1. THE EUROPEAN THEATER

2.  1937 – Japan joins with Germany and Italy Supposedly to fight communism Created Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis or AXIS POWERS

3.  March 1938 – Hitler forced Austria to unite with Germany Claimed all members of German race belonged to one country  March 1939 – Germany seizes Czechoslovakia  Great Britain and France do nothing

5.  September 1, 1939 – German tanks rolled into Poland  Britain & France declare war on Germany  Hitler conquers Poland in 2 months Declares himself dictator of Third Reich  WORLD WAR II STARTS

7.  Two days after Hitler ordered his armies into Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. The British and French thus ended their policy of “appeasement”  But before the British and French could send help to Poland, the German “blitzkrieg”- lightening war - overran the country

8.  After the fall of Poland, the German war machine swept through northern and western Europe, Denmark and Norway surrendered, then Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. Allied forces in France found themselves in a desperate situation.

10.  Benito Mussolini announced that his country was entering the war on Germany’s side.  May 1940 – Germany crosses over Maginot Line – line of defense along the French border with Germany  Soon afterwards, France surrendered.

11.  Fortifications along French-German border  Troops sent to Belgium border  Germans countered through Ardennes  Italy entered war and invaded France from the South  6/7/40: France surrendered to Germany

13.  Great Britain was the only remaining Allied nation in Western Europe.  May 10, 1940: Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister  June 10: Italy declared war on France and Great Britain

14.  1939: Roosevelt wins bid for 3 rd term  Begins to view U.S. involvement as unavoidable – prepares U.S. defenses for conflict  1940: U.S. supplies flow into Great Britain Britain has no money for war materials  Congress passes LEND-LEASE ACT – lease arms and other supplies to non-Axis countries $7 billion for ships, planes, tanks and other supplies

15.  In July 1940, the “Luftwaffe” – the German air force – began bombing British airfields and ports. Hitler hoped to force the British to surrender. But Prime Minister Winston Churchill vowed that his country would never give up.

19.  Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF), carried on a massive aerial bombardment.  Nightly raids were made on London and other cities. Yet the British kept up a determined resistance.

20.  The RAF shot down more than 2,000 German planes and forced Hitler to abandon his plan for capturing the British isle.  The Battle of Britain, as it came to be known, was one of the turning points of World War II.  Not only was Great Britain saved, but the British showed that the Luftwaffe could be defeated.

21.  Meanwhile, the Germans and Italians gained new territories in Eastern Europe and Africa. Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia joined the Axis Powers.  Hitler sent the “Afrika Korps”, a highly motivated and heavily equipped army under Gen. Erwin Rommel, to help the Italians seize lands in North Africa.

22.  Roosevelt issues “shoot on sight” order to U.S. warships in North Atlantic  Atlantic Charter Roosevelt & Churchill meet in August 1941 Pledge U.S. & Great Britain to forego territorial expansion Affirmed their respect for right of every nation to choose own government Called for freedom of international trade & equal access to raw materials for all countries Once war over – all aggressors disarmed – rid world of fear and want

23.  Joseph Stalin believed that Germany would not invade the Soviet Union until Britain and France had been conquered. Stalin's own calculations, this would not be until the summer of 1942. Then, in the summer of 1941, 3 million Axis troops invaded Russia.

24.  Hitler expected a quick victory that would give him control over Russia’s vast supplies of food, petroleum, and other raw materials.  But as the Russians retreated, they burned or destroyed their own factories, dams, railroads, food supplies, and other resources in order to prevent them from falling into German hands.