Aggressors Invade Nations

Chapter 16 Chapter 15 Sect. 4 WWII

Remembering the Treaty of Versailles

League of Nations An international peace organization was created: the League of Nations Territorial Losses: Germany-returns Alsace-Lorraine to France French border extended to west bank Rhine River Germany surrenders all of its overseas colonies in Africa and the Pacific

Alsace and Lorraine Regions

Military Restrictions: Limits are set on the size of the German army Germany prohibited from importing or manufacturing submarines weapons or war material Germany forbidden to build or buy or have an air force War Guilt: Sole responsibility billion in for the war placed on Germany’s shoulders Germany forced to pay the Allies $33 reparations over 30 years

World in 1930s

Britain

, France, and the United States are the major democracies –Distracted by

economic

home problems at –Wanted to remain at

peace

Many nations hoped the League of Nations would maintain

peace Fascism

spreads in Europe

The Great Depression Long-term causes  World economies are

connected

 Some countries have huge war

debts

from WWI  Europe

relies

investments.

on American loans and  Prosperity is built on

borrowed

money.

 Wealth is

unequally

distributed.

The Great Depression Immediate Causes  U.S.

stock

market crashes  Banks demand repayment of

loans

.



Farms

fail and factories close.

 Americans reduce

foreign

protect economy.

 Americans

stop

countries.

 American

banking

trade to loans to foreign system collapses.

So, how is there a Worldwide Depression?

 Millions become

unemployed

worldwide.

 Businesses go bankrupt.

 Governments take emergency measures to protect economies.

 Citizens lose

faith

democracy.

in capitalism and  Nations turn toward

authoritarian

leaders.

Worldwide Depression Long-term Effects



Nazis

take control of Germany.



Fascists

come to power in other countries.



Democracies try social welfare programs.



Japan

expands

in East Asia.



World War II breaks out.

Japan 1920s-government became more democratic 1922-Japan signs a treaty borders with China to respect 1928- Japan signs the Kellogg-Briand Pact renouncing war 1929 Depression strikes Japan as well and many Japanese blamed the government *Military leaders soon gain control but unlike European fascists they didn’t try to create a new government but restore traditional control. The militarists made the emperor, Hirohito , the symbol of state power.

Like Hitler and Mussolini, Japan’s militarists wanted to solve problems through territorial gains .

They placed a Pacific Empire which included conquering China .

Japan invades Manchuria Manchuria – rich in iron and coal -northeast province of china 1931 – Japanese army seizes Manchuria *Attack is the first direct challenge to the

League of Nations

The Leagues’ Response to Manchuria Invasion As of 1930s, the League of Nation included all major democracies except the United States .

The League also included three great threats to peace: Germany , Japan, and Italy.

When Japan seized Manchuria, many League members 1933.

protested . Japan ignored protests and left the League in

Japan Invades China

1937-Beijing and the other northern cities including the capital of China, Nanjing (formerly known as Nanking ) fell to the Japanese. China’s forces were led by Jiang Jieshi-no match for Japanese.

Japanese troops killed tens of thousands of captured soldiers and civilians in Nanjing.

*Rape of Nanking

The Rape of Nanking

The Nanking Massacre aka The Rape of Nanking December 1937-January 1938: mass executions of unarmed Chinese civilians by invading Japanese soldiers Estimates place the number of those murdered around 300,000 with another 80,000 raped or tortured including women and children It is believed that Japan’s military had been trained to carry out the killings and atrocities in order to make an example out of Nanking to the rest of China.

Japan never acknowledged its crimes committed at

Nanking

.

After WWII only a few of Japan’s military leaders were ever tried and found guilty of

war crimes

related to the taking of Nanking.

Today, the massacre remains a deeply

divisive

event between the two nations and their people.

 Jieshi was forced to

retreat

and he set up a new capital in Chonqing.

 At the same time, Chinese guerillas led by China’s Communist leader

Mao Zedong

continued to fight the

Japanese

in the conquered area.

European Aggressors

Because the League of Nation failed to respond to Japan’s advances, European fascists build planned aggressions of their own.

Example: Italy’s Mussolini had wanted to a colonial empire in Africa like the French and British. And so, Italy attacks launched in 1935.

Ethiopia (one of the independent nations left in Africa). Ethiopia had earlier resisted an Italian attack in the 1890s, however, they were no match for Italy’s advanced weaponry (as compared to their spears and swords) when an invasion was

Hitler defies the Versailles Treaty 1.

The treaty limited the size of Germany’s army .

*March 1935, Hitler announces that Germany would not obey these restrictions—the League mildly scolds Germany.

2. The treaty forbid German troops to enter a 30-mile-wide zone on either side of the Rhine River. (aka Rhineland serves as buffer between Germany and France—industrial area) *March 7, 1936, German troops moved into the Rhineland.

How did Britain and France Respond?

French did not want to risk war.

Britain urged appeasement (giving into an aggressor to keep peace.

This Rhineland reoccupation was a turning point for two reasons: 1.

Strengthened Hitler’s power within Germany and prestige 2.

The balance of power was in Germany’s favor (France and Belgium open to an attack)

Hitler’s growing strength encouraged Mussolini to seek an alliance with Germany. October 1936-the two dictators sign the Rome-Berlin Axis A month later-Germany makes an agreement with Japan *Germany, Italy and Japan become known as the Axis Powers

Civil War Erupts in Spain Spain had been a monarchy declared) until 1931 (republic From 1936-1939 two sides fought for control over Spain: the nationalists and the loyalists The insurgent nationalists were aristocrats, military leaders, Roman Catholics, clergy, and members of a political group called the Falange Party. Nationalists were supported by Hitler and Mussolini.

The loyalists were liberals, socialists, and communists. They were supported by Stalin .

A number of non-Spanish idealists, who believed in saving the republic from fascist rebels joined the ranks of the loyalists .

(Ernest Hemingway’s, For Whom the Bell Tolls, wrote about a young American man who took up arms in behalf of the loyalist effort)

Hitler and Mussolini sent troops, tanks… to help Franco’s forces called Nationalists The supporters of Spain’s elected government, the Republicans received little help from abroad Early 1939, Republican resistance collapsed, Franco became Spain’s Fascist dictator.

Guernica April 26, 1937 Franco’s German allies bombed the ancient Basque city of Guernica , Spain.

Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso’s painting, Guernica captures the human horror of the event.

Francisco Franco After the chief.” not Nationalist victory, Franco declares himself military chief. He referred to himself as Generalissimo which means “commander in Initially his reign was 1939-1943.

He named his 1931.

harsh . This included executions of 200,000 Spaniards between He sympathized with the Axis countries but did enter World War II He ruled Spain until his death in 1975. Two years before he died he stepped down as head of state but maintained his title generalissimo. successor Prince Juan Carlos. When Franco died, Juan Carlos I became the first Spanish monarch to control Spain since his grandfather King Alfonso XIII was deposed of in

Where was everybody else during these Fascist aggressions in the 1930s?

Britain and France made concessions hoping to keep peace Why?

1. Both nations were struggling economically as a result of the Great Depression .

2. The horrors of WWI were remembered and so a deep desire to avoid another war was felt.

What is the U.S. doing during this time?

Many Americans supported isolationism .

Isolationism: the belief that political ties to other countries should be avoided Entry into WWI was felt to have been a costly error In 1935- Congress passes three Neutrality Acts which ban loans and the sale of arms to nations at war

The German Reich Expands November 5, 1937- Hitler announces plans to his advisors to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich (German Empire)

The Treaty of Versailles prohibited or a union between Austria and Germany. Why?

Anschluss March 1938- Hitler sends his army into Austria and annexes it

France and Britain

ignore

their pledge to protect Austrian independence.

Hitler next turns too…

Czechoslovakia , about three million German people lived in the western border regions of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland.

This area, heavily fortified, was the Czech’s main defense against Germany.

In September 1938, Hitler demands that the Sudetenland be given to Germany. The Czechs refused and appeal to France for help.

What do the French and British do?

France and Britain were preparing for war when Mussolini proposed a meeting of Germany, France, Britain, and Italy in Munich, Germany.

September 29, 1938- The Munich Conference

(note the

Czechs

were not invited)

British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain he could preserve peace demands.

believed by giving into Hitler’s And so, Britain and France agreed that Hitler could take the Sudetenland .

In exchange, Hitler was to respect Czechoslovakia’s new border.

Chamberlain returned to London, greeted by cheering crowds. One skeptic, Winston Churchill , then a member of the British Parliament, opposed the appeasement policy.

Sure enough, less than six month after the Munich meeting, Hitler took Czechoslovakia.

Soon after, Mussolini takes Albania.

Hitler than demanded Poland return the former German port of Danzig. The Poles appeal to Britain and France. However, the British and French’s past record of appeasement encourage Hitler that neither would risk war.

Nonaggression Pact

August 23, 1939, Stalin and Hitler sign a

Nonaggression Pact

another.

which says that Communist Russia and Fascist Germany will never attack one

World War II: 1939-194

Hitler’s Lightning War Chapter 16 Section 1

The War Begins     Hitler played into the fears and hopes of the Western democracies by each time taking new territories and then declaring an end to his demands. However, after moving into the Rhineland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, Hitler now turned his sights to Poland .

After WWI, the Allies and cut out the Polish Corridor (formerly German territory) and gave it to Poland allowing them access to the sea.

In 1939, Hitler demanded the Polish Corridor back.

Recalling the Nonaggression Pact

 Stalin , not invited to the Munich Conference, was not so quick to ally with the Western powers.

 Stalin and Hitler sign the nonaggression pact between Russia and Germany.

 In this agreement, they agree to divide Poland.

up  They also agree that the USSR can take over Finland and the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

September 3, 1939      September 1, 1939-Hitler launches a surprise attack on Poland.

France and Britain declare war September 3, 1939 .

on Germany on Germany’s attack on beginning of WWII the blitzkrieg or Poland marked the and the first test of Germany’s newest military strategy known as lightening war.

Blitzkrieg involved: fast-moving overwhelm them.

airplanes tanks, followed by massive infantry forces, to take enemy defenders by surprise and and This strategy worked on Poland

     The Soviets Make Their Move September 17, 1939, Stalin occupy the eastern half of Poland (Germany occupies the western half) sends troops to Stalin then moves to annex countries to the north of Poland: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia all of whom fall without a struggle.

However, Finland does resist. In November, Stalin sends about 1 million troops into Finland making a crucial mistake to send troops in the winter.

The Soviets suffered heavy losses, however, finally win because of the numbers game (the Soviets had more soldiers).

By March 1940, Stalin forced the Finns to accept terms of surrender.



The Phony War

After declaring war on Germany, the French and British stationed troops along the Maginot Line (a system of fortifications along France’s border with Germany).

 They waited for an attack.

 The Germans, along their Siegfried Line, a few miles away, waited as well.

 Germans refer to this as the sitzkrieg or sitting war. Some newspapers refer to it simply as the phony war.

     Suddenly, Hitler launched an surprise attack on Denmark and Norway.

In just a few hours after the attack, Denmark fell. Two months later, Norway fell as well.

The Germans then began building bases along the Norwegian and Danish coasts which they could launch strikes on Great Britain .

In May 1940, Hitler sweeps through Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Taken these countries were part of a strategy to take France .

Hitler then sent a large force of tanks and troops through the Ardennes (northern France), squeezing between the Maginot Line.

Rescue at Dunkirk  The German forces reached the with German troops in Belgium.

French coast and then went north again to join  By the end of May 1940, the German had trapped the Allied forces around the northern French city of Lille .

 The Allies, outnumbered, retreated to the French port city Dunkirk . They were trapped with their backs against the sea .

 Great Britain set out to rescue the army.

–It sent about 850 ships across the English Channel to Dunkirk.

–Along with naval ships, civilians contributed by sending effort.

yachts , lifeboats, motorboats, paddle steamers, and fishing boats all joined the rescue –From May 26 to June 4, under heavy fire from German bombers, sailed back and forth from Britain to Dunkirk.

–The boats carried some 338,000 battle weary soldiers to safety.

France Falls  By June 14, the Germans had taken Paris .

 French leaders surrender on June 22, 1940.

 The Germans took control of the northern part of the country, however, the left the southern part to a puppet government headed by Marshal Philippe Petain .

 Petain was a French hero from WWI  The headquarters for this government was in the city of Vichy .

 After France fell, Charles

de Gaulle

, a French general, set up a government-in-exile in

London

.

 De Gaulle focused his energy to reconquering

France

.

 De Gaulle goes on to organize the Free French military forces that battled the

Nazis

until France was

liberated

in 1944.

The Battle of Britain When France fell, Great Britain stood alone.

Winston Churchill, the new British prime minister, declared that his nation would never give in.

Hitler turns his mind to an invasion of Great Britain.

His plan: Take out the RAF (Royal Air Force) Then, land more than 250,000 soldiers on England’s shores.

Summer 1940-the Luftwaffe, Germany’s air force , began bombing Great Britain -focus began on British air fields and aircraft factories and then the attacks turned to the cities such as London to break British morale British remained determined, despite destruction and loss of life.

The RAF, although outnumbered began to fight back. Two technological devices helped: 1.

Electronic tracking system known as radar (could tell the number, speed, and direction of incoming warplanes) 2.

German code-making machine named Enigma

Enigma Late 1930s-a complete Enigma smuggled into Great Britain machine The Enigma enabled the British to decode German secret messages.

With the information gathered by these devices, the RAF fliers could quickly launch attacks on the enemy.

In October 1940, German gave up daylight bombings in favor of night bombing to avoid RAF attacks.

The Battle of Britain (the nights filled with air raids, sirens, Londoners flocking to subways which served as air raid shelters, some stayed in their home basement shelters…) continued until May 10, 1941.

Hitler calls off his attacks and turns to the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.

The Battle of Britain taught the Allies a crucial lesson: Hitler’s attack could be blocked

.

The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front The British resistance caused Hitler to shift his strategy in Europe .

He decided to deal with Britain later and so turned to the Mediterranean area and the Balkans and ultimately to the Soviet Union.

First objective in Mediterranean region was North Africa, mainly because of Hitler’s ally Mussolini.

Italy had remained neutral at the beginning of the war even though they were in an alliance with Germany.

In September 1940, while the Battle of Britain was raging, Mussolini ordered his army to attack British-controlled the British units back. Egypt .

Italian troops pushed 60 miles into Egypt forcing In December, the British struck back which was devastating to the Italians. By 1941, the British had swept 500 miles across North Africa and had taken 130,000 Italian prisoners.

Hitler had to save his Axis power ally by sending a German tank force, the Afrika Korps , under the command of General Erwin Rommel .

In late March 1941, Rommel’s Afrika Korps attacked catching British forces by surprise. The British forces retreated east to Tobruk , Libya.

After fierce fighting for Tobruk, the British began to drive Rommel back.

By mid-January 1942, Rommel retreated to where he started.

Then, by June 1942, Rommel regrouped and pushed the British back across the desert , and seized Tobruk. Rommel’s successes in North Africa earned him the nickname “ Desert Fox .” While Rommel was busy in North Africa, other German generals were active in the Balkans.

The War in the Balkans As early as the summer 1940, Hitler had begun his plans to attack the USSR.

The Balkan countries of south eastern Europe were key to Hitler’s invasion plan.

He had hoped to build bases in southeastern Europe to use against the USSR.

By early 1941, through the threat of force, Hitler had convinced Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary to join the Axis powers.

Yugoslavia and Greece , having Pro-British governments resisted.

 In early April 1941, Hitler invaded both countries.

  Yugoslavia fell in 11 days and Greece surrendered in 17 days.

Hitler invades the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa : plan to invade Soviet Union June 22, 1941, the beginning of the invasion  After weeks of fighting the Germans pushed nearly 500 miles inside the Soviet Union  As the Russians retreated, they used the same scorched-earth strategy as they had done with Napoleon.

On September 8, German forces put Leningrad under siege.

By early November the city was cut off from the rest of the Soviet Union.

To force surrender, Hitler was ready to starve 2.5 million people that lived in the city.

the German bombs destroyed food warehouses. Many people began eating cattle and horse feed and then resorted to cats, dogs, crows, and rats.

Nearly 1 million people died in Leningrad during the winter of 1941-1942. Yet, the city refused to fall.

       Impatient with progress in Leningrad, Hitler turned to Moscow in October 2, 1941. By December, the Germans were on the outskirts of Moscow. The Soviet general, Zhukov counterattacked.

As temperatures fell, the Germans, in summer uniforms, retreated. Ignoring Napoleon’s defeat about 130 years before, Hitler ordered “No retreat !” German troops dug in about 125 miles west of Moscow.

The held the line until March 1943.

Hitler’s advance on the Soviet Union had gained nothing but cost the Germans 500,000 lives.

The United States Aids Its Allies      Most people felt the U.S. should not get involved in the war.

Between 1935 and 1937 Congress had passed the Neutrality Acts.

However, President Allies fell, the United States would be drawn into the war.

Roosevelt knew that if the In September 1939, Roosevelt asked Congress to allow the Allies to buy American arms.

The Allies would pay cash and then carry the goods on their own ships.

 The Lend-Lease Act Passed in March 1941, the president could lend or lease States.

arms and other supplies to any country vital to the United  By summer 1941, U.S. escorting British ships carrying U.S. arms.

Navy was  Hitler ordered submarines to sink cargo ships they met.

any  Even though the U.S. had not entered the war, Roosevelt and Churchill had secretly met and issued a joint declaration called the Atlantic Charter.

The Atlantic Charter This charter upheld free trade among nations and the right of people to choose their own government.

The charter would later serve as the Allies peace plan at the end of WWII.

On September 4, a German U-boat fired on a U.S. destroyer in the Atlantic.

In response, Roosevelt ordered navy commanders to shoot German submarines on sight.

The U.S. was now involved in an

undeclared

naval war with Hitler.

However, to most everyone’s surprise, it was not an attack from Germany that drew the U.S. into the war, rather it was an attack from

Japan

.