WW2 study guide

a. Blitzkrieg

A fast, surprise military attack strategy used by Germany, meaning "lightning war," combining air raids, tanks, and infantry.

b. Self-determination

The right of people to choose their own government and political status.

c. Rhineland

A demilitarized region of Germany along the French border; Hitler remilitarized it in 1936, violating the Treaty of Versailles.

d. Appeasement

A policy of giving in to an aggressor’s demands to avoid conflict; Britain and France used it with Hitler before WWII.

e. Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union during WWII; totalitarian communist dictator.

f. Adolf Hitler

Nazi dictator of Germany who started WWII by invading Poland and was responsible for the Holocaust.

g. Benito Mussolini

Fascist leader of Italy during WWII; allied with Hitler as part of the Axis Powers.

h. Franklin Roosevelt

U.S. President during most of WWII; led the country through the Great Depression and WWII until his death in 1945.

i. Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during most of WWII; famous for his leadership and speeches.

RAF (Royal Air Force)

The British air force that defended the UK during the Battle of Britain.

k. Luftwaffe

The German air force during WWII.

l. Scorched-earth policy

Military strategy of destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy; used by the Soviets when retreating from the Germans.

m. Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan; the alliance that opposed the Allies.

n. Allied Powers

Main countries were the U.S., the UK, the Soviet Union, France, and China.

o. Miracle of Dunkirk

Massive evacuation of over 300,000 Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, France, in 1940 under enemy fire.

p. D-Day

June 6, 1944; Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France at Normandy; marked the turning point in Western Europe.

q. Pearl Harbor

Surprise Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941; led to the U.S. entering WWII.

2. What areas did Germany occupy before war was declared on them?

Germany occupied the Rhineland, Austria (Anschluss), and the Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia).

3. Why were Germany’s losses at Stalingrad made even greater?

Harsh winter conditions, Soviet counterattacks, and Hitler’s refusal to allow retreat led to massive German casualties and the surrender of an entire army.

4. What happened to Mussolini when the Allies invaded Italy?

He was overthrown and arrested; later rescued by Germans, but eventually captured and executed by Italian partisans in 1945.

5. Where were the atomic bombs dropped?

On the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945).

6. Why were the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway significant?

Coral Sea (May 1942): First air-sea battle; stopped Japanese advance on Australia. Midway (June 1942): Turning point in the Pacific; major U.S. victory that crippled Japan’s navy.

What event began WWII?

Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.

8. What countries make up Scandinavia?

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.