1. World War II
Part II

2. North Africa Why an Important Area? Suez Canal Middle East Oil Fields
October 1942: Battle of El Alamein
Axis forces defeated in North Africa

3. Italy July 1943 Allies invade Sicily Mussolini ousted from power
September 1943
Allies invade Southern Italy

4. Turning Point- Soviet Union
Leningrad
Stalingrad
Winter Germans besiege (blockade) Leningrad to take the city 1 million civilians die
Important industrial city
Stalin & Hitler will not let their soldiers retreat
Soviets eventually win
Germans go on defense
Soviets go on offense

5. Turning Point- Pacific
Coral Sea: May 1942
Allies stop Japanese advance on Australia
Midway: June 1942
Naval battle that stops the Japanese advance, US goes on the offense
Island Hopping: US strategy to skip heavily guarded islands and attack smaller ones
Kamikazes: Japanese pilots who would use their own planes as missiles

6. The End- Europe 1943- Germans pushed back since losing at Stalingrad
1944: Soviets end the siege of Leningrad
1945: In January Soviets are only 40 miles from Berlin (German Capital)

7. D-Day
June US & British forces land in Normandy France Opens a second front in Europe Paris liberated by August

8. Battle of the Bulge
December 1944 Hitler’s last offense on the Western Front Allies win by January

9. Germany Surrenders
April Soviets surround Berlin May 2nd: Hitler has committed suicide in the bunker May 7- Germany surrenders May = Victory in Europe (VE) Day

10. The End- Pacific By 1944 US is bombing Japanese cities
Iwo Jima: US Marines seize the island only 750 miles from Tokyo
Okinawa: Invasion of southern tip of Japan
100,000 Japanese die defending
US prepares to invade mainland Japan

11. The Atomic Bomb
August 6th 1945: First atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima- 70,000 die instantly August 9th: Second bomb dropped on Nagasaki 75,000 more killed August 15th: Victory over Japan (VJ) Day

12. Post War
Atlantic Charter Churchill & FDR discuss the goals of the war
Yalta Conference- Early 1945 Churchill, FDR & Stalin agree what to do after Hitler’s defeat
Potsdam Conference: July 1945 Meeting to discuss post war world and rising US- Soviets tension (Cold War starting)
United Nations: Replaces League of Nations to maintain world peace and cooperation