Major Battles of World War II

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Major Battles of World War II
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Invasion of Polandbackground
In 1939, Adolf Hitler was looking to further
expand Germanys borders.
He had already taken Austria and the Sudetenland
without a fight.
Next, he set his sights on Poland.
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• "The tragedy of this Sudeten woman, unable to
  conceal her misery as she dutifully salutes the
  triumphant Hitler, is the tragedy of the silent
  millions who have been won over' to Hitlerism by
  the everlasting use' of ruthless force."

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August 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union sign a
Nonaggression Pact
They also secretly agree to divide Poland.

• Soviet Foreign Commissar Vyacheslav
• Molotov signs the Nazi-Soviet nonaggression
• pact Joachim von Ribbentrop and Josef
• Stalin stand behind him.
• Moscow, August 23, 1939

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September 1st, 1939 Germany invades Poland
The German blitzkrieg easily overwhelms Polish
defenses.
In response, Britain and France declare war on
Germany
World War II begins
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• German troops parade through Warsaw, Poland.
• September 1939

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The Fall of FranceMay - June 1940
After taking Poland, Hitler looks West.
April 1940 Nazis invade Denmark and Norway
May 10, 1940 Nazis invade France, Belgium,
Luxembourg, and the Netherlands
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The Maginot Line
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http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launc
h_ani_fall_france_campaign.shtml Fall of France
battle animation
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• British POWs at Dunkirk

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France surrenders.
Only Britain is left to oppose Hitler in Europe.
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Battle of Britain

• August - October 1940

The German Luftwaffe attacks British air
fields, towns, and cities.
The British Royal Air Force (RAF) takes to the
skies to defend the British homeland.
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London 1940
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London 1940
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The RAF saves the day.

• Use of RADAR helps Britain head off Nazi bombing
  raids.
• British pilots show their skills.
• The Luftwaffe cannot control the skies over
  Britain.
• Hitler abandons plans to
  invade.

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War in the Pacific

• While Hitler is running amok in Europe,
• Japan is grabbing territory in Asia and the
  Pacific.

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In 1940, Japan signs a pact with Germany and
Italy, forming the Axis Powers. After the Fall
of France, Japan moves into French
Indochina. The United States condemns Japans
actions, and declares an oil embargo. Japan
thinks war with the U.S. is inevitable.
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Hoping to neutralize the U.S. in the Pacific,
Japan plans an attack on the Navys Pacific fleet
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

• Captured Japanese photograph taken aboard a
  Japanese carrier before the attack on Pearl
  Harbor, Hawaii. December 7, 1941

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On December 7, 1941, Japan launches the surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor.
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• 188 aircraft destroyed,
• 155 aircraft damaged,
• 2,345 military and 57
• civilians killed,
• 1,247 military and 35
• civilians wounded

• 5 battleships sunk,
• 2 destroyers sunk, 1 damaged
• 1 other ship sunk, 3 damaged
• 3 battleships damaged,
• 3 cruisers damaged

• USS Shaw USS Arizona

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The U.S. declares war on Japan, officially
entering World War II.

• President Roosevelt signs
• declaration of war against Japan

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http//plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/a
x/frameset.html Pearl Harbor attack map
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Battle of Midway
June 4th 7th, 1942

• Japanese Navy wants to take Midway Island, tries
  to lure U.S. Navy into trap.
• BUTU.S. had broken Japanese secret code.
• Admiral Chester Nimitz sends all available
  carriers to the area.

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• U.S. Naval forces and planes sink four Japanese
  aircraft carriers.
• Japanese Navy is crippled.
• Pacific war turns in Americas favor.
• Japan goes on the defensive.

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• Diorama by Norman Bel Geddes, depicting the
  attack by USS Yorktown (CV-5) and USS Enterprise
  (CV-6) dive bombers on the Japanese aircraft
  carriers Soryu, Akagi and Kaga in the morning of
  4 June 1942.

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Battle of the Atlantic1939-1945

• From the beginning of the war, the German and
  British navies battle it out in the Atlantic.
• One of the German goals is to cut off supplies
  from North America.
• In March 1941, U.S. Congress passes the
  Lend-Lease Act, loaning Britain 7 billion in
  weapons and supplies.
• In order to cut off this aid, German U-boats sink
  Allied cargo ships.

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The Allies organize ships into convoys, protected
by British and Canadian navy ships and
planes. With the Lend-Lease Act, the U.S. also
begins escorting ships as far as Iceland. In
September 1941, a German U-boat fires on a U.S.
destroyer. FDR tells U.S. forces to shoot
threatening U-boats on sight.
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The Germans and the Allies battle at sea until
the end of the war in 1945. The British use
SONAR to detect German U-boats. German U-boats
are unable to cut off supply lines. Allied
victory remains possible.
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Back in Europe
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Operation Barbarossa

• In June 1941 (6 months before Pearl Harbor),
  Hitler betrays Stalin.
• Nazi forces begin Operation Barbarossa an
  invasion of Soviet Union. Their aim is to take
  Moscow.
• Largest military operation in History. 900,000
  German and 3,000,000 Russian casualties.

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• Even though the Soviets sustain greater losses,
  the operation is a failure for the Germans.
• The Nazi Army regroups, goes after Stalingrad.
• The Battle of Stalingrad will become the
  bloodiest in history, with over 1,500,000
  casualties.
• 750,000 Germans killed or wounded, 91,000
  captured.
• 478,000 Russians killed or missing, 650,000 sick
  and wounded. Over 40,000 civilian deaths.

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Battle of Stalingrad

• July 1942 February 1943
• The Nazis want Soviet oil fields. Controlling
  Stalingrad will give them access.
• Neither army will retreat or surrender.
• September German and Romanian forces surround
  Stalingrad.

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• 
  German Luftwaffe attacks
• on
  Stalingrad
• Summer 1942

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• November January
• Red Army counterattacks, defeats the Romanian
  forces, pushes the Nazi Army away from the city.
• German commander Friedrich Von Paulus sees hope
  is lost. His force of 300,000 is down to 91,000
  starving, freezing men. But Hitler wont let him
  surrender.
• He surrenders anyway.

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• German POWs
• in Stalingrad
• February 1943

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• Stalingrad, 1943

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• Russia stops the blitz.
• Crushing defeat for the Germans ends their
  advances in Eastern Europe.
• The tide in Europe begins to turn in the Allies
  favor.

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War in Africa1940 - 1943

• British Commonwealth forces fight back and forth
  with Italian and German forces in North Africa
• and the
• Mediterranean
• Both sides want to control the Suez Canal

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The Battle of El Alamein
October 23 November 5, 1942
British General Bernard Montgomery
German General Erwin Rommel

• Their forces meet at El Alamein, near Alexandria,
  Egypt.
• Montgomery uses superior numbers to overwhelm
  German forces.
• Rommel convinces Hitler that he has to withdraw
  begins 1,400 mile retreat across North Africa.

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• Australian soldiers at El Alamein

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The Battle of El Alamein

• Soon after the battle, U.S. forces under Generals
  George S. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower land in
  Africa.
• End of Axis threat in Africa.
• Allies can focus on Mediterranean

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After El Alamein(1943-1944)

• February 44
• Allied bombing of Germany begins.
• June 44
• Allies capture Rome.
• Operation Overlord

• July-September 43
• Allies land in Italy.
• Mussolini overthrown.
• 1944
• Allied bombing of German targets in France.

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General Dwight D. Eisenhower addresses
U.S. troops prior to the Invasion
of Normandy.
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Operation Overlord

• Allies cross the English Channel to retake France
  from Germany.
• June 5th, 1944
• paratroopers descend behind German lines

• June 6th, 1944
• D-Day

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D-Day (Invasion of Normandy)

• Over 160,000 US, British, and Canadian troops and
  30,000 vehicles land on the beaches of Normandy,
  France.
• Landings begin at 630 am.
• By midnight, the Allies control the beaches.

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http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launc
h_ani_d_day.shtml
http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launc
h_ani_wwtwo_movies_dday.shtml
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After D-Day
US soldiers in Belgium, December 1944

• Allied forces and French Resistance liberate
  Paris in August.
• Liberations of France, Belgium, Luxembourg.

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Battle of the BulgeDecember 1944 - January 1945

• Hitlers last offensive.
• 250,000 Nazi soldiers advance through Ardennes
  forest, pushing 50 miles into Allied lines.

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• Three members of an American patrol cross a
  snow-covered Luxembourg field on a scouting
  mission.
• White bedsheets camouflage them in the snow.

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http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bulge/sfeature/sf_foo
tage_01.html Description of battle
http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bulge/sfeature/sf_foo
tage_04.html McAuliffes surrender message
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Battle of the BulgeDecember 1944 - January 1945

• Over 76,000 Americans are killed, wounded, or
  captured, mostly in the first three days of
  battle.
• UK forces under Montgomery attack the bulge
  from the north, US forces under Patton attack
  from the south.
• German forces - cold, frustrated, and low on
  fuel and ammunition - withdraw.
• The end is near for Nazi Germany.