Background of World War II
In 1933 Adolf Hitler led to power the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party). He wanted to gain back territory that Germany had lost after World war I. He also wanted to dominate Europe and the whole world. Hitler assumed dictatorial powers and proclaimed the Third Reich. The Nazi government wanted to recover territory that Germany had lost as a result of World war I. To do this, Hitler began increasing the strength of the German Armed Forces. At the same time, Germany built up her armed forces and developed new techniques of more advanced air and ground warfare. France noticed what Hitler was doing, but did nothing about it because she could not rely on support from England and the U.S. The U.S. wanted to stay out of Europe's problems. Most Americans viewed Hitler's actions as a European problem. After just ending one foreign war (WWI), they had no desire to send more of their men overseas to fight in another foreign war. Other democratic countries were also so anxious to keep peace that they did not keep their militaries prepared for war.
1. On September, 1, 1939, Hitler invaded western Poland without warning.
2. Because Hitler invaded Poland, France and Britain declared war on Germany.
3. In April 1940, German forces invaded Norway and Denmark.
4. In May 1940, German forces invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
and the borders of France.
5. The U.S. entered the war on December 7, 1941, the day Japan attacked the
U.S. Naval Base in Pearl harbor, Hawaii.
This conflict would take more lives and destroy more land and property around the globe than any previous war. An estimated 45-60 million people were killed, including 6 million Jewish people murdered in Nazi concentration camps in what is now known as the Holocaust.
1. On September, 1, 1939, Hitler invaded western Poland without warning.
2. Because Hitler invaded Poland, France and Britain declared war on Germany.
3. In April 1940, German forces invaded Norway and Denmark.
4. In May 1940, German forces invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
and the borders of France.
5. The U.S. entered the war on December 7, 1941, the day Japan attacked the
U.S. Naval Base in Pearl harbor, Hawaii.
This conflict would take more lives and destroy more land and property around the globe than any previous war. An estimated 45-60 million people were killed, including 6 million Jewish people murdered in Nazi concentration camps in what is now known as the Holocaust.
Countries
The Allies: The Axis:
The United States Germany
The United Kingdom (Great Britain) Japan
Russia (The Soviet Union) Italy
Also: Also:
Australia Hungary
Belgium Romania
Bolivia Bulgaria
Brazil
Canada
China
Denmark
France
Greece
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
South Africa
Yugoslavia
Leaders - Allies
The Allies: The Axis:
The United States Germany
The United Kingdom (Great Britain) Japan
Russia (The Soviet Union) Italy
Also: Also:
Australia Hungary
Belgium Romania
Bolivia Bulgaria
Brazil
Canada
China
Denmark
France
Greece
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
South Africa
Yugoslavia
Leaders - Allies
Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin D. Roosevelt
Great Britain Russia United States
Winston Churchill kept warning of the Nazi danger in pre-war years. he was elected prime minister of Great Britain after the total collapse of the appeasement policy of his predecessor Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain failed to understand that Hitler could not be appeased. Churchill became prime minister on May 10, 1940, on the same day when the German Blitzkrieg invasion of France began. After the quick collapse of the French military, Britain itself was under a threat of a German amphibious invasion, and was attacked by the full force of the German Luftwaffe. It was also under a maritime siege by the German U-boat submarines. At these very difficult and dangerous times, Churchill, "the British Lion," excelled as a wartime leader. His fighting spirit raised the morale of the British people. He also forged a strong alliance with the U.S. Churchill is one of the main World War II leaders, and one of the most prominent national leaders in history.
Joseph Stalin was the very brutal Communist dictator of Russia. In the years before World War II Stalin murdered or imprisoned almost all of Russia's senior military officers and millions of other Russian citizens in a wave of political terror. This weakened Russia and further encouraged Hitler to attack it. At first Stalin sided with Hitler, thinking that making a deal with Hitler was a better way to protect Russia than making an alliance with Britain and France against him. As part of the deal, Russia invaded half of Poland after Hitler started WW II by invading Poland. But in June 1941, after conquering the rest of Europe, Hitler invaded Russia. Stalin had ignored all the intelligence warnings of the incoming German invasion. Only when the Germans had invaded all the way to Moscow did Stalin realize that he must allow his generals to fight the war more professionally. He made General Zhukov his top military advisor and sent him to command the forces directly in key battles. This finally allowed the huge Russian military to exercise its full potential and succeed.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) initially followed a very strong political demand to remain neutral and isolate the U.S. from foreign wars, but he realized that the Nazi aggression was a global threat and the total opposite to the values of democracy and freedom, and so persuaded Congress to allow selling weapons to Britain and France, later declaring that the U.S. would become the "arsenal of democracy." In May 1941, when German expansion and its attacks on British shipping to the U.S. increased, he declared a state of national emergency and assumed that U.S. forces would eventually have to participate in fighting against Nazi Germany. When Germany invaded Russia, he extended military aid to Russia. Despite the strong sympathy of the American public in support of Britain and against Nazism, only an attack on the U.S. persuaded the American public to go to war. It came with the surprise attack of the U.S. naval and air bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by Japan, on December 7, 1941 ("...a date which will live in infamy" - FDR). The destructive surprise attack ended American isolationism, and the U.S. joined the war, allying with Britain and Russia.
Click on the link below to watch a video in which President Roosevelt addressed Congress and the American people following the attack on Pearl Harbor:
Joseph Stalin was the very brutal Communist dictator of Russia. In the years before World War II Stalin murdered or imprisoned almost all of Russia's senior military officers and millions of other Russian citizens in a wave of political terror. This weakened Russia and further encouraged Hitler to attack it. At first Stalin sided with Hitler, thinking that making a deal with Hitler was a better way to protect Russia than making an alliance with Britain and France against him. As part of the deal, Russia invaded half of Poland after Hitler started WW II by invading Poland. But in June 1941, after conquering the rest of Europe, Hitler invaded Russia. Stalin had ignored all the intelligence warnings of the incoming German invasion. Only when the Germans had invaded all the way to Moscow did Stalin realize that he must allow his generals to fight the war more professionally. He made General Zhukov his top military advisor and sent him to command the forces directly in key battles. This finally allowed the huge Russian military to exercise its full potential and succeed.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) initially followed a very strong political demand to remain neutral and isolate the U.S. from foreign wars, but he realized that the Nazi aggression was a global threat and the total opposite to the values of democracy and freedom, and so persuaded Congress to allow selling weapons to Britain and France, later declaring that the U.S. would become the "arsenal of democracy." In May 1941, when German expansion and its attacks on British shipping to the U.S. increased, he declared a state of national emergency and assumed that U.S. forces would eventually have to participate in fighting against Nazi Germany. When Germany invaded Russia, he extended military aid to Russia. Despite the strong sympathy of the American public in support of Britain and against Nazism, only an attack on the U.S. persuaded the American public to go to war. It came with the surprise attack of the U.S. naval and air bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by Japan, on December 7, 1941 ("...a date which will live in infamy" - FDR). The destructive surprise attack ended American isolationism, and the U.S. joined the war, allying with Britain and Russia.
Click on the link below to watch a video in which President Roosevelt addressed Congress and the American people following the attack on Pearl Harbor:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?419693-1/president-roosevelts-day-infamy-address-congress
Leaders - Axis
Adolph Hitler Benito Mussolini General Hideki Tojo
Germany Italy Japan
Important Battles of WWII
Pearl Harbor
One sleepy Sunday morning, on December 7, 1941, Japanese planes made a dramatic attack on the American naval base of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
This one act changed the course of the war irretrievably. America declared war on Japan, and Japan's allies. Germany and Italy declared war on America. The Axis powers would soon discover just what a formidable and determined opponent she would be.
Relive the Day of the Attack.
The effect Pearl Harbor had on U.S. attitudes toward war
Pearl Harbor
One sleepy Sunday morning, on December 7, 1941, Japanese planes made a dramatic attack on the American naval base of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
This one act changed the course of the war irretrievably. America declared war on Japan, and Japan's allies. Germany and Italy declared war on America. The Axis powers would soon discover just what a formidable and determined opponent she would be.
Relive the Day of the Attack.
The effect Pearl Harbor had on U.S. attitudes toward war
The Battle of the Atlantic
As the world's richest nation, the United States could produce more ships, planes, and arms than any other country. This gave the Allies a great advantage. But, before they could be put to use, these weapons, and the men to fight with them, has to cross the Atlantic Ocean. For most of the war, the Atlantic was a bleak battleground between German submarines and Allied ships, in a desperate struggle for control of the supply route to Britain.
Take an animated tour of a German submarine.
As the world's richest nation, the United States could produce more ships, planes, and arms than any other country. This gave the Allies a great advantage. But, before they could be put to use, these weapons, and the men to fight with them, has to cross the Atlantic Ocean. For most of the war, the Atlantic was a bleak battleground between German submarines and Allied ships, in a desperate struggle for control of the supply route to Britain.
Take an animated tour of a German submarine.
Coral Sea and Midway
In the Spring of 1942, Japan was at the height of its power. Its assault on the Pacific was so successful, that plans were now laid for the invasion of Australia via New Guinea, and Hawaii via the island of Midway. Meantime, the US Navy was making a determined recovery from Pearl Harbor. The Japanese were about to discover the true potential of their formidable enemy.
In the Spring of 1942, Japan was at the height of its power. Its assault on the Pacific was so successful, that plans were now laid for the invasion of Australia via New Guinea, and Hawaii via the island of Midway. Meantime, the US Navy was making a determined recovery from Pearl Harbor. The Japanese were about to discover the true potential of their formidable enemy.
Click on the link to learn more about the Battle of Midway:
http://www.pbs.org/perilousfight/battlefield/doolittle_raid_midway/
Island Fighting
In the summer of 1942, Allied troops began the troublesome task of clawing back the territory seized by Japan in the first six months of the Pacific War. Early battles suggested the Japanese would fight fanatically to hold on to what land they had captured, in the hope of reaching a compromise with their more powerful enemy. In the savage fighting that followed over the next three years- on sandy beaches and in dense, torrid jungles- tiny, unheard of islands, would earn an infamous place in the history of the Second War World.
In the summer of 1942, Allied troops began the troublesome task of clawing back the territory seized by Japan in the first six months of the Pacific War. Early battles suggested the Japanese would fight fanatically to hold on to what land they had captured, in the hope of reaching a compromise with their more powerful enemy. In the savage fighting that followed over the next three years- on sandy beaches and in dense, torrid jungles- tiny, unheard of islands, would earn an infamous place in the history of the Second War World.
What was "Island Hopping" During WWII?
“Island Hopping” is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. The US troops targeted the islands that were not as strongly defended by the Japanese. They took control of those islands, and quickly constructed landing strips and small military bases. Then they proceeded to attack other islands from the bases they had established. Slowly the US army moved closer to Japan, taking control of many of the surrounding islands.
MacArthur met with Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, and the two devised a plan. On April 26th, 1942, they laid out the plan; a two-pronged offensive codenamed “Cartwheel”. They aimed to corner Japanese troops on Rabaul Island, with MacArthur’s troops advancing along the northern coast of New Guinea, and Halsey’s troops driving north from Guadalcanal, and taking control of the Solomon Islands.
In February 1945 US troops invaded Iwo Jima; the first American landing on Japanese territory. It was a bloody fight that last 36 days, and cost the US 6, 381 men. Nearly 20,000 Japanese soldiers perished. In April came the invasion of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific in which the Japanese launched massive Kamikaze attacks on the US invasion fleet.
The island hopping strategy was very costly. The US soldiers were not used to the guerilla style of fighting, and the Japanese had the advantage of controlling many of the islands. Further, many US soldiers succumbed to illnesses such as Malaria, dysentery and skin fungus.
Ultimately, the island hopping campaign was successful. It allowed the US to gain control over sufficient islands in the Pacific to get close enough to Japan to launch a mainland invasion. However, the island hopping took a long time and was very costly; even after war was close to ending in Europe it appeared that the war might continue indefinitely in the Pacific.
Source: http://america-at-war-wwii.weebly.com/island-hopping.html
“Island Hopping” is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. The US troops targeted the islands that were not as strongly defended by the Japanese. They took control of those islands, and quickly constructed landing strips and small military bases. Then they proceeded to attack other islands from the bases they had established. Slowly the US army moved closer to Japan, taking control of many of the surrounding islands.
MacArthur met with Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, and the two devised a plan. On April 26th, 1942, they laid out the plan; a two-pronged offensive codenamed “Cartwheel”. They aimed to corner Japanese troops on Rabaul Island, with MacArthur’s troops advancing along the northern coast of New Guinea, and Halsey’s troops driving north from Guadalcanal, and taking control of the Solomon Islands.
In February 1945 US troops invaded Iwo Jima; the first American landing on Japanese territory. It was a bloody fight that last 36 days, and cost the US 6, 381 men. Nearly 20,000 Japanese soldiers perished. In April came the invasion of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific in which the Japanese launched massive Kamikaze attacks on the US invasion fleet.
The island hopping strategy was very costly. The US soldiers were not used to the guerilla style of fighting, and the Japanese had the advantage of controlling many of the islands. Further, many US soldiers succumbed to illnesses such as Malaria, dysentery and skin fungus.
Ultimately, the island hopping campaign was successful. It allowed the US to gain control over sufficient islands in the Pacific to get close enough to Japan to launch a mainland invasion. However, the island hopping took a long time and was very costly; even after war was close to ending in Europe it appeared that the war might continue indefinitely in the Pacific.
Source: http://america-at-war-wwii.weebly.com/island-hopping.html
Click to learn about Australia's contributions to re-conquoring the Pacific: http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/
War in the Pacific
The allied campaign to clear the Pacific of Japanese forces gained an unstoppable momentum in 1944. But, Japan was not yet a spent force. While many of its island fortresses were isolated and starved into submission, those that were attacked fought almost to the last man. And Japan's navy was still among the most powerful in the world.
The allied campaign to clear the Pacific of Japanese forces gained an unstoppable momentum in 1944. But, Japan was not yet a spent force. While many of its island fortresses were isolated and starved into submission, those that were attacked fought almost to the last man. And Japan's navy was still among the most powerful in the world.
D- Day Landings
The timing of the Normandy Landings was crucial. Tides, weather, moonlight- all had to be right. By early June, everything was ready, but unseasonable storms lashed the English Channel. Then, forecasters predicted a lull in the night of June 5 - 6. Eisenhower, his troops already packed into invasion ships and barges, could wait no longer. |
Link to Normandy Invasion www.britannica.com/event/Normandy-Invasion
Voices of D-Day www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/dday_audio_01.shtml
The Battle of the Bulge
Seriously weakened by five years of war, the German army was still a formidable fighting force. As the Allies closed in, the Germans fought back with even greater ferocity. On December 16, a sudden, unexpected German counterattack began. New tanks, kept such an offensive, lurched through fog and snow in the thick forest of the Ardennes in Belgium. |
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
As the war in Europe reached its inevitable conclusion, US forces in the Pacific began their final island battles before the invasion of Japan. In February and April, 1945, they invaded two formidable defended Japanese islands: Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Japanese knew they couldn't hold the islands, but they hoped to inflict such dreadful casualties on the invaders that President Roosevelt would be forced to negotiate a compromise peace. |
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Throughout the summer of 1945, Japanese forces resisted their inevitable defeat with such ferocity that Allied planners feared the invasion of Japan itself would cost half a million lives. The atomic bomb presented an opportunity for the Allies to destroy their tenacious enemies in a single flash of terrible fire. |
The End of the War
The official end of the war, September 2, 1945, was marked by a huge display of military might in Tokyo Bay. As the Japanese delegation left the USS Missouri, 450 US carrier aircraft in tight formation flew over assembled Allied warships. It was a fitting symbol, as US military strength. more than anything else, had won the war against the Japanese. Now, with peace declared in both Europe and Asia, the world faced an uncertain future.
The official end of the war, September 2, 1945, was marked by a huge display of military might in Tokyo Bay. As the Japanese delegation left the USS Missouri, 450 US carrier aircraft in tight formation flew over assembled Allied warships. It was a fitting symbol, as US military strength. more than anything else, had won the war against the Japanese. Now, with peace declared in both Europe and Asia, the world faced an uncertain future.