1. Early World War II

2. Failures of Appeasement Failure of the League of Nations
Causes
Treaty of Versailles
Hitler’s Actions
Failures of Appeasement
Failure of the League of Nations

3. Hitler invades Poland on September 1st 1939
The Start
Hitler invades Poland on September 1st 1939
France and Britain Declare war on Germany
Hitler then launches “Blitzkrieg”
Lightning War with the goal of surprising the enemy

4. The Sides Axis Powers Germany Japan Italy Allied Powers Britain Russia
USA

5. May 1940 - The British are repelled at the Battle of Dunkirk
Early German Success
May The British are repelled at the Battle of Dunkirk
They are forced off of mainland Europe
June Germany occupies France
June Operation Barbarossa
Germany invades Russia
Violates a treaty with the Russians

6. Why was June 1940 a good time for Hitler to try to invade Britain?
How did Operation Barbarossa contribute to the ultimate success of allies?
How did the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor contribute to the ultimate success of the allies?
Ironically, it was often the early successes that led to actions by the allies that resulted in ultimate failure for the Axis powers. Do you agree or disagree with this statement.

7. The United States Enters the War

8. Many in the US did not want war
Isolationists wanted to avoid becoming involved in other people’s conflicts

9. President Franklin D Roosevelt recognized the potential dangers to the United States
In the Fall of 1940, the United States engaged the German Navy in order to protect its interests
These interests included selling weapons to the Allies

10. On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked the US Navy at Pearl Harbor
This prompted the United States to formally enter the war
On December 8th, the United States declares war on Japan and their Allies
Germany declares war on the United States 4 days later

11. Despite the attack from Japan, Roosevelt is more concerned with Hitler
Operation Torch was the US invasion of Africa
The goal was to limit German access to natural resources in the Middle East
Despite Russian pleas for help, the next actions by the Allies were to attack the Italians