Introduction to World War II

1
Introduction to World War II

• It began in 1939 as a European conflict between
  Germany and an Anglo-French coalition, but
  eventually included most of the nations of the
  world. It ended in 1945 as the most destructive
  war in human history, leaving a new world order
  dominated by the U.S. and the USSR.

2
The War Begins

• In the early morning hours of Sept. 1, 1939, the
  German armies marched into Poland. On September 3
  the British and French surprised Hitler by
  declaring war on Germany, but they had no plans
  for rendering active assistance to the Poles.

3
Germanys Invasion

• Germany invades Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands,
  Belgium, Luxembourg, and France in the spring of
  1940
• Japan joins the Axis on September 27, 1940

4
Attack on U.S. Soil

• The U.S joins the war on December 8th, 1941 after
  Japan attacks the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor
• In a raid lasting less than two hours, they sank
  four battleships and damaged four more. The
  Japanese attack brought the U.S. into the war on
  December 8and brought it in determined to fight
  to the finish. Germany and Italy declared war on
  the U.S. on December 11.

5
Pearl Harbor Casualties

• 2,335 military and 68 civilians killed
• 1,143 military and 35 civilians wounded
• 4 battleships sunk
• 4 battleships damaged
• 3 cruisers damaged
• 3 destroyers sunk
• 2 other ships sunk
• 188 planes destroyed
• 155 planes damaged
• 29 planes destroyed
• 55 airmen killed
• 5 midget submarines sunk
• 9 submariners killed and 1 captured

6
January 1942

• Hitlers Final Solution is secretly announced
  at a conference of Nazi officials
• Europes Jews are to be exterminated
• Construction of death camps, equipped with gas
  chambers and huge incinerators for mass killing
  and cremation begins in Poland

7
D-Day

• After years of planning, the invasion of Europe
  had been set for June 5th, 1944.
• But then, everything had to be stopped. Weather
  reports over the coast of Normandy were terrible,
  and the invasion would have to be delayed for 24
  hours. The forecast for the next day, June 6th,
  was still not good, but it was better, and every
  moment of delay now reduced the chance of
  catching the Germans by surprise. Eisenhower gave
  the order to sail.
• The Allies have successfully established a
  lodgment area in Occupied Europe. Although not
  all objectives have been secured, the landings
  have been a success.
• By the end of D-Day, the Allies had landed
  130,000 troops by sea and 29,000 troops by air.
  Determined resistance, German counter-attacks and
  bottlenecks at beach exits prevented the Allies
  achieving all objectives.

8
Germanys Surrender

• May 8th, 1945, Germany surrenders to the Allies
• August 14th, 1945, Japan surrenders to the United
  States after the dropping of atomic bombs on
  Hiroshima and Nagasaki

9
Casualties

• WWII was the single deadliest conflict the world
  has ever seen, causing many tens of millions of
  deaths.

10
Credits

• www.history.com
• AP Photo Archive