THE SECOND WORLD WAR OVERVIEW

A- WW2
 1939 – 1945
 largest global conflict
 Countries involved:
 the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)
 the Allies (France, Great Britain, the United States,
the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China)

B- THE BLITZKRIEG
 The blitzkrieg is the intense German military campaign
using tanks , air craft and troops to try to bring about a
swift victory

 Germany used it to invade Poland

 Britain and France failed to protect Poland

C- EVACUATE
 In the spring of 1940, the German Blitzkrieg tactics were
used to attack France, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands
and Belgium

 Hitler’s armies occupied much of the centre of Europe

 There was little the defending armies could do
 Thousands of British, French and Belgian troops escaped
from Dunkirk to England
D- THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN & THE BLITZ
 As a result of Blitzkrieg, Britain stood alone without any
powerful countries as allies

 Hitler wanted to complete his domination (take control)

Europe by invading Britain

 But before he could transport his troops across the

English Channel, he had to destroy Britain’s air force

 He carried out a series of air raids on military air bases

in southern England in the summer of 1940

 The British air force fought back.

 British Spitfires and Hurricane fighters fought against

German Messerschmitt and Henkel

 Hitler lost the battle of Britain

 He abandoned his plans for invasion for the time being

 He launched massive night bombing raids on major Britain

cities, hoping to force Britain to surrender

E- MORE GERMAN VICTORIES

 Despite the nightly onslaught(猛攻) by German bombers, the
British held on

 By 1941, Hitler turned his attention towards Russia

  When Germany attacked Russia, the Russians were pushed back
until Hitler was only 95 km from Moscow.

 As winter started to set in, it seemed that the German army was
unstoppable

F- JAPAN ENTERS THE WAR

 At the end of 1941, Japanese entered the war to knock out
American’s navy in one go

 The USA declared war on Japan and its allies( Italy and
Germany)

 Japan won victory after victory against America

 By early 1942, the war seemed lost for Britain, Russia and
America

 The Germans were almost in Moscow and had early pushed the
British put of Africa.

 In the east, Japan was pushing back American forces and was
close to invading India and Australia

 Then, 3 major battles changed the course of the whole war

G- KEY TURNING POINTS

 The Battle of Midway
 June 1942
 In the pacific ocean, the Japanese were beaten by
American forces in the great air and sea battle of
Midway Island
 The Japanese advance was stopped and gradually the
Americans began to drive them back, island by island

 The Battle of Stalingrad

  July 1942 – February 1943

 In Russia (Stalingrad), after 3 months of fighting,

a significant proportion of the German army
surrendered.
 Gradually, Soviet forces (Russia) began to push
German army out of Russia and back towards Germany
 This was the first time the Germans had
retreated(撤退 )
 At the same time, British and American bombers
began night and day air raids on German itself

 El Alamein

 Oct – Nov 1942

 In Africa, at El Alamein, British troops defeated

the Germans.
 With the help from the Americans, the British drove
the Germans out of North Africa and invaded Italy
 British war leader, Winston Churchill, called El
Alamein “the turning point of the war”
H- ITALY SURRENDERS
 By the end of 1943, the invasion of Italy was in full
swing

 As Italian forces surrendered, their leader, Mussolini,

was captured and shot

 In Britain, an invasion of France that aimed to push

German forces back towards Germany was planned

 The invasion date was set for June 1944

I- D-DAY
 On June 1944, British, American and other Allied troops
landed on beaches in Normandy, France, and forced the Germans
back
 In July, Hitler’s opponents in Germany tried to assaddinate
him and a German attempt to retake some of the land they had
lost in December failed

J- Germany surrenders
 By April 1945, British and American forces were moving
quickly towards Berlin, Germany
 Along the way, they were freeing villages, towns and
countries from the German occupation
 In the east, the Russian armies were advancing too
 The German army was being beaten in battle after battle
 The food supplies in major German towns were running short
 Hitler killed himself
 Germany surrender and the war was over in Europe

K- NUCLEUR BOMBS
 Victory in Europe meant that more Allied troops could be
sent to fight the Japanese
 American President dropped 2 nucleur bombs on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 The Japanese, rather than face the complete destruction of
their island, surrendered on 14 August
 The WW2 was over