Upload
shanna-berry
View
218
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
World War II Begins
Objective: Explain the events that led to the beginning of
World War II.
United States
Roosevelt speaks out against growing “epidemic of world lawlessness”
American people favored isolationism
Roosevelt promised to keep out of the war but saw danger posed by Japan, Germany, and Italy
What caused Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany?
On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland (a violation of the Munich Agreement). Great Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. World War II had begun.
Blitzkrieg (lightning war) – new method of warfare introduced by the Germans. Stressed speed and surprise in the use of tanks, troops, and planes.
Britain and France could do nothing to help Poland
September, 1939 – Hitler and Stalin were dividing Poland per their prewar agreement
Stalin forces Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to allow Soviet army bases in their countries
Finland fights back but surrenders in 1940
Spread of War
Allied forces prepare for attack against France on Maginot Line – string of steel-and-concrete bunkers along French-German border
April, 1940 – Germany attacks Denmark and Norway to the north
May, 1940 – turn west to invade Netherlands and Belgium
Dunkirk
Allied troops retreat to Dunkirk following surrender of Belgium
Trapped between the Germans and the French coast of the English Channel
800 British warships, ferries, and fishing boats back and forth across channel and rescued more than 300,000 British and French soldiers
France
June – Germans crossed Somme River and swept into France
Italy joined the war and attacked France from the southeast
June 14, 1940 – German troops marched into Paris
France surrendered one week later
Britain Battles for Survival
Britain only country in western Europe not controlled by Germany
August, 1940 – German warplanes begin bombing British air bases, shipyards, factories, and cities destroying parts of London and killing many people
Battle of Britain – German air forces (Luftwaffe) and Britain's Royal Air Force battle until October
Prime Minister, Winston Churchill refuses to surrender leaving Hitler frustrated
Germany suffers heavy losses; Hitler abandons plans to invade
Germany Turns on Stalin
Hitler decides he needs resources and land of the Soviet Union
June, 1941 breaks Nonaggression Pact with Stalin
Destroys planes and tanks and captured over half a million soldiers in the early phase of the invasion
Stalin orders scorched-earth policy Soviets burned their cities,
destroyed crops, and blew up dams that provided electrical power
Germans had difficulty supplying their troops and advancing
Summary What was the reaction of Britain and France to
Hitler’s invasion of Poland? What did allied troops do when Belgium fell to
the Germans? How did Hitler plan to destroy Britain? Why did Hitler decide to attack the Soviet Union?Activity suggestions: illustrate blitzkrieg; illustrate
the event that started the war or the attack on Britain; create a political cartoon for the breaking of the Nonaggression Pack