Europe Goes to War Again and Japan Builds an Empire
Who’s Involved? The Allies The Axis Powers Soviet Union (Russia) Lead by Joseph Stalin Great Britain Lead by Winston Churchill France Lead by Charles de Gaulle Germany Lead by Adolf Hitler Italy Lead by Benito Mussolini Japan Lead by Gen. Hideki Tojo
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Germany’s Aggression Rhineland Austria Sudetenland What places had Germany already taken over? Rhineland Austria Sudetenland
Germany’s Continued Aggression Only six months after taking the Sudetenland: Hitler took over Czechoslovakia At the same time, Italy had taken over: Albania and Greece
Czechoslovakia Albania and Greece
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Czechoslovakia ended hopes of working peacefully with Hitler. Britain and France ended their policy of appeasement and prepared for war. What is appeasement? Britain and France pledged to support Poland in the event of further German aggression Hitler did not believe their warning. Why should he?
Poland
Pact with Stalin Hitler’s army could not fight a war on two fronts. He wanted to be able to fight Britain and France but not have to worry about an attack from the Soviet Union Hitler and Stalin sign a 10 year Nonaggression Pact – prevents the Soviets from attacking Germany Shortly after signing the pact, Germany invades Poland As a result of Germany invading Poland, Britain and France declare war, beginning WWII.
Lightning War Britain and France were evenly matched with Germany in terms of military Germany had a slight edge due to the military tactic known as blitzkrieg, or lightning war Utilized fast, concentrated air and land attacks that took the enemy’s army by surprise Allowed Germany to overrun Poland in less than a month
France falls After a period of not much fighting, Hitler turned his sights capturing France. German troops captured Paris in less than 12 days With France falling, Hitler’s new goal was capturing Britain
Britain is on its own Germany uses the Luftwaffe to constantly attack Britain As many as 1,000 per day Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) was greatly outnumbered, but courageously fought off the Germans, saving Britain
Winston Churchill Famous Quotes “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!” “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” –Following the RAF saving Britain
Japan Builds an Empire Due to rapid population growth, Japan needed more land to support its people Begins by occupying Manchuria, in northern China Begin attacking other cities in China, killing men, women, and children President Roosevelt harshly criticizes Japan for attacks on China British and Soviets send war supplies to Chinese to help fend off Japanese Japan quickly expands elsewhere throughout the Pacific
Summary With your partner, write a letter to an absent student explaining important information. This should be about 5-6 sentences. Be prepared to share with the class.