WWII Quiz

Allied Invasion of Sicily

- After the allie's success in North Africa, 150,000 of their troops landed in Sicily and faced little resistance from German or Italian troops. - The allies were allegedly assisted with mafia figures who helped them persuade and change opinions of Italian citizens. - In Southern Italy at the Battle of Monte Cassino, the allies experienced 55,000 casualties and destroyed an ancient monastery to break into Rome. - led to resignation of Mussolini -The invasion showed the strength and power of the allies as they were able to convince an entire nation's public to go against their own leader.

Battle of El Alamein

- After two years of fighting in North Africa deserts, Winston Churchill appoints Field Marshal Bernad Montogomery to lead the British army. - On October 23 1942, the British stopped Germany's march into Egypt at the second battle. Germany and Italy have to retreat back through Libya. - This is the first major allied victory in the war and a big energy booster for the home front. I - In May 1943 German forces were driven out of North Africa, ending the threat to the Suez Canal (a big trading route), shaping the invasion of Italy. It was named Operation Torch.

Britain and France Declare war on germany

- Britain and France agree to defend Poland under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles - Germany refuses to stop, so Britain and France declare war. - The Polish army is defeated after 3 weeks. On September 17, Stalin sent the red army to occupy Poland.

Munich Agreement

- Britain, France and Germany signed the Munich Agreement stating that Sudentanland should be given to Germany and then Hitler can't take any more territory - Chamberlain thinks this can appease hitler and guarantee peace for some time - fails when Hitler invades Czechoslovakia.

Germany Invades France

- Chamberlain's appeasement policy was unsuccessful, resigned as prime minister. - German troops use Blitzkrieg strategies and unleash a surprise attack through Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands before crossing into northern france. - The French with their line farther south are outfought. - The Germans suffer 150,000 casualties and the allie's suffer 360,000. - British army moves toward the coast.

Evacuation from Dunkirk

- German military success in Northern France traps British and allied forces, forcing a retreat. - Around 340,000 soldiers, including French and Belgian troops, surrender. - a surprising rescue mission, known as the 'Dunkirk spirit,' occurs from May 26 to June 4, involving a diverse fleet of vessels to save the stranded soldiers. - Great Britain sent out vessels to come rescue the trapped soldiers. - Many different types of ocean liners were used to save their soldiers, although they were heavily bombed by Germany forces, the ships pushed on and carried a total of 338,000 s

D-Day

- Germans stretch over 1,000 miles from Biarritz, France to Denmark because they have no ideas where the allies could strike. - Surprising the Germans, 150,000 Canadian, British and US troops land on beaches in Normandy. Despite the heavy casualties on both sides, the freedom of France begans. - invasion of Normandy was code-named Operation Overlord, the largest land and sea attack in history beginning at dawn on June 6, 1944. -The Germans had dug in with machine guns, rocket launchers and cannons, sheltered behind concrete walls three feet thick. - just the American forces, more than 2,700 men died that day.

Germany Invades Poland

- Germany has signed the Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union to slowly take Poland's land. - German battleship opens fire on the Polish Garrison - At the same time, 1.5 million German troops crossed over the Poland border. bombard Polish towns. - next day Chamberlain sends a message to Hitler: if he doesn't stop his forces the next day, there will be a war.

Pearl Habor

- Germany's ally, Japan bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. - Japan was disappointed with their relations to the US after the US oil embargo in 1941 to limit their expansion in China. - Japan wanted to knock out the US as a potential enemy by destroying their pacific fleet. - their plan was unsuccessful as all aircraft carriers were all the way at sea on missions. - Their actions brought attention to president Roosevelt, leading the US to declare war on Japan. In turn, Germany declared war on the US. brought US isolationist policy to an end, made them look easier to attack

Battle of Midway

- Japan's next target was Midway Island, around 1,500 miles west of Hawaii where a key American airfield was located. Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander in chief of the US Pacific Fleet, was aware of the huge force heading toward midway. - --Admiral Yamamoto was in command of the Japanese fleet and hoped that the attack on Midway would take the whole of the US Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbor to defend it. - On June 4th, American forces who were hidden far from the horizon allowed the Japanese to begin their assault. - However, just as the first Japanese planes got into the air, American planes immediately swooped in to attack them. Many of the Japanese planes were still on deck and the strategy was a success. - American pilots were able to destroy 332 planes, 4 aircraft carriers and one ship. Yammatomo ordered his damaged fleet to surrender. By June 7, 1942, the battle was over. shifted balance of power in war

Japanese Expansion

- Japanese Expansion began because military leaders desired expansion. - The first expansion was in 1931 when Japanese leaders took control of Manchuria, China. 6 years later, the army advanced deeper into the country. - China strained Japan's economy with their resistance, spreading the war on much longer than it needed to be. - Japanese leaders wanted access to the southeast Asian colonie' resources owned by European nations in order to fight back. Further dragging on the war

Battle of Guadalcanal

- Japanese troops had taken hundreds of Islands across the ocean. General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Allied forces in the pacific developed a plan to solve this problem; "island-hopping" past Japanese strongholds, seizing Islands close to Japan but not well defended. - He had learned that the Japanese were building an air base on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. On August 7, 1942, several thousand US Marines with Australian support landed on the island. - Easily, the marines seized Guadalcanal's airfield, but the battle for power over the island turned into a great struggle as both sides used fresh troops. After six months of fighting in February, the battle ended. After a loss of more than 24,000 soldiers, Japan abandoned what they now called "the Island of Death ''. To American war correspondent Ralph Martin and other soldiers, it was described as "hell". The Battle was important because it was critical as part of the Allie's strategy to counter Japanese expansion in the pacific. General MacArthur's tactic helped them seize key locations and disrupt Japanese plans to gain advantages.

Germans Enter Paris

- On June 14, 1940, German soldiers entered Paris, leading to the fall of the city and the government's retreat. - Prime minister Paul Reynaud wanted to continue fighting, but he was overruled and resigned. - Petain, his successor, signed an armistice with Germany, resulting in the creation of Vichy France, a puppet state. With this, Germany became the dominant power in Europe. - French resistance began to fall apart. The Germans had taken Paris on June 14, 1940. French leaders saw that they had to and surrendered on June 22, 1940. - After his country fell, French general Charles de Gaulle set up a new government in exile in London. - He focused the country on reconquering the nation, asking for the help of the French people still living in the country to take action.

Italy Surrenders & Allies Enter Rome

- On September 3, 1943, Italy surrendered. However, Germans seized control of northern Italy and put Mussolini back in power. - Finally, the Germans retreated north and the successful allies entered Rome on June 4, 1944. - But, the fighting in Italy continued until Germany's fall in 1945. On April 27, 1945, Italian resistance fighters attacked German trucks near Milan, and found Mussolini inside disguised as a German soldier. - The next day, they shot him and hung his body in downtown Milan. - allowed the Allies to gain more power in the region. However, the German occupation of Northern Italy - The successful entry into Rome marked a victory for the Allies. -The execution of Mussoloni was highly significant because it not only symbolized the end of fascist rule in Italy but also emphasized the resilience of resistance against these oppressive forces

Battle of Stalingrad

- The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the worst and bloodiest battles in history, having almost 2 million casualties. - When ammunition and food started becoming unavailable, German commander Frederich Paulaus had to surrender. - The end of the battle showed how Hitler was not prepared for the soviet forces that would now move west for Berlin. - proved hitler wasn't as strong as everyone believed

Germany Invades the USSR/Operation Barbarossa

- Three million German troops are supported by Hungarian, Italian, Finnish and Romanian allies. - Stalin is surprised and the soviets are forced to retreat. The germans used Blitzkrieg tactics and the soviets suffered 250,00 casualties in one week. - The invaders are accompanied by SS teams who round up and kill many Jews. By December the Germans reach the outskirts of Moscow, but their supply lines are stretched and Stalin is as ruthless as Hitler. - Operation Barbossa was the name given to this event where millions of german troops and allies went and were a part of the surprise attack and soviet retreat that initiated thousands of casualties.

The Phoney War

- Western Europe is relatively peaceful. - When Germany doesn't advance into Poland, Britain uses the time to send the army to France, guarding the border with Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium - After the declaration of war on Germany, the French and British troops began to mobilize their armies. They stationed these troops on France's border with Germany - Germans didnt make a move - The Germans called it Sitzkrieg (the Sitting War). - Germany launched an attack on Denmark and Norway, following the surrender of both countries and the advancement of the German army building bases on the Norwegian and Danish coasts.

Battle of Britain

- commenced as Germany wanted to defeat Britain after conquering france. - Hitler sought air superiority before launching a land invasion. - the RAF only having 640 fighters against 2,600, they successfully fought down 1,887 German planes by october.

War in the Balkans

Conflicts that took place in the Balkan peninsula to push the Ottoman empire out.

Axis Forces Attack North Africa

Mussolini went to war against British troops in North Africa (Egypt) and moved in 60 miles before the British and Italians dug in and waited.

Battle of Okinawa

= The Battle of Okinawa was a big turning point in WWII and was the time when the Japanese went on the defensive as they started to lose more pacific territory. - U.S. General MacArthur re-seized the Philippines from Japan in 1944, and by March 1945, the U.S. fought a big fight and were able to conquer the island of Iwo Jima. T - This battle lasted for 92 days and included kamikaze pilots attacking U.S. ships by the coast of the island. On land, Japanese army officers had to force thousands of civilians to kill themselves. Japanese were forced to pull back and underestimated power of US