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The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front

The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front. 17.1 part 3. The Mediterranean Campaign. Mussolini declared war on France and Great Britain then moved into France. While the Battle of Britain was raging, he ordered his army to attack the British controlled Suez Canal.

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The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front

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  1. The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front 17.1 part 3

  2. The Mediterranean Campaign • Mussolini declared war on France and Great Britain then moved into France. • While the Battle of Britain was raging, he ordered his army to attack the British controlled Suez Canal

  3. The Mediterranean Campaign • Egypt’s Suez Canal was key to reaching the oil fields of the Middle East. • By February 1941, the British had swept 500 miles across North Africa and had taken 130,000 Italian prisoners. • Hitler had to step in to save Italy

  4. Mediterranean Campaign • Hitler sent a German tank force, the AfrikaKorps, under the command of General Erwin Rommel. • In late March 1941, Rommel attacked. Caught by surprise, British forces retreated east to Tobruk, Libya.

  5. Rommel: The Desert Fox • After fierce fighting for Tobruk, the British began to drive Rommel back. • But by June 1942, the tide of battle turned again. Rommel pushed the British back across the desert, and seized Tobruk—a shattering loss for the Allies. • Rommel’s successes in North Africa earned him the nickname “Desert Fox.”

  6. The War in the Balkans • Hitler wanted to build bases in southeastern Europe for the attack on the Soviet Union. • To prepare for his invasion, Hitler moved to expand his influence in the Balkans. • By early 1941, through the threat of force, he had persuaded Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary to join the Axis powers

  7. The War in the Balkans • Yugoslavia and Greece had pro-British governments and resisted Hitler • In early April 1941, Hitler invaded both countries. Yugoslavia fell in 11 days. Greece surrendered in 17

  8. Assignment • 1. Why did Mussolini want control of the Suez canal? • 2. How did Hitler save Mussolini in Africa? • 3. Who was Erwin Rommel? Why is he significant? • 4. Why did Hitler need to control the Balkans? • 5. Which Balkan countries resisted Hitler and which ones joined him?

  9. Hitler Invades the Soviet Union 17.1 pt 4

  10. Hitler Invades the Soviet Union • Hitler planned to invade the Soviet Union. • The Soviet Union was not prepared for this attack. • Although it had the largest army in the world, its troops were neither well equipped nor well trained.

  11. Hitler Invades the Soviet Union • As the Soviet troops retreated, they burned and destroyed everything in the enemy’s path. The Russians had used this scorched-earth strategy against Napoleon. • German forces put Leningrad under siege. Hitler was ready to starve the city’s more than 2.5 million inhabitants.

  12. Hitler Invades the Soviet Union • German bombs destroyed warehouses where food was stored. • Desperately hungry, people began eating cattle and horse feed, cats and dogs and, finally, crows and rats. • Nearly one million people died in Leningrad during the winter of 1941–1942. Yet the city refused to fall.

  13. Hitler heads to Moscow • Impatient with the progress in Leningrad, Hitler looked to Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union. • As temperatures fell, the Germans, in summer uniformsfaced a dangerous situation • Ignoring Napoleon’s winter defeat 130 years before, Hitler refused to let his troops retreat • They held the line against the Soviets until March 1943. Hitler’s advance on the Soviet Union gained nothing but cost the Germans 500,000 lives.

  14. The United States Aids Its Allies • Most Americans felt that the United States should not get involved in the war. • But President Roosevelt knew that if the Allies fell, the United States would be drawn into the war. • FDR asked Congress to allow the Allies to buy American arms.

  15. The United States Aids Its Allies • Under the Lend-Lease Act, the president could lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country vital to the US • By the summer of 1941, the US Navy was escorting British ships carrying US arms. • In response, Hitler ordered his submarines to sink any cargo ships they met.

  16. The United States Aids Its Allies • Roosevelt and Churchill met secretly and issued a declaration called the Atlantic Charter. It upheld free trade among nations and the right of people to choose their own government. • On September 4, a German U-boat fired on a U.S. destroyer in the Atlantic. In response, Roosevelt ordered navy commanders to shoot German submarines on sight. • The US was now involved in an undeclared naval war with Hitler. However, the attack that actually drew the US into the war did not come from Germany. It came from Japan.

  17. Assignment • 1. What strategy did the Soviet Union use against the invading Nazi army? • 2. Describe the Soviet siege of Leningrad and its outcome. • 3. What lessons from history did Hitler ignore that cost him in the invasion of the USSR? • 4. Describe the Lend-Lease Act. How did Hitler react to this act? • 5. What was the Atlantic Charter? What did this say about America’s changing position on foreign affairs?

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