World War II and itrsquos Aftermath 1931-1955

World History Chapter 14

bull The art of war is of vital importance to the State It is a matter of life and death a road either to safety or to ruin Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected- Sun Tzu the Art of War

From Appeasement to War

ndash After WWI western democracies desperately wanted to avoid another war ignoring the signs of aggression

bull Aggression Goes Uncheckedbull As the fascist powers continued to press western democracies verbally protested which

Japan Germany and Italy took for weakness and continued their aggression

ndash Japan Overruns Manchuria and Eastern Chinabull Japanrsquos military after itsrsquo success in the Russo-Japanese war the annexation of Korea and

the territorial concessions in China When Japanese officers sabotaged the railroad and blamed it on Chinese nationalists it gave Japan the excuse to invade Manchuria in 1931 These victories gave enough popularity that it took over the government and continued its conquest of Eastern China

ndash Italy Invades Ethiopiabull In 1935 Italy invades Ethiopia (one of the few African nations still not under European

control) Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations and the League voted to have sanctions against Italy but this did nothing to stop Italy

ndash Hitler Goes Against the Treaty of Versaillesbull Hitlerrsquos actions of building up the German military militarizing the Rhineland and defying

the Treaty of Versailles made him very popular among Germans Even though Germany defied the western democracies again and again the west continued a policy of appeasement in order to avoid war

ndash Keeping the Peacebull Pacifism desire to contain communism and a recognition that the terms of the Treaty had

been a bit too harsh led many on the west to continue a policy of appeasement in hopes that Germany would be satisfied and avoid war

ndash Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axisbull As it became apparent that the western powers would do little to stop them Germany

Italy and Japan entered into an agreement to support each other

From Appeasement to War

ndash After WWI western democracies desperately wanted to avoid another war ignoring the signs of aggression

bull Aggression Goes Uncheckedbull As the fascist powers continued to press western democracies verbally protested which

Japan Germany and Italy took for weakness and continued their aggression

ndash Japan Overruns Manchuria and Eastern Chinabull Japanrsquos military after itsrsquo success in the Russo-Japanese war the annexation of Korea and

the territorial concessions in China When Japanese officers sabotaged the railroad and blamed it on Chinese nationalists it gave Japan the excuse to invade Manchuria in 1931 These victories gave enough popularity that it took over the government and continued its conquest of Eastern China

ndash Italy Invades Ethiopiabull In 1935 Italy invades Ethiopia (one of the few African nations still not under European

control) Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations and the League voted to have sanctions against Italy but this did nothing to stop Italy

ndash Hitler Goes Against the Treaty of Versaillesbull Hitlerrsquos actions of building up the German military militarizing the Rhineland and defying

the Treaty of Versailles made him very popular among Germans Even though Germany defied the western democracies again and again the west continued a policy of appeasement in order to avoid war

ndash Keeping the Peacebull Pacifism desire to contain communism and a recognition that the terms of the Treaty had

been a bit too harsh led many on the west to continue a policy of appeasement in hopes that Germany would be satisfied and avoid war

ndash Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axisbull As it became apparent that the western powers would do little to stop them Germany

Italy and Japan entered into an agreement to support each other

Spain Collapses into Civil War

bull In 1931 a popular uprising forced the king from power and a more liberal government was created Reforms redistributed land from the church and aristocrats to the people Many liberals and socialists wanted to go further in reforms while a growing number of conservatives and military officers wanted to reject these changes

bull In 1936 Francisco Franco a fascist general led a revolt that was supported by the Germans and Italians and while other countries remained officially neutral Americans Brits French Soviets and others joined the loyalists to fight the fascists

bull Germany gave direct military aid including new German weapons and whole German military units tested these weapons in the Spanish Civil War

bull Franco won the war in 1939 but did not participate in WWII and Spain remained neutral through the war though friendly with Germany

German Aggression Continues

ndash Lebensraumndash Aryan racial superiority (Eugenics)ndash Reuniting German peoples into a greater Germany

bull Austria Annexedndash Austria and Germany had a very long tradition of being culturally similar and

the Nazi party had many followers in Austria Hitler pressured the Austrian chancellor to appoint Nazi cabinet members When the Austrian chancellor refused further demands Hitler ordered the German army to Austria to ldquopreserve orderrdquo completing Anschluss (annexation) of Austria

bull The Czech Crisisndash Hitlerrsquos goals did not stop there and there were some regions of northern

Czechoslovakia that had German speaking communities the Sudetenland and Hitler demanded their return to Germany based on their ldquomistreatmentrdquo by the Czech government

ndash The British and French held talks with Hitler and Hitler declared that if the Sudetenland was surrendered he would have no further territorial ambitions The British believed him and even thought he Czechs were not consulted Germany was given permission to occupy the Sudetenland

bull ldquoPeace for Our Timerdquondash Chancellor Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain declared that there would be

ldquoPeace for our timerdquo with the appeasement of Hitler This would prove to be a disaster as many opposition leaders predicted (Churchill)

bull All warfare is based on deception Hence when able to attack we must seem unable when using our forces we must seem inactive when we are near we must make the enemy believe we are far away when far away we must make him believe we are near Hold out baits to entice the enemy Feign disorder and crush him- Sun Tzu the Art of War

Europe Plunges Towards Warndash As Churchill predicted by 1939 Germany

occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia Appeasement had failed and Britain and France promised to protect Poland

bull Nazi-Soviet Pactndash Though Hitler had always admired the British

and had wanted to build an alliance with them their stance with Poland forced Hitler to turn to his hated rival Stalin This relationship resulted in a pact to divide Poland and not to attack each other

ndash Though both Hitler and Stalin knew war was inevitable they were both stalling for time hoping to fool the other

bull Invasion of Polandndash A week after the pact was signed Germany

invaded Poland on September 1 1939 causing France to declare war on Germany Poland lasted only a month against the German blitzkrieg (lightning war) Poland was divided Russia occupied the Balkan states and WWII was officially begun

Europe Plunges Towards Warndash As Churchill predicted by 1939 Germany

occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia Appeasement had failed and Britain and France promised to protect Poland

bull Nazi-Soviet Pactndash Though Hitler had always admired the British

and had wanted to build an alliance with them their stance with Poland forced Hitler to turn to his hated rival Stalin This relationship resulted in a pact to divide Poland and not to attack each other

ndash Though both Hitler and Stalin knew war was inevitable they were both stalling for time hoping to fool the other

bull Invasion of Polandndash A week after the pact was signed Germany

invaded Poland on September 1 1939 causing France to declare war on Germany Poland lasted only a month against the German blitzkrieg (lightning war) Poland was divided Russia occupied the Balkan states and WWII was officially begun

The Axis Advances

bull The Axis Attacksbull September 1 1939 Germany invades Poland - Blitzkrieg

ndash The ldquoPhony Warrdquobull Allies prepare for war during winter ndash Germany attacks Denmark Norway

ndash Reprisal of the Von Schlieffen Planbull Just like in WWI the Germans avoid French fortifications attack through Belgium

and Holland

ndash Miracle of Dunkirkbull The German blitzkrieg catches the British and French by surprise allied forces are

split Germans surround British forces are Dunkirk Massive sealift allows escape of British troops

ndash France Fallsbull In a month France falls and is forced to sign a surrender in the same train car in

which the Germans signed the Treaty of Versailles France is split in two with the north directly in German occupation and the south self governed as Vichy France

ndash Operation Sea Lionbull German plan to invade Britain attempts to destroy the RAF fails

ndash Germany Launches the Blitzbull German air attacks focus on population bombing to attack British morale Constant

attacks on London and British population centers for 57 days

ndash Hitler Fails to Take Britainbull With the failure to destroy the RAF or break the will of the British Hitler cancels

Sea Lion U-Boat operations continue

ndash Africa and the Balkansbull Italy attempts to invade Egypt from Libya fails German general Rommel ldquothe

Desert Foxrdquobull Italians then attempt invasion of Greece fail Germans again take over Crete

invadedbull Axis powers of Germany and Italy control almost all of Europe and North Africa

bull To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemys resistance without fighting-Sun Tzu the Art of War

Germany Invades the Soviet Union

ndash June 1941 Hitler declares war on Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa

ndash 3 million German Soldiers invade Soviet Union caught completely by surprise Most of Soviet air force caught on the ground

ndash In the initial advances Germans captured an area equal to another Europe 2 frac12 million Soviet soldiers killed or captured in the first few weeks

bull An Unstoppable German Army Stallsndash As the German army approached Moscow winter set in Soviet

resistance stiffened and troops from the far east began to arrive sub-zero temperatures and lack of winter gear stopped the German advance in the suburbs of Moscow barely 20 miles from the city center

ndash To the north the city of Leningrad stopped the German advance in the Baltic at the edge of the city where Germany started a siege of the city that would last 2 and a half years

bull Germanyrsquos Siege of Leningradndash Leningrad was renamed from the capital of St Petersburg after

the fall of the Russian Empire On one side is the Baltic sea on the other is a large lake The Germans cut off all land access to the city waiting for the people to starve and surrender

ndash The people of Leningrad ate whatever they could including wallpaper shoes and anything else they could Some food was transported across the frozen lake during the night when possible

Life Under Nazi and Japanese Occupation

bull Hitlerrsquos ldquoNew Orderrdquondash Master race in controlndash Puppet governmentsndash Concentration camps for dissidents and undesirables

(Slavs Jews Gypsies Homosexuals disabled)ndash Slave laborndash Plundering other countries Land art gold etcndash Collaboration by Vichy others who ideologically aligned

bull The Nazirsquos Commit Genocidendash The Final Solutionndash Hair skin fillings usedndash Worked until death (healthy)ndash Gas chambers furnacesndash 6 million Jews 6 million others (5000day at Treblinka)

bull Japanrsquos Brutal Conquestndash Slave laborndash Torturendash Weapon testingndash ldquoComfort womenrdquo

Japan Attacks the United States

bull American Involvement Growsndash At the start of the war the United States was officially neutral (Neutrality Act) but FDR wanted to help

Britain who was facing Germany alonendash To this end the LendLease act was started to make the US the ldquoArsenal of Democracyrdquo This system of

loaning or giving weapons was later expanded to Russia

bull Japan and the United States Face Offndash Japanrsquos conquests continued south to the tip of Malaysia capturing the British controlled city Singapore In

response to these attacks the US started an embargo of Iron Steel Oil and Rubber to Japan Japan could not get these resources itself and they were vital to Japanrsquos war effort Japan and the US held talks to resolve the situation but these were a cover to allow time to attack Pearl Harbor

bull Attack on Pearl Harborndash December 7 1941 6 Japanese Carriers attacked Pearl Harbor with over 300 aircraft

bull 4 battleships sunk 4 damagedbull 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers 2 other ships sunkbull 188 aircraft destroyed on the ground

ndash A Day Which Shall Live in Infamy ndash America declares war

bull Japanese Victoriesndash Philippinesndash Burmandash Hong Kongndash Malayandash Dutch East Indiesndash French Indochina

bull If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the result of a hundred battles If you know yourself but not the enemy for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat If you know neither the enemy nor yourself you will succumb in every battle- Sun Tzu

Japan Attacks the United States

bull American Involvement Growsndash At the start of the war the United States was officially neutral (Neutrality Act) but FDR wanted to help

Britain who was facing Germany alonendash To this end the LendLease act was started to make the US the ldquoArsenal of Democracyrdquo This system of

loaning or giving weapons was later expanded to Russia

bull Japan and the United States Face Offndash Japanrsquos conquests continued south to the tip of Malaysia capturing the British controlled city Singapore In

response to these attacks the US started an embargo of Iron Steel Oil and Rubber to Japan Japan could not get these resources itself and they were vital to Japanrsquos war effort Japan and the US held talks to resolve the situation but these were a cover to allow time to attack Pearl Harbor

bull Attack on Pearl Harborndash December 7 1941 6 Japanese Carriers attacked Pearl Harbor with over 300 aircraft

bull 4 battleships sunk 4 damagedbull 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers 2 other ships sunkbull 188 aircraft destroyed on the ground

ndash A Day Which Shall Live in Infamy ndash America declares war

bull Japanese Victoriesndash Philippinesndash Burmandash Hong Kongndash Malayandash Dutch East Indiesndash French Indochina

bull If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the result of a hundred battles If you know yourself but not the enemy for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat If you know neither the enemy nor yourself you will succumb in every battle- Sun Tzu

bull If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the result of a hundred battles If you know yourself but not the enemy for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat If you know neither the enemy nor yourself you will succumb in every battle- Sun Tzu

The Allies Turn the Tide

bull All-Out Warndash Governments Increase Power

bull Directing economic resources

bull Prices and wages regulated

bull Rationing

bull Japanese in internment campsndash Executive order 9066

ndash Women Help Win the Warbull Rosie the Riveter

bull Soviet women fought in all phases of the war

The Allies Forge Ahead

bull Japanese Navy Batteredndash Coral Seandash Midway

bull The Big Three Plot Their Strategyndash Roosevelt Stalin and Churchill get together to discuss the course

of the war in Tehran

bull Allied Victory in North Africandash El Alamein ndash Montgomery stopped Rommelndash Patton and US enter war against Germany

bull Allies Advance Through Italyndash Sicily and the Mafiandash Italy surrenders Germany take over Italian defense

bull Germans Defeated at Stalingradndash 1942 German offensive in the Southern Russia trying to control

oil fields Stalingrad lasted 8 months 841000 Axis losses 12 million Red army losses After Stalingrad the Soviets took the offensive

The Allies Push Toward Germany

bull The D-Day Assaultndash Largest amphibious landing in the history of

mankind Over 176000 troops delivered to the beaches by over 5000 ships

ndash Paratroopersglidersndash Bocagendash Breakthrough

bull The Allies Continue to Advancendash Allied bombingndash Liberation of Paris (resistance)ndash Battle of the Bulge

bull Uneasy Agreement at Yaltandash At Yalta Roosevelt was dying and Stalin took

advantage of this to push for more concessions for the Soviet Union and Churchill was unable to stop him

Victory in Europe and the Pacific

bull Nazis Defeatedndash By March 1945 the Americans and British

were crossing the Rhine (major German river) and from the east the Russians closed in on Berlin

ndash In late April American and Russian forces shook hands at the Elbe River Axis armies were surrendering all over Europe

ndash In Italy Mussolini was captured and killed by locals on May 7th Hitler committed suicide with his bride in their underground shelter under the Chancellery in Berlin

ndash May 8th V-E Day (Victory in Europe)

Struggle for the Pacific

ndash Until the battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 the Japanese had won an uninterrupted series of victories across Asia and the Southern Pacific The Philippines which had been under American control held out for a month but when captured by the Japanese forced to march 69 miles with no food or water the Bataan Death march

bull Island Hopping Campaignndash New Guinea and the Solomon Islandsndash Guadalcanalndash Tarawandash Kwajaleinndash Eniwetokndash Saipanndash Guamndash Tinianndash Peleliundash Anguarndash Iwo Jimandash Okinawa

Defeat for Japan

bull Invasion or the Bombndash With the War in Europe over the Allies focused on Japanndash The Japanese growing increasingly desperate used

kamikaze attacks to slow the allied advancendash The most secret project of the war the Manhattan Project

was a project to develop an atomic bomb By the time it was ready Roosevelt had died of Polio and his vice president Harry Truman took the oath of office Truman was advised of the existence of the bomb and he decided to use it to force a Japanese surrender

bull Utter Destructionndash On August 6 Hiroshima was bombed flattened 4 sq miles

killing 70000 instantly Many more would die of radiation On August 8 a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki more than 40000 killed

ndash On August 10 Hirohito forced the government to surrender V-J Day

Defeat for Japan

bull Invasion or the Bombndash With the War in Europe over the Allies focused on Japanndash The Japanese growing increasingly desperate used

kamikaze attacks to slow the allied advancendash The most secret project of the war the Manhattan Project

was a project to develop an atomic bomb By the time it was ready Roosevelt had died of Polio and his vice president Harry Truman took the oath of office Truman was advised of the existence of the bomb and he decided to use it to force a Japanese surrender

bull Utter Destructionndash On August 6 Hiroshima was bombed flattened 4 sq miles

killing 70000 instantly Many more would die of radiation On August 8 a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki more than 40000 killed

ndash On August 10 Hirohito forced the government to surrender V-J Day

The End of WWII

bull The Warrsquos Aftermathbull Much of the world was devastated by the war

The war had cost about 50 million lives and many more from hunger disease displacement etc

ndash The Horrors of the Holocaustbull ldquoIndisputable evidence of Nazi brutality and

ruthless disregard of every sense of human decencyrdquo

ndash War Crimes Trialsbull First time ever ndash crimes against humanity

ndash Nuremburg ndash 177 Germans and Austrians tried 142 found guilty

ndash Other trials held in Japan and Italyndash ldquoJust following ordersrdquo not sufficient defense for

committing crimes

ndash Occupying Alliesbull It was felt that strengthening democracy would

promote peace and protect rights To achieve this the US and allies created new governments and constitutions for Japan and Germany

Establishing the United Nations

bull In 1945 50 nations gathered in San Francisco to draft a new charter for a United Nations to succeed the League of Nations

bull The winning allies would have five permanent seats on the UN security council each with the power of veto (US England France Soviet Union China) The other seats on the security council would rotate among member nations

bull In the General Assembly all nations would have equal voting powerbull The United Nations would take on issues such as peacekeeping

organizing prevention of disease protecting refugees helping nations develop economically providing aid

bull Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Eleanor Roosevelt) 1948ndash The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first international

document to address in detail the notion that there exists a set of universal rights and fundamental freedoms that governments are obligated to secure for their citizens

ndash The declaration describes justice equality and dignity as basic human rights of every man woman and child According to the declaration ldquoall human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rightsrdquo and protecting the ldquoinherent dignity of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom justice and peace in the worldrdquo The declaration became the foundation of international human-rights law

The Alliance Breaks Apart

bull Differences Grow Between Alliesndash Even before the dust settled in

Europe the alliance between the US Britain and the Soviet Union was falling apart as capitalism and communism each viewed the other as the next opponent

ndash The US and Soviet Union were the major powers and even before the war ended generals on both sides urged using the massive militaries they had both built up to attack the other

bull The Cold War Beginsndash The Soviet occupation of Eastern

Europe began badly as Stalin reneged on his promises to hold open elections in occupied territories and the Red Army crushed any government that opposed the Soviet Union

ndash Both sides prepared for the possibility of surprise attack from the other causing tensions to rise and rhetoric to become heated

New Conflicts Develop

bull The Truman Doctrinendash Helping countries oppose communism with economic and military aid

bull The Marshall Planndash To strengthen democracies and prevent the rise of new fascist states

the Marshall Plan offered massive amounts of food grants of money loans materials to countries harmed by the war to help them rebuild their economies provide jobs and prevent uprisings The plan worked magnificently and former enemies became allies

ndash The Soviet Union refused aid and refused aid for occupied countries

bull Germany Stays Dividedndash To prevent Germany from becoming a threat again the country was

divided into four parts (US British French Soviet zones) and Berlin was also divided the same way

ndash Western Germany under western control become democratic and Eastern Germany became Communist

bull The Berlin Airliftndash Stalinrsquos resentment at the Marshal plan and the rebuilding of Western

Germany erupted in the blockade of Berlin which was surrounded by Eastern Germany Stalin believed that the West would fold rather than attack to open a path to the city

ndash Instead the West set up a round the clock airlift of supplies into West Berlin to feed the city that lasted more than a year At the height of the Airlift one plane reached West Berlin every thirty seconds Stalin backed down but tensions rose

bull Opposing Alliancesndash Nato vs Warsaw Pact

bull The Propaganda Warndash Defending capitalism freedom vs communism and totalitarianismndash Defending the workers vs capitalist imperialist warmongers

New Conflicts Develop

bull The Truman Doctrinendash Helping countries oppose communism with economic and military aid

bull The Marshall Planndash To strengthen democracies and prevent the rise of new fascist states

the Marshall Plan offered massive amounts of food grants of money loans materials to countries harmed by the war to help them rebuild their economies provide jobs and prevent uprisings The plan worked magnificently and former enemies became allies

ndash The Soviet Union refused aid and refused aid for occupied countries

bull Germany Stays Dividedndash To prevent Germany from becoming a threat again the country was

divided into four parts (US British French Soviet zones) and Berlin was also divided the same way

ndash Western Germany under western control become democratic and Eastern Germany became Communist

bull The Berlin Airliftndash Stalinrsquos resentment at the Marshal plan and the rebuilding of Western

Germany erupted in the blockade of Berlin which was surrounded by Eastern Germany Stalin believed that the West would fold rather than attack to open a path to the city

ndash Instead the West set up a round the clock airlift of supplies into West Berlin to feed the city that lasted more than a year At the height of the Airlift one plane reached West Berlin every thirty seconds Stalin backed down but tensions rose

bull Opposing Alliancesndash Nato vs Warsaw Pact

bull The Propaganda Warndash Defending capitalism freedom vs communism and totalitarianismndash Defending the workers vs capitalist imperialist warmongers