World War II

Poland

• Blitzkrieg– “Lightening War”

• Poland defeated within weeks

• Soviet Union occupied eastern Poland and invaded Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, & Finland

The Western Front

• Phony War– Oct. 1939- March 1940

• April- May 1940- Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg

Conquest of France• May 1940- Germans attacked

through Ardennes

• Trapped allies escaped at Dunkirk

• Germany conquered Paris

• Italy attacked from the South

• France forced to sign an armistice

• Germany controlled northern 2/3; Vichy government was led by Petain

Battle of Britain

• Great Britain stood alone against Germany

• Winston Churchill had become Prime Minister

• Germany launched an air attack

• British used radar to defend

• The Blitz- German air raids against London

• Germany failed to defeat Britain

Africa

• Sept. 1940- The British defeated Italians in Libya

• Feb. 1941- Germans sent Gen. Rommel; British pushed back toward the Suez canal

• Jan. 1941- British forces helped to overthrow Italian rule in Ethiopia

Eastern Europe

• Hungary, Bulgaria, & Romania joined the Tripartite Pact w/ Germany, Italy, & Japan

• Italians were defeated in Greece

• Yugoslavian government was overthrown for supporting the Axis

• April 1941- Germany conquered Yugoslavia & Greece

Operation Barbarossa

• June 1941- Germany invaded Soviet Union

• Soviets caught off guard

• By Dec.1941, Germans had reached the outskirts of Moscow

US Entry• US helped Britain with supplies

• March 1941- Lend-Lease Act

• Aug. 1941- The Atlantic Charter

• July 1941- Japan conquered French Indo-China

• US condemned Japan & cut off exports of oil & other resources

• Dec. 7, 1941- Japan attacked Pearl Harbor

• US entered WWII

The Pacific• Japan established the Greater Asia

Co-prosperity Sphere

• The Coral Sea (May 1942)

• Midway (June 1942)

• US used “island hopping” strategy

• Aircraft carriers were significant

• Leyte Gulf (Oct. 1944)– US regained the Philippines

The Home Front• Millions of civilian casualties

• Mass migrations

• Created new opportunities for women

• Persecution of ethnic minorities; some groups gained opportunities

• European economies ruined

• US economy booming

• Renewed US interest in Latin America

Victory in Europe

• El Alamein (Oct. 1942)

• Stalingrad (Feb. 1943)

• Leningrad (Jan. 1944)

• Sicily (July 1943)– Mussolini was arrested; Italy joined

the Allies

• Mussolini killed (April 1944)

Victory in Europe (cont.)

• June 6, 1944- D-Day, Allies invasion of Normandy

• By August, Paris was liberated

• Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 1944)

Defeat of Germany

• Spring 1945- Allies entered Germany from East and West

• Soviets entered Berlin

• Hitler committed suicide

• Germany surrendered, but Japan still fighting

Defeat of Japan

• Japan used Kamikaze attacks

• Aug. 1945- US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki

• Japan surrendered; WWII was over

• US occupied Japan