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This article explores the causes and characteristics of World War II, including political instability, economic devastation, the rise of fascism, and Hitler's aggressive expansionist policies. It also discusses key events such as the invasion of Poland, the Miracle at Dunkirk, and the Battle of Britain.
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World War II: Causes, Characteristics Mr. Peña AP World History
“Nature is cruel, so we may be cruel, too… I have the right to remove millions of an inferior race that breeds like vermin” -Hitler
CAUSES OF WWII • Political instability & economic devastation • Depression • High war debt owed by Germany • High inflation • Massive unemployment • Rise of Fascism • Fascism = militarist, dictatorial • Germany – Adolf Hitler • Italy – Benito Mussolini • Japan – Hideki Tojo *Became the Axis Powers (Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis)
Rise of Hitler • Nazi Party organized, 1920s • Nazi party largest in Germany, 1932 • Hitler voted as chancellor, 1933 • New parliament created • 450, 000 members • Larger than German army
Benito Mussolini in Italy • Fascist leader who took control of Italy in 1922 • Wanted to create another Roman Empire • Invaded Ethiopia in 1935
Japanese Expansion • Sought total control of Pacific (resources) • 1931- military occupation of Manchuria • 1936- Japan signs Pact with Germany, Italy • Nanking Massacre- December 1937
Immediate Causes of WW II • In Germany Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 as a fascist dictator. • Hitler Hated the Treaty of Versailles and violated it. First he built up the German military. Then he sent troops into the Rhineland. This was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which said in 1919 that Rhineland was a demilitarized zone.
Immediate Causes of WW II • Hitler wanted to conquer whoever he felt was inferior to the Germans or Aryans. He wanted “living space” for the Germans in Eastern Europe. • On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland without a declaration of war. This starts World War II.
Immediate Causes of WW II • Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. • Italy declared war on France and Britain on June 10, 1940.
“Blitzkrieg” • In German blitzkrieg means “lightning war”. • Hitler used blitzkrieg during his invasion of Poland. • Blitzkrieg included surprise attacks, rapid advances into enemy territory, and massive air attacks that struck and shocked the enemy. • Germany achieved most of its victories in World War II with the Blitzkrieg tactic.
“Phony War” • Britain sent troops to wait with the French down behind the Maginot Line. • Reporters called this quiet time of not much action the “phony war”
Maginot Line • The Maginot Line was a defense for France against an invasion of Germany. • The Maginot Line was established after World War I. • The line showed to be little use in 1940 when Germany invaded France for the third time.
“Blitzkrieg: German soldiers being parachuted into Holland - May 10, 1940”
Early Axis Triumphs • In April 1940 the quiet time of the war exploded into action. • Hitler launched a series of blitzkriegs. • Norway and and Denmark both fell. • Germany had overrun the Netherlands and Belgium. • Germany along with Italy forced France to surrender.
Hitler’s Major Blunder • The Germans invaded France in May 1940. • Retreating Allied forces made it to Dunkirk and found themselves trapped between the advancing Nazis and the English Channel. The British sent every boat they could get across the English Channel to pick up troops off the beaches of Dunkirk.
Miracle at Dunkirk • The event at Dunkirk is called a miracle because the retreating allies had lost hope and then the British pulled through for them and rescued 338,000 men.
France Surrenders (June 22, 1940) • On June 22, 1940 France signs an armistice with Germany in occupied France. • An armistice is a cease fire or a truce. • The Franco-German Armistice divided France into two zones. One zone was under German military occupation and the other was under French control. • In 1942 Germans occupied all of France
Battle of Britain • The Germans developed two plans to take Britain • Operation Sea Lion, an amphibious landing on the British coast • A great air offensive to gain air superiority and destroy the British industrial base • “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’” (Winston Churchill)
WAR IN THE PACIFIC • Japanese aggression in the East (China) • December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor • U.S. attacked without warning • U.S. declared war on Japan • Germany declared war on the United States
World War II in the PacificJapan mounted combined operations in 1941 in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and across the Pacific, opening a war front from the borders of India to Hawaii. This supremely aggressive move was meant to secure the resources and markets needed to sustain the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.” It proved impossible to defend: Chinese resistance, a daring US island-hopping campaign in the Pacific—culminating in the explosion of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki—and Soviet assaults on Manchuria defeated Japan completely.
The Eastern Front (in Europe) • Hitler had strategic and ideological reasons for invading Russia • Strategically he knew that the Soviet Union and the US were critical to Britain’s willingness to keep fighting • He also felt he needed the agricultural and raw material resources of Eastern Russia • Ideologically he viewed the Soviet Union as an amalgamation of his greatest enemies, the Jews and the Slavs
Operation Barbarossa • Hitler based his plan on the assumption he could destroy the Soviet Union within one year • Critical to his success would be to catch and destroy the Soviet Army at the border areas • If that did not occur, the Russians could use their vast territory to trade space for time and cause the Germans huge logistical problems
Operation Barbarossa • On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded Russia in Operation Barbarossa • The operation encompassed a total troop strength of about 4 million men, making it the biggest single land operation ever • Benefiting from initial surprise, by the end of July Hitler had occupied a portion of Russia twice the size of France
Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow • Despite dropping temperatures and critical supply shortages, the German high command pressed on with the attack • The German soldiers were still in summer uniforms and suffered terribly German soldier during the battle of Moscow
Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow • By Dec 4 the Germans had clawed their way to Moscow’s outskirts, but they could not continue • That night temperatures were -25 degrees Fahrenheit • One infantry regiment suffered 300 frostbite casualties • On Dec 6 the Soviets counterattacked
Stalingrad (1942) • On June 28 the Germans launched their summer offensive • The Germans made good headway with one advance moving east toward Stalingrad and the Volga River and another moving south into the Caucasus • In August Hitler’s erratic attention swung from the Caucasus to Stalingrad
Stalingrad • On Aug 24 the Germans attacked Stalingrad’s suburbs and began fighting their way into the city • Hitler began shifting forces from the Caucasus to Stalingrad • The nature of the urban fighting favored the defenders and the Soviets mounted a stubborn defense • Stalingrad began to drain the German army but Hitler would not back off
Stalingrad • On Nov 19 the Soviets launched a massive counterattack north of Stalingrad • Hitler’s overly centralized and completely out-of-touch command system broke down in the face of the Soviet onslaught • The Soviets encircled Stalingrad and Hitler ordered his commanders to stand fast anyway • By this point in the war, no one was willing to confront Hitler
Stalingrad (1943) • All attempts to breakout or break through failed and on Feb 2 the Germans surrendered • Out of 250,000 soldiers trapped in the Stalingrad pocket, approximately 90,000 became prisoners • Barely 5,000 survived the war German POWs
The Eastern Front • Ultimately enormous logistical shortcomings made Barbarossa a failure • Germany proved capable of fighting battles very well, but was less capable of fighting a war of prolonged duration • In the total four years of fighting on the Eastern Front, an estimated 4 million Axis and 9 million Russians were killed in battle • 20 million Soviet civilians were killed as a result of extermination campaigns against Jews, communists and partisans, casual massacres, reprisal killings, diseases, and (sometimes planned) starvation.
