9. WWII

Blitzkrieg

“Lightning War” – German military strategy involving fast-moving tanks and air strikes to overwhelm enemies quickly.

Sitzkrieg

“Sitting War” – The period of inactivity on the Western Front after the fall of Poland and before the invasion of Norway in April 1940.

Phony War

Another name for the Sitzkrieg – no major fighting occurred between Germany and the Western Allies.

Fall of France (May 10, 1940)

Germany invades France, leading to French surrender and the creation of Vichy France, a German puppet state.

Neville Chamberlain

British Prime Minister before WWII; known for his policy of appeasement toward Hitler.

Winston Churchill

Replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister; led Britain through its darkest and most victorious moments in WWII.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd U.S. President; led the U.S. through the Great Depression and most of WWII.

Joseph Stalin

Dictator of the Soviet Union; signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler but later joined the Allies after Germany’s invasion.

Battle of Britain

Air campaign waged by Germany’s Luftwaffe against Britain; Britain’s RAF successfully defended the skies.

Erwin Rommel

German general known as the “Desert Fox”; led the Afrika Korps in North Africa.

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

The Allied invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944; began the liberation of Western Europe.

Leningrad/Stalingrad

Major Soviet cities besieged by Germany; both held out, with Stalingrad becoming a turning point in the war.

Atlantic Charter

Agreement between Roosevelt and Churchill outlining Allied goals: no territorial gain, self-determination, and restoration of democracy.

Lend-Lease Act

U.S. program to supply Allied nations with war materials; infuriated Axis powers and signaled U.S. support.

Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941)

Surprise Japanese attack on U.S. naval base in Hawaii; brought the U.S. into WWII.

Bataan Death March (April 1942)

Forced march of American and Filipino POWs by the Japanese; thousands died from brutality and starvation.

Battle of Midway (June 4–7, 1942)

Turning point in the Pacific; U.S. destroyed 4 Japanese carriers, stopping Japanese expansion.

Island Hopping

U.S. strategy to capture key islands in the Pacific and bypass heavily fortified ones to reach Japan.

Final Solution

Nazi plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe through death camps such as Auschwitz.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe; led the D-Day invasion; later became 34th U.S. President.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed into enemy ships, reflecting Bushido belief that death is preferable to surrender.

Fat Man and Little Boy

Nicknames for the atomic bombs dropped on Japan: Little Boy on Hiroshima (Aug 6), Fat Man on Nagasaki (Aug 9), 1945.Describe the major events of both Pacific and European Theatres

Why did the Allies win?

Superior industrial power, military strategies, intelligence (e.g. codebreaking), stronger alliances, and mistakes by Axis powers.

Impacts of WWII

Global power shift to U.S. and USSR, creation of the UN, beginning of the Cold War, decolonization, and advancements in technology and medicine.Sept 1, 1939

Sept 17, 1939

Soviet Union invades eastern Poland.

March 1940

Soviet-Finnish Winter War ends.

April 9, 1940

Germany invades Denmark and Norway.

May 1940

Germany invades France and Low Countries.

May 26 – June 4, 1940

Evacuation of Dunkirk.

June 22, 1940

France surrenders to Germany.

Summer 1940

Battle of Britain begins.

Sept 7, 1940

Germany begins bombing London.

Oct 1940

Nighttime bombing raids intensify.

May 10, 1941

Battle of Britain ends in British victory.

Sept 1940

Italy invades North Africa.

Feb 1941

Germany sends Rommel to help Italians in Africa.

April 1941

Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece.

June 22, 1941

Germany launches Operation Barbarossa (invades USSR).

Sept 8, 1941

Siege of Leningrad begins.

Oct 2, 1941

Battle for Moscow begins.

March 1943

Germany retreats from Eastern Front.Oct 1940

Dec 7, 1941

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor; U.S. enters WWII.

Jan 1942

Japan captures Manila, Philippines.

Feb 1942

Japan captures Singapore from Britain.

April 1942

U.S. Doolittle Raid bombs Tokyo.

May 1942

Battle of Coral Sea – U.S. stops Japanese advance.

June 4, 1942

Battle of Midway – U.S. turns tide in Pacific.

Aug 7, 1942

U.S. lands at Guadalcanal in first major offensive.

Feb 1943

Japan withdraws from Guadalcanal after heavy losses.