel, by US S. of 38th parallelJapan – US occupied

The Settlement of WWII will lead to the

Cold War