World War II Begins Section 2

Japan Sparks War in Asia  1937 – Japan starts all out war with China  Bombed major cities  Thousands killed  Nanjing – 300,000 civilians and POWS were murdered  Japan took control of Northern and Central China  U.S. continued to hold to their Isolationism

Germany Brings War to Europe  1938 – Hitler annexed Austria  1938 – claimed Sudetenland – western part of Czechkoslovakia  Munich Conference  Hitler promised Britian and France he would not take any more land  Appeasement – practice of giving in to aggression to avoid war  1939 – Germany seized the rest of Czechkoslovakia

Invasion of Poland  August 1939 – Nazi-Soviet Pact  Stalin and Hitler agreed not to attack each other  September 1939 – blitzkrieg – lightning war  German army invaded Poland  Polish army was overwhelmed  Stalin invaded eastern Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia

A Second World War  September 1939  Britian and France declare war on Germany  Axis  Germany  Italy  Japan  6 others, including Romania  Allies  Britain  France  Soviet Union  United States  China  45 other countries, including Canada

Fall of France  Spring 1940 – Germany invaded Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, and France  Italy joined the attack on France  British sent troops to help French, but were forced to retreat – Miracle at Dunkirk  In nine days, 331,226 soldiers — 192,226 British and 139,000 French — were rescued by a hastily assembled fleet of 860 boats  June 22, 1940 – France surrendered

Battle of Britain  Britain was left as the only country in Europe opposing the Axis powers  Winston Churchill – Prime Minister of Great Britain “We will never surrender”  Hitler hoped to invade Britain  Fighters and bombers attacked for several months, destroying cities and towns throughout London  British RAF shot down 2,000 Luftwaffe planes, convincing Hitler to give up his plan for an invasion  Many American pilots went to England to fly with the RAF against the Germans

United States Moves Towards War  Aid to the Allies  “Cash and carry plan” – U.S. would sell supplies to Allies, but they had to come get them  U.S. gave British 50 old destroyers to assist in protecting against U-boat attacks  Prepared for War  Increased spending for the military  Established a military draft – first ever during peacetime

Cont.  A Third Term for FDR  Both FDR and his opponent promised to keep U.S. out of war  Many people were against FDR running for third term, but won easily  Lend-Lease Act  1941 – allowed sales and loans of war material to “any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States.”  Sent tanks, planes, guns, and ammunition to Britain  Extended to Soviet Union when they were attacked by Germany

Atlantic Charter  Roosevelt and Churchill established war goals  Agreed to seek no new territory  Pledged to support “the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they live”  Also called for a new “League of Nations”