World War II Overview

Key Players

• Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan
• Allied Powers: Britain, Soviet Union, US, China

Causes of WWII

• Economic depression worldwide post-Wall Street Crash
• German resentment and humiliation from the Treaty of Versailles
• Hitler's ideology of Germans as a superior race needing more living space
• Hitler's rebuilding of the German military, violating the Treaty of Versailles

Early Expansion of Nazi Germany

• Germany's unchecked expansion by France and Britain
  • Annexation of Austria
  • Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
• Invasion of Poland in September 1939, leading to war declarations from Britain and France

Major Campaigns in Europe

• Invasion of Denmark and Norway
• Blitzkrieg tactics: Rapid, overwhelming force concentration for quick victories
• German occupation of Belgium, the Netherlands, France
• Battle of Britain: German Luftwaffe vs. Royal Air Force

Involvement of Italy

• Italy’s invasion of North Africa and unsuccessful campaign in Greece

Eastern Front: Operation Barbarossa

• Largest surprise land invasion against the Soviet Union
• Initial German gains but eventual setbacks due to harsh winters and Soviet resistance

Turning Points

• Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk: German retreat begins
• British victory at the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa

Pacific Theater

• Japan's expansion in Asia, seizure of Manchuria
• Attack on Pearl Harbor leads to US entry into the war
• Japanese advances halted at the Battle of Midway

Allied Advances

• Collapse of Mussolini's regime and Allied landings in Sicily
• D-Day invasion in Normandy, leading to liberation of France
• Soviet and Allied advancement towards Germany

End of War in Europe

• Soviets capture Berlin, leading to Germany's surrender in May 1945

Conclusion of the Pacific War

• Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Japan's surrender in September 1945

Aftermath of World War II

• Largest, bloodiest conflict in history with about 60 million deaths
• Holocaust extermination
• Creation of the United Nations
• Political and economic integration initiatives in Europe
• Decline of European colonial powers, decolonization of Africa and Asia
• Emergence of the US and Soviet Union as superpower rivals, leading to the Cold War