World War II

Road to WWII Events/ Appeasement

• 1931 - Japan invades Manchuria

• March 1935 - Hitler announces Rearmament - first ToV breaking

• April 1935 - Stresa Front created in response to rearmament (Br, F, I)

• 1935 - I invades Abyssinia, Rome-Berlin axis solidified as a result

• 1936-39 - Spanish Civil War, right wing nationalist under Franco supported by I and G, left-wing republicans (gov.) supported by USSR

• 1936 - Rhineland remilitarised, NO ONE IS THERE TO STOP THEM - second ToV breaking

• March 1938 - Anschluss - third ToV Breaking

• Fall 1938 - G annexes the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia

  • KEY EX OF APPEASEMENT

  • Three meetings held, final one in Munich

  • Br and F let G have the land in exchange for a promise that hitler won’t take any more

  • Soviets offered to help but were turned away

• March 1939 - G occupies the rest of Czechslovakia

• APPEASEMENT POLICY IS NOW OVER
  

• August 1939 - Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact

  • Publicly, they won’t fight each other for ten years

  • privately, they are going to divide Poland between them

  • Hitler has eliminated a two front war

• September 1939 - G invades Poland and the allies declare war - Hitler didn’t actually think they would - Polish ogv. evacuates to London

War Begins

• Blitzkrieg was super successful, Hitler only wants to fight one area at a time and quickly defeat them

• Soviet Union goes into the Baltic states

• Phony war - no real fighting in western Europe until 1940

• Russo-Finnish War (Winter 39/40) - F puts up a fight but loses

  • Factories in the east, planes don’t have enough fuel to bomb them

• April 1940 - G goes into D and N, makes it easier to bomb Br

• May 1940 - G goes into Netherland, Churchill becomes PM of Br

• May 1940 - G goes into Belgium and then F and surprises allies bc they came through the ardennes forest - rough terrain for tanks

• G turns towards the english channel and splits allied forces (Dunkirk evacuation)

• Elsewhere

  • 1939 - I takes Albania

  • Oct. 1940 - I attacks Greece (not v successful)

  • Nov. 1940 - Hungary, Slovakia, Romania join the Tripartite Pact (Axis Alliance)

  • 1941 - G takes Yugoslavia and Greece

  • 1941 - I attacks Northern Africa, draws G troops to this area so they have to fight on multiple fronts

Operation Dynamo/Dunkirk & the aftermath

• May 26, 40- June 4

• Churchill hopes to save around 30 000 men

• 340 000 allied soldiers rescued with the help of civilian boats (shallow water)

• June 10 - Italy attacks France

• June 22 - France surrenders and it split into two parts

  • Nazi-occupied (the coast and north)

  • Vichy Regime (“independent” but collaborates with G)

• Hitler turns his attention of Britain

Battle of Britain

• Summer/fall 40

• Once France is defeated, Hitler turns to Br

• Br refuses to negotiate with G, so they plan for invasion: Operation Sea Lion

  • Air strikes on English Channel shipping and ports

  • Bomb radar station and forward fighter bases

  • Attack Inland fighter vases and aircraft factories

    • Might have won but G changes target to London in retaliation for Br bombings of Berlin

    • The Blitz - 58 nights of British bombing

  • Bomb London

  • Sept. 15 - Final MASSIVE air assault but G loses 60 planes

• Why Br won

  • G had more experienced pilots and more planes

  • Br pilots who bailed could fly again

  • Br planes had more fuel

  • Had a few minutes to warning thx to radars

  • G trageted civilians

  • Br Morale

Early Japanese Expansion

• J already has Korea and Taiwan as colonies

• Invades Manchuria in 1931

• Took over the rest of China in 1937

• J’s most needed resources: Oil and Rubber

• 1940 - F falls to G so J takes its Asian colonies ( French Indo-China → Vietnam, Cambodia Laos)

Japanese conflict with USA

• July 1941 - upset bc it can no longer trade with China and fearing J’s possible further expansion, the Us blocks the sale of oil to J → angers J as they need oil to expand

• Nov. 1941 - General Tojo (militaristic) becomes PM and convinces Emperor Hirohito that J can win a war against the US

Attack on Pearl Harbour

• Sunday, December 7, 1941 (CHURCH)

• “A date which will live in imfamy” - Roosevelt

• Japan under Admiral Yamamoto

  • Launched 300+ planes in two waves from ships 440km north of Pearl Harbour

  • Planes were picked up on Us radar but were mistaken for US planes

  • 7:55 first wave

  • 8:40 second wave

  • 10:00 battle over

• Damages

  • US - 8 battleships, 10 warships, 188 planes (+159 damaged), 2403 Americans killed and 1178 injured, Us navy was helpless for 6 months (couldn’t stop J expansion)

  • J - 29 planes

• *the three american aircraft carriers that were the targets were all out on exercises - The war in the pacific was determined by how many aircraft carriers a country had

The USA enters the Pacific War

• Dec. 8 - US and Br declare war on J

• Dec. 11 - G and I declare war on US (Tripartite Pact with J)

  → Now officially a WW and the Great War will be known as WWI

Japan Continues to Expand (41-42)

• Dec. 7 - Pearl Harbour attack

• Dec. 8 - attack Philippines (US territory), Hong Kong (Br), and send troops to Thailand to prepare for attack on Malaya, Singapore and Burma (all Br)

• Dec. 25 - take Hong Kong

• Jan 31. Take Malaya

• Feb. 15 - take Singapore (KEY Br naval base)

• March - take Dutch East Indies (Indonesia today) - OIL

• May 6 - Philippines actually captured

• May - take Burma

• J called all their conquered lands “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”

• Battle of Midway - June 1942

  • J attacked the island hoping to destroy US aircraft carriers and set up a base further east

  • Despite being outnumbered, US wins

  • After, US will push J back towards their home island

US Strategy in the Pacific

• 2 pronged attack

  • Pacific Ocean - Admiral Nimitz would go through the center

  • South West Pacific - General MacArthur would work his way up from Australia

  • Two would meet in the Philippines

  • Naval form of Blitzkrieg used (island-hopping)

    • skip heavily defended islands while taking weaker ones

    • Those left behind would crumble bc supply lines would be cut

Path of Allied Advances in the Pacific (42-45)

• Papua New Guinea

• Solomon Island (early 43)

• Gilbert Island (late 43)

• Marshall Islands (Feb 44)

• Mariana Islands (June 44) - DDay in Europe

  • From here Us can launch bombing raids on J

• Battle of Leyte Gulf (Oct 44)

  • Largest Naval battle in history

  • destroys J navy - the first use of Kamikaze pilots

  • J now cut off from oil in the Dutch East Indies

• War over in Europe in May 1945

• Okinawa (June 45)

  • J launched 355 kamikaze raids

• Iwo Jima (Summer 45)

• Br takes back Burma

  • Allies thought they would get help from Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalists in China but he simply waited for the allies and communists to do the work for him so he could save his troops for the coming battle against the communists

The Atomic Bombs

• The US was heavily bombing J throughout 1945 to prepare for Allied land invasion

• Leaflets were dropped to convince J citizens to surrender

• Once the US had the A-bomb, Truman decides to leave the land invasion as too many US live would be lost

• He will use the Bomb to force J’s surrender

Potsdam Declaration

• Two new leaders (Truman and Attlee)

• Big three meet for their third conference in Potsdam in July 1945

• July 26, 1945: Potsdam declaration to J: called for J’s unconditional surrender or action would be taken - “prompt and utter destruction”

Hiroshima- August 6,1945

• Enola Gay drops the first a-bomb, little boy

• Detonates 580m above ground

• 80 000 killed instantly, 80 000 more in the coming weeks

• SU declares war on J

Nagasaki - August 9, 1945

• Chosen bc it was an industrial seaport

• “Fat man” dropped

Japan surrenders

• Aug. 14 - J surrenders unconditionally

• Sept. 2 - the official surrender is signed aboard the US ship, the Missouri, under General MacArthur

• J will be occupied by G but in this case ONLY BY THE US

Why use an atomic bomb?

• To spare US lives in a costly land invasion

  • Estimated casualties were 1.7-4mil

  • End the war quickly before SU got too much land invasion the east and shared occupation of J

  • Show of force to USSR (they don’t have a bomb

Operation Barbarossa

• Goals: to colonize and exploit Russia for goods (fueled by racism)

• Timeline: the operation was planned to launch in April but got pushed to late June 1941, extending Barbarossa to December

• Northern army group (4th Panzer Army) moved from East Prussia, through Baltic States, towards Leningrad

• Center army group (2nd and 3rd Panzer Army) moved from Poland, through Minsk-Smolensk, towards Moscow

• Trapped and annihilated the Red Army, destroyed planes and tanks as they went, and killed/captured Russians

• Southern army group (1st Panzer Army) moves from Czechoslovakia, through Kiev/Modern Day Ukraine, towards Stalingrad

  • Breadbasket and Black Sea port

• USSR army was bigger but not coordinated

Battle for Moscow

German Plan

• October 19, 1941 - Moscow declared a state of siege

What happened

• Germans couldn't advance quickly through the rough and dense terrain

• Russian Counterattacks lessened German supplies

Effects

• German equipment was not built for the extreme cold, so it froze → loss of oil

• Up to 10 000 German casualties from frostbite

• Roads to Moscow heavily congested

Siege of Leningrad

Siege Basics

• A military encircling the enemy, cutting off supply lines and forcing a surrender

• The siege of Leningrad was a part of Operation Barbosa (German invasion of Soviet
  Union)

• Leningrad was targeted due to being a large producer of tanks and ammo as well as a naval base

Series of events

• Sept. 1941 - Germany approach Leningrad from West, South, and Finland from the North

• Nov. 1941 - Leningrad Surrounded, and trail lines and resources cut off

• 1942- 650,000 lives are lost due to starvation, disease and German shelling

• Some resources can come from barge in summer and ice sled in winter via Lake Ladoga

• 1943 - Starvation was helped with vegetable gardens covering the city

• Jan. 1943 - Operation Spark ruptured German lines, offering starving Russians food and supplies

• Jan. 1944- In a series of battles the Russians and Baltic forces push
  German forces to the outskirts of the city

Battle of the Atlantic

• Battle of the Atlantic (U.S. Supplies Great Britian under the lend-lease act)

• U-BOaTS (Submarines) give the Germans an initial advantage

• Naval and Air Support were provided for Convoys

• Enigma broken in March 1943, Allies have intelligence on U-Boat presence

• Allies sunk 41 U-Boats in one month

• Germany withdraws from the Atlantic temporarily

• Battle ends with the War

The Battle of El Alamein

• The British Eighth Army, led by General Bernard Montgomery, defeated the Axis forces in the second battle of El Alamein, effectively ending their threat to the Middle East.

• The British (under General Claude Auchinleck) retreated to Alamein after defeat at the Battle of Mersa Matruh in June of 1942. This was a strategic withdrawal to buy time.

• The first battle of El Alamein saw a stalemate preventing Axis forces from advancing further. The allies were unable to break through the defenses of the Afrika Korps led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

• General Bernard Montgomery took control of the British 8th Army and launched a new offensive.

• The second battle was a decisive allied victory that led to a major turning point in the North African campaign.

• The Allied forces used heavy artillery bombardment and a multi-pronged attack to break through Rommel's defenses.

• The battle ended with the Axis forces being pushed back, ending their advance into Egypt.

• First Big Ally win against G/axis

Operation Torch

• Three major amphibious landings: The Allies launched coordinated amphibious assaults at Casablanca (west), Oran (center), and Algiers (east) to rapidly gain control of North African coastlines and ports.

• Speed & Surprise Tactics: The strategy relied on swift landings supported by naval bombardments and limited resistance, aiming to secure airfields and cities before Vichy French forces could organize.

• Strategic Goal: Eisenhower (the general who led the operation) aimed to control Morocco and Algeria, the Allies aimed to push east into Tunisia and trap Axis forces between Torch troops and the British advancing from Egypt.

• How the Allies won (1,100 combined deaths): The Allies launched surprise attacks on the three key locations leaving the opposition's military unprepared. Having three key locations divided Vichy France's power. The allies had also won in terms of numbers, they had a far superior navy and Air Force. They were also able to send out many more men. As estimated 100,000 solders took part in operation torch on the side of the allies.

• How Vichy France lost (1,300 deaths): Vichy France was in a tough spot power wise. They were officially neutral but in collaboration with the Nazis. This caused confusion on decision making regarding how severely to resist attacks. Vichy France was isolated from a lot of the world this prohibited them from receiving aid from Italy and Germany.

• Turning Point for the Allies: Operation Torch marked the first major Allied victory in the West and paved the way for future excursions and invasions into Europe.

• Significance for the war: The opening of the new front allowed the Allies to pushback and gain the offensive against the Axis powers, as well as assisting in and leading to the invasion of Italy.

• First time U.SA. in this theatre

Battle of Stalingrad

• winter 42/43

• 800,000 Axis casualties, ~1.1 million Soviet casualties

• Winter/harsh conditions (-40°C!) extended supply lines and bad logistics led to Germans being poorly equipped.

• Harsh close quarters fighting, house to house, street to street.

• Hitler wanted to take Stalingrad which was named after Stalin and losing it would be a huge blow to moral. It was also a major industrial center and an important transport hub. Also, oil!

• Soviet counterattack "Operation Uranus". A pincer movement encircling the German 6th Army.

• Hitler refused at allow Paulus to break out and regroup with the rest of the army. The 6*" army ultimately surrendered, the Soviets taking 90,000

• German prisoners, few of whom ever returned home.

• Marked the end of the German advance into the USSR

Operation Husky

BEFORE

• Operation Husky began after Casablanca conference, in which Western allies hoped to relieve pressure on Soviets - January 12th-23rd, 1943

• Doolittle Air Force performs air raids to Italian infrastructure and aircrafts - June
  12*, 1943

DURING (July 9/10th- August 17th 1943)

• Major cities Syracuse (July 12th) and Palermo (July 22 d) captured, by allies and Seventh army to cut off Italian forces

• The British Eighth invaded from the Southeast, while the US Seventh invaded
  Southwest (140,000 men)

• Opposed by Italian Sixth Army and German 15* (275,000 men)

GOALS

• Allies had hoped to drive Italy out of the war, force Germans to disperse their troops, and relieve pressure on the Soviets

OUTCOME

• Italy surrenders September 8th, 1943