War

War

  • Stages of WWII:

    • 2nd Sino-Japanese War

    • Nazi Advances

    • Turning Point

    • Last Years of the War

Axis vs. Allied Powers

  • Axis Powers:

    • Nazi Germany

    • Fascist Italy

    • Empire of Japan

    • Hungary

    • Romania

    • Bulgaria

    • Finland

  • Allied Powers:

    • US

    • Britain

    • France

    • USSR

    • Australia

    • Belgium

    • Brazil

    • Canada

    • China

    • Denmark

    • Greece

    • Netherlands

    • New Zealand

    • Norway

    • Poland

    • Czechoslovakia

    • Yugoslavia

    • India

    • South Africa

WWII Leaders

  • Allied Powers:

    • Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) - US President

    • Harry Truman - US President

    • Joseph Stalin - Soviet Leader

    • Winston Churchill - British Prime Minister

    • Neville Chamberlain - British Prime Minister

  • Axis Powers:

    • Emperor Hirohito - Japan (Showa Era)

    • Prime Minister Hideki Tojo - Japan

    • Benito Mussolini - Italy (il Duce, the leader)

    • Adolf Hitler - Germany (der Führer und Reichskanzler, the Leader and Chancellor of the Reich)

Military Technology

  • Axis Technology:

    • Jet Airplanes

    • Panther Tanks

    • U Boats

    • Torpedoes

    • Enigma encryption

  • Allied Technology:

    • Bombing Planes

    • Aircraft Carrier battleship

    • Radar

    • Atomic Bomb

    • Medicinal improvements

    • Radio

Path to War

  • Sept 1931: The Mukden Incident

    • Also known as the Manchurian Incident.

    • The League of Nations found evidence that Japan set up a puppet state after taking the region but did not intervene.

  • March 1933: Japan officially withdrew from the League of Nations.

    • Justification for leaving: not specified in transcript.

  • Oct 14, 1933: Hitler withdrew from the League of Nations.

    • Germany had recently been admitted into the League (9 months prior).

    • Reason: to re-arm Germany.

    • This action violated the Treaty of Versailles.

  • Oct 3, 1935: Mussolini invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia).

    • Mussolini's quest for territorial expansion.

    • Used deadly chemical gases on Ethiopians.

    • Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations but received no help.

  • July 7-9, 1936: The Marco Polo Bridge Incident

    • Location: Lugou Bridge in Beijing.

    • Japanese Army occupied a railway junction near the bridge and demanded entry to a nearby village to search for a missing soldier.

    • Chinese garrison refused entry, shots were fired, and fighting began.

    • This incident started the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.

  • July 7, 1936: 2nd Sino-Japanese War

    • Started by the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

    • Official war declaration: December 9, 1941.

    • Characterized by violence and atrocities against civilians.

    • Chinese army often in retreat.

    • Chinese communists joined forces to fight against the Japanese.

    • Marks the start of WWII in Asia.

  • October 25, 1936: Berlin-Rome Axis

    • Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini entered a treaty of friendship, pledging a common foreign policy.

    • Mussolini stated that this axis allows other European states to collaborate on troubles.

  • November 25, 1936: the Anti-Comintern Pact

    • Anti-communist treaty between Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.

    • Aimed to deter the Soviets from intervening in Japan and Germany’s territorial expansion goals.

  • March 12, 1938: The Anschluss

    • Hitler annexed Austria.

    • Anschluss = connection/joining; Unification of Austria & Germany.

    • Welcomed by many Austrians.

    • The Austrian Chancellor wanted a vote on whether to join; Hitler ordered an invasion to prevent the vote, removed the Chancellor, and appointed a Nazi.

    • Violated terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

    • Persecution of Austrian Jews escalated.

    • Public vote held in April: 99.7% support for Anschluss (with intimidation and violence).

  • September 29, 1938: The Munich Agreement

    • Sept 15, 1938: Hitler demanded the cession of the Sudetenland to Germany, threatening world war.

    • Britain, France, Germany, and Italy negotiated with Hitler, agreeing to give him Sudetenland if he stopped further territorial expansion.

    • The Czechs and Russians were not invited.

  • October 1, 1938: Hitler annexes the Sudetenland & invades Czechoslovakia.

    • The Sudetenland region in Czechoslovakia had a large ethnic German population, aligning with Hitler's Lebensraum ideology that all Germans should be united.

  • May 22, 1939: Pact of Steel

    • Officially called Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy.

    • Solidified the alliance between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

  • Danzig

    • Hitler pushed for the city of Danzig to be "returned" to Germany.

    • It had been given to Poland as part of the Treaty of Versailles.

    • Britain offered to protect Poland in the event of war.

  • August 23, 1939: The Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

    • Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

    • Secret alliance between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

    • Allowed Hitler to invade West Poland and Stalin to invade East Poland.

  • September 1, 1939: Hitler invades Poland

    • German forces invaded Poland; Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later.

    • Sept 17: Soviet Union sent troops into eastern Poland.

    • This officially triggered the start of World War II as Western powers began to mobilize for war (but not the US).

Nazi Advances

/

  • Adolf Hitler stated to his generals that speed and brutality were necessary for the destruction of Poland.

  • Poland, 1939

    • 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland from two fronts.

    • Hitler unleashed a blitzkrieg (