Battles of World War II What Happened?
Blitzkrieg- Lightning Fast War • By April 1940 • Hitler conquered and occupied: Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands • Quick War tactics
Battle of Dunkirk • German troops trapped Allied soldiers • Massive evacuation occurred from May 26- June 3, 1940 • France surrendered June 22, 1940
Battle of Britain July 1940- Sept. 1940 • German Luftwaffe attacked British Royal Air force • New radar used by British • Hitler cancels invasion of country • Winston Churchill- “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”
U.S. reaction- neutrality • Public opinion vs. Hitler • Solution “cash and carry system” • 50 ships for Caribbean bases • Lend lease Act of 1941- $7 billion to Britain then Soviet Union
The Battle of the Atlantic • U.S. aid to Britain increases, German U-Boats concentrate on the Atlantic and stopping supplies • Convoys organized- US Navy escort • Atlantic Charter established- US and Britain agreed not to acquire new land as result of WWII • Germany attacks US destroyer- FDR shoot U-Boats on sight!