Waging Global War

World War II

Key Questions

1. How did the American people and government respond to the international crises of the 1930’s?

2. What are the major phases of WWII?

Early Stages ofWar

Axis Victories Allied Victories

Beginning of theBattle of Britain

Aug 1940

Germany invades PolandSept 1, 1939

UK & France declare waron GermanySept 3, 1939

Japan attacks PearlHarbor

Dec 7, 1941Yalta ConferenceFeb 4-11, 1945

1939 1940 19421941 1943 1944 1945

German-Soviet Pact of

Non-AgressionAug 23, 1939

Beginning ofGerman

offensive inthe West

May 10, 1940

German ArmyInvasion of

RussiaJune 22, 1941

Ally invasionin Algeria and

Morocco

Allied invasionof South of

FranceAug 15, 1944

Battle ofStalingrad

Feb 2, 1943

AlliedInvasion ofNormandy

June 6, 1944

Atom Bombdropped onHiroshima

Aug 6, 1945

Germanysurrenders

May 7-8, 1945

Japansurrenders

Sept 2,1945

I. Timeline: major phases of World War II

The Expansion of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in Europe 1939-1942

Liberation of Europe by the Allies 1942-1945

American Mood: No More War

• Concerned with rising fascism but determined not to be pulled into another war

• Viewed involvement in WWI as a mistake

• Congress passes the Neutrality Acts 1935-1937

Neutrality Acts 1935, 1936, 1937

• If there’s a war, restrictions automatically take effect

• Americans could not: – sail on belligerent country’s ships,– sell weapons– lend money (regardless if aggressor or victim nations)

Hesitant Responses to the Fascist Challenge

Stage 1: Axis VictoriesA. Axis offensives in Europe

1938-1939 The Gathering Storm

• 1939 Hitler seizes the remainder of Czechoslovakia

• Threatens to attack Poland• Signs Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact– ensures Russian neutrality during German

invasion of Poland in exchange for territory in Finland & Baltic states

• Americans grow alarmed, some push for more active American role– FDR agrees but not Congress

War Begins – Hitler’s Belligerency and US’s Neutrality

• September 1, 1939 - Hitler invades Poland–WWII begins

• Britain and France in need of weapons

• US passes Neutrality Act 1939– European democracies can buy weapons

on a Cash & Carry basis– US is no longer truly neutral

Axis Victories continued

• France and Great Britain declare war on Germany but no combat until spring

• After victory Poland, Nazi Germany attacks Northern and Western Europe (April 1940)

• Blitzkrieg (lightning war) enables quick victories over Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium

The Fall of France• June 1940, France falls

to Hitler• Armistice signed June

22nd

• Demarcation line between Occupied France (north) and “Free” France (south under Vichy)

• England stands alone in Europe

• US begins building its military

• September 6, 1940– 1st Peace-time

conscription law passed in the U.S.

Marshal Petain, head of the French state established at the spa town of Vichy, shaking hands with Hitler.

Charles de Gaulle accompanies King George VI in an inspection of Free French troops, summer 1940.

The English Campaign• August 1940 Germany bombs

England in preparation for an invasion (The Blitz)

• Hitler’s systemic bombing fails to overcome British resistance led by Winston Churchill

• Hitler renounces a land invasion

Bolstering Britain with the Destroyer Deal (1940)

• “Fortress of America” or Help to Britain?• Committee to Defend America– Favors aiding allies (Weapons, money, etc.)

• America First Committee– Against American involvement

• September 1940, Roosevelt gives UK ships from WWI in return for bases

• Most Americans favored any aid necessary, short of war

• Video: London Blitz & US Isolationism

Congress passes the Lend Lease Act

• What was it?– March, 1941– Send supplies to victims of aggression– “Billions not bodies”– FDR: like lending a neighbor a garden hose

Video: Lend lease, The Roosevelts

• Seen as an economic declaration of war• Officially marked the end of neutrality– Germany begins sinking US ships

B. The War goes Global• Conflict extends to the

Mediterranean• Axis powers attempt to cut off UK

access to Suez Canal and oil supplies in Middle East to isolate India

• Axis push UK out of Egypt• Germans take Yugoslavia & Greece in

April 1941

Hitler’s Assault on the Soviet Union

• June 22, 1941 - Operation Barbarossa

The Russian counterattack of December used troops trained and equipped to operate in the sub-zero conditions. German commanders were badly shaken, and Hitler assumed personal command of the army, ordering his men to hold on regardless of cost.

Other Russian Tactics included:• Destroying all resources (burning crops, etc) while

retreating• Dismantling and transporting factories East as

retreated• Trained Partisan groups prepared to enter fighting

Atlantic Charter

– Roosevelt and Churchill meet• Stalin not invited

– Outline goals for postwar world– No territorial changes– New League of Nations

Video: Atlantic Charter The Roosevelts

US Destroyers and Hitler’s U-Boat Clash

• July 1941, FDR decides US ships will escort Lend-Lease supplies to Iceland– Roosevelt orders a “shoot on sight”

policy

• November 1941–Merchant ships can be legally armed

HOMEWORK

Reading MaterialMastering Modern World History

Part I. War and International Relations

Chapter 6 The Second World War, 1939-1945 (pp. 89- 95)