Ww11 Flashcards
Background Causes Of WW11
Treaty Of Versailles
The treaty was made for Germans to obey but they could not pay the reparations because the Germany economy was in ruins.
Japanese Expansion
Japans population was increasing rapidly and they didn’t have any resources to sustain their growth so they began to look to grow their empire to gain these resources.
Fascism
Because of thr poor economy’s the war left behind, some countries were taken over by dictators that formed powerful, facist governments. They wanted to expand their empire and looked for new land to conquer. The first was formed by dictator Mussolini and then Adolf Hitler who took over Germany.
Hitter And The Natzis
The Germans were desperate for someone new to takeover and change their economy and they found this hope with Hitler who become the leader in 1934. He looked to expand his empire and took over Austria in 1938 and then Czechoslovakia in 1939, going against the Treaty Of Versailles.
Appeasement
Countries like Britian and France wanted to keep peace with other countries like Germany and Italy so there wasn’t another war. They hoped by agreeing with Hitler demands he would stop but it made him bolder.
Great Depression
The depression put country’s in great economic suffering and created unstable governments that lead to WW11
Spark That Caused WW11
The war in Europe began on September 1939, when Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany. In 1940, Germany launched its next initiative by attacking Denmark and Norway, followed shortly thereafter by attacks on Belgium, The Netherlands, and France. All of these nations were conquered rapidly.
Dunkirk
Dunkirk is a small town on the coast of -France that was the scene of a massive military campaign. During the Battle of Dunkirk from May 26 to June 4, 1940, 338,000 British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk to England as German forces closed in on them.
-The massive operation, involving hundreds of naval and civilian vessels, served as a turning point for the Allied war effort.
Dieppe
- An attack where over 600 Allies came ashore at 5 different points to attack the Germans at the city of Dieppe
- They met a Germans convoy storm who alerted theenemy, the cobblestones made it hard to move and enemy fire prevented engineers from clearing the way, these resulted in their retreat
- Dieppe contributed to improvements in landing techniques which were used to save many lives during D-Day
The Holocaust
Hitler viewed Germany as the ‘master race’ and believed they were superior. Jewish people obstructed this vision and Between 1941 and 1945, he murdered around six million Jews. Beginning in late 1941, the Germans began mass transports of jewish people from Poland to the concentration camps. These camps were were Jewish people were confined, forced to do hard labour and often killed in brutal ways.
Technology
Radar- provided an early warning system of approaching ships and easier up carry out strategic bombings in bad weather
Jets And Rockets- Hilters scientists developed the first jet airplane, the V-2 rocket was a deadly jet made by Werner Van Braun
-jet planes were not used for fighting but for bombimg
The Atomic Bomb
- Allied and German scientists worked to create the first atomic bomb which was tested in New Mexico in 1945 when it vaporized a steel tower
- Later that month the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which brought WW11 to an end
Role Of Women
- By 1944 more than a million women were working full time in Canada’s labour force and 250 000 in war production jobs
- women worked as streetcar drivers, operated machines, welded parts, farmed, volunteered for organizations such as the Red Cross etc.
- By 1941 the army was depseste for new recruits so women were allowed to enlist
- The Canadian Women’s Army Corps was formed which focused on non combat roles such as nurses and radio operators but women were still killed in the heat of battle
D-Day
It was the greatest seabourne invasion in history along the Normandy Coast. On June 6 1944, 155 000 soldiers, 5,000 ships 50 000 vehicles and 11, 000 planes were set for thr incoming battle.Within two hours, the German defences had shattered and Canada established the beach head.
Dropping Of Atomic Bomb
- The president of the US, Harry Thurman warned the Japanese of being destroyed if they didn’t surrender
- They refused and the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 1945 and the second was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th.
- On September 2, 1945 the japanese surrender which ended the war
