World War IIFrom Appeasement to Victory

Q.O.D. #12 2/3/10

Which areas were under Axis control between 1939 and 1941?

U.S. Involvement1939 – U.S. declared neutrality

Isolationist, pacifist

Many sympathized with those fighting the Axis in Europe

FDR looked for a way around the Neutrality ActsLend-Lease Act

President could sell or lend war materials to “any country whose defense the president deems vital to the United States”

Vowed U.S would not get involved in the war, but would become the “arsenal for democracy

JapanJapan had overtaken Manchuria in 1931 and withdrew from the League of Nations.

In 1937 they took much of eastern China and began the second Sino-Japanese War

Japan saw a chance to take European possessions in Asia when war broke out in Europe in 1939.

U.S.-Japanese tensionIn 1940 the United States banned the sale of war materials to Japan.

Japan saw this as interference into its sphere of influence

Tensions were growing, and the two countries had talks to try to ease them

Some Japanese wanted to expand their empire and viewed the U.S. to be interfering with their plans.

Pearl Harbor

Pearl HarborJapan attacked the United States on December 7, 1941.

President Roosevelt addressed Congress the next day.“A date which will

live in infamy.”

Congress declared war on Japan on December 8.

Dark Times The Japanese attacked the Philippines immediately after their attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Philippines were a former American colony and had strong ties with the U.S. American Troops there were under the command of Gen. Douglass MacArthur.

Despite an honorable defense, U.S. and Filipino forces were defeated, and the islands fell.

Many American prisoners were marched out of the Bataan Peninsula, where thousands died of disease, hunger, or at the hands of the Japanese.

The Japanese also captured Guam, Wake Island, and several of the Aleutian Islands

The Japanese Zero

Big Three After the U.S. entered

the war, the Big Three – Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin – met periodically to discuss strategy

They agreed to end the war in Europe before ending it in Asia

Did not trust each other, but did not want to hurt their alliance

Allied VictoriesNorth Africa The British defeated the Germans at the key battle of El

Alamein. After The U.S. Army and British Army scored key victories in

Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya, Rommel surrendered in May 1943

Italy The Americans invaded Sicily and later Italy in 1943. The

Italians surrendered, but the fighting with the Germans was particularly brutal at places like Anzio, Monte Cassino, and many other places.

Russia The Soviets held out against the Germans in Moscow and

Leningrad, despite the worst of conditions. Stalingrad- In the worst battle in the history of warfare, the

Soviets eventually defeated the Germans. This is considered by many to be the key victory in the European Theater.

In 1944 the Allies were ready to open a Western front in France.

North Africa

Italy

Vasily Zaytsev

Stalingrad

Tiger Tank

ME 109

D-DayJune 6, 1944

The Allied forces invaded German-occupied FranceParatroopers dropped behind enemy lines156,000 Allied troops crossed the English

Channel to NormandyAmerican: Omaha, UtahCanadian: JunoBritish: Gold, SwordOver 10,000 killed, wounded, missing or

captured

Atlantic Wall

D-Day

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are needed to see this picture.

Allies Advance The Allies fought in Normandy for two months, barely gaining

any ground due to the defensive advantage enjoyed by the Germans in the hedgerow country.

The Allies, including Free French forces, continued to advance and liberated Paris on August 25, 1944.

The rest of France was freed within a month.

The Germans retreated to the safety of Germany and dug into the Siegfried line.

The Allies continued to advance toward Germany from the west, enduring extremely tough battles, while the Soviets pushed toward Germany from the east, where the combat was extremely bitter.

Charles De Gualle French Forces Enter Paris

Hedgerow Country

Siegfried Line

Yalta ConferenceStalin wanted control of Eastern Europe, Churchill and Roosevelt wanted self-determination

Needed Stalin to help win the war

Big Three agreed: USSR would enter the war against Japan after

Germany surrenderedUSSR would be given some territory in AsiaGermany would be divided into four zones to be

governed by the USSR, Britain, U.S. and FranceStalin agreed to hold free elections in Europe