World War II (1939-1945)

McFarland
I. Causes of WWII:
1) Treaty of Versailles (1919) – ended WWI –
forced Germany to take the blame starting
WWI and to give up territory– the Germans
resented it and wanted revenge
I. Causes of WWII:
2) Rise of Dictators:

a. Benito Mussolini (Italy):

-founded the Fascist Party in Italy after WWI
-fascism (the state is more important than the
ind.)
-called himself Il Duce (“the leader”)
-relied on fascist thugs, called blackshirts, to
terrorize those who opposed him
-given control of Italy in 1922
-conquered Ethiopia in 1935
I. Causes of WWII:
b. Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union):
-rose to power after Lenin’s death in the
1920s
-wanted to take care of his country first, not
get involved in world affairs
-U.S. recognized the Soviet gov’t in 1933
because…
1) for trade to fight the Depression
2) location to Japan
I. Causes of WWII:
c. Japanese Military Leaders:
-rose to power during the Depression
-wanted to take control of all of Asia
-invaded Manchuria (northern Chinese
province) in 1931 for resources
-U.S. didn’t like it and eventually cut off
trade with Japan (made them mad!)
I. Causes of WWII:
d. Adolf Hitler (Germany):
-born in Austria – April 20, 1889
-unhappy childhood – beaten by his father
-loved his mother – she died from breast
cancer – her doctor was Jewish
-moved to Vienna, Austria to become an
artist but failed – Vienna was a very Anti-
Semitic (hatred of Jews) city
I. Causes of WWII:
-left Vienna in May 1913 to escape military
service and moved to Munich, Bavaria
(German province)
-was arrested by Austrian gov’t for fleeing –
failed his military physical – found “unfit…too
weak…and unable to bear arms”
I. Causes of WWII:
-joined the Bavarian Army when WWI started
– served as a “runner” (delivered messages)
-was an excellent soldier – earned 2 Iron
Crosses for bravery
-wounded twice during the war – was in the
hospital when the war ended (temporarily
blinded by mustard gas)
I. Causes of WWII:
-recruited by military intelligence unit to keep
tabs on the German Workers Party, who
hated Jews, Treaty of Versailles, Weimar
Republic, and communists
-eventually joined the party and became its
leader – party later named Nazi Party
-led a revolt against the democratic gov’t in
1923 – it failed and he was sentenced to 5
years in prison (served only 9 months)
I. Causes of WWII:
-wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) while in
prison – blamed Germany’s loss in WWI on
Jews and communists
-believed Germans belonged to a superior
“Aryan” race that was destined to rule the
world
-helped build up the Nazi Party during the
Great Depression
I. Causes of WWII:
-Nazis promised food, jobs, and a strong
military
-the swastika became the symbol of the Nazi
Party
-named Chancellor (2nd in command) by Pres.
Hindenberg in Jan. 1933
-became the sole leader, the “fuhrer”, in 1934
after Hindenberg’s death
I. Causes of WWII:
-SA Brownshirts – military group that
supported Hitler during his rise to power – led
by Ernst Rohm
-after Hitler became the fuhrer, a new elite
group was picked from the best of the SA –
they were called the SS:
-led by Heinrich Himmler
-followed the army during invasions,
going after Jews, communists, gypsies,
or those listed as “subhumans”
I. Causes of WWII:
-Rohm was arrested for being disloyal to
Hitler – he was executed along with 200 other
SA in 1934 – called the “Night of the Long
Knives”
-students were encouraged to join the Hitler
Youth – helped round up “un-German” books
to be burned
I. Causes of WWII:
-Nuremberg Laws of 1935 – took away
citizenship from German Jews, forced Jews
to register with the gov’t, and to wear yellow
stars of David on their clothing
I. Causes of WWII:
3) Appeasement – policy of giving someone
something they want just to please them
-Hitler’s original goal was to unite all
German speaking people
-invaded the Rhineland (area bordering
France) in 1936
-annexed (took control of) Austria w/o
opposition in 1938
I. Causes of WWII:
-annexed the Sudetenland (part of Czech.)
because many spoke German in 1938 –
however, Czech. was closely tied to England

-Munich Conference (Sept. 1938) – England

and France agreed to let Hitler keep his new
territory if he promised not to invade anymore
countries (i.e. they appeased him)
I. Causes of WWII:
4) Spanish Civil War (1936-1939):
-“dress rehearsal” for WWII
-Spanish fascists led by Francisco Franco
were trying to overthrow the democratic
gov’t in Spain
I. Causes of WWII:
-Hitler and Mussolini sent in supplies and
troops to help Franco – experimented with
new weapons and tactics
-U.S., England sent in supplies and volunteer
troops to help the existing gov’t
-Franco won
II. War Begins:
 Hitler broke the Munich Agreement by
invading Czech. In 1938
 England and France drew the line at Poland –
asked Stalin to help them – Stalin shocked
the world by signing the Nazi-Soviet Pact in
Aug. 1939 (promised not to attack each other)
II. War Begins:
 Germany, now without the threat of a 2 front
war, invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939
--England and France declared war on
Germany and WWII began
-Germany defeated Poland in less than a
month by using their blitzkrieg (“lightning
warfare”) tactic
II. War Begins:
 Germany then moved West and took Norway,
Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands
-later moved into France and took Paris on
June 17, 1940
-England was now fighting alone
II. War Begins:
 Hitler then attacked England in the Battle of
Britain (Aug. 1940-Apr. 1941)
-strictly air warfare
-Hitler sent thousands of Luftwaffe (German
Air Force) bombers to England
-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said,
“…we shall never surrender”
-England developed radar which helped them
turn away the Germans – they also asked the
U.S. to help
II. War Begins:
 June 1941, Hitler launched a surprise attack
on the Soviet Union – major mistake – forced
Germany to fight a 2 front war
 In the meantime…Japan joined Germany and
Italy to form the Axis Powers
III. The American Response:
 U.S. remained neutral at first because of the
problems at home (Depression)
 U.S. passed a series of neutrality acts (laws)
that said we would withhold weapons and
loans from all nations at war
 “cash and carry” policy – required all non-
military goods to be paid for in cash and
transported by the buyer
III. The American Response:
 FDR believed the U.S. would eventually get
involved and tried to ease the restrictions
 After the war began, Congress passed the
Neutrality Act of 1939 which allowed England
and France to buy weapons on a cash and
carry basis
 Sept. 1940 – FDR traded 50 used Destroyers
(naval ships) to England for the right to build
military bases on British territory in the
Caribbean Sea
III. The American Response:
 Sept. 1940 – Congress passed the Selective
Service Act which was the first peacetime
draft in U.S. history
-ages 21 to 36 registered
-must serve at least 1 yr. in the military if
drafted
III. The American Response:
 March 1941 – Congress passed the Lend-
Lease Act:
-allowed FDR to aid any nation whose
defense was vital to national security
-began to send war material to England
-ended Am. neutrality
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 U.S. stopped selling iron, steel, and oil (war
materials) to Japan after they took French
territory in Asia
-made the Japanese mad – planned an attack
 Pearl Harbor – Am.’s largest naval base – in
Hawaii – Japan chose to attack it – 4,000
miles from Japan
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 6 Japanese aircraft carriers and 20 other
ships moved towards Hawaii, carrying 400
bomber and torpedo planes
 U.S. had broken the Japanese codes and
knew an attack was coming but didn’t know
exactly where (thought it would be in the
Philippines)
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 Date and time of attack: Sunday, Dec. 7,
1941 – 7:55 a.m.
 Planes picked up on radar, but ignored
(thought they were Am. planes)
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 U.S. Losses: in less than 2 hours
-2,300 killed – 2,000 injured
-18 warships sunk or destroyed – including all
8 battleships (ex: U.S.S. Arizona)
-3 aircraft carriers were not there (2 at sea, 1
in CA for repairs) – destroying them was
Japan’s main goal
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 Japan lost 29 planes
 FDR said, Dec. 7, 1941 will be “a date which
will live in infamy”
 Congress declare war on Japan: Dec. 8,
1941
 Germany and Italy declared war on U.S.:
Dec. 11, 1941
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 Feb. 1942: FDR ordered the army to intern
(imprisonment) all Japanese-Am.’s because
he thought they were a threat to national
security
-100,000 were interned
-1988: Congress apologized and paid all who
were interned $20,000
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 Atlantic Charter (Aug. 1941) – secret meeting
between Churchill and FDR
-discussed how to win the war and what
would happen after the war
-United Nations (U.N.) discussed
 15 million Americans served during the war –
Am. soldiers were nicknamed “G.I.s” after the
“government issue” stamp that appeared on
all military supplies
IV. U.S. Relations with Japan:
 300,000 Mexican-Am.’s and 25,000 Native-
Am.’s served – 300 Navajo Indians served as
radio operators and they developed a code
based on their language that could not be
broken
 1 million African-Am.’s served and fought in
segregated units
 275,000 women served – most as clerks and
nurses
V. Axis v. Allies:
 Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan – 6 other
countries
 Allied Powers (Allies): U.S., England, Soviet
Union – 47 other countries
 The Allies were forced to fight “2 wars” or on
2 fronts:
1) Europe / North Africa
2) Pacific
V. Axis v. Allies:
 Allies adopted a “Europe First” policy:
-would defeat Germany and Italy first
because they were the biggest threat
-U.S. dealt with Japan basically on their own
V. Axis v. Allies:
 Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945):
-Germany used u-boats to sink supply ships
going to England and France
-merchant ships formed convoys and Am.
warships escorted them
-Germans used wolfpacks, groups of 20-30
subs, to attack the convoys
-sonar was used to locate u-boats and depth
charges were used to destroy them
V. Axis v. Allies:
 North Africa Campaign:
-fighting began in 1940 between the British,
Germans, and Italians
-German Army (Afrika Korps) was led by
Gen. Irwin Rommel, the “desert fox”
-turning point: Battle of El Alamein in Egypt
(Nov. 1942) in which England, led by Gen.
Bernard Montgomery, drove the Germans
west towards Tunisia
V. Axis v. Allies:
-in Operation Torch Am. and British troops,
led by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, landed in
west Africa and marched towards Tunisia
-Rommel and the Germans were trapped
-240,000 Axis troops surrendered (Rommel
escaped)
V. Axis v. Allies:
 Invasion of Italy:
-Am. troops, led by Gen. George Patton,
attacked Sicily (July-Aug. 1943)
-when the island fell, Mussolini was
overthrown and killed
-after winning the Battle of Anzio in Italy (May
1944), the Allies captured Rome and drove
towards northern Italy
V. Axis v. Allies:
-U.S. lost 190,000 and the German lost
500,000 in the battle for Italy
-Italy was now out of the war
V. Axis v. Allies:
 War in the Soviet Union:
-Germans attacked with 3.6 million troops in
June 1941
-Soviets used a “scorched earth” policy,
destroying everything the Germans could use
while retreating
-Stalin asked for an attack in western Europe
to take the pressure off
-this is when the Allies chose to attack Italy
instead
V. Axis v. Allies:
-Battle of Stalingrad –turning point in the East
– Soviets attacked during the winter of 1942
and 1943 – Germans lost 300,000 – Soviets
lost 500,000 troops and civilians – forced
German to surrender in the East
V. Axis v. Allies:
 Invasion of Western Europe:
-Allies began to plan for an invasion of
German occupied France from England by
crossing the English Channel
V. Axis v. Allies:
-would be led by Gen. Eisenhower
-given the code name of “Operation Overlord”

-D-Day – Allies landed at Normandy, France

at 6:30 a.m. on June 6, 1945
V. Axis v. Allies:
-Germans had expected the invasion to
take place at Calais in northern France
(much closer to England)
-150,000 men - 5,300 ships – 12,000 planes
-1,500 tanks used on the beaches
-U.S. captured Omaha and Utah beaches
V. Axis v. Allies:
-British and Canadian troops captured Sword,

Gold, and Juno beaches

-Allies eventually broke through and liberated

(freed) Paris in Aug. 1944 and then moved

towards Germany
V. Axis v. Allies:
 Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 1944):
-the last German offensive
-largest battle ever fought by the U.S.
-involved 600,000 G.I.s (80,000 casualties)
-Germans lost 100,000
-Gen. Patton helped stop the German attack
-Allied victory
V. Axis v. Allies:
 March 1945:
-Allied bombers continued to bomb German
cities
-Soviets pushed into Germany from the East
and attacked Berlin
-Soviets met the Am. troops at the Elbe River
on Apr. 25, 1945
-Hitler committed suicide - Germany
surrendered on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day)
V. Axis v. Allies:
 Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)
-FDR, Churchill, Stalin met to plan for the
post-war world
-Germany would be divided into 4 zones
(U.S., France, England, U.S.S.R.)
-Berlin, which lied in the Soviet zone, would
also be divided into 4 zones
V. Axis v. Allies:
-Stalin promised to allow elections in the
eastern European nations he liberated (he
didn’t) – caused major problems later
VI. War in the Pacific:
 Hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor,
Japan attacked the Philippines (controlled by
U.S. since 1898)
-Gen. Douglas MacArthur withdrew his troops
to the Bataan Peninsula on Manila Bay
-FDR ordered Mac to escape to Australia
-Mac promised, “I Shall Return.”
VI. War in the Pacific:
-76,000 became POWs
-Japanese marched them 60 miles to a
railroad
-10,000 died during the 6-12 day march
-many were executed when they couldn’t
keep up (Batann Death March – May 1942)
VI. War in the Pacific:
 Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942):
-NE of Australia
-naval combat carried out entirely by aircraft
-battle was a draw, but Japan was prevented
from invading Australia
VI. War in the Pacific:
 Battle of Midway (June 1942):
-island NW of Hawaii
-Adm. Yamamoto vs. Adm. Chester Nimitz
-fought entirely form the air
-U.S. destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers
and 250 planes
-turning point in the Pacific
VI. War in the Pacific:
 Battle of Guadalcanal (Aug. 1942):
-1st major Allied offensive
-on the Solomon Islands
-jungle warfare
-forced Japan from the islands by Feb. 1943
VI. War in the Pacific:
 U.S. started using island-hopping – strategy
of selectively attacking or by-passing specific
enemy held islands – began after
Guadalcanal
 Philippines Campaign (Oct. 1944):
-160,000 Am. troops invaded the Philippine
island of Leyte
-the Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval
battle in U.S. history
VI. War in the Pacific:
-280 warships fought
-Japanese first used kamikazes, or suicide
planes – kamikaze means “divine wind”
-Gen. MacArthur said, “People of the
Philippines, I have returned”
-80,000 Japanese killed – only 1,000
surrendered
-island were finally secured in June 1945
VI. War in the Pacific:
 Battle of Okinawa (Oct. 1944):
-only 350 miles from Japan
-Japan defended at all cost -2,000 kamikaze
attacks
-110,000 Japanese casualties – 50,000 Am.
casualties
-Japan surrendered island in June 1945
-Am. soldiers began to prepare for an
invasion of Japan
VII. The End of the War:
 Manhattan Project
-as early as 1938 the U.S. gov’t believed that
Germany was close to developing a new
weapon by splitting an atom
-Albert Einstein, a Jew who fled Germany,
wrote FDR a letter saying Germany was close
to building the weapon and the U.S. should
start researching
VII. The End of the War:
-scientists in Chicago found out a way to
make the bomb in 1942
-hidden laboratories were set up in Oak
Ridge, TN and Los Alamos, NM
-July 16, 1945: the first test was held at
Trinity Site outside of Los Alamos
-explosion equaled 20,000 tons of TNT
-supervisor was J. Robert Oppenheimer (“the
father of the atomic bomb”)
VII. The End of the War:
-Oppenheimer said after the explosion, “I
have become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
 As soon as Pres. Harry Truman (FDR had
died) found out about the test, he demanded
the Japanese to surrender or face “utter
devastation”
VII. The End of the War:
 Truman had 2 choices:
1) use the bombs
2) invade Japan
 Arguments in favor of using the bomb:
1) end the war faster
2) save Am. lives
3) intimidate the Soviet Union
VII. The End of the War:
 Arguments against using the bomb:
1) kills thousands of innocent people
2) war would be over soon anyway
VII. The End of the War:
 Truman justified using the atomic bombs
because he said it would save lives in the
long run (invasion of Japan was the
alternative)
 Aug. 6, 1945 – at 8:16 a.m. the Enola Gay
dropped the first bomb on the city of
Hiroshima – a 4 square mile area was
completely incinerated – more than 70,000
died instantly – 30,000 more died within a
week – those that survived suffered serious
effects from the radiation
VII. The End of the War:
-temperature: 100 million degrees at the core -
5,400 degrees at the surface
-co-pilot said, “My God, what have we done”
 Aug. 9, 1945 – the 2nd bomb was dropped on
the city of Nagasaki – city was totally
destroyed – twice as powerful as the 1st bomb
– more than 60,000 eventually died
VII. The End of the War:
 Emperor Hirohito announced on Aug. 14 that
Japan would surrender 
 Japan officially surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945
(V-J Day) on the U.S.S. Missouri