After World War 1 ended, you would have thought that the world did not look forward to another world war. World War 1 was a bloody disaster which finally ended. However, Adolf Hitler spoke out against the treaty. It had left Germany in ruins and impacted many countries including the U.S. After World War 1, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Germany did not agree with many of laws put forth by this treaty. For example, Germany took claim for all damage in the war. This costs about $442 billion dollars as of 2014. Also many new countries were formed including Poland and Finland. The main problem with this treaty was that it destroyed the German economy. After World War 1 many countries had a bad economy. This was the period of the Great Depression. Some of these countries were controlled by fascist governments. These governments were ruled by dictators. These dictators wanted to expand their nation as well. Germany wanted a leader that would stop their economic slump. In 1934, Hitler was dictator of Germany. Hitler allied with a couple fascist controlled countries and rearmed Germany’s army. Also, Japan was trying to expand its nation. They invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937. In 1938, Hitler took over Austria. Since Europe was tired of World War 1, the League of Nations did nothing to stop Hitler. Hitler became bolder and invaded Czechoslovakia. The main countries in the Allied Powers were Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. U.S. and Russia joined later in the war. The main Axis Powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Battle of Britain
On July 10 1940, Germany started bombing the Allied country of Great Britain. This was to destroy the British Air Force and prepare for an invasion. The bombing continued for several months. On September 15, 1940, Germany heavily bombed London. However, the British RAF (Royal Air Force) shot down many German planes. Germany realized they couldn’t defeat the RAF. The British won the battle with fewer planes. They had a radar to tell then when the German Luftwaffe (German Air Force) would be attacking and they were fighting over their homeland. The RAF commander was Sir Hugh Dowding. The Luftwaffe commander was Herman Goering.
Did You Know?
The main planes 2. The main planes that the Germans used that the British used were were the Messerschmitt the Hurricane Mk and Bf109 and the Bf110. Spitfire Mk.
Battle of Atlantic
In World War 2, the allies were trying to supply Great Britain through the Atlantic Ocean. The Axis Powers tried to prevent that. The Battle of the Atlantic was mainly fought in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. After America became involved in the war, the battle went to the coast of the U.S. Starting on September 3, 1939 the battle raged on for about 68 months finally ending on May 8, 1945. Germany used U-boats to sink Allied ships with torpedoes. Germans quickly increased the quantity of U-boats and sunk many ships. In order to save their boats, Allied boats travelled in large groups called convoys. These convoys could destroy U-boats. However, as more U-boats were manufactured, it became harder for the convoys to successfully pass the U-boats. In 1943, the Allies successfully created the radar to detect U-boats and broke their codes. They also developed Hedgehogs to attack the U-boats. Soon, America could supply the Allies freely. The Allies won this battle. Over 30,000 sailors died on each side. The Allies lost 3,500 supply ships and 175 warships. Germany lost 783 U-boats.
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan thought that America would interfere if they took over Asia. In order to destroy the navy Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. U.S. ships, aircraft carriers, and airplane bases were the main targets. On Dec 7, Japanese bombers dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor. The attack was surprising. There were 2 waves in the attack. By the end of the attack, there were many casualties. Fortunately, there were no aircraft carriers in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. 2,390 U.S. people were killed. 1,178 U.S. people were wounded. 12 U.S. ships were sunk or beached and 9 were damaged. 164 U.S. airplanes were destroyed and 159 damaged. 64 Japanese people were killed. 5 Japanese ships were sunk or beached. 29 Japanese airplanes were destroyed and 74 were damaged. On December 8, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7 “a date which will live in infamy” in a speech asking Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress did and America became a part of World War 2.
Did You Know?
All U.S. ships were able to recover except the USS Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma.
“Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
-This is the beginning of President Roosevelt’s speech.-
Battle of Stalingrad
Before this battle, Russia was an Axis Power. However Adolf Hitler decided to attack Stalingrad, Russia. The German Air Force started bombing the city. Soon, German soldiers entered the city. Although the Germans took over most of the city, Soviet soldiers continued fighting. In November, 1942, Soviet Union soldiers surrounded Germans inside Stalingrad. German soldiers had very little ammunition and were trapped. General Paulus of Germany surrendered on February 2, 1943.
D-Day (Invasion of Normandy)
Germany occupied France. The Allies decided to liberate France from Germany. However Germany knew that the Allies would attack but they didn’t know where. Using deception, it seemed that the Allies were going to attack at Pas de Calais. Instead they attacked at the Normandy beaches. Also, the weather wasn’t favorable on the day they were supposed to attack. The Germans were less prepared. At night, paratroopers were dropped to destroy targets. Dummies were dropped as well to confuse the Germans. There were 5 landing sites for the attack. They were nicknamed Gold, Juno, Utah, Omaha, and Sword. To start the attack, airplanes bombed the Normandy beaches. Soon after, warships bombed the beaches. The troops ten arrived on the landing sites. Americans were able to easily take the Utah beach, but Germans had set up defenses of Omaha beach. Although it seemed that the Germans would win, Americans displayed courage and eventually won the beach as well. With determination, the Allies were able to take all 5 landing sites on the Normandy beaches.
Battle of Bulge
Hitler tried to make a final push to win the war. He made a surprise attack on Allied soldiers in the Ardennes forests of Belgium. The Allies, mainly Americans were surprised but they held their ground. Many small groups tried to hold the Germans back for as long as possible. One famous group was led by General Anthony as he yelled “Nuts!” to the German soldiers asking him to surrender. The Allies won the battle, plotting the downfall of Adolf Hitler.
Battle of Berlin
This battle was mostly fought between the the Soviet Union and Germany. Germany’s army was crippled due to the battle of stalingrad. The Soviet Union marched into the city of berlin on April 16. Laying siege to the city, Soviets dropped bombs on the city and eventually surrounded the Germans. They continued to surround the Germans. When Hitler saw that Germany was losing, he committed suicide. On May 2, 1945 German soldiers surrendered to the Allies. On May 7, 1945. Germany surrendered to the Allies. The war in Europe was over.
Battle of Midway
While the Allies were fighting the war in Europe, America was fighting on the Pacific. U.S. had a base at Midway, an island in the Pacific Ocean. Japan decided to attack the base. Japan’s main target was the aircraft carriers. Although Japan wanted the mission to be a secret, Americans were able to figure out that they were attacking. On June 4, 1942 Japan attacked. While Japan’s aircraft took to the air, America’s aircraft carriers surrounded the Japanese fleet. Japan was focused on attacking Midway, but American planes dropped torpedoes to hit the ships. Japanese ships set their guns at a low level to hit a few planes. Many torpedo attack planes were hit and the torpedoes didn’t hit many ships. Then, bombs came falling through the air as American dive bombers destroyed many ships. Their strategy was perfect; 3 out of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers sank. U.S. aircraft carrier “Yorktown” launched many bombers against the last Japanese aircraft carrier “Hiryu”. However, Hiryu was able to launch a number of bombers, and both Yorktown and Hiryu sank. The Japanese casualties were high. They lost 4 aircraft carriers, many other ships, 248 airplanes, and about 3,000 soldiers. The battle ended on June 7, 1942. This was a key victory in the downfall of Japan.
Battle of Guadalcanal
In order to defeat the Japanese, America had to go on the offensive. On August 7, 1942 the U.S. army attacked Florida and Tulagi: 2 islands to the north of Guadalcanal. Soon after the island of Guadalcanal was invaded. The Japanese were surprised and U.S. forces were able to take the base quickly. Japan responded quickly and defeated few American ships and surrounded the U.S. army. Very soon, Japan landed more troops on Guadalcanal to win the island. American planes would destroy Japanese ships coming with supplies and troops, but the ships would arrive at night. In November Japan supplied about 10,000 troops to Guadalcanal. The American soldiers were able to defend the island. Japan continued sending in soldiers but the Americans were able to vanquish them. Japan’s casualties were about 31,000 soldiers and 38 ships. America’s casualties were about 7,100 soldiers and 29 ships.
Battle of Iwo Jima
U.S. decided in order to attack Japan, they needed an island close to Japan so they could launch planes. Iwo Jima would be a perfect place for an air base. On February 19, 1945, 30,000 U.S. soldiers landed at Iwo Jima. They thought that they would capture the island in a week due to bombings. However, Japan had devised a plan. Digging tunnels and hiding in unsuspecting places, the Japanese army attacked the U.S. soldiers. The U.S. army was completely baffled and many soldiers were killed. Another tactic was when U.S. soldiers attacked Japanese soldiers in a bunker. They would continue moving only to realize that more Japanese soldiers had entered the bunker and were attacking from behind. The battle raged on for days. After fierce fighting the island was captured. 18,000 Japanese soldiers were killed. 216 of the 18,000 were captured. 6,800 American soldiers were killed.
Atomic Bomb in Japan
U.S. was planning for an invasion of Japan. Soon, they realized that 500,000 or more U.S. soldiers would die. Therefore, President Harry Truman decided to drop the newly discovered atomic bomb. This bomb created a massive explosion that would cause many deaths. On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb named Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. About 135,000 people were killed. Japan didn’t surrender. On August 9, 1945 another atomic bomb named fat man was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. About 70,000 people were killed. Many civilians were killed in these 2 bombs. 6 days later, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito surrendered to the U.S. The war in the Pacific ended.
Germany had surrendered and so did Japan. World War 2 was finally over. Although nicknamed “The War to End All Wars”, World War also produced some conflicts. What would happen to Germany? With these conflicts in mind we moved on in history.