War Flashcards
What countries were Axis?
-Germany
-Italy
-Japan
What countries were Allies?
-US
-GB
-Soviet Union
What did the Axis Allies want?
-territorial expansion by military conquest
-destruction of communism
What did Hitler want?
-domination over continental Europe
What did Mussolini want?
-domination over the Mediterranean
What did Japan want?
-domination over East Asia and the Pacific
When did Hitler and Mussolini form Axis power?
1936
When was Czechoslovakia forced to surrender Sudetenland?
1938
What 2 significant things happened in 1939 (land/invasion wise)?
-rest of Czechoslovakia taken by German military
-Poland invaded by Germany
When did the German Soviet Non Aggression Pact happen?
August 1939
When did Britain and France declare war?
1939
When was France invaded by Germany?
1940
What did Germany do to the Soviet Union in 1941?
-Nazi Germany invaded Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
When did Japan attack Pearl Habour? What was the impact?
-1941
-USA enters war
When was the Battle of Stalingrad and what was the impact?
-1942-1943
-Germany defeated in USSR
When did Hitler take his life?
April 1945
When did Germany surrender?
7th-8th May 1945
What was V J Day and when was it?
-September
-Japan surrendered after USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Why were the Germans successful between 1939-1941?
-their Blitzkrieg strategy of rapid advances overwhelmed all of their enemies in the first 2 years
-the French relied on the Maginot Line (defence fortifications on the Franco-German border) which was also overwhelmed
-Lebensraum expansion from 1938 allowed Germany better access to labour and resources
-the USSR were not expecting the German attack during Operation Barbarossa
Why did German start to lose their success?
-by December 1942 the German advance into the USSR had stalled at Stalingrad and losses were also experienced in North Africa
-from 1943 onwards Germany is fighting a defensive war and was subject to bombing raids
-as Soviet troops marched in from the East, Germans retreated Westwards
-Western Europe was liberated from D-Day in June 1944
-April 1945->Hitler commits suicide and from May 1945 Germany unconditionally surrenders
-August 1945->Japan surrenders after atomic bombs are dropped
What were the early years of war like?
-the early years of the war were characterised by the method and speed of the war (they advanced very quickly to give other countries no time to prepare)
What was the timeline of events of the war?
-took Poland in 5 days->better prepared than others->the Netherlands falls just as quickly->France falls by 1940->when Germany turns to Britain the battle of Britain failed->blitz lasted about a year but failed->1941 America joins after bombing of pearl harbour->mainly wants to stop the Japanese->from 1942 onwards Hitler takes control over the tactics and makes the decision to invade Russia in the winter->worse decision because of snow and also Russia is the largest country->basic tactic was to do what they did in WW1 (but failed to do) again but succeed but they failed->Nazi soviet pact was secret (Russia and Germany)->wanted to backstab Stalin->war is pretty much over for Germany in 1942 after the attempt to invade Russia failed->America join war and Germany didn’t have enough allies
