AMERICAN HISTORY CH EUROPE ERUPTS IN WAR

WORLD WAR II STARTS British PM Neville Chamberlain believed his policy of APPEASEMENT (giving into aggressive demands to maintain peace) had prevented the outbreak of a needless war A major critic of Appeasement was Winston Churchill Churchill said appeasement was cowardly and would lead to war

HITLER’S EARLY MOVES March 1939—Hitler sent troops to conquer the rest of Czechoslovakia—there was no resistance Chamberlain now realized Hitler couldn’t be trusted Hitler’s next move was to build alliances with other nations that would benefit him First alliance was with Italy August 1939—Non-agression pact with Stalin’s Soviet Union Stalin would stay out of Hitler’s way as Germany continued to expand

HITLER ATTACKS POLAND Hitler’s next move was to invade Poland Hitler dressed a German criminal in a Polish uniform The man was taken to the German-Polish border and shot September 1, 1939—Germany claimed it had been attacked by Poland, using the dead criminal as proof Germany immediately launched a massive invasion of Poland

Well-trained German military used the BLITZKRIEG (German for lightening war) to devastate Poland The Poles fought bravely but could not resist the German onslaught In some battles, Polish troops and horseback with swords went into battle against German tanks Poland fell by the end of September 1939

GERMAN FORCES TURN TO THE WEST September 3, 1939—Great Britain and France declare war on Germany GB and France became known as THE ALLIES Allies decided not to attack Germany but wait for their next move Germany did not attack during the winter This period became known as the SITZKRIEG (the phony war) Germany was preparing to invade France and Belgium through the dense Ardennes Forest

France didn’t think Germany would go that way so their defenses were elsewhere April 1940—Germany sent forces into Denmark and Norway Germany wanted improved access to the Atlantic Ocean THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM FALL May 1940—Germany make move toward France German troops quickly conquered the Netherlands and stormed into Belgium

In Belgium, German forces were opposed by Belgian, British, and French troop but they couldn’t stop the assault Early June—hundreds of thousands of Allied troops trapped at the French port of Dunkirk including most of British forces Allied and civilian boats rescued the British troops and took them back to Britain These troops would be vital to the British defense

FRANCE FALLS While conquering the Netherlands and Belgium, Germany executed a surprise attack through the Ardennes Forest into France The small French resistance was easily overwhelmed Hitler’s troops raced toward Paris End of June 1940—France surrenders to Germany and Italy German forces occupied much of France The other part of France was known as VICHY FRANCE and run by Frenchmen that cooperated with Hitler

Many French leaders, led by General Charles de Gaulle, fled to Great Britain to organize resistance to German and Vichy control of France THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN Great Britain stood alone against the unstoppable Germany war machine Britain was now led by Winston Churchill Churchill inspired courage and confidence among the British

Churchill refused to consider negotiating a peace treaty with Germany Germany first tried to destroy the British Royal Air Force (RAF) but for the first time they failed Britain used RADAR to detect approaching German planes and inflict heavy damage on German planes German air force (LUFTWAFFE) began bombing London hoping the British would lose the will to fight Churchill kept British spirits up

Americans followed the Battle of Britain through the reporting of Edward R. Murrow, an American reporter stationed in London Late 1940, the Battle of Britain was over and the German Luftwaffe had been stopped Hitler called off the attempted invasion

TENSIONS IN EAST ASIA Japan viewed itself as a great imperial power 1934—Japan began expanding it naval forces This violated promises made at the Washington Naval Conference in the 1920s 1937—Japan began a war against China Japanese troops massacred an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese in the capital Nanjing 1940—Japan formed a military alliance with Germany and Italy These nations became known as the AXIS POWERS

1941—Japanese forces take over French Indonesia (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam) with approval from Vichy France Japan intended to seek the oil and other resources of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) The USA took steps to punish Japan economically and deny access to vital oil supplies Representatives of the USA and Japan met In Japan, a powerful group led by the war minister, General Hideki Tojo push the government not to accept any compromise

Tojo was a strong nationalist. He would go to war in order to build a Japanese empire October 1941—strong pressure from Tojo forced Japan’s government to resign Tojo took control of the country American leaders did not realize it, but the time for compromise with Japan was over THE END