Transcript The Second World War

1931-1945
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Allies vs Axis
In the Second World War, the Allies fought
the Axis Powers + Japan.
The Axis started the war and they were VERY
prepared . With careful planning, the Axis did
horrible damage until they were defeated.
In hindsight, the Axis Powers were a small alliance
and did not have a real chance once the Allies
became organized.
However, the opening phase of the war was a
series of devastating Allied defeats.
THE AXIS POWERS
 The Axis nations included: Germany, Italy,
Japan, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.
 Finland also assisted the Axis but ONLY to fight
the USSR who had invaded Finland.
THE ALLIED NATIONS
 The Allies were a huge alliance that grew
throughout the war.
 There were three main allies and many minor
allies. Some of the Allies were knocked out of
the war because they were conquered.
The Big THREE
 Britain
 USA
 USSR
The Commonwealth Nations
 The British had the significant help of many
colonies and former colonies:
 Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, India, etc
China
 In Asia, China was a HUGE Allied nation
 But not very strong militarily
 China was too big for Japan to conquer and
Japan’s resources were tied up in the fight
against such a large enemy.
Other Allied Countries
Poland
Nepal
Denmark
Dutch East Indies
Mongolia
Dominican Republic
Nicaragua
Cuba
Ethiopia
Colombia
Peru
Paraguay
Turkey
Syria
Chile
France
Czechoslovakia
Belgium
Greece
Panama
El Salvador
Philippines
Mexico
Iraq
Iran
Albania
Uruguay
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
Costa Rica
French Colonies
Norway
Netherlands
Yugoslavia
Luxembourg
Haiti
Guatemala
Brasil
Bolivia
Liberia
Ecuador
Venezuela
Lebanon
Argentina
NATIONS IN RED WERE CONQUERED BY THE AXIS OR JAPAN.
The Alliance Grew During the War
The Allies joined at different times. Some joined in
1939-1941 when they were attacked:
France, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands,
Greece, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Philippines, Dutch East
Indies, Albania, Denmark, Luxembourg
These countries were occupied by Japan and
Germany and were not able to provide much help
for the rest of the war.
ALLIES Continued to join
Many countries joined towards the end, in 1945. It was
clear by this time that Germany, Italy, and Japan were
going to lose.
Paraguay
Turkey
Syria
Chile
Uruguay
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Lebanon
Argentina
Ecuador
A “WORLD” AT WAR
The war has two main parts.
A Pacific Theater
1931-1945
A European Theater
1939-1945
THREE PHASES OF THE WORLD WAR
1.
A winning streak. Initial Axis victories make
them look invincible.
2.
A first loss. Allied countries finally stop the Axis
offensive.
3.
A losing streak. Allied countries counterattack
and overwhelm the Axis nations.
Phase One—Europe
Germany conquered and occupied ALL of
Europe except for the neutrals: Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Ireland, and Portugal.
Phase One: Asia 1931
Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931.
Phase One—Asia 1941
Japan overwhelmed much of the Pacific and East Asia in a
carefully planned rapid attack.
RED TERRITORIES WERE CONTROLLED BY JAPAN.
Japan’s 1st defeat:
Midway Island
Beginning in 1942, the Allies had organized enough to stop Axis attacks.
US aircraft carrier “ Yorktown” under Japanese air attack. The Yorktown later sank.
Germany’s 1st defeat:
El Alamein
1942
British and Commonwealth forces pushed German and Italian armies back from Suez.
USSR:
Stalingrad 1942-43
German POWs
The Red Army surrounded and destroyed a German army of 250,000 soldiers.
The Axis hold on and defend
 Beginning in 1943, the Axis tried to hold
on to what they had captured.
 Japan believed that if they fought
stubbornly, the Allies would give up.
 The Allies wanted to “liberate” captured
lands, but they needed time to prepare.
Long Distance Attacks
While they prepared a counterattack, Allied
planes bombed Japan and Germany relentlessly.
MOST GERMAN AND JAPANESE CITIES WERE 75-90% DESTROYED.
The Final Phase—Counterattack
1943
1943: USSR won the Battle of Kursk
Kursk
1943: Allies Invaded Sicily
Sicily
1943: The USA won several Pacific
islands including Tarawa.
“Bloody Tarawa”
Counterattack in the Pacific
1944
 In 1944, the Allies
moved closer to Japan
 US forces captured the
islands of Tinian,
Saipan and Guam
 From these islands,
aircraft could reach
and bomb Japan.
Allied Counterattack
1944
 In 1944, the USSR recaptured the Ukraine,
the Baltic States, and part of Poland.
 D-Day—Amphibious invasion of France
 On June 6, 1944, Britain, Canada, and the
USA invaded Normandy, France.
D-Day 1944
Two-Front War
 The invasion of France put pressure on both
sides of Germany—EAST and WEST.
 The Nazis did not last very long once they
had to fight on two fronts.
 Germany surrendered in less than one year.
VE-Day May 8, 1945
Celebration in Times Square, New York City
Final Phase—The Pacific
 Japan held out a few months longer.
 Attacking Japan required many invasions
Iwo Jima, 1945
Mount Suribachi is in the background.
Amphibious Attack
One of the features of the Pacific war was the use
of small boats to invade numerous islands.
“Island Hopping”
Amphibious attack was extremely dangerous. The boats were slow
and easy targets as they approached the beach. There was no place
for soldiers to hide on a beach.
The Americans chose to capture some islands, and bypassed others.
The HIGGINS Boat
Bitter Fighting
Japanese soldiers usually
would not surrender.
They had very carefully
prepared defenses of caves,
concrete bunkers and log
shelters.
Each shelter had to be
destroyed by fire and
explosives.
Final Pacific Battles
1945
 In 1945, US forces captured the islands of Iwo Jima
and Okinawa. The defense was carefully prepared.
 Japanese defenders were stubborn. Most died.
US Soldiers raise a flag on
Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima.
Okinawa 1945
At the battle of Okinawa, more than 100,000 civilians died.
US soldiers together with Okinawan civilians.
Operation “Olympic”
 After Okinawa, the US planned to invade
Japan in the same way.
 The Americans expected many hundreds of
thousands of soldiers to die.
 If the pattern of Okinawa repeated, millions
of Japanese civilians would also die.
Invasion Avoided
 Atomic attack destroyed Hiroshima on
August 6, 1945.
 Soviet armies invaded Manchuria on August
8, 1945
 A second atomic attack destroyed Nagasaki
on August 9, 1945.
JAPAN QUICKLY SURRENDERED.
VJ-Day:
August 14-15, 1945
The End