Road to War
What was the policy Western democracies followed to avoid war during the 1930s?
appeasement
Where was the German blitzkrieg first used successfully?
Poland
What was Operation Sea Lion?
invasion of Britain
What is the code name for the Allied invasion of France?
Operation Overlord
How did Hitler humiliate the French after their surrender in 1940?
Forcing them to sign the armistice in the same railway car Germany surrendered in after WWI
Name two acts of aggression committed by Germany before WWII started
remilitarizing, taking Austria, taking the Rhineland,
What is the term for the early period of WWII where little fighting occurred in Western Europe?
Phony War
What was the largest battle of the war and what was it's significance?
Battle of Stalingrad, ended in German defeat, marking a turning point in the East?
What happened during the D-Day invasion and was it a success? And give me three beaches
the Allies landed on Normandy beaches and broke through German defenses? Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword
What two cities were targeted with atomic bombs?
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
What did Hitler demand at the Munich Conference, and what was the outcome?
What is the Sudetenland, and Britain/France gave in (appeasement)?
What is Operation Barbarossa, why was it a surprise
Germany's invasion of the USSR; Stalin ignored warnings and believed too much in his alliances.
What happened when Allies invaded Italy? What happened to Mussolini?
What is Mussolini was overthrown, and publicly attacked
Why was opening a second front in Western Europe important to the Soviet Union?
It forced Germany to fight on multiple fronts and reduced pressure on the Soviet army.
What was Japan’s objective in attacking Pearl Harbor?
What is to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet and buy time to conquer Asia
Why did appeasement fail as a strategy against Hitler?
It encouraged Hitler to keep expanding because he believed Britain and France would not stop him.
What happened during the Battle of Britain that caused Germany to fail in their invasion?
Germany switched to bombing cities, allowing the RAF to recover
What was the first location the Allies start to turn the tide of the war and we see the enterance of the Americans, what major battle occurs?
North Africa, El Alamein
What battle was Germany’s final major offensive in Western Europe? What was the result?
Battle of the Bugle, Allied victory, collapse of Germany
Why did the Allies choose to invade Italy after North Africa? What nickname did Churchill give it?
the soft underbelly of Europe
This was the term Hitler used when he took over Austria in 1938
What is Germany invaded through the Ardennes Forest, surprising the Allies and bypassing the Maginot Line? 6 weeks
What legislation allowed the U.S. to aid the Allies before entering WWII? Who was President?
the Lend-Lease Act; President Roosevelt?
What happened at the Yalta Conference in 1945?
Allied leaders agreed on post-war plans and division of Germany
How did battles like Iwo Jima and Okinawa influence Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb? Now, take a stand and defend it with evidence, should the US have dropped the bomb?
The heavy casualties made U.S. leaders fear that invading Japan would cost even more lives. Answers may vary.