This powerpoint describes the major people, places, and events that occured during the first 3 years of World War 2.

2. The “Phoney War”
Sept. 3rd,1939-May 10th, 1940

3. Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
September 27th, 1940
The Tripartite Pact

4. Blitzkrieg =
How did Hitler make war?
What?
A swift, sudden military offensive, usually by
combined air (bombers) and mobile land (tanks)
forces through a narrow front (line of battle).

5. From 1939-1941, Hitler’s Nazis used the tactic,
along with it’s superior weapons technology, to
surprise and overwhelm a mostly unprepared Europe.
By 1942, Germany controlled all of Europe, except
Great Britain.
Why Important?

7. France – A False Sense of Security?
The Maginot LineWhat?
A line of interlocking forts along the Franco-German
border from Switzerland to Belgium.
Why?
To prevent Germany from invading France like it
had in WWI.

8. Why did it fail to stop the Germans in WWII?
Belgium refused to
install similar forts
along their border
because they did not
want to spend the
MONEY!
This left Hitler with a
clear path through the
Ardennes Forrest
region and eventually
into France.
This, along with the fact that Britain and France
had done very little to update their military
technologies since WWI, left them unprepared for
the German Blitzkrieg.

9. Dunkirk Evacuated: June 4, 1940
However…
After pushing the British
and French back to
Dunkirk, the Germans
hesitated to finish the
job, giving the Allies 3
days to evacuate their
troops across the English
Channel.
Why important?
The evacuation saved
the lives of 338,226
men. Many of which
were soldiers who would
continue to fight against
the AXIS Powers.

10. Also, France Surrenders on
June 25th, 1940

11. A Divided France
Henri Philippe Petain
(Leader of Vichy
France)

12. The French Resistance
The Free French
General Charles
DeGaulle
The Maquis

13. Now Britain Is All Alone!

14. Battle of Britain: The “Blitz”

15. Battle of Britain: The “Blitz”
July, 1940- October, 1940What?
After invading France, Norway, and Denmark the
Germans attempted to launch “Operation Sea Lion”,
which would have been an invasion of Great Britain.

16. The Royal Air Force & The
Dowding System

17. Why did the German’s fail?
1) The RAF: The British Royal Air Force was
equipped with Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine
Spitfires, which could compete with the Luftwaffe’s
Messerschmitt Bf-109. (Nazi’s could not control the
airspace)

18. Why did The German’s fail?
2) Radar: Helped the British save precious
fuel because they only flew when they saw
the Germans coming.

19. The London “Tube”:
Air Raid Shelters during the Blitz

20. Why did the German’s fail?
3) The German Navy (Kriegsmarine): After suffering
heavy losses while invading Norway, the Germans were
left with barges to land their troops in Britain!

21. Why did the German’s fail?
4) Britain’s Geography: It became the
world’s largest still aircraft carrier.

22. Why was the British victory important?
If the invasion were successful, Hitler’s Nazis would
control all of Europe! Also, it was Hitler’s first
military defeat, which inspired the Allies and left
the door open for the D-Day invasion in 1944.

24. What?
An act that allowed US President FDR to "sell,
transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise
dispose of arms (weapons), to any country whose
defense is vital to the defense of the United States.”
U. S. Lend-Lease Act, 1941

25. EXAMPLES of Aid through the Lend-Lease
Act
Great Britain.........................$31 billion
Soviet Union...........................$11 billion
France......................................$ 3 billion
China.......................................$1.5 billion
Other European.................$500 million
Overall, The amount totaled: $51.1 billion
or about $700 billion in modern money.
Why Important?
1) Increases American involvement in WWII.
2) Supplied the Allies (Britain, China, and the Soviet
Union) with the arms necessary to continue fighting
the Axis powers.

26. The Atlantic Charter
August 14th, 1941
Roosevelt secretly meets British PM Winston
Churchill in Newfoundland, Canada to set goals for
the world after the war, and commit to defeating
Germany.
What?

27. 1) No territorial gains were to be sought by the United States or
the United Kingdom.
2) Territorial adjustments must be in accord with the wishes of
the peoples concerned.
3) All peoples had a right to
self-determination.
4) Trade barriers were to be lowered.
5) There was to be global economic
cooperation and advancement of
social welfare.
6) Freedom from want and fear.
7) Freedom of the seas.
8) Disarmament of aggressor nations,
postwar common disarmament.
Why Important? (8 main points)
*This turned out to be the
blue-print for the creation
of the United Nations.

28. Examples of Irony
1) You are walking down the street and you find a
penny but you do not pick it up, when you try to
take the bus you are missing a penny and you have
to walk.
2) You work at a fire extinguisher factory, when you
get home your house is on fire and you don't have
one.
3) You win the lottery, but die of a heart attack
caused by your overwhelming excitement!
4) You die of dehydration when you are stranded in
the middle of the ocean on a life raft.
5) You are about to die of a disease and you are
allergic to the only drug that can cure you.
What is Irony?
When the OPPOSITE of what you would normally
expect to happen, occurs.

29. Irony in the Pacific???
The official program of the Army-Navy football
game, in November of 1941 included this picture…
So why is it important?
Please read the following
caption which was included
under the picture:
“A bow on view of
the U. S. S.
Arizona as she plows
into a huge swell. It
is significant that
despite the claims
of air enthusiasts no
battleship has yet
been sunk by
bombs."
OK, I read it…So
what's your point?

30. My point is…
In 1941,the US Military Forces ranked 19th
in the WORLD!!!
Really? Why?
The US was behind in weapons technology. It
especially lacked a strong air force, as well as the
air craft carriers needed to support one.
Colonel William “Billy”
Mitchell of the US
Army had known this
since 1922! He even
publically criticized his
superiors for doing
nothing about it, which
he was court marshaled
for in 1925.

31. In conclusion…My point is…
The picture of the USS Arizona and its
caption were meant to slap people, who
wanted to modernize the US Air Force, in
the FACE!
GREAT! Still, SO WHAT!?!?!
Well, a mere nine days after the game…
The USS Arizona took a bomb down its
smoke stack and sunk in approximately 9
minutes!!! It’s destruction also led to the
deaths of 1,177 crewman (nearly half of
the total deaths from the attack)

33. Pearl Harbor – Dec. 7th, 1941
Infamy: “Evil Reputation”

34. What?
Surprise attack
by the Japanese
on American
forces in Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii.
Effect?
2,403 Americans
were killed.
US declares war
on Japan-
December 8th,
1941.

35. Pearl Harbor

36. Pearl Harbor Memorial

37. Why?
Japan was dependent on
US resources, mainly Oil.
After Japan invaded
French Indochina
(Modern day Vietnam) in
1940, the US froze all
their assets (money) in
US banks, and put an
embargo (stoppage) on
trade with them. These
drastically hurt the
Japanese economy. This
led to…

38. Tension between the US and Japan. Japan actually
began planning the attack in March, 1940.
Japanese Preparation and US Intelligence
The US had broken
the Japanese
diplomatic code by
the middle of 1941.
On top of that, a
British double agent
code named Tricycle
had sent them
explicit warnings
regarding a
December 7th attack. Above: Dušan "Duško" Popov
AKA: Tricycle

39. Most American military planners expected a
Japanese attack to come in the Philippines,
America’s major base in the Pacific. Also, most
felt that Pearl Harbor’s fortifications were too
strong and that it was too far away to attack.
Then why was the US unprepared for the attack?

40. Finally, American racism towards the Japanese led
them to become arrogant and overconfident. For
example, Roosevelt believed Japanese combat pilots
to be “nearsighted”, while Churchill often referred
to them as “little yellow men”. Hence, neither ever
believed the Japanese were capable of such an
attack.

41. "I fear all we have done is to awaken a
sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible
resolve."
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

42. Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”)
Explained (1925)What?
A documentary of Hitler’s early years in the Nazi
Party, his future plans for Germany, and his wicked
beliefs on politics and race.
What topics does he
cover?
1) Plans for Germany and
it’s allies to conquer
Europe.
- He planned to ally
Germany with Italy and
the Great Britain to
defeat France, Eastern
Europe, and the Soviet
Union.

43. 2) Whites with blonde hair and blue eyes (Aryans)
were the “master race”.
- Hitler told his people that the Aryan’s were the
original Germans. However, the Aryan people are
really descendants of Scandinavia!
3) Anti-Semitic views:
Jews were considered
the lowest of low,
along with Czechs,
Poles and Russians.
- Hitler blamed
Germany’s economic
problems on the
Jews, whom he said
were plotting to take
over the world.

44. Why is it Important?
1) Became very popular in Germany after Hitler
became Chancellor in 1933, and basically unified
Germany during it’s depression after WWI.
2) It helped Hitler and the Nazi Party premeditate
plans for conquest before the war even began,
making many of their basic strategies well
planned out and successful.
3) It was the basis for the Holocaust and the near
annihilation of the Jewish people in Europe.
“No human being has ever declared or
recorded what he wanted to do more
often than me.”
- Adolf Hitler

45. Why is it important to study, and
know, your History???
BECAUSE IT REPEATS ITSELF!!!

46. Operation Barbarossa:
Hitler’s Biggest Mistake
What?
The codename for the Nazi invasion of the Soviet
Union. It is also the largest military operation in
human history and ultimately led to the defeat of
Nazi Germany.

47. Operation Barbarossa:
June 22, 1941
• Invasion of 4.5 million Axis Troops.
• Including 3,000,000 German soldiers.
• 3,400 tanks

48. The Siege of Leningrad
What?
Why Important?
An 872 day siege (military blockade) of Leningrad,
during which the Axis powers tried to starve the
Russians into submission.
Overall, about 1.1 million
Russians died during the
siege. However, although
the citizens of Leningrad
were reduced to eating
dogs, horses, cats, glue,
and even other people, the
Axis powers were never
able to take the city.

49. The Battle of Moscow
(October 2, 1941 – January 7, 1942)
What?
Why Important?
A failed Axis attempt to capture the Russian capital.
The Axis advance on
Moscow was slowed by
snow, and cold
temperatures. When
they reached the
outskirts of Moscow in
December, they were
met by an unexpected
Russian counter-
offensive which
prevented them from
invading.

50. Russian Victory at The Battle of
Stalingrad: Winter of 1942-1943
German Army Russian Army
1,011,500 men 1,000,500 men
10,290 artillery guns 13,541 artillery guns
675 tanks 894 tanks
1,216 planes 1,115 planes
Why was it important?
The German surrender
marks the end of the
German offensive in Russia,
and Germany begins its long
retreat from the eastern
front.
Also, this was the
bloodiest battle in
WORLD HISTORY!
1.5-2 million people
were killed or
wounded!

51. Why did Operation Barbarossa fail?
1) Hitler underestimated the Red Army: The
Russians had more than 5 million soldiers, about
15,000 tanks, and approximately 11,000 combat
ready aircrafts.

52. 2) The German’s Lacked Supplies: Early successes
led them to believe Russia could be conquered in 3
months. However, their soldiers and tanks moved
faster than their supplies could, which slowed their
“Blitzkrieg”.

53. 3) The Russian Winter: The German’s were unable to
move winter gear to their soldiers in time for the
harsh Russian winter, which reached record low temps
of -22 degrees Fahrenheit. This also forced them to
burn precious fuel that was difficult to resupply to
stay warm.