WWII 15.4 and 16.1

What was the phony war?

-France and GB mobilized troops after declaring war on Germany and stationed on the Maginot Line -Maginot Line: a system of fortifications along France's border with Germany -Some newspapers called it the phony war because nothing happened -Finally Hitler launched a surprise attack on Denmark and Norway and eventually Denmark fell and Norway surrendered -Germans built bases along the Norwegian and Danish coasts to launch strikes on GB

What was the rescue at Dunkirk?

-Germans trapped Allied forces around northern city of Lille -The Allies retreated to the beaches of Dunkirk (a French port) where they were rescued by Britain's army -GB sent 850 ships across the English channel and were able to carry 338,000 soldiers to safety

How did the German Reich Expand?

-Germany annexed Austria -Germany moved into the Sudetenland (a German speaking population) -After the Munich conference Italy, Germany, and GB and France followed a policy of appeasement. They promised to give Hitler Sudetenland if he respected Czechoslovakia's new borders. -Germany took over all of Czechoslovakia

How did France eventually fall to Germany?

-Germany was able to take France because resistance eventually crumbled and their leaders surrendered -Germany took the northern part of France known as GERMAN OCCUPIED FRANCE -Southern France left to a puppet government headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain and known as VICHY FRANCE -Charles de Gaulle set up a government-in-exile in London and was committed to reconquering France, battling the Nazis until France was liberated in 1944

What was the Battle of Britain?

-Hitler knocked out the Royal Air Force and landed 250,000 soldiers -In 1940 the Luftwaffe (German air force) bombed GB but the British did not waver -GB used radars that told the number, speed, and direction of incoming war planes -GB used an Enigma that decoded German secret messages -Germany stopped their daylight raids and because of British resistance, Hitler called off attacks stopping his Western expansion -Taught the British that Hitler's attacks could be blocked

What was the beginning of France falling?

-Hitler sent a large force of tanks and troops through the Ardennes -Ardennes: a heavily wooded area in northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg -Germans were able to squeeze between the Maginot Line and move across France

Why did the Nazis and Soviets sign a Nonaggression pact?

-Hitler wanted to remove the threat of Germany being attacked by the USSR in the east -They publicly committed to never attacking one another and Hitler promised Stalin Poland

Why did Mussolini attack Ethiopia?

-Italians wanted to avenge their earlier loss to Ethiopia and establish an African colonial empire -France and Britain did nothing to protect it because they wanted to keep peace in Europe. -The League of Nations condemned this action and Italy withdrew from it

How did militarist take control of Japan?

-Japan's parliament was weak so the military assumed power and planned a Pacific Empire headed by Hirohito Togo -Japan invaded Manchuria because it was rich in iron and coal but the League of Nations condemned this action leading Japan to withdraw from it and invade China because of a border dispute in northern China

What was Germany's lightening attack on Poland?

-SEPT. 1 Germany used tanks, troops, trucks, aircrafts, and artillery to bomb Poland's capital Warsaw -France and GB declared war on Germany -Hitler annexed the western half of Poland

How did Germany spark a new war in Europe?

-Stalin and Hitler signed a nonaggression pact saying they wouldn't fight and agreeing to split up Poland. -The USSR took over Finland and the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

How did the soviets make their move?

-Stalin sent soviet troops to occur the eastern half of Poland -Finland resisted which led to war and ended in the soviets suffering big losses but still winning -They got the Finns to accept their surrender terms

Wh did the United States follow an isolationist policy?

-The US were not members of the League of Nations and thought entering WWI was a costly error -Congress passed three Neutrality acts banning loans and the sale of arms to nations at war

How does Hitler defy the Treaty of Versailles?

-They build up an army which the League of Nations mildly condemned -Germany moved into the Rhineland and their was little reaction from France and Great Britain encouraged Hitler to expand more quickly -Germany joins forces with Italy in the Rome-Berlin Axis

Describe the Civil war erupting in Spain:

-When Spain changed from a monarchy to a republic General Francisco France led a rebel revolt with an army called the "Nationalists" who favored Fascism -Hitler and Mussolini sent troops, tanks, and airplanes to help his forces -Only the Soviet Union sent equipment and advisors to help the Republicans -The resistance collapsed and France became Dictator -THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WAS A DRESS REHEARSAL FOR WWI

Blitzkrieg

A "Lightening War" that used airplanes first, then tanks, followed by military forces.

Winston Churchill

The New British Prime minister