World War II

1. World War II

2. Sides • Axis Powers: Known as the Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis, these three powers tried to conquer territory for themselves while other powers were in decline.

3. Germany • After World War I, Germany fell into economic problems that weakened the new democratic government. • Former soldier, Adolf Hitler led the new National Socialist Party that railed against the weakness of the government and its many failures.

4. Germany • In 1923, Hitler and the Nazis tried a revolution against the government. • When it failed, Hitler did 9 months in prison. • Upon his release, he tried to gain power legally.

5. Germany • Hitler failed to gain power but his party won a majority of the Reichstag. • Upon demand from the Nazis, German President von Hindenburg named Hitler Chancellor, Prime Minister.

6. Germany • Upon, von Hindenburg’s death, Hitler became the dictator of Germany. • Hitler began to oppress Jewish citizens and other “undesirables”. • Hitler began to make plans to expand Germany and to return it to “greatness”.

7. Hitler Highlights • Burning of Reichstag: Shortly after Hitler took power, the Reichstag building was burned. Communists were blamed for a fire probably set by the Nazis • Enabling Act: Fearing a Communist coup, the Reichstag voted to allow suspend the Constitution and to allow the Chancellor (Hitler) to run the government alone for four years (later indefinitely)

8. Japan • After World War I, Japan initially enjoyed economic success. • However, during the Depression, the democratic government could not fix the economy. • So, the Japanese military seized control of the government.

9. Japan’sStrategic Weakness • Upon their ascension to power, the military sought to spread Japan into a true empire. • To do so, they needed access to many natural resources. Something that their nation lacked. • They made plans to seize areas of Asia where these resources could be found.

10. Italy • After World War I, the Italian monarchy was torn by rising threats from the Communist left and the Fascist right. • Former army officer Benito Mussolini founded the Italian Fascist party in 1920.

11. Italy • In 1922, Mussolini performed his March on Rome, where he and thousands of his “Black Shirt” Fascist supporters captured the Italian capital to stop a fictitious Communist plot to overthrow the government. • Fearing the Communists, the king named Mussolini as Prime Minister.

12. A right-wing political philosophy based on order over liberty Celebrates militarism Celebrates obedience to authority Celebrates Private Property Hates democracy Hates Communism Hates Socialism Fasces: Roman symbol of power and status Fascism

13. Allied Powers • Britain and France: Both nations, weakened by World War I, tried to rebuild their economies. • The Great Depression hit both hard and made them unable to challenge the rise of Fascism in Europe. • They relied on the League of Nations to stop Hitler and it failed.

14. Soviet Union • Following the rise of the Communist party in 1917, the USSR went through a bloody civil war. • In 1923, Lenin died and Josef Stalin became the new leader of the USSR.

15. USSR • Stalin was a paranoid who oppressed and often killed anyone who was perceived as a threat to his power. • He purged most of the best officers and politicians out of his army and government. • By the late 1930s, the USSR was weak from the removal of its best and brightest.

16. United States • After World War I, America had receded into its safety behind its two oceans and went back to its own business. • During the 1930s, America’s economy kept its focus internal and it was not a member of the League of Nations to do anything about the rise of aggressive states in Europe.

17. March to War • Germany • Rhineland: In 1936, Hitler seized the DMZ as his first act of defiance. He challenged the Allies to do something. They declined.

18. Anschluss • After the 1934 assassination of Austrian dictator Englebert Dollfuss, the Nazis engineered a bloodless union with Austria absorbing it into the Reich.

19. Czechoslovakia • In 1938, Hitler put pressure on Czechoslovakia to give up the Sudetenland. • The Sudetenland is the section that juts into Germany and is mainly populated with ethnic Germans.

21. Czechoslovakia • When the Czechs refused, Hitler threatened to take the area by force. • In an effort to avert war, the British and French PMs met with Hitler and Mussolini in Munich.

22. Munich • In the Munich Accord, Hitler agreed that the Sudetenland would be his last territorial demand. • British PM Chamberlain declared that they had achieved “Peace in Our Time”. • By the end of 1938, Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia.

23. Poland • In 1939, Hitler demanded access to their separated lands in East Prussia through Poland, including the port city of Danzig. • Stung by his lies from Munich, France and Britain promised the Polish government that if they would assist Poland if it were attacked.

25. Nonaggression Pact • Given their reluctance to go to war, Hitler did not fear the Western Allies. • He was concerned about the USSR joining the war. • So, he signed a nonaggression pact with Stalin where each side promised not to attack the other and to split Poland evenly between them.

26. Poland • After dealing with the Soviets, Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. • In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

27. Japan • Launched wars of aggression to secure natural resources. • Manchuria in 1932 • China in 1937 • US opposition to Japanese expansion fomented crisis with America.

28. Japan/US Conflict The United States objected to Japanese aggression in China. • They asked Japan to withdraw from China. • When Japan refused, the US cut Japan off from vital military resources: oil and scrap metal.

29. Sparks • Europe: On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. • Britain and France declared war on Germany, but they could not save Poland. • USSR also invaded Poland from the East. • Poland surrendered on September 20th.

30. Pearl Harbor • On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese fleet launched a surprise attack on the US fleet in Hawaii. • They sunk several battleships and killed 2,500 American troops. • The US declared war on Japan the next day, FDR decrying the “Day which will live in infamy”.

31. Early War in Europe1939-1941 • By December 1941, Hitler had overrun all of Western and Southern Europe including France, Holland, Belgium, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Norway. • The Fall of Western Europe • On December 7, the Germans were stopped 3 miles short of Moscow in Russia, their first land defeat of the war.

32. Early War in the Pacific1941-1942 • After their victory at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese overran most of the Western Pacific including Indochina, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Indonesia, and the Marianas. • The US rapidly sought to even the odds with the Japanese and launched their first counterstroke in May 1942 with the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.

33. Turning PointsEurope • El Alamein: In 1942, Rommel’s Afrika Korp was driving across Libya and into Egypt. • British General Bernard Montgomery (Monty) stopped them, saving Egypt and the oil of the Middle East from the Germans. • Battle of El Alamein

34. Stalingrad • In 1942, Germany was making a bid for the oil fields of southern Russia, and they needed to take the city of Stalingrad. • To do so, the Germans sent the 6th army with its 250,000 men, 500 tanks, and 1,000 planes.

35. Stalingrad • In the city, 55,000 defenders turned every building into a fortress. • While the Germans fought house to house, the Russians assembled a 1 Million man army east of the city.

36. Stalingrad • The Russians surrounded the city and cut off the Germans from retreat. • Russian Counterattack • The Germans surrendered their entire force, their worst defeat of the war.

37. Stalingrad • The largest battle in history claimed: • 1.5 million lives • 3,000 aircraft • 3,500 tanks • 75,000 total vehicles

38. Turning PointsThe Pacific • Midway: In 1942, the Japanese fleet wanted to bring the US into decisive battle to finally destroy the US carriers that it had failed to destroy at Pearl Harbor.

39. Midway • The US carriers were widely dispersed at the start of the battle. • The Japanese had completed an attack on the American base at Midway and were returning when the US carriers struck.

40. Midway • Planes from the American carriers Hornet, Enterprise, and Yorktown savaged the Japanese carriers with bombs and torpedoes. • In less than 20 minutes, the four Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu were burning. • Japanese planes that managed to sink the Yorktown in response. • The cream of Japan’s Navy was gone.

41. Guadalcanal • Just after Midway, the US made its first offensive landing on an island in the Pacific. • Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands became the scene of the first major land battle of the war in the Pacific

42. Guadalcanal • From August 1942 to February 1943, Japan tried everything to eject the US from the island. • Their defeat cost them 25,000 dead and created an American foothold in the Pacific.

43. Allied AdvancesEurope • North Africa: Following El Alamein, a US/British force landed in Morocco and pushed East while Monty pushed West. • The Germans were squeezed out of Africa by early 1943.

44. Sicily and Italy • In 1943, the US and British invaded the island of Sicily and the Italian peninsula. • They were trying to open a second front in Europe to ease pressure on the USSR. • They Allies knocked Mussolini out of power and captured most of Italy by early 1944. • Battle of Sicily and Italy

45. D-Day • On June 6, 1944, 170,000 Allied troops supported by 500 warships and 11,000 aircraft landed in France to open the long-sought second front. • Intense misdirection against the Germans had allowed the Allies to make the landings a nearly complete surprise. • D-Day Landings

46. D-Day • After the landings on 5 beaches: Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword, the Allies broke out and swept across France. • Allied Breakout • They liberated Paris by July and approached the German border from the West.

47. Allied Advances Pacific • Island-Hopping: After the victory at Guadalcanal, the Allied moved forward jumping from island to island. • They used Marine landings supported by warships and carrier aircraft.

48. Island Hopping • This flexibility allowed the Allies to cut off Japanese retreats and bypass strong points to strike the most strategically important islands. • By mid 1945, they were approaching the Japanese home islands. • Major victories included Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

49. New Advances • Blitzkrieg: Also known as “combined arms warfare” combined aircraft and massed tank attacks for maximum shock and speed. • Blitzkrieg Tactics • It is considered the model for modern armored warfare.

50. Panzer Divisions • Germany removed the tank from simple infantry support • They massed them into armored formations (200 per division) supported by mechanized infantry • They could drive fast and deep into enemy territory.