World War II

WWII Erupts After WWI, strong dictatorships took hold in Germany, Italy, and Japan Aggressive leaders began to take over countries near them and formed the alliance known as the Axis Powers

The Rise of Dictators Benito Mussolini of Italy Fascist leader (dictator having complete power) Italy invaded other countries under Mussolini                                                              

The Rise of Dictators Adolf Hitler Fascist leader of Germany Leader of the Nazi Party He promised to strengthen Germany’s military and economy He stopped making payments for WWI

The Rise of Dictators Hideki Tojo Prime Minister of Japan under Emperor Hirohito Japan invaded China

Opposing Sides Allied Powers-Great Britain, France, Soviet Union (USSR) and later the United States Axis Powers-Germany, Italy, and Japan

War Begins Germany invaded Poland in 1939 Hitler invaded France and then launched the Battle of Britain in an air campaign

Soviet Union Led by Joseph Stalin On the side of Axis Powers at the beginning of the war Hitler broke their alliance and invaded the Soviet Union Stalin and the Soviets then joined the Allied Powers

United States Most citizens favored isolationism Congress passed the Neutrality Acts to keep U.S. out of war Lend-Lease Act of 1941- let Roosevelt lend allies military supplies German U-boats sank American supply ships Roosevelt gave shoot on sight order

Pearl Harbor Naval base in Hawaii U.S. Pacific fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor Base attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941 2,300 killed and 19 ships destroyed

War United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the United States on December 11th

European Campaign War was fought on three continents: Europe, Africa, and Asia U.S. invaded North Africa in November 1942 U.S. bombed German positions before land attack

D-Day U.S., Great Britain, and other Allied forces attacked Germany on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France Over 600 ships, 175,000 soldiers, and 11,000 airplanes were involved Over 2, 500 U.S. soldiers died on D-Day

D-Day

D-Day

Battle of the Bulge Allied forces moved toward Germany U.S. and Britain pushed to Germany from the East and the Soviet Union pushed from the West Germany made one big push back against the U.S. and Britain at the Battle of the Bulge

War ends in Europe Adolf Hitler commits suicide on April 30, 1945 May 8, 1945, Germany surrenders and this day is called V-E day, for Victory in Europe Allies free millions in concentration camps where 11 million people, including 6 million Jews were killed. This is known as the Holocaust.

War in the Pacific The U.S. strategy for defeating Japan was called “island hopping.” The U.S. would take one island at a time. U.S. bombed major cities in Japan President Truman authorizes use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

War in the Pacific The reason was so the U.S. would not lose thousands, maybe millions with a land attack of Japan Japan surrenders on August 14, 1945. This is known as V-J Day for victory in Japan

Hiroshima                                                                                 

London                                                     

American Japanese Prisoner Camp