Chapter 24 Sections 2 and 3

Europe Goes to War And

Japan Builds an Empire

How did relations between Britain and Germany change between the Munich Conference and the invasion of Poland?

• The invasion of Czechoslovakia ended Chamberlain’s hope of working peaceably with Hitler.

• Britain abandoned its policy of appeasement and prepared for war

Blitzkrieg• Lightening war• This new military tactic

included a fast, concentrated air and land attack that took the enemy’s army by surprise

• Nazis would use plains, then mobile artillery and panzer divisions, then infantry

• This tactic was used when Hitler invades Poland on September 1, 1939 to begin WWII

What were 3 reasons why Germany was able to defeat Poland in less than a month?

• Blitzkrieg• Nazis had a more advanced

military than Poland• France & Britain wee

unable to aid Poland in time

• The Soviet Union came to Germany’s aid (Nonaggression Pact)– Invaded eastern half of

Poland while Germany invaded the western half

Look at the map on page 809. How does this map illustrate the dire situation of the Allies in 1941?

• By 1941, the Axis controlled most of continental Europe

• By June of 1941, Germany has invaded the Soviet Union and has nearly reach the capital, Moscow

Why did Britain and France choose not to attack Germany in 1939 and early 1940?

• The felt safe behind the Maginot Line (a line of heavy fortifications along the French border)

• Also, Britain and France lacked enthusiasm for the war

Collaboration

• Close cooperation

• In June of 1940, Hitler invades France. The French government decided that it was better to collaborate with the Nazis than to suffer WWI-style destruction

What was the French policy of collaboration with Germany?

• A policy of collaboration allowed southern France to remain temporarily free of German occupying troops

Resistance

• Free France (a government-in-exile- in London) continued to struggle against the Nazis

• Led by Charles de Gaulle• The supported Resistance

Movements in France– Groups of French citizens

whose distributed anti-German leaflets or sabotaged German operation in France

Allies

• Group of countries opposed to the Axis

• For a while, Britain would stand alone– They would eventually

be joined by the Soviet Union and the United States

Why were aircraft crucial to Germany’s planned invasion of Britain?

• To neutralize the British navy so that German troops could invade with some hope of success

• Germans would relentlessly attack Britain from the air during the late summer and fall of 1940– Britain fought back and

Hitler lost interest and ceased the attack

Manchurian incident

• The Japanese army attacks Manchuria (in China) in 1931 without the government’s permission

• By 1932 the Japanese army controlled all of Manchuria

Who among the Japanese was responsible for the conquest of Manchuria?

• A Japanese army stationed in Manchuria

• The Japanese government did not give the order for the attack-the army acted on its own

Puppet state

• A supposedly independent country under the control of a powerful neighbor

• Japan declared Manchuria to be an “independent” state

• Led by a Chinese leader• With Japanese advisors to

run the government

Burma Road

• A 700 mile long highway linking Burma to China

• The British used this road to send a steady stream of supplies to the Chinese to help them fight against the Japanese

Why was Japan unable to win the war in China?

• Even though Japanese troops controlled the cities, Mao Zedong’s Chinese guerrilla fighters dominated the countryside, causing a stalemate– Mao was the leader of

the Communists in China

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

• With European nations too busy too busy with the war in Europe to pay attention to their Asian colonies, Japan took the opportunity to expand their influence

According to Japan, what was the purpose of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere?

• To liberate Asia from European colonies

What was Japan’s actual goal for the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere?

• Japan needed the region’s natural resources to carry on it’s war against China