World War II

What Caused World War II ?•Competing Empires

•“Spheres of Influence”•England•France•USSR•Japan•United States•Italy

•Economic Depression•Led to the rise of militaristic dictators

•Hitler•Mussolini•Tojo

•Treaty of Versailles•German anger at the harsh terms that ended WWI

•Alliance System•Failure of the League of Nations•Allied Powers•Axis Powers

Prelude• Japan

• Invasion of Manchuria• Rape of Nanking

• Italy• Invasion of Ethiopia

• Germany• Rhineland• Sudetenland• Czechoslovakia• Austria• Anschluss• Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact

1939Opening

• September 1, 1939• German invasion of Poland• Blitzkrieg

• England and France Declare War on Germany• Partition of Poland by Germany and USSR• Soviet Invasion of Finland

• “Winter War”

• “The Phony War”

1940• German Invasion of Denmark and Norway

• Narvik

• “Case Yellow”• Manstein Plan• German invasions of Belgium, The Netherlands, and France• Dunkirk• Fall of France

• Battle of Britain• Operation Sea Lion• RAF• Radar• The Blitz

1941• Battle of the Atlantic

• Blockade• Supply lines • U-Boats• Convoys

• Yugoslavia• Greece• Operation BARBAROSSA

• German invasion of the USSR• Largest land invasion ever• Leningrad• Kiev• Moscow• Zhukov

• Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor• US Pacific Fleet• Yamamoto

• Taranto attack

• Aircraft carriers• Sneak attack

• Dive bombers• Torpedo Bombers

• Results of the Raid• Battleship fleet sunk• Aircraft carriers missing

1942• Battle of the Coral Sea• North Africa

• Rommel• Afrika Korps• Montgomery• El Alamein• Operation Torch

• Battle of Midway• Guadalcanal• Operation Blue

• Volga River, Caucasus oil• Stalingrad

Stalingrad• Stalin’s City on the Volga• German Sixth Army

• Paulus

• Soviet 62nd Army• Chuikov• “War of the rats”

• Counterattack and Encirclement• Winter Storm• Annihilation

1943• Casablanca Conference• Liberation of Leningrad• Warsaw Uprising• Allied Invasion of Sicily

• Fall of Mussolini

• Invasion of Italy• Salerno

• Kursk• Strategic Bombing of Germany

• RAF Bomber Command/ Sir Arthur Harris• Bombing of Hamburg• Firestorm

• Tarawa• Solomon Islands• Liberation of Kiev

1944• Liberation of Leningrad• Italy

• Anzio• Monte Cassino• Liberation of Rome

• Saipan• D-day

• Largest amphibious invasion ever

• Operation Valkyrie• Attempt to kill Hitler

• Liberation of Paris• Battle of the Philippine Sea

• “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”

• Operation Bagration• Massive Soviet offensive

• Leyte Gulf• Largest naval battle ever

• Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge• German Counterattack

• Ardennes Forest

• Malmedy• Massacre of US prisoners by SS

• Bastogne• Siege• US Third Army• Patton

• Effect• Destroyed Hitler’s last reserves in the West• 600,000 US troops• Largest single battle ever fought by the US Army

1945• Vistula-Oder Offensive• Yalta Conference• Invasion of Iwo Jima• Dresden Firestorm• Invasion of Okinawa• Berlin

• Hitler commits suicide

• V-E Day• Firebombing of Tokyo• Trinity Nuclear Test• Potsdam Conference• Atomic bombing of Hiroshima• Atomic bombing of Nagasaki• V-J Day

• Unconditional surrender of Japan

Legacies• Nuremberg• *War Crimes Trials• Nuclear Weapons• The Holocaust• *Israel• *Arab-Israeli conflict• The U.N• The Cold War• *Berlin Airlift• *Korea• *NATO• *Warsaw Pact• *Berlin Wall• *The Space Race• *Moon landing• *Cuba• *Vietnam• *Central America• *Fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall• *German Reunification• *Fall of USSR• *Afghanistan• *Soviet invasion• *mujahadeen• *al-Queda• *9/11/2001• *War on Terror