WW2 - Causes, Mapping, Battles

Allies

Britain, France, USA, USSR

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, Japan

Causes of World War 2

Rise of dictators, Great Depression, failures of Versailles and punishment of Germany after World War I, failure of League of Nations and appeasement of dictators

China

Czechoslovakia

D-Day

(June 1944) Allied invasion of France begins, starts the final phase of war in Europe as Germany is attacked on both sides. War in Europe will end only 1 year later in May 1945

France

Germany

Great Britain (The United Kingdom)

Guadalcanal

(Late 1942 - Early 1943) First US land victory over Japan in the Pacific, stopped Japanese expansion and began the US offensive of "island hopping" to get planes and armed forces closer to Japan

Hitler

Leader of Nazi Germany

Italy

Iwo Jima

(Early 1945) First US capture of a Japanese home island to use as airbase, signals the beginning of Japanese defeat while also showing how bloody the fight to defeat Japan will be for the USA. May have started convincing the USA to use the atomic bombs in Japan that August, causing surrender of Japan in September 1945

Japan

Midway

(June 1942) Pacific naval battle in which the USA destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers, giving the Allies the upper hand in the Pacific

Motivations for Japanese Expansion in 1930s/1940s

Find natural resources and oil

Mussolini

Fascist Dictator of Italy

Pearl Harbor

(December 1941) Japanese attack on US naval base in Hawaii that brought the US into World War 2; also involved attacks on the Philippines and South Asia as Japan tried to take oil in Indonesia

Poland

Second Battle of El Alamein

(Late 1942) British forces defeat the Germans and Italians in Egypt, eventually leading to Axis defeat in North Africa and securing oil supplies for the Allies

Stalin

Dictator of the USSR (Soviet Union)

Stalingrad

(Late 1942 - Early 1943) Battle deep in the USSR for control of Soviet industrial production and oil. 1.9 million soldiers killed or wounded, ends in German defeat and begins the Soviet offensive to push the Axis back in Eastern Europe

Tojo

Military leader who acted as dictator of Japan

Total War

A war strategy that views civilians as essential to a war effort, often leading to militaries targeting civilians in order to win

What was the first country Hitler invaded? (1938-1939)

After annexing Austria, Hitler took the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, then captured the whole country only a few months later.

What was the first country Italy invaded?

Ethiopia in 1935

What was the first country Japan invaded?

China (region of Manchuria) in 1931

What was the first country the Soviet Union (USSR) invaded?

Poland in 1939, followed soon after by Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland

Why did Hitler want to take over other countries?

To unite German-speaking peoples and expand territory for Germans to live in

Why did Italy want to take over other countries?

To restore the former glory of Rome and prove they were a tough world power

Why did Japan want to take over other countries?

To get ahold of natural resources like coal, iron, and oil

Why did the Soviet Union (USSR) want to take over other countries?

To spread communism and create a 'buffer zone' that would protect them from potential invasion by other European countries