WORLD WAR TWO THE GLOBAL WAR

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WORLD WAR TWOTHE GLOBAL WAR
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• Nazi Germany reached the peak of its success at
  the end of 1941. In 1942 the tide began to turn.
  
• Between 1943 and 1945 the German armies were on
  retreat on three main fronts the south, the east
  and the west.
• Map

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• The German armies were driven back by three
  allies.
• One was Britain, which had been at war with
  Germany since 1939.
• Another was the Soviet Union, invaded by Germany
  in 1941.
• The third was the United States, which entered
  the war in 1941.

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TASKS

• Your task will be to complete a detailed time
  line of events on a global scale during World War
  Two.
• On your time line you will be marking events from
  four different parts of the world
• The Southern front Africa and Italy
• The Eastern front in Europe including Russia
• The Western Front in Europe including France
• Far East and Burma
• The events you will need to put on your time line
  are highlighted.
• Colour code your time line using four different
  colours for the four areas of the world. You
  also need to explain why that particular event
  was significant.

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THE SOUTHERN FRONT

• Hitler's ally, Mussolini, brought Italy into the
  war in 1940. Italian troops in North Africa were
  quickly defeated by the British, and Hitler had
  to send a German army under Rommel in February
  1941.
• At first Rommel won a number of important
  victories and advanced through North Africa to El
  Alamein.

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THE BEGINNING OF THE END

• Months of fighting had reduced Rommels forces to
  2 000 men and about 65 tanks.
• General Montgomery was in command at the Battle
  of El Alamein in October 1942. He gathered a
  force superior to the Germans and forced them to
  retreat.

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AL ALAMEIN

• The battle marked the beginning of the end for
  Rommel and the Italian army in north Africa.
• It prevented Egypt and the Suez canal from
  falling into German hands.
• Meanwhile, the Americans were also moving across
  to North Africa, and in 1943 the Allies were
  ready to move onto their next target Sicily and
  Italy.
• Go to interactive map. - http//www.bbc.co.uk/hist
  ory/war/wwtwo/launch_ani_el_alamein.shtml

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THE SOFT UNDERBELLY OF THE AXIS

• This is how Churchill described Italy. What did
  he mean?
• British and US troops advanced rapidly from
  Sicily to mainland Italy.
• In September 1943 the Italian government
  surrendered.
• Mussolini fled to the north, where he set up a
  small puppet state under German protection.
• He was captured and shot by Italian partisans in
  1945.
• Hyperlink to - http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/ww
  two/launch_ani_campaign_maps.shtml

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THE EASTERN FRONT

• The bitterest fighting and heaviest losses of the
  war occurred in the East.
• The Germans had cut through the Russian defences
  in 1941 but were eventually held at Stalingrad.
• Soviet and German troops fought for over a year
  in the rubble of the Stalingrad.
• In February 1943 the German commander von Paulus,
  surrendered Stalingrad.
• Stalingrad was one of the most important battles
  of the second world war and was followed by
  another Soviet victory in the tank battle at
  Kursk in July 1943.

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• The German troops were driven steadily out of the
  Soviet Union from the late 1943 onwards.
• In 1944 Soviet troops liberated south-eastern
  Europe, and then Poland and Hungary.
• In Spring 1945 Marshal Zhukov captured Berlin.
• Hitler committed suicide in an underground bunker
  within earshot of the Russian guns.

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THE WESTERN FRONT

• When the US entered the war, plans were drawn up
  to invade France.
• In June 1944 Operation Overlord was eventually
  launched hyperlink to - http//www.bbc.co.uk/his
  tory/war/wwtwo/launch_ani_campaign_maps.shtml
• British and US troops, under the leadership of
  General Eisenhower, landed in Normandy and, two
  months later, in southern France.
• They gradually pushed the German armies back
  across the Rhine and in 1945 penetrated the Third
  Reich from the west as Soviet forces entered it
  from the east..

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THE WAR IN JAPAN

• Japan was a small nation with a strong military
  history.
• In 1936 she had invaded China and later French
  Indo China.
• This action brought Japan in conflict with the
  US, who set up a trade ban on Japan.
• The East Indies became an obvious target for
  Japan as the region was rich in oil.

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PEARL HARBOUR

• On 7th December 1941 Japanese forces attacked
  Pearl Harbour, sinking 5 battleships and
  destroying 188 planes.
• On 8th December 1941 the USA, Britain and several
  other allied countries declared war on Japan.

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THE JAPANESE INVADE BURMA

• The Japanese were well prepared and gained a
  number of rapid victories in the Far East.
• In December 1941 Japan invaded Malaya, Thailand,
  the Philippines and Hong Kong.
• By 15th May 1942 Burma was completely controlled
  by the Japanese.

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THE ALLIED FIGHT BACK IN BURMA

• In October 1942 allied troops began their fight
  back against the Japanese in Burma and launched
  the ARAKAN CAMPAIGN.
• It took several years, but by march 1944 Allied
  attacks at last became successful.
• On the 19th March 1945 Mandalay was recaptured.
  - hyperlink to - http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/
  wwtwo/launch_ani_campaign_maps.shtml

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JAPANESE SURRENDER

• On the 3rd May Rangoon was back in Allied hands
  and the remaining Japanese fled east through
  Thailand.
• On the 6th August the first atomic bomb was
  dropped on Hiroshima, followed by Nagasaki on 9th
  August.
• On the 14th August 1945 the Japanese surrendered
  to the Allies.

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GROUP PRESENTATION

• In groups you are going to be given one of the
  important global battles of the war to research.
  You will then present your findings to the rest
  of the class.