lesson 1

hitler’s lightning war

germany’s new war in europe

• hitler and stalin - nonaggression pact

  • agree to split poland

germany’s lightning attack (sept 1, 1939)

• war on poland put in motion

  • britain/france declare war

  • hitler annexed western half of poland

• blitzkrieg - “lightning war”

soviets make their move

• stalin sends troops to east poland/northern nations

• finland resists

  • soviets unprepared for war

  • soviets win, but huge losses

“the phony war”

• britain and france mobilize armies

• standoff at maginot line - “sitzkrieg”

• hitler attacks - denmark and norway

rescue at dunkirk

• germans had allies trapped → retreat to dunkirk

• sacrifice troops at calais

• heroic rescue by british

  • rescue 338,000 out of 400,000 soldiers

france falls (june 22, 1940)

• french surrender at dunkirk

• charles de gaulle - government in exile

  • goal = reconquer france/resist germans

the battle of britain (july 10 - oct 31, 1940)

• winston churchill - never give in

• hitler’s plan - destroy RAF (royal air force)

  • luftwaffe begins bombing britain

technology benefits RAF

• radar - track enemy planes

• enigma - decode german messages

• battle of britain - hitler can be stopped

war in the balkans

• hitler’s ultimate prize - attack the soviet union

  • wants bases in balkans

• growing axis powers

hitler invades the soviet union (june 22, 1941)

• operation barbarossa

  • soviets unprepared → scorched earth policy

• hitler cuts off leningrad from soviet union

  • forced starvation → 1 million die

  • city refuses to fall

hitler’s attack on moscow

• nazi’s unprepared for russian winter

  • hitler - “no retreat!”

• no territorial gain and 500,000 dead

us aid to allies

• FDR goes against neutrality acts

  • cash and carry policy

    • allies can pay money and pick up materials themselves to bring back

  • lend-lease act

    • giving supplies but need to give it back when finished

lesson 2

japan’s pacific campaign

japan’s plan for southeast asia

• us cracks code of japanese plans

  • aids china’s resistance

• FDR shuts off oil shipments to japan

attack on pearl harbor

• admiral isoroku yamamoto

  • calls for attack on us fleet in hawaii

day of infamy (dec 7, 1941)

• japan launches attack on pearl harbor

• FDR requests congress declare war

uss west virginia

• engulfed in flames after japanese attack on pearl harbor

  • 19 ships sunk

  • 2300 americans killed

  • 1100 americans wounded

japanese victories

• guam quickly falls

• philippines next target - bataan peninsula

allies strike back

• japan unbeatable?

• us seeks revenge (for pearl harbor) → bomb tokyo

  • lieutenant colonel james h doolittle

  • psychological impact > physical

allies turn the tide

• american morale goes up, japan confidence goes down

• battle of the coral sea

  • new naval warfare - aircraft carriers

  • allies stop japan’s advances

the battle of midway (june 4, 1942)

• decode japan’s plan

  • us admiral chester nimitz

• allow japan to begin bombing island

  • us planes counterattack

  • major success - destroy 300+ planes

• turning point in war of pacific

allied offensive

• general douglas macarthur

  • strategy of “island hopping”

• 1st target - guadalcanal

  • japan building air base

  • plan - quick strike

the battle of guadalcanal (aug 7, 1942 - feb 9, 1943)

• intense 6 month battle

• japan abandons “island of death”

lesson 3 - outline of holocaust

look in word

lesson 4

the allied victory

northern african campaign

• allies launch operation torch

  • led by dwight d eisenhower (34th president)

  • crush nazi forces

battle of stalingrad (aug 23, 1942)

• luftwaffe begins bombing stalingrad nightly

• stalin - “defend it to the death”

battle of stalingrad

• nazis control 90% → soviets launch counter attack

• hitler orders “no retreat”

  • massive death count by both

  • put germany on defensive

mobilizing for war

• total war = everything for war effort

  • 1939 - us produced around 3,000 military aircrafts

  • 1941-45 - us produced around 300,000 military aircrafts

• factories converted for war, rationing

war limits civil rights

• pearl harbor → prejudice vs japanese-americans

• internment camps

  • prevent aiding japan

  • real threat?

planning for d-day

• general dwight d eisenhower

• storm beaches of normandy

• decoy army to throw off hitler

d-day invasion (june 6, 1944)

• operation overlord - largest attack in history

• heavy allied casualties - 4,400 killed that day

d-day victory

• allies hold the beaches

  • 1 million more troops arrive

• victory march into paris

  • begin liberation

battle of the bulge

• hitler’s move of desperation: avoid two front war

  • all out attack on west

  • allies push back and win

germany’s surrender

• nazi’s surrounded - hitler and braun commit suicide

• third reich surrenders

  • FDR died month earlier

• war over in europe - truman becomes next president

japan in retreat

• allies moving in on japan

  • no plan to surrender

  • only option: destroy us fleet

• battle of leyte gulf

  • japan loses horribly

japan’s last effort

• kamikaze attacks - suicide bombers

• us marine victories

  • iwo jima and okinawa

japanese surrender

• advisers warn of ground invasion

• manhattan project

  • top secret - develop atomic bomb

dropping the atomic bombs

• final warning to japan - “rain of ruin from the air”

• hiroshima (aug 6, 1945) - little man

• nagasaki (aug 9, 1945) - fat boy

• ww2 over!

nuremberg trials

the nuremberg trials

• 22 nazi leaders charged

  • ranging from life in prison to death penalty

  • some nazi leaders committed suicide even before sentences

  • bodies of executed burned in concentration camps