WW II Causes and Progress in the European Theatre 1938-1941

Black Text = Pre War ElementsRed Text = Major Events as dictated by standards

Blue Text = Explanation, notes – some more than standards dictateGreen Text = Hyperlinks to video and maps

Some videos will appear or play on clickThe Animated Map is another PPt and must be closed to return to this one

CW Miller

Causes of WW II 1 of 3

Problems left over from WW I

• Germany was bitter over its treatment following WW I

• A worldwide depression added to the poverty already affecting many nations. People looked to strong leaders to restore order and provide jobs

Causes of WW II2 of 3

Rise of Dictators

• Powerful leaders gained control of Italy, Germany and Japan

• Joseph Stalin became dictator of the Soviet Union. His secret agreement with Hitler to invade Poland enabled Germany to force WW II. (Stalin and Hitler signed a non-aggression

agreement which divided Poland between Germany and the U.S.S.R. on the promise that Stalin would not try to stop Hitler from taking Poland)

Causes of WW II3 of 3

Military Aggression• Japan Invaded Manchuria and China• Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union took

part in the Spanish Civil War in which they tested new strategies and weapons and seasoned their armies.

• Italy seized control of Ethiopia and Albania• Germany took over Austria and

Czechoslovakia

Major Events Pre-WW II

1938 anschluss of Austria Hitler wanted to add all German speaking people to his Reich. Alliance between Austria and Germany had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.

1938 Hitler takes the Sudetenland (Appeased by Chamberlain in the Munich Pact . Britain and France were willing to appease Hitler to avoid another terrible war. The United States remained isolated.)

Czechoslovakia was a new country carved out of the old empires by the Treaty of Versailles and contained ethnic Germans in the border area called the Sudeten.

1938 Hitler takes of all of Czechoslovakia (Within months Hitler moves into Prague and takes all of defenseless Czechoslovakia.)

Sept 1, 1939 – Hitler invades Poland (Uses division of Germany and problems of German speaking people in Poland as an excuse to attack.)

Poland Video click on box

Click map to enlarge

European Theatre

Major Events WW IISept. 3, 1939 - WW II begins when Britain

declares war on GermanyBritain gave Germany an ultimatum to leave Poland by Sept. 3 or Britain

would enter the war. Do you think Hitler believed Britain would go to war? Why or Why not?

Movement from Poland to Dunkirk

• Hitler's armies are able to conquer Poland, Denmark, Norway.

• The allies are hurrying to put together a military to stop him they

have not been rebuilding from WW I and the depression, not preparing

for war as have the Axis.

• In order to attack France, Hitler sends his armies through

Netherlands, and Belgium avoiding French and British fortifications along the French/German border.

Animated Map of WW II Europe.ppt

Major Events of WW II

• Hitler attacks France and traps British and French Troops between two of his armies. Dunkirk Trap Map

• By all out military and civilian efforts the core of the British army is saved along with a number of French troops.

• The British were forced back to the sea but held off the Germans long enough for nearly 350,000 British and French troops to escape to England on any kind of vessel that would float.

• The battle was significant because, although Britain lost much equipment, it was able to save its army. The rescue by so many civilians demonstrated the British spirit which will sustain them through WW II.

Also called The Miracle at Dunkirk (Dunkerque), and named Operation Dynamo by the British

May 27, 1940 Dunkirk

Dunkirk Video click box

Fall of FranceThis entire slide is not considered a major event by our standards

After Dunkirk Hitler pushes on to Paris and then the rest of France. Within seven weeks Hitler controls all of France.

The Armistice between France and Germany divided France into two zones: one to be under German military occupation and one to be left to the French in full sovereignty, at least nominally. The unoccupied zone, known as Vichy France, comprised the southeastern two-fifths of the country

France Surrender Video click box

Battle of Britain

In August 1940 Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to bomb Britain into surrendering

Britain suffered greatly as major civilian populations were bombed. Children were sent from cities to live in the countryside. People slept in subways as bomb shelters.

Churchill retaliated by having the RAF strike back at Germany to let Hitler know he would not be intimidated.

Pilots from defeated Czechoslovakia and Poland fought with the RAF. Volunteer pilots from the United States, the Eagle Squadron, also fought with the RAF – the United States was not yet in the war.

The Battle of Britain was important because• It was the first time Hitler had been stopped• It gave Europe Hope• It saved Britain

Battle of Britain click box

Battle of Britain - Summer, 1940

Battle of Britain - Summer, 1940

Battle of Britain - Summer, 1940

'We shall fight on the beaches ...‘, June 4, 1940'... We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender ...'

Winston Churchill, British Prime

Minister

Click for Beaches Speech

Click for another Churchill speech

Hitler Attacks The Soviet Union

• June 22nd, 1941 – Over three million soldiers of the Wehrmacht invade the Soviet Union

• Soviet soldiers caught off guard are either killed, captured or found deserting

Attack on Russia

Operation Barbarossa When Hitler could not break Great Britain, he decided to attack Russian and finish his conquest of Europe, then return to Great Britain. He believed no one would be left to help Great Britain.

Leningrad

• Beginning in Sept. 1941, Army Group North besieges the city of Leningrad

• Siege lasts over 900 days, lifted by the Soviets in Jan. 1944

• Over 1 million Soviet citizens perished from bombardment or starvation

• Stopped Hitler in the North

Battle of Stalingrad

• Stalingrad starting with massive bombardment• The ruined city plays to Soviets’ advantage, supplying many areas to hide• Bitter street fighting ensues, leaving the Germans virtually stranded in the city through the Russian winter• This began Hitler’s defeat in Europe as the Russians began to push back.

American Neutrality

• The United States condemned Hitler’s aggression but refused to enter the fighting.• The Senate went so far as to pass Neutrality Acts to keep the United States out of the war.• President Roosevelt believed that neutrality encouraged aggression.

• FDR changed the Neutrality Acts through a “cash and carry” plan, in which the U.S. sold arms to the Allies, but they had to carry them away on their own ships.• When Britain could no longer afford the cash and carry plan the United States passed the Lend Lease Act

Remember the note that fascists viewed negotiation as weakness and only would respond to strength.

Over the course of the war, over $51 billion worth of supplies were shipped to allies all over the world: Great Britain ($31 billion) and the Soviet Union ($11 billion) received the bulk of the American-made goods.

1941 – When Germany launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. The U.S. decided to extend Lend-Lease aid to the Soviets as well.

Click video to view Lend Lease

American Neutrality

American Neutrality

Meanwhile, the U.S. prepared for war by setting up the first ever peacetime draft in U.S. history.

Pearl Harbor • American neutrality ends on December 7, 1941, whenJapan attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.• Approximately 2,400 Americans were killed and most the Pacific fleet was destroyed.

• The U.S. declared war on Japan the following day, officially entering World War II.

Dunkirk Click Flag to Return

Attack on RussiaAttack on Russia Click Flag to Return