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World War II

The Axis Victories 1939 - 42 �

Nazi Blitzkrieg In 1939 Germany and the ________ quickly conquered and divided Poland due to its flat and open ___________. Britain and France declared war on Germany but defensively waited for Hitler to attack.

The speed and efficiency of the German ________, or “________________________,” stunned Europe. Blitzkrieg was a swift attack designed to avoid the __________ warfare of WWI. Supported by airplanes and artillery, _______ would pierce enemy lines and _________________ their opponents. Infantry would then occupy the territory.

The Fall of France After defeating Poland Hitler conquered Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium. For protection France relied on the ________________ forest and a string of defenses called the _______________________. The French thought the Germans would avoid these defenses and invade through Belgium, as they did in _______. Hitler _________________ the French by cutting through the Ardennes with his panzers, pinning the Allies to the sea, and pushing them off mainland Europe. In less than a ___________ the French were defeated. The Battle of Britain

Hitler wanted to invade Britain but he first had to fight the British Royal ______________. German and British fighters fought throughout the summer of 1940, and Nazi bombers attacked _____________. Throughout the Nazi blitz Prime Minister Winston _____________ rallied the British people and prevented Britain from falling to Hitler. This was Hitler’s first ____.

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The Battle for Africa In 1941 Hitler hoped to cut off British supplies by taking the _________________ in Egypt. Known as the “Desert Fox,” Erwin _________________ panzers won victories against the British throughout 1941-42. Operation Barbarossa

After quickly conquering Greece and Yugoslavia, in June 1941 Hitler launched a surprise attack upon the ___________ to gain vital ________________, living space, and to finally crush communism. Catching the USSR unprepared, the Nazis quickly captured vast amounts of land and charged toward the cities of _____________, _______________, and __________________.

Japan at War To halt Japanese aggression in Asia the US applied economic ______________. Because the US stood in their way, on December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a sneak attack upon the American naval base at ______________________, and also attacked British colonies.

Germany and Italy then declared war on the US, and by the spring of 1942 Japan controlled much of Southeast Asia and the western Pacific. Japan expected the US to ___________, but instead the US joined the Allies in their fight against the Axis powers.

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World War II

The Allied Victory 1943 - 45 �

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Beating the Nazis The battle of _________________ proved to be the turning point of the war between Russia and Germany. Russia’s cold __________ and superior ______________ stalled the German advance and allowed them to surround and capture many of the invaders, who began their long retreat back to Germany.

Victory in Africa & Italy Lacking men and supplies, Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps were finally driven out of Africa by the Allies. The decisive battle was led by British General Montgomery at _________. The Allies then crossed the Mediterranean and invaded ______. Rome was ______________ in 1944 and the Italians switched sides against the Nazis. Fleeing for his life, ______________ was caught and killed by Italians partisans. Crushing Nazi Germany The US, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union were the main Allied forces and formed the ________________________. All three nations agreed to fight until Germany and Japan surrendered _______________. The Allied liberation of Europe began with the invasion of ________________ on June 6th 1944. D-Day was the greatest amphibious landing in history, and forced Hitler to fight a ___________ war. Shortly after D-Day the Americans liberated ________, which had suffered four years of Nazi oppression. After freeing France, the Allies encountered fierce Nazi resistance on the way to ___________.

The US air force ___________ German cities by day while the British bombed them by night. The constant bombing crippled German war __________, and broke the Germans’ will to fight.

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After their victory at Stalingrad, the Russians went on the ________________ and slowly advanced over the next two years. In the spring of 1945 Soviet troops reached ________ from the east as American troops arrived from the west. Hitler and his wife committed ____________ in their Berlin bunker as the Allies closed in. On May 8th, 1945, Germany surrendered, and the European war was over. Crushing Japan After the battle of __________ the US took the offensive against Japan. US forces waged an “___________________________” campaign with the goal of recapturing Japanese-held islands that would serve as stepping stones to the Japanese mainland.

______ bases were built on captured islands from which US bombers could hit Japan. Territory was gained after bloody battles such as Coral Sea, Guadalcanal, Tarawa ___________, and Okinawa. To end the war, the US dropped atomic bombs on ____________ and ______________. Japan surrendered soon after and WWII was over.

World War II resulted in a total death toll of approximately _____________, the most deaths in the history of warfare.