WW2reviewBrandonGary

=World War 2=

Summary
World War 2 was a total war, perhaps the deadliest war fought in the history of wars, that lasted from 1939-1945. It was fought between the Allies and the Axis. The Allies were mainly consisted of The Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, The United States, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and The British Empire, who was led by Winston Churchill. The Axis consisted of Nazi Germany, who was led by Adolf Hitler, Italy, who was led by Benito Mussolini, and Japan, who was l ed by Emperor Tojo Hirohito. The war began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. From 1939-1941, in a series of treaties and campaigns, Germany conquered much of Europe; amid Nazi-Soviet agreements the nominally neutral Soviet Union fully or partially occupied and annexed territories of its six European neighbors. Britain remained the only major force continuing the fight against the Axis in North Africa and in extensive naval warfare. The Axis advance was stopped in 1942 when Japan was defeated in a series of naval battles, and after European Axis troops were defeated at Stalingrad. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded France, while the Soviet Union regained all territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. The European war ended when Berlin was captured by Polish and Soviet troops, followed by the German's surrender on May 18, 1945. The war in Asia ended on August 15, 1945, when Japan surrendered.

World War 2 Timeline
= = =1939=


 * Hitler invades Poland on September 1st. Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later.

**1940**
 * = Rationing starts in the UK. =
 * = German 'Blitzkrieg' overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France. =
 * = Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain. =
 * = British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk. =
 * = British victory in Battle of Britain forces Hitler to postpone invasion plans. =

=1941= = =
 * Hitler begins Operation Barbarossa - the invasion of Russia.
 * The Blitz continues against Britain's major cities.
 * Allies take Tobruk in North Africa, and resist German attacks.
 * Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war.

**1942**


 * Germany suffers setbacks at Stalingrad and El Alamein.
 * Singapore falls to the Japanese in February - around 25,000 prisoners taken.
 * American naval victory at Battle of Midway, in June, marks turning point in Pacific War.
 * Mass murder of Jewish people at Auschwitz begins.

**1943**


 * Surrender at Stalingrad marks Germany's first major defeat.
 * Allied victory in North Africa enables invasion of Italy to be launched.
 * Italy surrenders, but Germany takes over the battle.
 * British and Indian forces fight Japanese in Burma.

=1944=


 * Allies land at Anzio and bomb monastery at Monte Cassino.
 * Soviet offensive gathers pace in Eastern Europe.
 * D Day: The Allied invasion of France. Paris is liberated in August.
 * Guam liberated by the US Okinawa, and Iwo Jima bombed.

=1945=


 * Auschwitz is liberated by Soviet troops.
 * Russians reach Berlin: Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders on 7 May.
 * Truman becomes President of the US on Roosevelt's death, and Attlee replaces Churchill.
 * After atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrenders on 14 August.



=Key Terms=


 * Manhattan Project: The operation of developing the first atomic bomb.
 * Operation Overlord:D-Day, the storming of the beaches of Normandy
 * Fascism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
 * Communism: an anti-capitalistic theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state
 * Operation Barbarossa: Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union

=Key People=


 * Franklin D. Roosevelt: President of the US during the war, died months before the war even ended in 1945
 * Harry S. Truman: Vice President of the US during the majority of the war, took the presidency after Roosevelt's death. Decided to drop the atom bomb in 1945, ending the war
 * Dwight D. Eisenhower: Army General during the war, leader of Operation Overlord, D-Day, which was the storming of the beaches of Normandy, a huge turning point in the war.
 * Joseph Stalin: Leader of the Communist party and USSR. Stalin only sided with the US due to our mutual hate of fascism.
 * Benito Mussolini: Prime minister of Italy from 1922 until his murder in 1945. Hitler liked his totalitarianism, and decided to become partners with Italy during the war
 * Adolf Hitler: Leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. Infamous for his book, Mein Kampf, and the extermintation of the Jews and others during the war for not being Aryan.
 * Hirohito: Emperor of Japan during the war.
 * Winston Churchill: Prime minister of Great Britian for the majority of the war.

Links: []

[]

[]