Lecture Notes: Oversimplified History of World War II

Introduction

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• Commonwealth nations and allied colonies supported Britain in the war.

Axis Powers

• Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact to solidify military alliance.
• Soviet Union's struggle against Finland and annexation of Baltic states and northern Romania.

The African and Italian Campaigns

• France's colonies in equatorial Africa pledged allegiance to Free France, except Gabon.
• Failure of Allies to capture Dakar.
• Mussolini's unsuccessful attempts in Egypt and Greece.
• Britain's strategy shift to southern Europe.

Balkans and Eastern Europe

• Germany coerced Hungary and Romania to join Axis.
• American public opinion initially against joining the war.

America Enters the War

• Roosevelt's reelection and decision to supply Allies.
• U-boat threat in the Atlantic mitigated by technological advancements.
• Alan Turing's team cracked the Enigma code.

North Africa and the Balkans

• British pushed Italy out of Egypt.
• Germany's intervention in Greece and Yugoslavia.
• Australian force held out in Tobruk.

Eastern Front

• Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.
• Large Soviet encirclements and siege of Leningrad.
• Brutal winter and Soviet counteroffensive.

Japan Expands

• Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, triggering US entry into the war.
• Japanese conquests in Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands.

Turning Points

• Stalingrad: Soviets encircle and defeat German 6th Army.
• Allied bombing campaigns over Germany.
• Battles in Pacific (Midway) turning against Japan.

Italy and Western Europe

• Allied invasion of Sicily and fall of Mussolini.
• Allies' progress in Italy slowed by winter conditions.
• Operation Overlord (D-Day) and liberation of France.
• Soviet push towards Berlin.

The Pacific and Southeast Asia

• American island-hopping campaign towards Japan.
• Iwo Jima captured and firebombing of Japanese cities.

The End of the War

• Battle of the Bulge: Germany's last major offensive fails.
• Fall of Berlin and Hitler's defeat.
• Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki leading to Japan's surrender.

Post-War Outcomes

• Division of Germany and occupation of Japan by Allies.
• Emergence of US and Soviet Union as superpowers leading to the Cold War.

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