World War Two
• Two Sides• Beginning• Significant Events
– Maginot Line– Blitzkrieg– Dunkirk– The Battle of Britain– Holocaust– French– D-Day– Significant Characteristics of
WWII - Europe
Sides of WWII
• Axis Powers– Germany– Austria– Italy– Japan– France
• “Vichy France”
– Libya– Albania
• Allied Powers– Soviet Union– Great Britain– United States – China– France
• “Free France”
– Canada– Australia
World War II– In Asia
• Japanese expansion– Natural resources
– Japanese/Chinese conflict
• July 7, 1937
– In Europe • Germany & the 1919 Treaty of Versailles
– Rearmament– Expand borders– Unification of Aryan race
• September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland
• September 3, 1939 Great Britain & France declare war
World War Two
European Theater
Maginot Line• French fortifications • French-German border
Blitzkrieg
• German attack plan
• Paris is captured
• France surrenders
• Becomes VichyFrance
DUNKIRK
• Evacuation of British Troops from France
• 338,000 were trapped
• Small boats were used to “ferry” soldiers
• Saved Britain’s fighting force
The Battle for Britain
Holocaust
Vichy French vs. Free French
• German Controlled
• Ruled by Petain– Hero of WWI
• Resided in Africa
• Led by de Gaulle– Charles de Gaulle
Utah= American, Omaha=American, Gold=British, Juno=Canadian, Sword=British
Characteristics of WWII in Europe• Hedgerow Fighting
• Automatic Weapons
• Snipers
• Tanks
World War Two: Asian Theater
Axis Power rally -1937
Japan invades China
•Japan invades
•Japan withdraws from League of Nations
•US places oil embargo on Japan
•Japanese capture China’s capital city
PEARL HARBOR
D
E
C
7
1
9
4
1
Significant Characteristics
• Americans vs. Japanese
• “Island Hopping”
• Japanese sense of duty– Kill 10 Americans before
killing self or being killed
Wake Island• Controlled by the US
• Captured by the Japanese Dec. 23, 1941
• US soldiers and construction workers were captured or killed
• Island was fortified by POW’s
• Japan surrendered the island September 4, 1945
• Many of Japan’s Wake Island soldiers convicted of war crimes
Bataan “Death March”• April 10, 1942
• US soldiers march to POW camps
• 26.2 miles
• Mistreatment of US soldiers
• Pointless executions
Midway• Japan meant to finish off the
US navy• US Intelligence discovered the
Japanese plan• US defeats Japan • June 4-7, 1942
Guadalcanal
SaipanSuicide Cliffs
Abandoned American TankSunken Japanese Transport
US Enters Saipan
Philippines
• Filipinos– Resistance
Fighters– Logistical
Support
Guam
Iwo Jima
Okinawa
Sugar Loaf Hill
• Landing April 1, 1945
• Enabled Americans to bomb Japan easier
Kamikaze Pilots
• Traditional Characteristics:– Attempting to protect their homeland– Brave– Young (90% between 17-24)– Individuals, not nameless faces– From the educated elite
Hiroshima & NagasakiReasons for the bombs:
1. Japanese surrender
2. Ensure US dominance
3. Actual attack
• September 2, 1945, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. General Douglas MacArthur stands at the microphone. Japanese General Yoshira Umeza signs for Japan.
• Much tragedy had occurred for both countries since Commodore Perry had arrived in Japan in 1853.
Leaders: Emperor Hirohito
• 124th Meji ruler• August 15, 1945 the people
heard their emperor for the 1st time ever
• Became a constitutional monarch
• Died January 7, 1989
Leaders: Benito Mussolini
• AKA: El Duce• Fascist Dictator• Executed on April 29, 1945
while trying to escape Italy• Hung by his feet
Leaders: Adolf Hitler
• Revived the German economy
• Persecuted the Jewish people
• Great orator
• Committed suicide???
Leaders: Winston Churchill
• Charismatic leader of Britain during the War
• Great orator• Retired in 1955• Died January 24, 1965
Leaders: FDR/Harry Truman
• Truman sworn in April 12, 1945
• Truman decides to drop the bombs anyway
• Truman approved the Marshall Plan (aid $)
FDR
• 4x elected president
• Died April 12, 1945
Leaders: Joseph Stalin
• Soviet leader after the death of Lenin
• Led Soviets through war
• Great purges > Hitler
• Entered into Cold War with the United States
End of World War Two
• Surrender– Germany on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day)– Japan on August 15, 1945 (V-J Day)
• Treaty– Yalta Conference (February 1945) – Potsdam Conference (August 1945).
• Cold War begins– Communism vs. Capitalism
Nuremberg Trials
Sources