Presentation Notes on World War Two- Allied Troops (France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States)

[5 Tara]

-France

Allied Powers

• France, Poland, Great Britain in 1939 
• Frace and Great Britain vs. Germany

Before the War

• 2nd Largest European Power 
• Global Depression 
• No place to deal with Germans in 1930's 

-Major events that impacted their country between WWI and WWII.

• Munich Agreement
  • Western Betrayal 
• France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr
  • Germany failed to pay money from Treaty of Versailles 
• London Naval Treaties 
  • 1930 and 1936 
• Arms race after World War One 

-Tell us about their leader(s) during WWII

 Charles de Gaulle 

• French soldier in World War One 
• Exiled leader in World War Two 
• President of Fifth Republic, position held until 1969 
• Dedicated patriot 
  • Didn't accept French surrender to Germany in 1940 
• Organized soldiers from French colonies to fight alongside the Allied troops 
• Leader of the Free French 

-Discuss the impact of their Homefront and propaganda and what it was like in their country during the war

-Discuss major battle strategies

Maginot Line 

• Was a defensive barrier between the French and German Border
• Goes underground 
• Keep the Germans from ever making another assault on France again 
• Construction began in 1929 and finished in 1938 

Weapons and Artillery 

• A neglected army 
• Manufacturing and production of carbines 
• Using a lot of the weapons from World War One because they didn't have new ones

-Discuss major battles that the country was involved in

• Battle of France
  • May 20, 1940- June 25, 1940 
• Tunisia Campaign 
• Operation Torch 
• Operation Torch 
• Operation Venezia 
  • May 26, 1942 

-Discuss other people/generals from their country in WWII that had a major impact on the war

Marshal Petain 

• April 24, 1856- July 23, 1951 
• Also known as Philippe Petain 
• Born to a family of farmers 
• National hero for his victory at the Battle of Verdun in World War One 
• French General 
• 58 years old when he became a general 
• Accepted defeat to Germany 
• Leader of Vichy French 
• Brought to trial in France for his behavior after 1940 
• Condemned to death in August 1945, reduced to life sentence by Charles de Gaulle 
• Died in prison fortress 

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny 

• Free French Generals 
• Fought to reclaim France 
• Fought in North Africa 
• Nickname King John

Maxime Weygand 

• Chief-Commander of French Army 
• May 20, 1940 til France surrender 
• Partly Collaborated with Vichy French Government 
• Loyalities belonged to who was winning 

Maurice Gamelin 

• Chief-Commander of French Army 
• Free French General 
• Scape goat for loss of France 

Francois Darlan 

• VIchy General 
• Admiral of French naval forces 
• Made deal with Allies 
  • The Vichy soldiers were to attack the Germanys 
  • Got off easier 

Alphonse Juin 

• Vichy General
• Captured during Battle of France 
• Released by Vichy France in 1941 
• Commander in North Africa 
  • Until Operation Torch 
• 1942 resisted Germans and Italians 
  • Allies had arrived 

-Discuss why they won or lost the war

• In the end France did win the war due to being on the allies side 
• Irreversibly weakened, economically, militarily, and psychologically 
• Independence of colonies 
• War in Algeria 
• Increasing Anti-Colonialism sentiment among colonies 

-Discuss the impact WWII had on the country

• Weaken military 
• Weak economy 
• Colonies independence

-Soviet Union 

Discuss the following 

-Major events that impacted their country between WWI and WWII.

War With Poland 

• Also known as the Polish-Soviet war 
• 1919-1921 
• Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus hoped to fully occupy Poland 
• Polish had already taken over part of Ukraine 
• Soviet Union: 60,000 killed and between 80,000-157,000 prisoners 
• Polish: 47,000 killed, 113,518 wounded, and 51,351 prisoners 

Battle of Warsaw 

• Turn of the war 
• Lasted 12 days 
• Started in August 1920 
• Soviet Union: 15,000 killed, 10,000 wounded, and 65,000 captured 
• Poland: 4,500 killed, 22,000 wounded, and 10,000 missing 

Bolshevik Revolution 

• Vladimir Lenin 
• Goal was to make a new government 
• 1917 
• October Revolution 

Communists- Stalin

• Basic Information
  • Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili 
  • Born December 18, 1878
  • Born in Gori, Georgia
  • Father: Shoemaker
  • Mother: Laundress
  • Father beat Stalin and was an alcoholic
  • In his 30's he took the name Stalin which is Russian for "man of steel"
  • He grew up in a poor family
  • He was an only child
  • Had facial scars because he had smallpox when he was young
  • Wanted to be a priest
  • This was where he really got into polictics and German philosophy
  • Expelled from seminary school for missing exams
  • Criminally involved arrested several times between 1902-1913
  • Subjected to imprisonment and exiled in Siberia
  • 2 wives
  • 4 kids
  • Had more kids outside of marriage 
  • Son tried to kill himself 
  • Wife killed herself 
• Stalin's Five Year Plan 
  • Series of nationalized plans for economic development of the Soviet Union
  • Main Goals: Increase output of industrial goods like electrical power, capital goods, and agriculture 
  • First Plan: 1933-1937 
    • Stalin demanded 200% increase in iron and 335% in electrical power
    • Prisoners carried out much of the labor 
    • Workers constructed damns, roads, railways, and canals 
  • Second Plan- 1933-1937
    • Expanded the goals of the first plan
    • Focused on communications systems like railways 
    • Less successful
  • Third Plan- 1938-1941 
    • Still aimed at the same goals as the first and second plan 
    • Interrupted by World War Two 
• Purges 
  • "Stalin's Terror" 
  • Result of paranoia and desire to be a ruler 
  • Had a terrifying system of labor camps
  • The worst was during "The Great Purges" during 1934-1939 
    • Probably worsened because of his wife's suicide
  • 20 million people sent to labor camps 
    • Half of them died 
  • Mothers taugh kids that Stalin was the "wisest man of age" 
  • Statistics: 10,000 bodies were shot 
    • Soviet Union: 500,000 were executed and 3-12 million sent to labor camps 

Collectivization and Nationalization of the Soviet Union

• Collectivization
  • Government takes over farms
  • Transform agriculture
  • 1927
  • Encourage food production
  • State would decide how much to plant, how much peasant were paid, etc.
  • By 1931 more than half were collectivized  
• Nationalization 
  • Government takes over businesses 

-Discuss basic facts: alliance, total casualties, total cost, war goals, etc

 Casualties 

• 23,100,000 deaths 
  • 10,700,000 military deaths 
  • 12,400,000 civilian deaths 

Alliances 

• Neutral 
  • In cooperation with Nazis 
• Joined Allies 
  • June 1941 
  • Germany invaded Russia 

Cost 

• $485 billion 
  • $357 billion to the military 
  • $128 billion economically 
• Argriculture Lost 
  • 7 million horses 
  • 17 million cattle 
  • 20 million pigs 
  • 27 million goats and sheep 

War Goals 

• Land 
• Communist Government 
• Survival 
• Defeat Germans 

-Tell us about their leader(s) during WWII

                -background

                -how they came to power

                -how they lost power

Joseph Stalin 

• Background 
  • Born on December 18, 1879 
  • Born in Russian Peasant Village of Gori, Georgia 
  • Was in a carriage accident leaving his arm deformed 
    • Other kids made fun of him making him intensely angry 
    • Wanted revenge of these kids that made fun of him 
• Coming to Power 
  • Right after Vladimir Lenin in 1924 
  • He was outmaneuvered his rivals to become the head of the Communist Party 
    • He was made General Secretary of the party 
    • He used this to get his supported into important positions 
  • Became dictator of the Soviet Union 
  • He ruled the country with what people call the "Iron fist" until he died 
  • 5 year plan 
  • Purges 
    • "Stalin's Terror 
• Losing Power 
  • Joseph Stalin didn't really lose his power 
  • He died before he could lose power 

-Discuss the impact of their Homefront and propaganda and what it was like in their country during the war

Propaganda 

• Posters 
• Radio 
  • Speeches 
• Newspaper 
• School 

-Discuss major battle strategies

Army Division 

• Combined Arms Army
  • 2-4 motorized rifle divisions 
  • 1-2 tank division 
  • Artillery 
  • Missile Air Defense 
  • Engineer in Chemical Defense 
  • Signal and intelligence reconnaissance 
• The Tank Army
  • 2-4 tank divisions
  • 1-2 motorized rifle divisions
  • Plus artillery
  • Missile, air defense
  • Engineer, chemical defense
  • Signal, intelligence, reconnaissance, and rear service units  

-Discuss major battles that the country was involved in

Invasion of Poland:

• September 1, 1939- October 6, 1939
• Soviet Union, Germany, Slovakia vs Poland
• Ultimately what started the war
• People 
  • 2 million + vs. 950,000 
• Causalities 
  • Germany 
    • 16,343 killed 
    • 3,500 missing 
    • 30,300 wounded 
  • Slovakia 
    • 37 killed 
    • 11 missing 
    • 114 wounded 
  • Soviet Union 
    • 1,475 killed or missing 
    • 2,383 wounded 
  • Poland 
    • 66,000 dead 
    • 133,700 wounded 
    • 694,000 captured 

Battle of Moscow: 

• October 2,1941- January 7, 1942 
• Germany vs. Soviet Union 
• People
  • Germany
    • 1,929,406 men 
  • Soviet Union
    • 1,250,000-1,400,000 men
• Causalities 
  • Germany
    • 174,000-400,000 
  • Soviet Union 
    • 650,000-1,280,000 

Battle of Stalingrad 

• August 23, 1942- February 2, 1943 
• Germany, Romania, Italy, Hungary, Croatia vs. Soviet Union 
• People 
  • Germany 
    • 143,296 
  • Romania 
    • 220,000
  • Italy
    • 200,000 
  • Hungary/Croatia 
    • 40,000
• Casualties 
  • Germany 
    • 400,000 
  • Romania 
    • 200,000 
  • Italy 
    • 130,000 
  • Hungary/Croatia 
    • 120,000 

Battle of Berlin 

• One of the last battles of the war 
• April 16, 1945- May 2, 1945 
• Soviet Union and Poland vs. Germany 
• People 
  • Soviet Union and Poland 
    • 1,500,000-2,500,000 soldiers 
  • Germany 
    • 45,000 soldiers 
    • 36 divisions 
• Casualties 
  • Soviet Union and Poland 
    • 81,116 dead or missing 
    • 280,251 sick or wounded 
  • Germany 
  • 92,000-100,000 killed 
  • 220,000 wounded 
  • 480,000 captured 

-Discuss other people/generals from their country in WWII that had a major impact on the war

Georgy Zhukov 

• Was the most successful Russian general 
• Zhukov effectively led the attack on Berlin in April/May 1945 
• Throughout the whole Russian campaign was know as the "man who did not lose a battle" 

Ivan Konev

• He was a successful Red Army General 
• Many disappointments in the attack from Germany in World War Two 
• He commanded the 1st Ukrainian front during the Invasion of Poland and Germany 

Maxim Litvinov 

• Former Foreign Soviet minister 
• He became a militant revolutionary in his early youth 
• He still a revolutionary but later became a businessman 

Georgy Chicherin 

• Soviet diplomat 
• Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician 
• Commissar for foreign affairs 
• World War One took part in pacifist and relief parties 

-Discuss why they won or lost the war

• Won
• Vast majority of German soldiers killed on eastern front 
• Germany's greatest defeats happened on the Eastern front

-United States

Allied Powers 

• United States, Great Britain, France, China, Soviet Union 

US After World War One 

• US never signed the Treaty of Versailles 
  • Wilson (Democrat) vs. Congress (Republican controlled) 
  • Join the League of Nations or go back to isolationism 
  • Republican Warren Harding won the 1920 presidential election withh a promise to return to normalcy 
  • The US went back to focusing on America in the 1920's and 1930's 
• 4 Power Pact
  • United States, Great Britain, France, and Japan would respect each other's possessions in the Pacific 
• 5 Power Pact 
  • Signed by Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy 
  • Designed to prevent an arm's race 
  • It limited the construction of battleships, battle cruisers, and aircraft carriers 
  • Did not restrict cruisers, destroyers, or submarines 
• 9 Power Pact 
  • Guaranteed Chinese independence and upheld the Open Door Policy 
  • Signed by the United States, Japan, China, France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Portugal 
• Kellogg-Brian Pact 
  • The US did not sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact denouncing war as a means to settle disputes 
• Neutrality in General
  • The Neutrality Acts were passed by the US in the 1930's in response to the issues in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War Two
  • They were caused by the desire to be isolationist in the US from World War One
  • Passed to ensure that the US would not become involved in the war conflicts
  • US has very strong history of isolationism

US Neutrality Acts During 1930's

• Neutrality Act of 1935
  • Stop trading with countries of war
  • Signed on August 31, 1935
  • It was designed to last six months
  • Banned US trade of arms and war materials with any country of war
  • It also declared that US citizens traveling on warring ships traveled at their own risk  
• Neutrality Act of 1936
  • Stop loaning money to countries at war
  • Signed in February 1936 
  • Renewed the provisions of the 1935 act for another 14 months 
  • It also forbade all loans or credits to belligerents
  • THe act did not cover "civil wars," such as the Spanish Civil War  
  • THe act also did not cover materials such as trucks and oil 
• Neutrality Act of 1937  
  • Cash and carry system- weapons not included 
  • Passed in May 1937 
  • Set to expire after two years 
  • Included the provisions of the earlier acts this time without expiration date 
  • This time it also included civil wars 
  • U.S ships were prohibited from transporting any passengers or items to belligerents 
  • U.S citizens were forbidden from traveling on ships of belligerent nations 
  • A "cash and carry" system was set up 
  • The president could permit the sale of supplies to belligerents in Europe as long as they paid immediately in cash and transported the goods on their own ships 
  • FDR believed that cash and carry would help France and Great Britain in the event of a war with Germany 
  • FDR chose not to invoke the Neutrality Acts on Japan and China since they had not formally declared war
  • Panay Incident- December 1937 
    • American Gunboat attacked on river in China by Japan 
      • 3 US troops killed 
      • 45 wounded 
    • Japan said it was an accident, apologized and paid the US money 
    • Worsened the US- Japanese Relations 
• Neutrality Act of 1939  
  • Cash and Carry System- weapons included 
  • Passed in November 1939 
  • Allowed for arms trade with belligerent nations on a cash and carry basis 
  • US citizens and ships were barred from entering war zones designated by the president 

Bases for Destroyers 

• Passed in September 1940 between the US and Great Britain 
• 50 US destroyers were giver to Great Britain in exchange for land rights (for 99 years) on British colonies for naval or air base purposes 
• Newfoundland, eastern side of the Bahamas, southern coast of Jamaica, western coast of St. Lucia, west coast of Trinidad Antigua, British Guiana and Bermuda were the areas the US received 

End of US Neutrality-Lend Lease Act 

• The end of neutrality for the US came with the Lend-Lease Act, passed in March 1941 
• This act allowed the U.S to sell, lend, or give war materials to nations the US wanted to support 
• US gave $50 billion (Worth $650 billion today) to Allied nations throughout the war

Selective Training and Service Act 

• Passed in September 1940 and ended in 1947 
• Required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register for the draft 
• Extended to all men aged 18 to 45 once US entered war 
• FIrst peacetime draft in US history 

How did the draft work? 

• Local draft boards were set up from coast to coast 
• Each male registered was given a number between 1-7,836
• In Washington, papers with the numbers 1 through 7,836 printed on them were put into capsules, one number to a capsule 
• The capsules were dumped into a giant fishbowl and then stirred 
• Finally the capsules were drawn from the bowl one by one to establish the draft order
• If your number was chosen, you were now officially part of the US military 
• 158 was the first number chosen (6,175 young men were drafted with that number) 

Atlantic Charter 

• Signed in August 1941 and between the US (FDR) and Great Britain (Churchill) 
• Defined the Allied goals for the Post-war world
• Many similarities to Wilson's 14 points

World War Two Major Battle Timeline vs. Japan

• Pear Harbor
  • December 7, 1941
• Battle of the Philippines
  • 1942 and 1944
• Doolittle's Raid    
  • April 1942
• Battle of Coral Sea 
  • May 1942 
• Battle of Midway 
  • June 1942 
• Battle of Guadalcanal
  • 1942-1943
• Battle of Saipan
  • 1944 
• Battle of Guam
  • 1944 
• Battle of Iwo Jima
  • 1945 
• Battle of Okinawa 
  • 1945
• Hiroshima/Nagasaki Bombing
  • August 1945 

US Arizona Memorial 

• The names of the Arizona's dead are engraved ion this white marble wall at the memorial 

FDR's War Message

• Pear Harbor was not the only area Japan attacked on December 7
• "Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attach against Malaya."
• "Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong."
• "Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam."
• "Last night Japanese forces attacked the Phillipine Islands."
• "Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island."
• "This morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island."

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?

• After Japan invaded French Indochina in 1940, US stopped trading with Japan 
• Japan signed the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941 guaranteeing that Japan and USSR would not go to war 
• Japan realized they needed US trade to be successful in war 
• Only way to force US hand was to hit them hard in a surprise attack forcing them out of the war 
• Japan knew that this plan was a huge risk, but thought it was the only way to defeat US  
• Plan backfired instead Japan "awoke a sleeping giant" 

• Bataan Death March
  • Philippines 1942 
  • Up to 10,000 Filipino and 650 American POW's died during the match 
• Battle of Coral Sea-First turning point in Pacific 
• Battle of Midway 
  • June 1942 
  • Major turning point in Pacific 
• Island Hopping 
• Guadalcanal
  • August 1942- February 1943 
• Kamikazes 

Battle of Leyte- Philippines 

• MacArthur's return to the Philippines 
• Iwo Jima 
  • February-March 1945 
  • 8,821 US deaths at Iwo Jima 
• Raising the Flag on Mt. Suribachi 
• Battle of Okinawa 
  • April-June 1945 
• Summer 1945- Preparing for the invasion of Japan
  • Operation Downfall 
  • Planned for October 1945 
  • Estimated to have over 1 million causalities 
  • Estimated to have 267,000 deaths 
  • Why did this never take place? 
• The Manhattan Project 
  • 1939-1945
• Trinity Test 
  • July 16, 1945 
• Enola Gay 
• Paul Tibbits 
• Hiroshima Bombing 
  • "Little Boy" 
• Radiation Sickness 
• The Atomic Shadow 
• Nagasaki Bombing 
  • "Fat Man" 
  • "Bock scar" 

VJ Day (Victory in Japan Day) 

• August 14/15, 1945 (Official UK) 
• September 2, 1945 (Official for the US) 
  • When Japan officially signed the USS Missouri 

Potsdam Conference 

• On July 26, the United States, Great Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration 
• Announced the terms for Japan's surrender 
• "We will not deviate from them, there are no alternatives." 

Potsdam Declaration- July 1945 

• Dismantle the current government of Japan (excluding Emperor Hirohito) 
• The Allies (US) with occupy Japan 
• Japan will consist only of the major islands (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku).  It will lose all territory gained in World War Two and years leading up to it 
• Japanese military forces will be disarmed and allowed to return home 
• There will be war crimes trials for the atrocities committed by Japan throughout World War Two 
• Democracy will be promoted as well as Freedom of speech, religion, and of thought as well as respect for fundamental human rights 
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights- 1948 
• Japan will be allowed to have industry so they can make money to pay for reparations
  • World trade will also be enabled at some point
• Allied (US) occupation of Japan (1945-1952) will end once Japan accomplishes all the above point 
• "We call upon the government of Japan to  proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction" -President Harry Truman 

World War Two Major Battle/Operations Timeline vs. Germany 

• Battle of the Atlantic
  • 1941-1945  
• Operation Torch
  • Invasion of Morocco
  • 1942  
• Operation Avalanche 
  • Invasion of Italy 
  • 1943 
• Battle of Salerno 
  • 1943 
• Battle of Anzio
  • 1944  
• Battle of Monte Cassino 
  • 1944
• Operation Overlord 
  • D-Day 
  • June 6, 1944 
• Operation Dragoon
  • Invasion of Southern France
  • August 1944  
• Battle of the Bulge 
  • Hitler's last major offensive 
  • Winter 1944-1945 
• Operation Varsity 
  • Invasion of Western Germany past the Rhine River 
  • March 1945 
• Fighting in Germany
  • Issues with the Siegfried Line (West wall)

 

• The German West-wall Siegfriend Line 
• German U-Boats 
  • After repeated attacks by German U-Boats on U.S ships in the fall of 1941, FDR announced that he had ordered the U.S Navy to attack German and Italian war ships in the "waters which we deem necessary for our defense 
  • War was imminent
• Convoy system 

Allied Intelligence 

• Churchill and Roosevelt knew the importance of intelligence in safeguarding Allied commerce to defeat the Axis powers 
• The Allies shared information from RADAR and high frequency radio direction finding (HF/DF or "huff duff) 
• RADAR provided a means of detecting vessels and aircraft above the surface 
• HF/DF was used to was used to locate the sources of enemy radio transmissions such as submarines
• Allied intelligence leaders began sharing code-breaking secrets, known as "very special intelligence" and classified under cover names like "ULTRA" and "MAGIC" 

Enigma 

• System in which Germany transferred their information through codes 
• Solving the Enigma system remains one of the great Allied triumphs of World War Two 
• During periods when Allied crypt analysts were unable to solve Enigma 
• U-Boats caused great damage to Angio-American commerce 

D-Day Facts 

• June 6, 1944 
• The D in D-Day stands for "day" since the final invasion date was unknown and weather dependent 
• 156,000 Allied troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Free France, and Norway
• The Allied code names for the beaches along the 50 mile stretch of Normandy coast targeted for landing were Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword 
• Omaha was the costliest beach in terms of Allied causalities