1. Reasons for World War II
-Treaty of Versailles
-Fascism
-Failure of the League of Nations
-Japanese imperialism
-Economic problems worldwide
depression

2. **Once Hitler realized he could not take Britain he focused on
an attack on Russia.
-invades Russia in 1941
-wins at first
-underestimated the Russian winter
-Germans lacked supplies and equipment to deal with the
extreme cold
**Eventually the Russians began to fight back and started to push the Germans back.

3. Cornelia Fort
-Tennessean flight instructor in Hawaii
-in the air when Japanese hit Pearl Harbor
-flew military aircraft for the U.S.
-died in a mid-air collision when
another plane’s landing gear
clipped her plane
-first American woman to die on
active military duty

4. Cordell Hull
-Tennessean
-longest serving Secretary of State ( )
-helped establish the United Nations
-Japanese ambassadors were waiting to meet with Hull
as he gets news of Pearl Harbor attack.

5. Italy
*Soon the Allies began to focus on Italy.
-launched from the island of Sicily
-Italian government removes Mussolini from power
-Allies take the Italian mainland
-Stalin gets angry that Allies first went to Italy instead of coming
to help him fight against Hitler.

6. **While the German advance into Russia was slowed down, the Germans were able to take key cities in Soviet Union.
*Stalingrad
-one of Russia’s largest industrial cities
-named after Stalin
-one of the most brutal battles of the war
-city bombed to rubble
-Stalin refuses to surrender the city of his namesake
-Russians eventually push back Germans

7. D-Day
-June 6, 1944
-Allies land on shores of Normandy, France
-lead by General Dwight B. Eisenhower
-American and Allies forces met heavy resistance
but pushed back German Army
-The “D” doesn’t stand for anything

8. 101st Airborne
-Home station Fort Campbell, KY (near Clarksville, TN)
-trained at Fort Bragg, NC then in England
-first Americans to set foot in occupied France
-paratroopers mark drop zones and landing zones
-set up radio beacons to guide aircraft

9. Battle of the Bulge
**After D-Day, Allied troops pushed from both the west and
east towards Germany.
-Hitler orders a last massive assault in Dec. 1944
-German advance creates a “bulge” in Allied lines

10. V-E Day
**With the Soviets and Allied forces pushing on Germany from both
sides, Hitler took his own life in a underground bunker in Berlin.
**In April of 1945, Soviet and American troops met in Berlin.
**Berlin and Germany surrendered that same day.
**Finally in May of 1945 Germany officially surrender to the allies. May 8, 1945 was officially called V-E Day. (Victory in Europe Day)

11. Fighting in the Pacific
**It was very difficult for the Allies in the Pacific at first
-Japanese better equipped and fighting closer to home
-Japanese force U.S. out of Philippines (Bataan Death march)

12. Battle of Midway
**Midway island was a U.S. stronghold in the middle of the
Pacific.
-allies sank four Japanese carriers and severely
weakened the Japanese navy
-was turning point for war in Pacific

13. Iwo Jima **Although the allies had achieved victory in Europe there
was still fighting in the Pacific.
-regular bombing raids over Japan
-America needed bases closer to Japan
-Americans land of Iwo Jima (750 miles from Tokyo
-Fighting on Iwo Jima was fierce and over 7,000
Americans and 20,000 Japanese died.

14. The Tuskegee airmen
-first black servicemen to serve as military aviators in the U.S. armed forces
-flew with distinction during World War II.
-successes pave way for the integration of the U.S. armed forces under President Harry Truman in 1948.