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432 History

WHY WAS THIS A WORLD WAR?

The Allies included British, Australians, New

Zealanders, Canadians, and South Africans, as well as

exiled French and Poles. They were joined in 1941 by

two giants – the Soviet Union and the USA. The Axis

alliance of Germany and Italy was extended to

include Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Japan.

WHEN DID THE TIDE TURN?

In 1942, the USA smashed Japanese naval power at

the Battle of Midway. Allied victories in North Africa

enabled an advance through Italy in 1943. In heavy

fighting on Europe’s Eastern Front that year, the

Russians defeated the Germans at Stalingrad. By 1945,

the Allies were invading Germany from east and west.

World War II

In 1939, Nazi-ruled Germany invaded

its neighbouring countries, beginning

a world war which left about 40

million people dead. Unlike World

War I, this was high-speed warfare,

or. BLITZKRIEG. It ended with the

discovery of the terrible truth about

the Nazi. HOLOCAUST and the

unleashing of the. ATOM BOMB.

HOW DID THE WAR BEGIN?

The military power of Germany grew unchecked,

and in September 1939, it sent its tanks to invade

Poland. Britain and France declared war against Hitler’s

Germany, but in 1940 he invaded the Netherlands,

Belgium, France, Denmark, and Norway. Only a period

of air warfare, the Battle of Britain, saved the United

Kingdom from invasion.

1939 Germany invades

Poland; Britain

and France

declare war

1940 Germany invades

most of western

Europe; Italy

enters war

1941 Germany invades

Yugoslavia,

Greece, Soviet

Union; Japan

attacks USA

1941–1942 Japan invades

southeast Asia

and Pacific

1944 France liberated

1945 Allied victory

A WORLD AT WAR

Over 4,000 ships

and landing craft

took part in the

operation

1 WAR IN THE PACIFIC

In 1941, Japan launched an unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor, a

US naval base in Hawaii. The USA, the world’s most powerful nation,

entered the war. The Pacific conflict with Japan lasted nearly four years.

1 EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA INVADED

This map shows the advances of the Axis countries in the early years of

the war. German troops overran much of Europe and North Africa. In

many of the lands they occupied, such as France, the USSR, Yugoslavia,

and Greece, there was ongoing resistance from non-military fighters.

OPERATION OVERLORD 3

The last phase of the war in

Europe began on 6 June 1944

(“D-Day”). US, British, and

Canadian troops landed by sea on

the coast of Normandy, in

occupied France.

Axis territory1939 Neutral

states

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Axis

satellites

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World War II