World+War+II

1935-1946 Kaylee, Eliza, Hannah

"In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." -Anne Frank

The path to World War II began with Adolf Hitler. Hitler gained control of Germany in 1933 and strived to create the ultimate Aryan race. He called his empire the Third Reich, and his influences would lead Europ into another devastating war. It started with Germany recreating their military once again, though it was prohinited by the Treaty of Versailles. Western European countries warned Hitler of the consequences he could face due to his actions, but didn't take action. Germany continued to disregard the Treaty of Versailles, thinking western states would continue to hold back on using force to stop him. Germany was right. Great Britain, instead of using force, began the policy of appeasement. This policy gave Hitler whatever he asked for, and he promised to not ask for anything else in return. He soon broke every promise though and the appeasement continued. While Hitler saw his appeasement as an opprotunity to gain power, he began to gain allies. Hitler signed an alliance with Italian leader Mussolini in 1936. He also signed an alliance with Japan in November of that same year. Great Britain and France finally realized that Hitler meant none of what he had promised and that appeasement had been a mistake. Once Hitler signed a treaty with the Soviet Union and invaded Poland, the war had begun. France and Great Britain declared war on Germany on September 1, 1939.

With his "lightening war" or blitzkrieg, Hitler stunned Europe with his speed and effiency while invading Poland. Hitler gained victories early on, invading Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and then attacking France. Germany and the Soviet Union also divided Poland in September of 1939. After a qinter of waiting, nicknamed the phony war, Hitler resumed attacking in 1940. He made an attack on France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The main assault was through Luxemburg and the Ardenne Forest of France. Germany broke through France's defense line and trapped French and British troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. France signed an armistice on June 22 and gave up two-fifths of its territory.Great Briatin appealed to the U.S but the U.S decided to stay neutral. Neutrality acts were set in place but were not strict due to the fact the U.S supplied food, ships, planes, and weapons to the British. The British were bombed by Germany, in hopes that Germany would win if they could destroy Britain's air force. The air force took a huge hit but Britain continued to fight back. Germany then began to bomb major British cities. This led to Britain having the ability to regain access to military bases and rebuild their air force. By the end of September, Germany's air force had taken big losses and Hitler postponed the invasion on Britain. After Britain Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, breaking the treaty they had signed before the war had began. Germany advanced quickly through Russia, but as soon as winter hit, they came to a halt. Germany was not prepared for the harsh winter and in December 1941, the Soviets led a counterattack on Germany.

On December 7, 1941, U.S naval base at Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese aircrafts. December 8, 1941, United States enters World War II. The United States entry into the war created a whole new coalition, called the Grand Alliace. This alliance include U.S, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France. Hitler believed even with the U.S, Germany would prevail. Germany had broke through British defenses in Egypt and it seemed like they would pull through on the battlefield. But the tides soon changed. By fall of 1942, the war had turned south for the Germans. They lost at the battle of El Alamein, in Northern Africa, to British forces. They then were forced to surrender at one of the worst battles of the war, the Battle of Stalingrad. German troops were trapped and encicled by the Soviets. By Febuary 1943, the Germans realized they could not defeat the Soviet Union. Over on the Asian front,Japanese and U.S forces continued to fight on the seas. Asia forces had been controling the seas but at the Battle of Midway the tides turned and the United States defeated the Japanese fleat. then General Douglas MacArthur created the strategy of island hopping. With a few more battles in the Solomon Seas, the U.S. had begun to diminish the Japaneses forces.The last years of the war started with the fall of Sicily and finally the fall of Rome after a fierce battle. Then the Allied forces invaded the German occupied France. The was started with the Battle of Normandy. Under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and fought through the harsh defense of German troops. Allied forces continued south and liberated Paris. They moved into Germany and reunited with the Soviets at Elbe River. By January, 1945 Hitler had realized his defeat was definite. He commited suicide on April 30, 1945 and Mussolini was shot by Italian partisans two days later. On May 7, 1945 German commanders surrendered. The war in Europe was finally over. The war with Japan and United States ended on August 14.Japan surrendered after being bombed in Hiroshima and then Nagasaki by Atomic bombs. It destroyed the cities and killed over 100,000 citizens. With Japan's surrender World War II was over.

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__**Terms:**__  **Demilitarized:** Germany was not permitted to have weapons or fortifications in Rhineland. This was because it was not ruled over by Germany because of the Treaty of Versailles. **Rhineland:** Part of Germany, but not ruled by. Because of the Treaty of Versailles it was made into a demilitarized area. This all happened with France also. **Appeasement:** Policy based on the belief that if European states satisfied the reasonable demands then the peace and stability was achieved within that certain country. **Anschluss:** (Union). Hitler proclaimed to be a union with Austria since thats where he was born. Hitler then forced austian nazi's to rule over Austria so that they couldn't get out of his control. **Sudetenland:** An area in northwestern Czechoslavikia that was inhabited by a large amount of Germans. This happened so that Hitler could take over Czechoslavikia and gain more "world power". **Danzig:** Hitler began to demand on this polish port within the country of poland. **Blitzkrieg:** A tactic used by the germans in which german aircraft would bomb a area repeatedly in rapid succession. **Phony War:** When England and France declared war, however no one fought so the newspapers called it the Phony War. **Dunkirk:** Took place on May 27th-June 4th in 1940, when the English and Freanch fighting forces were trapped on a beach in Northwestern France and were forced to retreat. **Amphibious:** The vehicles used on D-Day at Normandy beach were called amphibious because not only could they float but they could also drive on land. People:
 * 1) **Adolf Hitler**- Was the leader of the Axis Powers and lead the Nazis in the fight against the Allies. When it became clear the Allies would win the war, he took his life on April 30th, 1945.
 * 2) **Winston Churchill-** Was the Prime Minister of England and at this time The Blitz or german air raids were taking place in London. He met severtimes with FDR to discuss the goals of the Allies.
 * 3) **Neville Chamberlain-** Was the English Prime Minister prior to Winston Churchill and was famous for his quote "Peace For Our Time".
 * 4) **Edouardo Daladier-** Was the French Premier during the war and supported the Policy of Appeasement which stated they refused to fight.
 * 5) **Harry Truman-** Replaced FDR soon after the Potsdam Conference and decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945.
 * 6) **Feild Marshall Erwin Rommel-** Fought in the Battle of El Alamein in March of 1943, he was nicknamed "The Desert Fox". He also was the Commander of the North African Forces.
 * 7) **General Montgomery-** Was the 3rd and the 7th Army Commander and was nicknamed "Old Blood & Guts", invaded Italy in September of 1943.
 * 8) **Benito Mussolini-** Was the ruler of Italy until Rome was freed of Axis control on June 4th, 1944. He then resigned and was soon after killed on April 28th, 1945.
 * 9) **General Dwight D. Eisenhower-** Was the supreme Commander of the Allied Forces stationed in Europe, and helped liberate Paris on August 25th 1944.
 * 10) **General Douglas MacArthur-** Fought in the Battle of the Leyete Gulf on October 20th, 1944 and helped recapture the Philippines which was fought both in the air and on the water.



To Learn More:
[|Franklin D. Roosevelt]- A biography on FDR and his presidency. [|Winston Churchill]- About Winston Churchill and how he won the Nobel Prize. [|General Douglas MacArthur]- A biography about the military achievements of General MacArthur. [|Normandy Invasion]- More information about D-Day at Normandy. [|Attack on Pearl Harbor]- What happened on December 7th 1941 and how it effected the war. [|Bataan Death March]- About the Bataan Death March and the Annual March Memorial. [|Auschwitz]- One of the largest and most gruesome concentration camps. [|Hiroshima & Nagasaki]- The events that lead up to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the aftermath. [|Sino-Japanese War]- The main events of the Sino-Japanese War and timeline. [|League of Nations]- Some of the reasons why the League of Nations was a failure.