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Warm-Up – Copy Timeline European Theater: Key Events & Turning Points

Warm-Up – Copy Timeline European Theater: Key Events & Turning Points. French surrender to the Nazis: June 22, 1940 Battle of Britain: July 10, 1940 – Oct 31, 1940 Sept 17: Hitler postpones invasion of Britain indefinitely

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Warm-Up – Copy Timeline European Theater: Key Events & Turning Points

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  1. Warm-Up – Copy TimelineEuropean Theater: Key Events & Turning Points • French surrender to the Nazis: June 22, 1940 • Battle of Britain: July 10, 1940 – Oct 31, 1940 • Sept 17: Hitler postpones invasion of Britain indefinitely • Germans launch Operation Barbarossa and invade Soviet Union: June 22, 1941 • Battle of Stalingrad: August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943 • D-Day (Allied invasion of France): June 6, 1944 • By August 25, Allies had liberated Paris from German control • Battle of the Bulge: December 16th, 1944 – January 25, 1945 • Battle of Berlin: April 16, 1945 – May 2nd, 1945

  2. WWII • Two major theaters of conflict • Europe • The Pacific • Axis • Germany (Adolph Hitler) • Japan (Emperor Hirohito & Prime Minister Hideki Tojo) • Italy (Benito Mussolini) • Allies • Great Britain (Winston Churchill) • France (Charles De Gaulle) • United States (Franklin Roosevelt & later Harry Truman) • Soviet Union (Joseph Stalin)

  3. Battle of Britain

  4. Battle of Britain What: Air offensive by Germans against British which included the bombing of London. Why: Germans wanted to decimate British air force so they could invade Britain with the objective of landing 160,000 soldiers on British coast. However, in order to do so needed air superiority. Result: Germans cannot gain air superiority over British air force and Hitler is forced to postpone plan to invade Britain Significance: • Britain is not invaded • Hitler is handed is first defeat • First major battle to be fought entirely by air forces

  5. Map of Europe 1941

  6. By 1941, Hitler has conquered nearly all of Europe. That summer, Hitler turned his eyes toward the Soviet Union. Why did Hitler invade the Soviet Union? http://ww2history.com/videos/Eastern/Invasion_of_the_Soviet_Union http://ww2history.com/videos/Eastern/A_different_kind_of_war

  7. Operation Barbarossa (includes Battle of Stalingrad) What: Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union beginning on June 22, 1941. Why: • Hatred for Communists & Jews; large population of Jews in Soviet Union • Hitler obsessed with capturing “Stalin’s City” Results: • Hitler achieve early success, catching the Soviets by surprise and pushing through the eastern front easily, but ultimately is defeated at Stalingrad in February of 1943

  8. Stalingrad (continued) Significance: Often seen as THE turning point of WWII. Proved that Germans could be defeated and swung the momentum of the war in favor the Allies. Also, famous for being one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the world German Casualties: • Estimated 750,000 total casualties Soviet Casualties: • 478,741 killed or missing • 650,878 wounded • Total of 1,129,619 casualties Note: Casualties refer to killed, missing and wounded Note #2: The movie Enemy at the Gates has a great scene which depicts the German bombardment of Stalingrad and attacks on the transport boats of soldiers on the Volga river.

  9. The Battle of Normandy What: Attack on German forces in France… Begins on June 6, 1944 with D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. Why: Establish an opening in German defenses in order to land troops and supplies in order to begin liberation of France and Western Europe Results: Within a week, 326k troops, 50k, vehicles, 100k tons of equipment had landed at Normandy Significance: Seen as the beginning of the end for Germany. Largest amphibious invasion ever with 160k troops landing in one day Note: The movie Saving Private Ryan features an amazing portrayal of the battle of Normandy. So if you are interested, ask your parents to let you check it out.

  10. Battle of the Bulge What: Major German offensive launched through the densely forested Ardennes region in Belgium, France and Luxembourg on the Western Front Why: Hitler believed that if he could deal the British & the Americans a huge blow they would sue for peace and he could refocus on the eastern front Results: German forces succeeded early, creating a “bulge” in Allied line, but Allies later regained ground and German attack failed Significance: The Germans lost so many experienced troops and equipment that there was no way their army could launch another attack on Allied forces

  11. WWII on Screen There have been a number of great films/TV series about WWII. Some of my personal favorites: • Saving Private Ryan (1998) • Enemy at the Gates (2001) • Band of Brothers (2001), HBO series • InglouriousBasterds (2009) I’ve also heard the HBO series The Pacific (2010) was very good.

  12. Battle of Berlin What: Soviet offensive into Berlin Why: Force surrender of Hitler Result: • Germans are outmanned and outnumbered • Hitler and other leading Nazis commit suicide • Germans surrender Significance: Last major offensive in the European theater; Germans sign unconditional surrender 5 days later, ending signaling the end of WWII in Europe.

  13. The Pacific Theater: Key Events & Turning Points December 7, 1941: Japanese attack the U.S. naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii June 4 - June 7, 1942: Battle of Midway February 19 - March 26 1945: Battle of Iwo Jima April 1 - June 15, 1945: Battle of Okinawa August 6 - August 9, 1945: Atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki; Hirohito orders War council to accept Allied terms of surrender Sept 2, 1945 – Japan officially surrenders

  14. Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii What: Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii When: December 7, 1941 Why: • After Japanese invasion of China, U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Japan, which in time would cripple Japan’s ability to wage war • By attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan hoped the U.S. would want to avoid a long war and would agree to lift economic sanctions Result: • Americans caught off guard and severe damage was done to U.S. Navy • Almost 2400 Americans were killed Significance: • Rallied public support for the United States to enter WWII • First foreign attack on American soil since the War of 1812

  15. Battle of Midway When: June 4 – June 7, 1942 What: Japanese naval/air offensive against U.S. naval base at Midway (About 1200 miles west of Hawaii) Why: Japanese plan was to cripple U.S. Pacific fleet Results & Significance: • Decisive victory for the U.S. in which Japanese navy was crippled • Turned the tide of the war in the Pacific

  16. Significance of Battles of Iwo Jima & Okinawa • Demonstrated that Japan was willing to fight to the last man and that defeating the Japanese would inflict immense casualties on the U.S. military. • 18,821 killed • Around 48,000 wounded • Almost 67,000 casualties • Led to Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb • Wish we had time to cover the Manhattan project, but we do not… would be a great topic for someone’s end of the year project

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