1 / 36

The Second World War: Background

The Second World War: Background. Axis: Germany Japan Italy. Allies: Great Britain (England) France Russia USA (China). WHO: . Axis Rally in Tokyo. WHAT:. Truly Global and Industrialized WAR Three Stages: 1939-1941--Initital Push, Battle of Britain

zea
Download Presentation

The Second World War: Background

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Second World War: Background

  2. Axis: Germany Japan Italy Allies: Great Britain (England) France Russia USA (China) WHO:

  3. Axis Rally in Tokyo

  4. WHAT: • Truly Global and Industrialized WAR • Three Stages: • 1939-1941--Initital Push, Battle of Britain • 1941-1943--Invasion of Russia, Pearl Harbor, Direction of War Changes • 1943-1945--Battles of Midway, Stalingrad, D-Day (June 6, 1944) Allies surge toward Victory. • Finally, 1945--Russians take Berlin, U.S. conducts nuclear attack on Japan. War ends.

  5. WHERE: Practically Everywhere

  6. WHEN: • Officially, 1939-1945 • However, Japan began its war in China in 1931. This is often forgotten.

  7. HOW: • “Revisionists:” especially in Germany wished to revise post-World War I peace treaties (especially the …?) • Fascist and/or Militaristic leaders took over governments in Italy, Germany and Japan • Allies initially follow policy of appeasement • This fails to soothe the new fascist powers, and instead emboldens them • War erupts 1939, global by 1941, over 1945

  8. Japan’s War in China • Conquest of Chinese Manchuria 1931-1932 • Full-scale invasion in 1937 • The Rape of Nanjing • Arial bombing of urban center • 400,000 Chinese used for bayonet practice, massacred • 7,000 women raped • 1/3 of all homes destroyed • If you are sensitive you may not want to look at the next slides.

  9. Nanjing Massacre

  10. Nanjing Massacre

  11. Italian Aggression • Benito Mussolini invades Ethiopia with overpowering force • 2,000 Italian troops killed, 275,000 Ethiopians killed • Also takes Libya, Albania

  12. Germany • Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) withdraws from League of Nations • Remilitarizes Germany • Anschluss (“Union”) with Austria, 1938 • Pressure on Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia)

  13. Munich Conference (1938) • Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany meet • Allies follow policy of appeasement • Hitler promises to halt expansion • British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940) promises “peace for our time” • Hitler signs secret Russian-German Treaty of Non-Aggression (August 1939)

  14. Invasion of Poland and France • September 1, 1939 • Blitzkrieg: “lightning war” strategy • Air forces soften up target, armored divisions rush in • German U-boats (submarines) patrol Atlantic, threaten British shipping (just like during…?)

  15. The Fall of France • 1940: Germany occupies Denmark, Norway, Belgium, France • Hitler forces French to sign armistice agreement in same railroad car used for the armistice imposed on Germany in 1918 • Once again--dissatisfaction with Treaty of Versailles and need for revenge. • How it played out…

  16. The Battle of Britain • Air war conducted by the German Luftwaffe (Air Force) • 40,000 British civilians killed in urban bombing raids • Especially London • Royal Air Force prevents Germans from invading

  17. Operation Barbarossa • Lebensraum (“living space”) • June 22, 1941 Hitler double-crosses Stalin and invades USSR • Stalin caught off-guard, rapid advance • But severe winter, long supply lines weakened German efforts • Turning point: Battle of Stalingrad (ends February 1943)

  18. High tide of Axis expansion in Europe and North Africa

  19. US Involvement in WWII before Pearl Harbor • US initiates “cash and carry” and “lend-lease” programs: US lends war goods to Allies with free shipping, leases naval bases in return • US freezes Japanese assets in US • US places embargo on oil shipments to Japan • Japanese Defense Minister Tojo Hideki (1884-1948) plans for war with US

  20. Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) • FDR: “A date which will live in infamy” • Destroyed US Navy in the Pacific—not Aircraft Carriers • Hitler, Mussolini declare war on the US on December 11 • US joins Great Britain and the USSR

  21. The Attack on Pearl Harbor

  22. Japanese Victories and Sphere of Control • Japan dominates south-east Asia, Pacific islands • Establishes “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”World War II in Asia and the Pacific

  23. Defeat of the Axis Powers • Key factors: Russia & USA had more personnel reserves (more people) & industrial capacity (more resources) than Axis • US joining the war turned the tide • Shipbuilding, automotive production especially important

  24. Allied Victory in Europe • Red Army (USSR) gains offensive after Stalingrad (February 1943) • British, US forces attack in North Africa, Italy • D-Day: June 6, 1944, British and US forces land in France (we will view this on Friday) • US, Britain bomb German cities (firebombing) • Dresden, February 1945: 135,000 Germans killed in shelters • 30 April 1945 Hitler commits suicide, 8 May Germany surrenders

  25. The Firebombing of Dresden

  26. Turning the Tide in the Pacific • US code breaking operation Magic discovers Japanese plans • Battle of Midway (4 June 1942) • US takes the offensive, engages in island-hopping strategy • Iwo Jima and Okinawa • Japanese kamikaze suicide bombers • Savage two-month battle for Okinawa (Highly recommended: Letters From Iwo Jima)

  27. Japanese Surrender • US firebombs Tokyo, March 1945 • 100,000 killed • 25% of buildings destroyed • Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 6th and 9th, 1945 • Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989) surrenders unconditionally September 2, 1945

  28. Hiroshima after the Bomb

  29. Deaths During World War II (millions)

  30. Women and the War • WAVES (Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service) • US, Great Britain bar women from serving in combat units • Soviet, Chinese forces include women fighters • Women very active in resistance movements

  31. Women’s Roles • Women occupy jobs of men away at war • Also take on “head of household” duties • Temporary: men returning from war displace women • Yet lasting impact on women’s movement

  32. “Comfort Women” • Asian women forced into prostitution by Japanese forces • 20/30 men per day, in war zones • “Comfort Houses,” “Consolation Centers” • Killed when infected with venereal disease • Large-scale massacres at end of war to hide crimes • Social ostracism for survivors

  33. Deaths During World War II (millions)

  34. Origins of the Cold War • US, USSR, Great Britain unnatural allies during World War II • Tensions submerged until close of war • Yalta and Potsdam Conferences (1945) • Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt • Decided on USSR declaration of war vs. Japan, setting up of International Military Tribunal • Free elections for Eastern Europe • Stalin arranges pro-communist governments in Eastern European countries • 1946: “Iron Curtain” descends

  35. The Truman Doctrine (1947) • World divided into free and enslaved states • US to support all movements for democracy • “containment” of Communism • NATO and the Warsaw Pact established • Militarization of Cold War

  36. The Marshall Plan • Named for George C. Marshall (1880-1989), US Secretary of State • Proposed in 1947, $13 billion to reconstruct western Europe • USSR establishes Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), 1949 • The United Nations formed (1945) to resolve international disputes

More Related