World War II

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World War II

• An Overview

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Europe WWII Map
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Timeline of Major Events 1939-1945

• World War II Timeline 1939-1945
• September 1938- Munich Pact
• March 1939- Hitler invades/Conquers rest of
  Czechoslovakia
• August 1939- Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
• September 1939- Invasion of Poland by Hitler
• Britain and France declare war on Germany
• April 1940 - Blitzkrieg-Norway, Denmark fall to
  Germans
• Netherlands and Belgium soon fall as well
• June 1940 -France Falls to Hitler
• 1941- Axis powers (mostly Germany) control most
  of W.
  
• Europe
• June 1941 - Operation Barbarossa-Conquest of
  Soviet Union
• Sept 1941 - 2 ½ year siege of the City of
  Leningrad begins
• Dec. 1941 - The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the
  Japanese
• May 1942 - Japanese control Philippines (Bataan
  DeathMarch)
• June 1942 - Battle of Midway (Island Hopping
  Campaign)
• 
  Recapture S. Pacific Islands
  
• Early 1943 - Germans surrender at Stalingrad
• May 1943 - Allies trap Rommel and Germans in N.
  Africa

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Nazi Invasion of France May-June 1940

• In just over 1 month, France would fall to Hitler
  and German Nazi forces
• Almost 400,000 French soldiers were killed and
  another 1.5 million captured, while only 35,000
  German troops lost their lives
• An armistice signed on June 22nd effectively left
  the Nazis in control of most of France
• A French Vichy Government, under German control,
  would rule the rest of France

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French Resistance 1940-44

• "whatever happens, the flame of French Resistance
  must not and will not be extinguished."
• Charles De Gaulle, French General
• L'esprit de la Résistance
• French men and women would form underground
  resistance groups to slow down/impede Nazi
  aggression
• By 1943, the eight major resistance groups would
  form the Conseil National de la Resistance (CNR)
• A group known as the Musée de L'Homme would print
  newspapers and leaflets to help hide French POWs

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Women involved with the Resistance
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Success of the French Resistance

• The German Gestapo would execute or terrorize
  anyone suspected of being involved in the
  resistance movement.
• This would not stop its success, however, which
  also helped the US and other troops storm the
  beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6th, 1944

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The Bombing of Pearl HarborDecember 7, 1941

• Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which
  will live in infamy, the United States of America
  was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
  and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
• Frankilin Delano Roosevelt

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D-DAY June 6th, 1944

• General Dwight D. Eisenhower (USA) organizes an
  invasion of 176,000 troops into France
• 2 million troops, using Great Britain as a
  massive base, would be involved
• The Allied Victory would lead to the freeing of
  France and eventual defeat of Nazi Germany

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Battle of the BulgeDecember 16, 1944 to January
25, 1945

• The largest land battle of World War II,
  involving over 1 million German, American, and
  British soldiers
• The Ardennes Offensive on the German/Belgium
  border would be Hitlers last attempt at pushing
  Allied soldiers back
• By surprising the Allies with such force, a
  Bulge was created in the Allies front lines
• The German success lasted only two days, and
  Germans would run out of fuel, abandoning their
  posts in the snowy winter
• May 8th, 1945 (V-E Day) Allied troops had
  achieved victory in Europe

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Other Major BattlesThe Siege of Leningrad

• The 900-Day siege of the Russian City of
  Leningrad was perhaps the worst/costliest battle
  of WWII
• Beginning in September 1941, German troops would
  cut-off the 3.3 million residents of Leningrad
• Many were able to escape, but others were forced
  to survive on wallpaper paste, leather belts
  (jellied meats), cats, dogs, and even dead
  humans.
• Although more than 1 million residents died
  during the siege, the Russians were able to
  defend their city.

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Island Hopping Campaign

• Known as the War in the Pacific, this Allied
  offensive led by General Douglas Macarthur, would
  lead to victory against the Japanese
• By May 1942, Japan had gained control of the
  Philippines and many other islands and areas in
  the Pacific and Southeast Asia
• From a victory at Guadalcanal to the Battle at
  Midway and a recapture of the Philippines,
  Japanese forces were pushed back (but refused to
  surrender)

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Bataan Death March

• Treatment of all Prisoners during the war was
  varied
• Perhaps some of the cruelest examples include
  German Concentration Camps, United States
  internment camps, and the Bataan Death March
• International Law created by the United Nations
  would work to prevent inhumane treatment of POWs
  in the future

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Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima Aftermath
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• August 6, 1945 Four square miles of Hiroshima
  and 70,000 people are instantly destroyed
• On August 9, 1945, Americans dropped a second
  atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki
• By August 10th, Emperor Hirohito forced the
  government to surrender (an action unheard of in
  Japanese history and culture)
• A debate continues today over the decision by
  President Harry Truman to use atomic bombs versus
  an invasion in Japan