1. WORLD WAR II

2. AXIS POWERS ALLIES Germany Great Britain Italy France Japan U.S.S.R.
Bulgaria U.S.A.
Finland China
Hungary
Romania

3. BLITZKRIEG – “Lightning War”
Panzer divisions of 300 tanks are supported by air attack from the Luftwaffe (air force)
Followed by invasion of regular infantry

4. THE PHONY WAR
Sept. 1, 1939: After declaring war on Germany, French & British mobilize armies and station troops along the Maginot Line
Nothing happens for 6 months: “the Phony War”
April 9, 1940: Hitler launches surprise invasion of Denmark & Norway
May 1940: Hitler sweeps through Netherlands, Belgium, & Luxembourg to France

5. MAGINOT LINE
A series of concrete & steel fortresses with heavy artillery along the French/German border

6. DUNKIRK – May 26, - June 4, 1940
German advance on France traps French & British forces on the beaches of Dunkirk
British Royal Navy & civilians send 856 naval & private crafts to evacuate 338,000 Allied troops across the English Channel to Britain
Allies pushed out of Europe – real threat of German invasion of Britain

7. Rescue at Dunkirk

8. THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN “OPERATION SEA LION”
To invade G.B. – Germany Luftwaffe must control the skies – take out RAF, then send 250,000 invasion force
August 1940 – Germany bombs military bases
September – bombs cities
October – May 1940: nightly bombing

9. Bombing of Britain

10. Bombed Out

11. Night Raids

12. Shelters

14. Winston Churchill

15. Queen Mum

16. BRITAIN FIGHTS BACK
Radar: electronic tracking system that can tell number, speed, direction of incoming warplanes
Enigma: German code=making machine smuggled into G.B. allowing them to decode German secret messages
RAF rebuilds & fights back luftwaffe
British people rally
May 10, 1940 Hitler calls off attacks
LESSON LEARNED: HITLER COULD BE STOPPED!

17. Enigma Radar

18. NORTH AFRICA
1940-Mussolini attacks British controlled Egypt (Suez Canal)
British respond by sweeping across N.Africa taking 130,000 Italian prisoners
Hitler sends Gen. Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox” with elite Africa Korps to push Brit’s back

19. Rommel - the “Desert Fox”

20. THE BALKAN’S
Through threat of force, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary join the Axis Powers
Hitler invades Yugoslavia and Greece

21. The Acropolis 1941

22. OPERATION BARBAROSA THE SOVIET UNION
June 22, 1941 – Germans push 500 miles inside S.U.
September 1941: Leningrad is cut off 1mil. Die over winter, but city refuses to fall
October Germans turn to Moscow
German’s in summer uniforms
Hitler orders “no retreat” – German troops hold line against Soviets until March 1943 –
500,000 German troops die

23. German Prisoners of War

24. No Retreat – German Soldiers