World war 2

Battle Of The Bulge


  • Hitler launched one last ditch effort to help him win the war in the winter 1944/45

  • German forces launched a counter-offensive in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium

    • German troops drove a “bulge” 80 miles long and 50 miles deep into the Allied lines

    • After a week of fighting, the Allies were able to drive the Germans back and recover ground

  • Final German offensive of the war

  • Allies would now advance into Germany as Soviet Forces advanced into Germany from the east.  Both sides were marching towards Berlin



Big Three


During World War II, the Big Three were the leaders of the three major Allied powers: Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt⁶. They played pivotal roles in shaping the outcome of the war and coordinating efforts to defeat the Axis powers.


Here are some key points about the Big Three:


1. Joseph Stalin: As the leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin was deeply suspicious of both Roosevelt and Churchill. He knew that his capitalist allies would likely oppose any attempt to expand Soviet influence in eastern Europe after the war. Stalin also emphasized the need for a second front in western Europe to reduce pressure on the Soviet Union by forcing Hitler to transfer forces from Russia to meet the Anglo-American invasion¹.


2. Winston Churchill: The British Prime Minister had been working closely with Roosevelt even before the United States entered the war in 1941. Churchill believed that a British victory over the Axis was in America's best interests, while Roosevelt recognized the importance of American assistance for such a victory. Together, they planned strategies and discussed the postwar world¹.


3. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Roosevelt, as the U.S. President, worked to find ways for America to support Britain without violating its neutrality. He believed that a British victory was crucial for the overall war effort. The United Nations Declaration, signed by representatives of all three nations, pledged their commitment to defeating the Axis powers¹.




Yalta Conference 


  • February 1945: the three Allied nations met at Yalta in the Soviet Union (The “Big Three”)

    • Great Britain—Winston Churchill

    • United States—FDR

    • Soviet Union—Joseph Stalin

  • Churchill wanted to save the British empire

  • Stalin wanted to protect his borders and rebuild the USSR


  • FDR wanted a worldwide spread of democracy and free trade

  • FDR wanted the Soviets to help him defeat Japan

  • Stalin agreed to help the US against Japan, but only after the war has been over for 2 or 3 months

  • For his help, Stalin would get some territory in Asia

  • All 3 disagreed on what should be done with Germany after the war

    • Each nation agreed to divide up Germany and Berlin once the war was over



Manhattan Project


  • Creating The Atomic Bomb

  • The US was secretly working on a new weapon—the atomic bomb

  • The name of the project to build the bomb was called the Manhattan Project

  • The Project was led by J. Robert Openheimer

  • Truman had scheduled an invasion of the Japanese mainland for late in 1945 but worried over the human cost of invasion 

  • July 16, 1945:  scientists successfully detonated the 1st atomic bomb in New Mexico


Rosie The Riveter


  • Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon who was propaganda  in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who joined the military.


American First Campaign


The America First Committee (AFC) was an American isolationist pressure group against the United States' entry into World War II. Launched in September 1940, it surpassed 800,000 members in 450 chapters at its peak.



Allied Strategy 

  • The Allied strategy after 1941:

    • First objective:  Italy and Germany

    • Second objective: Japan—after defeat of Hitler

  • Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to the terms of the strategy at                                                    the White House



D-Day


Happened on June 6, 1944


  • US General Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the largest land-sea-air attack in world history - Operation Overlord


  • 175,000 Allied soldiers came ashore on the coast of Normandy, France


  • Trying to gain a foothold in Hitler’s Europe


  • The Allies established a beach head, but suffered heavy casualties

    • 2245 killed

    • 1670 wounded

  • From Normandy, the Allies began to launch an invasion into Europe to drive the Germans back to Germany