The Axis Advance

1. The Axis Advance World History

3. The Axis Attacks • On September 1, 1939 Hitler unleashed blitzkrieg on Poland • Blitzkrieg is known as “lightning war” that utilized tank and air power to strike against the enemy • The German air force, known as the Luftwaffe, bombed airfields, factories, and cities • They were able to move so quickly that they surrounded the polish army and forced them to surrender • Stalin used the Russian army to invade from the east and Poland was wiped off of the Map

4. Maginot Line • After a long winter, French and British troops waited for German invasion into France • These soldiers hunkered down behind the Maginot line, a giant cement fortification between designed to stop the German Invasion • Prior to the French invasion, Germany took Norway and Denmark • The German troops then bypassed the Maginot line by attacking France by way of Belgium

5. Dunkirk • As German troops flooded into France, Hitler made a surprise move by attacking through the Ardennes Forrest, a dense forest and mountain range • The German army was able to surprise British and French troops and trapped them between the English Channel and the German front line • Thousands of naval vessels, merchant ships, and fishing boats picked up groups of troops, ferrying them back to England • 300,000 troops were brought back to the safe beaches of Dunkirk

6. France Falls • As the British escaped, the German army marched towards the French capital of Paris • France surrendered on June 22, 1940 in the same train car that Germany signed the Armistice ending World War I • Germany setup a puppet state with the capital being Vichy France

7. Battle of Britain • With the success of German attacks, Hitler expected Britain to sue Germany for peace • Winston Churchill had recently become Prime Minister of England and was ready to fight Hitler and stop his advances • Because of this defiance, Hitler began an air bombardment of England’s military instillations on the southern coast • The RAF fought well that Hitler changed German strategy to bomb civilian targets, including London

8. Battle of Britain • London was bombed for 57 nights in a row to try and push them to surrender • Parliament continued to meet, citizens carried on their daily lives, and London survived • This was Hitler’s first real defeat in the war

9. The Balkans • Axis armies had pushed into North Africa and the Balkans • Mussolini ordered his troops into Egypt and were defeated by British troops there • General Erwin Rommel was then sent by Hitler to push into Egypt • In October 1940 Rommel was able to push British troops through Egypt with victory after victory • As this was going on Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Hungary were absorbed into the Axis Empire

10. Soviet Union • In June 1941, Hitler nullified the Nazi-Soviet Pact and invaded Russia • Invading Russia would give Hitler the chance to gain valuable resources and crush Communism in one stroke • The Soviets were unprepared and lost 2.5 million soldiers trying to stop the invaders • As they retreated, the Soviets destroyed everything so that the German army would have nothing to survive the winter • The temperatures dropped to negative 40 degrees, thousands froze to death • Even with 1 million people dying while trying to stop Hitler from taking Leningrad, the city did not fall

11. occupation • Hitler was able to setup many puppet governments designed to enslave others and use their country and people for resources • During the late 1930’s the Germans began setting up concentration camps where thousands of Jews and political dissidents were sent • Pols and Slavs also made up large portions of the concentration camp population

12. Japan • Japan was able to take control over large portions of Asia and the Pacific • The Chinese, Filipinos, Malaysians, and other conquered people were treated with brutality, killing and torture

13. American Involvement • In 1939 the United States declared its neutrality • Even with this stance of neutrality, many still felt sympathetic to the Allied powers • In March 1941, FDR persuaded congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act • This act allowed for him to sell or lend war materials to “any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States” • It allowed the U.S. to supply arms to those were fighting against Nazi oppression

14. American Involvement • When War Broke out in 1939, Japan saw the opportunity to gain resources such as oil, rubber, and tin • Because of Japan’s push into allied states, the U.S. banned the sale of war materials such to Japan • Japan looked at this as a threat to the Japanese economy and its influence • The U.S. and Japan held talks in order to try and ease the growing tension between the two countries

15. American Involvement • On December 7th, 1941, General Tojo ordered a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor • The attack killed 2,400 U.S. citizens and destroyed battleships and aircraft • On this day FDR asked Congress to declare war on Japan • On December 11th, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States • Japan had early success against the U.S. in the Pacific • The Philippines, Hong Kong, Burma, and Malaya all fell to Japan in this time • By 1942 the Japanese empire stretched from Southeast Asia to the western Pacific Ocean