WORLD WAR II

The war started with the invasion of Poland in 1939, until 1941 it was a European world.
1940, Katyn massacre (in Poland) – a series of mass executions, carried out by the Soviet Union
(NKVD)
1940 Maginot line; they thought that the only way Hitler can attack with tanks is through the Alsace-
Lorraine
1940 Hitler ceased Denmark, Norway, Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg),
France

In 1941 the war becomes global, the world war:

- 22nd June; Eastern front is opened with the attack on the Soviet Union Operation
Barbarossa)
- 7th December; Pacific theatre of war is opened (attack on Pearl Harbour; US isolationism is
broken)
- Italy opened North African theatre of war (the North African campaign started on 10th June
1940 – Italy joined the war after France was on its knees, but only in 1941 do the important
battles start to occur)
1941 Yugoslavia, Greece fall (Operation Marita)
25th March Yugoslavia joined the triple pact; they were surrounded with countries that already fall
under the Nazi influence (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria); however the decision met strong
resistance
27th March coup d’etat was carried out in Belgrade; the government was overthrown, King Peter II
Karadjordjević fully assumed monarchical powers
Yugoslavia was split into many occupation zones by the axis powers

Hitler assumed Yugoslavia was going to fall in his hands without resistance and that Italy was going to
be able to cease Greece fast and without German assistance

1943 first defeat at Stalingrad

1945 invaded from the east and the west

AFTERMATH
April 30th 1945 Hitler committed suicide
Germany was occupied and divided into 4 military zones governed by USSR, Britain, France and USA
History_hl WWII
Sitzkrieg: after the invasion of Poland, UK and France waited for three days to declare the war (1st
Sept 1939, 3rd Sept 1939); many historians argue that if the Allied powers acted sooner, Hitler
wouldn't be able to advance so fast and rapidly (he had issues with the Blietzkrieg in the beginning,
etc.)
Comparison of different war strategies: French warfare (ww1) and Blitzkrieg (ww2); technologies,
aftermath
western front during ww1, the british introduced tanks (Battle of Somme)
ww1 use of pigeons for communication
ww1 battlefields out of cities; war of attrition
ww2 tanks played crucial war
ww2 airplanes improved drastically
ww2 civilians were not safe; total war

Operation Sea Lion; invasion of Great Britain

War at Sea
Technology Europe Africa Asia
War at sea New technology:
Where and when
used:
Evidence of impact re.
victory/defeat:

Europe:
Battle for the Atlantic
Baltic conveys and Lend Lease Aid
Use of sea power for amphibious landings: Operation torch, D-Day
Africa:
Use of sea power for supplies
Amphibious landings in El Alamein and Operation Torch
Asia:
- 7th December; Pacific theatre of war is opened (attack on Pearl Harbour; US isolationism is
broken)
- Fought between the Allies (USA, China and the UK) and the Axis (Japan)
- Started on the 7th of December 1941
- Ended on the 2nd of September 1945
- Largest and bloodiest Naval Conflict in human history
-

Battle of Coral Sea

Battle of the Coral Sea

29 April–8 May 1942
Battle of the Coral Sea Combat Narrative, 75th Anniversary Edition (Click image to download PDF, 3.4 MB)
The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first time since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that the
enemy’s seemingly relentless advance into the Pacific was checked. It was also the first major
U.S. Navy fleet action against Japan and the first naval engagement in history in which the
participating ships never sighted or fired directly at each other.

Although the battle was a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, it has been
described as a strategic victory for the Allies.
When they attacked the American fleet at Midway the next month, the weakened Japanese
were met by a stronger Allied fleet than they had expected, and were defeated.
Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway (4-7june 1942
• American Intelligence discovered the attack
• The Japanese attack the island not knowing the American fleet was near
• Japanese win initial fights
• Torpedo bombers with assistance from aircraft set 3 Japanese carriers ablaze
• Japanese dive bombers nearly sink the USS Yorktown
• American bombers damage the Hiryu
• The Hiryu and USS Yorktown sink
• First time Japan lost a battle, a turn point in the war
• Heavy losses on the Japanese side
• Americans gained vital intelligence
• Made the Japanese cancel plans to invade other islands (Fiji, New Caledonia and Samoa)
• Marked turning point in the war
• Established a pattern of lying within the Japanese Navy

Battle of Leyte Gulf

Battle of Leyte Gulf (23–26 October 1944)
- Comprised of four main battles (Sibuyan Sea, Surigao Strait, Cape Engaño and Samar)
- Goal: Take the Philippines
- The Japanese mobilized their entire remaining fleet
- Battle of the Sibuyan Sea:
- No Japanese air cover
- Japanese lost 3 heavy cruisers and 1 battleship (Yamato class)
- Central eventually escaped
- Battle of the Surigao Strait:
- Last battleship engagement in history
- Southern force is completely destroyed
- Battle off Cape Engaño:
- Successful diversion by the Japanese
 - Didn’t communicate what was happening
- 5 Japanese carriers sunk
The combined battles of Leyte Gulf destroyed the Imperial Japanese Navy as an
offensive force and decisively led to the defeat of Japan in 1945.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf[5] (Japanese: レイテ沖海戦, romanized: Reite oki Kaisen, lit. 'Leyte
Open Sea Naval Battle') was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria
the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved

- East-Dutch Indies, one of the main resources of oil globally at the time
- Philipphines, were able to blockade majority of the Japanese boats with oil from the West-
Dutch Indies when in hands of the US  therefore very important

• Americans win almost complete naval superiority

• Allowed the Americans to take control of the Philippines
• Were able to cut off the Japanese from their resources in the south

Island/Atoll hopping and amphibious landings

The U.S. and Japan engaged in a brutal island hopping campaign during
World War II. This strategy was used by the U.S. to gain control of the
Pacific Ocean and ultimately defeat the Japanese. The campaign began
with the liberation of the Philippines, a key strategic point in the Pacific.2
Strategy: This
practice—skipping over heavily fortified islands in order to seize lightly
defended locations that could support the next advance—became known as island hopping.
favored direct assaults on heavily defended beaches and islands leading to massive
casualties for such small parcels of land