World War II I. Introduction II. German Conquest of Europe III. German Invasion of Russia IV. Japanese Conquests V. Pearl Harbor/ U.S. in WWII VI. Allied Offensive A. Europe B. The Pacific VII. War’s End

WORLD WAR II

German Conquest of Europe Sept. 1, 1939 – Germany invades Poland April 1940 – Denmark, Norway fall to Germany 1940 – Holland, Belgium, France(June 22) under German control. June 10, Mussolini joins Axis Sept – Italy invades Egypt from Libya. German forces must support – Greece, Balkan states, Crete, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, overrun or come under German influence.

Paris falls – June 13, 1940 Vichy France Henri Petain

Battle of Britain July Sept. 1940

London-- East End

Germany Invades Russia -- Lebensraum June 22, 1941 – Operation Barbarossa, Germany’s invasion of Russia begins. Close of 1941 – Moscow and Leningrad under siege. Russia’s 3 great allies: Winter, Space, Human Bodies, give her breathing room million Russians perish in WWII.

Russian Front

U.S. Maintains “Neutrality” Sept Roosevelt, U.S. isolationist, but trade destroyers for bases. Aug. 1941—Congress passes Lend-Lease Act: promises to aid any country whose defense considered vital to U.S. interests, with “all assistance short of war.” (Neutrality stretching thin.)

Japanese Conquests *12/7/41 – Premeditated, sneak attack by Japan on U.S. at Pearl Harbor. *U.S. declares war on Japan. *Germany declares war on U.S.

Japanese Conquest in the Pacific

Allied Offensive in Europe Allies: Great Britain, USSR, Free French, U.S. Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan,Vichy France, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria. Neutral: Spain, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland The low point for allied fortunes. 1943—Allies on offensive. Spring--Axis driven from Africa, Allies invade Sicily, then mainland Italy. June 6, 1944—D-day. Allies land on beaches of Normandy. April 30, 1945—Russian troops enter Berlin, storm Reichstag. Hitler, new bride commit suicide. New leader of Third Reich, Admiral Donitz sues for peace (May 7).

Allies on the Offensive—The Pacific Japanese evicted from Pacific islands 1945—Japanese retreating from Southeast Asia. Push by Allies toward Japanese home islands. 1945—U.S. prepares for invasion of Japan. August 6, 9, 1945—U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (100,000 killed), then Nagasaki. Japan sues for peace on Sept. 2, million Jews killed, million Poles, Russians, other Soviet peoples murdered in “racial cleansing.” WWII claims lives of more than 50 million soldiers and civilians.

Hiroshima

Nagasaki