WWII

1. WWII

2. Blitzkrieg • During the invasion of Poland, the Germans debuted a new military tactic • Blitzkrieg, or "Lightning War,” German tactic of striking with tremendous speed and force, with the intention of knocking out your enemy before they can react to your attack

3. France Falls • In May 1940, Germany invaded France and quickly overwhelmed their army • British troops which had been in France preparing for war were evacuated back to safety in England • By late June, France had surrendered and Britain stood alone against Germany

4. North Africa • The heaviest fighting of the early war took place in North Africa as German and Italian forces tried to force the British out of Egypt • The German plan was not successful, instead opening a distracting Southern Front to the war

5. The Balkans • Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary all joined the Axis to avoid German invasion • German and Italian forces conquered Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece in the fall of 1940, giving the Axis full control of the Balkan Peninsula

6. Japan Takes Advantage • With France and the Netherlands conquered by the Germans, Japan took the opportunity to grab their Asian colonies of French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies • This aggressive move by Japan threatened the US-controlled Philippines, prompting the US to cut off all trade with Japan

7. Winston Churchill • British Prime Minister • Although Britain now stood alone against Germany, they remained defiant, with Churchill vowing “… we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender”

9. The Battle of Britain • In order to soften Britain up for invasion, Germany began a bombing campaign in late 1940 • The Royal Air Force (RAF) was able, however, to prevent the Germans from achieving their goals, forcing Hitler to abandon his plans for invasion

10. “The Blitz” • Sept. 1940 – May 1941 • Germany switched their objective to instilling fear in the British people by bombing British cities in the hopes that they would quickly tire of war and sue for peace • London was bombed 57 nights in a row and 43,000 civilians were killed • Instead of weakening morale, the British grew even more determined to win the war • The British retaliated with fire-bombing raids on German cities

11. Hitler Turns on Stalin • Hitler turned his attention eastward, invading the Soviet Union in June 1941 • The Soviets, who had signed a non-aggression treaty with Germany, were caught unprepared and were pushed deep into Russia, losing over 2 million men along the way

12. The Eastern Front • Just as they had against Napoleon, the Russians used a “scorched earth” strategy which drew the Germans deep into Soviet territory and forced the Germans to face a Russian winter • The Eastern Front remained mainly stationary for over 2 years, with the heaviest fighting around the cities of Leningrad and Stalingrad

13. Shifting Alliances • The Soviets allied themselves with Britain, although the British were in no position to provide much direct relief • Both the Soviets and the British also sought help from the US, but other than selling them limited amounts of supplies the US tried to remain neutral

14. Japan Strikes • Angered by America’s trade embargo, Japan decided that they had to take bold action to prevent the US from interfering in their plans to create a Pacific empire • On Sunday December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii

15. Pearl Harbor • The attack crippled the US Pacific fleet, but was not the knock-out punch Japan had hoped for because America’s aircraft carriers (their best naval weapons) were not in port during the attack • As a result of the attack, the US declared war on Japan; Germany and Italy honored their alliance with Japan by reluctantly declaring war on the US

17. Japan Completes Its Empire • Japan moved quickly to conquer the US-held Philippines, as well as British-held Hong Kong, Burma, and Malaysia • Japanese soldiers abused US and Filipino troops captured in the Philippines, forcing them to march 68 miles in extreme heat without water to prison camps – thousands died on the “Bataan Death March”

18. The Holocaust • Once the Nazis had complete control of Europe, they were able to begin the systemic elimination of “undesirable” peoples to create more room for the Aryan “master race” • Dozens of concentration camps were opened, mostly in Germany and Poland, to hold these “undesirables” while they awaited execution

19. The Victims • Those assigned to the camps included Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled, the mentally ill, Catholic priests, and communists, among others • In all, at least 12 million people died in the Holocaust, including 6 million Jews and about 1.5 million children

20. The Methods • People sent to the camps were sorted by age, gender, and health; those who were of no use as laborers (the elderly, small children, the sick) were usually killed immediately, while healthy, younger prisoners were used as slave labor, prostitutes to serve German soldiers, or as the subjects of bizarre and cruel medical experimentation, before being gassed, hung, or shot

25. US Internment Camps • In the US, Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were forced into camps due to fears of sabotage and espionage • While these people were not mistreated, they were held against their will for the duration of the war and lost their homes, jobs, and most of their personal possessions without any kind of restitution

26. The US Economy • Once at war, the US rapidly converted industrial production over to war materials and recruited women to work in the factories while men joined the military by the millions

27. War in the Pacific • The US Navy recovered quickly from Pearl Harbor and moved to block Japanese attacks against Australia and the US-held island of Midway, dealing the Japanese serious defeats • By the summer of 1942, Japan was on the defensive as US forces began pushing west across the Pacific

28. “Island Hopping” • The US quickly discovered that the Japanese were willing to fight to the death, rarely retreating or surrendering • This changed US strategy in the Pacific; rather than fight for every island, American commanders chose to pick only islands of strategic importance, ones which would bring US forces within striking distance of Japan, to fight for

29. North Africa and Italy • In late 1942, US and British forces invaded North Africa and pushed the Germans and Italians out • By summer 1943, the Allies had invaded Italy. Leading to Mussolini’s overthrow and Italy’s formal surrender • German soldiers, however, continued to hold northern Italy and bloody fighting would continue there until almost the end of the war

30. The Soviets Fight Back • The Soviets won a major victory by forcing the Germans fighting at Stalingrad to surrender in early 1943 • By early 1944, the German army had been pushed completely out of Soviet territory and the Russian army began advancing across Poland

31. D-Day • June 6, 1944 • US and British forces launched a massive invasion across the English Channel, landing over 175,000 soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, France • Thanks to good weather and deliberate disinformation sent through known Nazi spy networks, the Germans were caught largely unprepared and were pushed back

32. France Liberated • Allied forces quickly pushed across France and, in less than 3 months, had liberated the city of Paris from Nazi control • By late September, France was completely freed and the Allies were prepared to invade Germany

33. Germany Falls • After one final failed offensive in the winter of 1944, the German military broke down and the Allies pushed into Germany itself • In April 1945, Mussolini was captured and killed, while Hitler committed suicide • On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered and the war in Europe was over

34. Meanwhile, in the Pacific … • The US had worked their way across the Pacific, fighting numerous bloody battles, to reach Japan • Between February and June of 1945, US forces took the Japanese islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, finally putting US bombers within range to begin daily bombing runs over Japanese cities

35. Kamikaze Attacks • Starting in the fall of 1944, Japan became desperate enough to authorize the use of suicide attacks by Japanese pilots against American warships • While over 95% of these attacks failed, the ones that succeeded had devastating effect

38. The Manhattan Project • US scientists had been working throughout the war to develop a bomb that used atomic energy rather than traditional explosives • By summer of 1945, this new weapon was ready to test, and proved to be even more powerful than anyone had hoped

39. How To Beat Japan? • US President Harry Truman faced a tough decision – invade Japan, which would undoubtedly cost millions of lives, or use the newly developed atomic bomb against Japanese cities to force a quick surrender • Truman decided to use the atomic bomb, but gave Japan a warning to surrender or face “utter and complete destruction”

40. Hiroshima & Nagasaki • On August 6, 1945 a US B-29 bomber dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, erasing 4 square miles of the city and killing 70,000 people instantly • Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 40,000

43. Japan Surrenders • On August 10, 1945, Japanese emperor Hirohito ordered his government to surrender • Five days later, Japan’s surrender was accepted and the war was over • US forces took direct control of Japan and administered the country until 1952