1. World War II
Notes

2. State Standard Indicator
7-4.5 Summarize the causes and course of World War II, including drives for empire, appeasement and isolationism, the invasion of
Poland, the Battle of Britain, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the "Final Solution," the Lend-Lease program, Pearl Harbor, Stalingrad, the campaigns in North Africa and the Mediterranean, the D-Day invasion, the island-hopping campaigns, and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

3. A few basics the participants
the Allied Powers – primarily Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States
the Axis Powers – Germany, Italy, and Japan
the time frame – the war lasted from 1939 to 1945
the theaters of war (where it was fought)
European Theater
Eastern Front – Europe east of Germany (mainly Poland, USSR, Finland)
Western Front – primarily consisted of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Germany
North Africa/Mediterranean – mainly Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Italy, the Balkans, and the Middle East
Pacific Theater – Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands

4. Causes of World War II
the outcome of the First World War – specifically the Treaty of Versailles
military aggression by Germany, Italy, and Japan
desire of the Axis Powers to gain large amounts of territory
Hitler’s hatred of the Jews – the Second World War was fought as a cover up to the “real” war – his extermination of the Jews

5. Who’s Who of World War II
Adolf Hitler
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Joseph Stalin
Benito Mussolini
Hideki Tojo
Harry S. Truman
Douglas
MacArthur
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Erwin Rommel
Winston Churchill

6. Douglas MacArthur Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific Theater
famous line: “I shall return.”
oversaw the occupation of Japan after the war

7. Erwin Rommel German Field Marshal
leader of German forces that were defeated in North Africa (Afrikakorps) and at Normandy (Army Group B)
known as the “Desert Fox”

8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Supreme Allied Commander in the European Theater of the war
defeated Rommel in North Africa
architect of Operation Overlord (Normandy invasion/D-Day)

9. Harry S. Truman
Vice President who became President when FDR died in April 1945
oversaw the end of the war
ordered the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

10. Winston Churchill British Prime Minister during World War II
refused to surrender to the Nazis
inspired many Brits to persevere throughout the war

11. War Begins
the war began when Great Britain and France abandoned the policy of appeasement following Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939
during this invasion, Germany came from the west and the Soviet Union, at the time an ally of Germany because of a secret non-aggression pact, came from the east
the Germans used a style of war called blitzkrieg (“lightning war”)

12. The Invasion of Poland

13. The Invasion of Poland

14. The Invasion of Poland

15. War Begins
the war in the Pacific actually began in 1937 when Japan invaded China
despite the passage of several neutrality acts between 1935 and 1937, President Roosevelt knew the U.S. must get involved to prevent the defeat of the Allies
cash and carry (1939)
Lend Lease Act (1941)

16. War Begins
following the invasion of Poland, Hitler took control of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France
he then tried and failed to invade Great Britain
the invasion was known as the Battle of Britain
marked the first defeat for Hitler
British used radar and intercepted German coded messages to help defeat the Luftwaffe (German air force)
in June 1941, Hitler turned from Britain and betrayed his alliance with Stalin (Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact) and attacked the USSR

17. Height of Axis Advance in Europe

18. Battle of Britain

19. Battle of Britain

20. War Begins
Japan invaded French Indochina in 1941, prompting the US to place an oil embargo on Japan to prevent further aggression
part of the Japanese response was the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
this sneak attack brought the United States into the war against both Japan and Germany

21. Pearl Harbor

22. Pearl Harbor 1: USS California (sunk) 2: USS Maryland
3: USS Oklahoma (sunk)
4: USS Tennessee
5: USS West Virginia (sunk)
6: USS Arizona (sunk)
7: USS Nevada
8: USS Pennsylvania
9: Ford Island
10: Hickam Field
Ignored infrastructure targets:
A: Oil storage tanks
B:CINCPAC headquarters building
C: Submarine base
D: Navy Yard

23. USS Oklahoma

24. USS Arizona

25. War in Africa and the Mediterranean
North African Campaign (June 1940-May 1943)
Western Desert Campaign
Operation Torch
Tunisian Campaign
Italian Campaign (July 1943-May 1945)
invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky)
landing at Anzio (Operation Shingle)
Battle of Monte Cassino

26. Normandy Invasion/D-Day
Battle
Date
Theater
Significance
Invasion of Poland
Sept. 1 – Oct. 6, 1939
Battle of Britain
July 10 – Oct. 31, 1940 
Pearl Harbor
Dec. 7, 1941 
Battle of Coral Sea
May 4-8, 1942 
Battle of Midway
June 4-7, 1942 
Battle of Guadalcanal
Aug. 7, 1942 – Feb. 9, 1943 
Battle of Stalingrad
Aug. 23, 1942 – Feb. 2, 1943 
Normandy Invasion/D-Day
June 6, 1944 
Battle of the Bulge
Dec. 16, 1944 – Jan. 25, 1945 
Iwo Jima
Feb. 19 – Mar. 26, 1945 
Okinawa
 April 1 – June 22, 1945
Hiroshima
Aug. 6, 1945 
Nagasaki
Aug. 9, 1945 

27. D-Day Invasion

28. D-Day Invasion

29. The End of the War
on April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt died and Vice President Harry S. Truman became President
following the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans retreated back into Germany and surrendered on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day)
Truman oversaw the end of the war, including the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945 (V-J Day)

30. World War II by the Numbers
the most devastating war in human history
60-80 million people died as a result of the war
23-25 million soldiers
35-47 million civilians
6 million Jews
nearly 22.5 million men were wounded in combat
millions of civilians were homeless, starving, and diseased after the war