2. Axis Advances in WW2
Ch 14 Sec 2

3. The Alliances: The Axis Powers: The Allies:
Germany (with Austria and conquered nations)
Italy
Japan
The Allies:
Britain
France
USSR
With the support of China, Australia, and other Southeast Asian nations

4. The Axis Attacks September 1939: The German blitzkrieg on Poland.
Blitzkrieg= “Lightning War”.
An offensive operational military tactic which employs various attack methods by air, land, and sometimes sea.

5. The Blitzkrieg Airstrike Junkers JU87 dive bombers
The Luftwaffe, or German Airforce, was the most
experienced and strongest air force in the world
in 1939.

6. The Blitzkrieg Airstike was followed by motorized ground forces:
The Jagdtiger, one of the
most powerful German
tank destroyers.

7. The Blitzkrieg Motorized forces were then followed by footsoldiers.
Within one month, Germany’s invasion was complete, and Poland ceased to exist on the European map.

8. Axis Advances The Miracle at Dunkirk France Falls
British troops got stuck on Dunkirk, b/w Nazi army and the English Channel.
Any and all vessels were used to rescue 300,000 British troops.
France Falls
While Germany attacked from the north, Italy attacked from the south.
France surrendered in June and made a “puppet state for Germany

9. Axis Advances Operation Sea Lion Britain stood alone in the West.
Hitler launches his Luftwaffe to bomb various British ports.
Sep launched the London Blitz- 57 nights in a row of bombings on the city.

11. Winston Churchill “If you are going through hell, keep going.”
“You have enemies? Good. It means you stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
“Never give up. Never, never, never give up.”
“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, 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.”

12. Axis Advances Sep. 1940- Mussolini invades Egypt from Libya.
Hitler sent Gen. Erwin Rommel (“The Desert Fox”) to help push the British back.
October Italy invades Greece.
By 1941, Axis Powers controlled most of Europe.

13. Axis Advances June 1941- Operation Barbarossa-
Hitler invades the USSR- sends 3 million men.
Soviets used the scorched earth policy to keep resources out of their hands.
Thousands of unprepared Nazi soldiers froze to death that winter.
Sep Siege of Leningrad- Lasts two-and-a-half years.

14. American Involvement
March Franklin D. Roosevelt passes the Lend- Lease Act: The U.S. will supply resources to any country who defends democracy.
In August, Roosevelt and Churchill met on a warship and drafter the Atlantic Charter: set goals for war (to destroy Nazi tyranny).
The U.S. banned the sale of war materials to Japan.
Dec : Japan attacks Pearl Harbor.
Dec. 11: U.S. declares war on Japan; Germany and Italy declare war on the USA.