WWII: The Road to War

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WWII The Road to War

• (1931-1941)

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I. The Rise of Dictators

• Covered by other slide show EXCEPT
• Germany Rearms and Expands
• The Nazis secretly began spending on rearming
  and expanding the armed forces in violation of
  the TREATY OF VERSAILLES
• German troops enter the Rhineland (a violation),
  yet the Allies take no action against Hitler
• Hitler signed an alliance with Mussolini (later
  joined by Japan)- this alliance became known as
  the Axis powers

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Germany Expands (continued)

• Hitler united his homeland of Austria with
  Germany (Anshluss)
• Hitler ordered troops into Austria and many
  people welcomed the Nazis warmly
• Hitler demanded the Sudetenland (an industrial
  region of Western Czechoslovakia crucial to its
  defense)
• British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met
  twice with Hitler to resolve the issue and
  pursued a policy of Appeasement- giving in to a
  competitors demands in order to keep peace
• Hitler got the Sudetenland and Chamberlain came
  home to cheers for what he called Peace in our
  time

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II. Europe Goes to War

• Several British Parliamentary leaders, including
  Winston Churchill (future British Prime Minister)
  were upset with Chamberlains policy of
  Appeasement
• They felt Hitler would continue his military
  machine and not stop with the Sudetenland
• Only 6 months after annexing the Sudetenland,
  Hitler controlled the western half of
  Czechoslovakia and divided the rest amongst his
  Allies
• No shots fired yet, but peace was breaking down

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A. Invasion of Poland

• Britain and France ended their policy of
  appeasement after Hitler took Czechoslovakia
• They warned Hitler that any further invasions
  would risk war. (March 1939)
• Hitler didnt believe the warning
• Hitler did have one major concern before invading
  Poland. Anyone know what it was?
• Think about why Germany had a difficult time in
  WWI even before the U.S. joined

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1. Hitlers Pact with Stalin

• Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were sworn
  enemies, yet both had much to gain from working
  together
• August, 1939, Hitler and Stalin signed a 10-year
  Non-aggression Pact eliminating the danger of
  Soviet invasion from the East
• A secret document attached to the pact divided up
  the independent states of Eastern Europe between
  Germany and the Soviet Union
• Sept. 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and war was
  declared

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2. Lightning War

• GB, Fr, and Poland formed an alliance with more
  soldiers and more infantry divisions than
  Germany, but not as much firepower
• Germany launched its new type of warfare in its
  invasion of Poland- Blitzkrieg (lightning war)
• Included fast, concentrated air and land attacks
  that took the enemys army by surprise
• First stuka (bombing planes) shattered defenses
  and terrorized civilians, then mobile artillery
  of tanks, panzer divisions pushed through enemy
  lines before infantry moved to defeat the enemy
  and occupy the country

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• Using the Blitzkrieg tactic, Poland was overran
  in less than a month
• They imposed German laws and imprisoned and
  murdered Jewish citizens
• This treatment of Jews is known as the Holocaust
• Great Britain and France were unable to aid
  Poland in time and the Soviet Union would take
  eastern Poland for itself just months later

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B. War in the West

• After Poland fell, the war entered a quiet
  period The Allies held their soldiers in fear of
  mass casualties while Germany waited for a way to
  get into France
• Frances defense was known as the Maginot Line-
  walls, artillery, underground rails, and housing
  for troops along the German border
• Problem 1 The line didnt extend into Belgium
• Problem 2 All the heavy guns pointed east, so if
  Germany gets through the line, they are useless

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1. Germany Attacks

• April 1940- German troops launched Blitzkrieg on
  Denmark and Norway
• May 1940- Germany was successful at taking the
  Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg
• GB and France tried to help but were too late
• Germany was now able to rush in to northern
  France just around the Maginot Line by going
  through Belgium
• Germany split the main troops in France and made
  it to the English Channel

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2. Dunkirk

• British and French troops in the north retreated
  to the coastal city of Dunkirk
• One of the greatest rescues in history occurred
  at Dunkirk
• 900 vessels saved 340,000 soldiers by getting
  them across the English Channel to Great Britain
  while the German Luftwaffe (air force) was
  attacking constantly
• While this was a retreat, precious forces were
  saved from almost certain capture

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3. The Fall of France

• After Dunkirk, Hitlers armies turned and swept
  through France and on June 10, 1940, French
  officials abandoned Paris
• Italy declared war on France and Great Britain
  the same day
• June 22, more than 1.5 million soldiers
  officially surrendered to Germany
• Hitler took a brief victory tour of Paris and
  Great Britain and France were stunned by the
  speed of the conquest

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• France was controlled by Germany or held under
  collaboration (close supervision in Vichy France)
• There were still underground resistance movements
  in France and those who escaped to Great Britain
  or to Frances African colonies helped there
• However, Great Britain stood alone in its fight
  against the Nazis and their Axis powers after the
  fall of France

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C. The Battle of Britain

• Hitlers next invasion target Great Britain
• Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister-
  We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall
  fight them on the landing grounds, we shall fight
  in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight
  in the hills we shall never surrender

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1. Relentless Attack

• There were massive air strikes by both sides
• From Aug. to Sept. over 1,000 planes raided bombs
  on Britain each day
• At first, both sides stuck to attacking military
  targets eventually civilian centers such as
  London and Berlin became daily targets
• The Blitz (the bombing of London) continue
  through May 1941, but bombing of population
  centers continued throughout the war

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2. Courageous Defense

• Britains Royal Air Force (RAF) successfully
  defended Great Britain by preventing the German
  Luftwaffe from establishing air superiority
• Hitler would not invade the English mainland
  without air superiority (which it never gained)
• One other success, British scientists were able
  to break the Nazi communication code to decipher
  messages

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III. Japan Builds an Empire

• Japan was the strongest East Asian country
• Expanded into Manchuria, Korea, French Indochina
  and parts of China including Beijing and Shanghai
  
• Withdrew from the League of Nations because the
  League was against their aggression

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IV. From Isolationism to War

• During the 1930s the U.S. largely turned away
  from international affairs
• The U.S. stuck to its policy of isolationism
  while Germany, Italy, and Japan were all gaining
  strength and threatening democracy
• Afraid of another foreign conflict
• I hate war. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

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A. The U.S. Chooses Neutrality

• Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts that
  prevented international involvement
• 1935- Banned U.S. from providing weapons to
  nations at war
• 1936- Banned loans to nations at war
• 1937- Permitted trade with fighting nations in
  nonmilitary goods as long as those nations paid
  cash and transported the goods themselves
• This policy became known as Cash and Carry

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B. American Involvement Grows

• Americans isolationist views started to soften,
  especially after Germany invaded Poland
• The U.S. shared interests with Great Britain and
  President Roosevelt began to look for more ways
  to aid the Allies

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1. Debating the American Role

• Congress revised the Neutrality Acts to allow
  weapons to be transported to GB and France
• After France fell to Germany, many Americans
  supported all aid short of war for Britain
• The U.S. sent 50 destroyers to Britain in
  exchange for navy bases in the Western Hemisphere
• The America First Committee formed from
  isolationists who wanted to block any further aid
  to Britain They didnt want to join the conflict

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2. Lend-Lease

• After FDR won a 3rd term in 1940, he began to
  push for more involvement in the Allied cause
• Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941
  authorizing the President to aid any nation whose
  defense he believed was vital to American
  security
• Great Britain was almost out of cash and still
  needed supplies to defend against the Germans
• U.S. would give aid and expect nothing in return
  until after the conflict
• U.S. had given 49 billion in aid to 40 countries
  including the Soviets during WWII

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C. Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor

• Roosevelt was aware of Japans ambitions to
  become a powerful empire
• Began to limit the goods that could be sent to
  Japan such as scrap iron and steel
• Threatened further trade restrictions
• After Japan took over French Indochina, FDR
  stopped all U.S. oil from being shipped to Japan
• Greatly upset the Japanese who depended on U.S.
  oil shipments

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1. Final Weeks of Peace

• General Tojo Hideki became Japans Prime Minister
  in March 1941
• He was a military man who supported war against
  the U.S.
• U.S. code-breakers discovered that Japan had a
  fleet on the move in the Pacific and expected a
  possible attack, but were not sure when or where
  it would come

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2. The Attack

• On December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor (a U.S. Navy
  base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu) was attacked
• 180 Japanese warplanes flew above Pearl Harbor
  bombing and shooting machine guns at the U.S.
  fleet of ships and airfields
• Half the U.S. Pacific fleet was located at Pearl
  Harbor
• In less than 2 hours, 2,400 Americans were dead.
  1,200 were wounded, 200 warplanes destroyed, 18
  warships sunk or severely destroyed, and 8 out of
  9 battleships were sunk (Japan lost just 29
  planes)

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D. United States Declares War

• The attack on Pearl Harbor stunned Americans
• A date which will live in infamy- FDR called
  December 7, 1941 this
• The next day (Dec. 8) Roosevelt asked Congress to
  declare war on Japan
• Within hours of Roosevelts speech, congress
  passed the war resolution
• Only 1 Congresswoman disagreed
• Even the American First Committee backed the war
• Dec. 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the
  U.S.