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WWII Starts: Germany invades Poland
Historical Perspective:
- The invasion of Poland by Germany showed Britain that Germany was abusing the Appeasement Treaty
- Germany's actions would end up leading Britain and the world to another war -
Period: to
WWII
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Britain and other Allies Declares War on Germany
Cause and Effect:
- The Allies gave Germany some time to retreat from Poland, which Germany refused to meet
- Determine to give Poland its independence after Hitler broke the Munich Agreement
- (France, Britain signed an agreement with Poland where they would help Poland if its independence is threaten -
Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister
Cause and Effect:
- Neville Chamberlain was seen as someone who supported appeasement, didn't want to go to war, many opposed his actions
- He later resigned as the war actions took a toll on him, leading to the election of Winston Churchill -
Battle of Dunkirk - 26 May–4 June 1940
Historical Significance:
- Helped in rescuing many veteran soldiers from being captives
- Was done in the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces -
Battle of Britain - 10 July – 31 October 1940
Historical Significance:
- This battle was the first step to defeating the Axis power
- First step to defeating Hitler -
The Formation of the Axis Alliance
Continuity and Change:
- This lead to a much stronger force by the Axis
- Attacks on other countries will increase -
Turning Point 1: Operation Barbarossa
Cause and Effect:
- The surprise attack from the Germans, caused Russia to lose trust in Germany
- This lead to the ending of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and Russia joining the Allies -
Turning Point: Attack on Pearl Harbour
Cause and Effect:
- The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese lead to the entrance of the US into the war -
USA joins WWII
Cause and Effect:
- Japanese bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- This caused USA to declare war on Japan, thus joining the war -
First battle of El Alamein - 1–27 July 1942
Historical Perspective:
- Stopped the Axis advancement across North Africa -
Battle of Dieppe (Dieppe Raid)
Ethical Dimension:
- Dieppe Raid was a bad idea as the attack turned out as a disaster
- It was poorly planned, with high causalities, and many men being taken as captives by the Germans -
Turning Point: Battle of Stalingrad - August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943
Historical Significance:
- This battle created a huge humiliation for Hitler
- The about of men lost had a costly impact on Germany -
Second battle of El Alamein - 23 October–11 November 1942
Historical Perspective:
- Started pushing the Axis powers back to the west
- Crushing their hopes of taking Egypt and the Suez Canal and
- Stopping them from having access to the mid east oil fields -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - 19 April 1943 – 16 May 1943
Historical Significance:
- Fight against the Germans for the survival of the remaining Jews
- Resulted in the rebirth of Jews, birth of the State of Israel -
Allies Power Invasion of Sicily, Italy - 9 July-17 August 1943
Cause and Effect:
- Lead to the surrender of Italy
- Downfall of Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini -
D-Day (Normandy)
Cause and Effect:
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed the best way to defeat the Germans was to attack on French land
- This was done to prevent the Germans from invading Britain -
Germany Surrenders: WWII Ends in Europe
Cause and Effect:
- Germany knew it couldn't keep up with the attacks from the Allies power
- Were at the point of losing the war -
The Bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima - August 6 and August 9, 1945
Ethical Dimension:
- The bombing was done by the USA as a sign of revenge
- If they wanted revenge, it should have been done in a less violently way as the bombs caused a large number of casualties -
WWII Ends: Japan surrenders to the Allies power
Cause and Effect:
- With Italy and Germany surrendering, Japan was alone
- Couldn't keep up with the attacks it received, causing the country to surrender
