BEGINNING

OF US
EVENTS OF WWII

INVOLVEME
NT IN WWII
Italy's declaration of war and France's surrender.
 LEARNING
EVENTS OF WWII

INTENTIONS
• Demonstrate your understanding of Italy’s
Declaration of War and France’s Surrender
• Analyse the beginning of US involvement in
WWII
ITALY'S DECLARATION OF WAR
WHY DID ITALY JOIN WWII?

Italy joined WWII as part of the Axis Powers in June of 1940. Mussolini
declared war on Britain and France as the French Third Republic
surrendered to Germany. The Axis Powers had a plan to concentrate the
Italian forces on a major offensive against the British Empire in Africa and
the Middle East, known as the "parallel war", whilst the British forces were
thought to collapse in Europe.
ITALY DECLARES WAR Italy declared war on France and Great Britain on
June 10th 1940. Mussolini had withheld from
ON FRANCE AND creati ng a formal alliance with either the Axis or
BRITAIN Allied Powers unti l this point in the war.

Aft er Italy joined the war, Hitler refl ected that

"First they were too cowardly to take part. Now
they are in a hurry so they can share in the spoils".
However, Mussolini claimed that he had wanted to
join WWII prior to France being capitalised as
fascism "did not believe in hitti ng a man when he
is down".
Frances Surrender to Germany

22ND JUNE 1940 25TH JUNE 1940

The French delegation signed the Armistice The armistice went into effect, and more than
agreement imposed by Nazi Germany in the half of France was occupied by the Germans.
same location that the 1918 Armistice was France had formally surrendered to Germany.
signed

BATTLE OF FRANCE PHILIPPE PÉTAIN

The French surrendered following the Battle of Petain, the French deputy Prime Minister from
France, which lasted seven weeks. The British May 1940, asked for an armistice with
were kicked off of the continent. Germany - giving the Germans control over the
north and west of France.
ACTIVITY

FRANCE AND ITALY IN WWII

In groups of 3, answer the following questions in regards to France's
surrender OR Italy’s Declaration of War:

• Who war involved?

• When and where did it happen?
• What happened?
• Why did it happen?

On your A3 piece of paper, you will also need to research and record
FIVE pieces of additional information on your topic. Be prepared to share
your groups research with the class.
 JULY - Battle of Britain
SEPTEMB
ER

SEPTEMB US Peacetime Draft

ER
 THE BATTLE OF
BRITAIN

JULY - SEPTEMBER 1940

The Battle of Britain took place after the fall of
France to the German forces. It was the first
major military campaign fought entirely by air
forces, and consisted of months of unremitting
and destructive air raids on behalf of the German
air force (Luftwaffe). Had Germany won the air
battle, Britain would have been exposed to
invasion by the German army, which was already
in control of the French ports only a few miles
away. However, the battle was won by the RAF
Fighter Command and Great Britain was
ultimately able to survive the war.
RESEARCH
QUESTION Why was the Battle of Britain such an important
turning point in the war for Britain, for Russia and
for Germany?
 On the 16th of September 1940, the United
US PEACETIME Stated instituted the Selected Training and
Service Act of 1940. This required all men
between the ages of 21 and 45 to register
for the draft, and it was the first peacetime
DRAFT
draft in US history.

In 1940, as Germany's armed forces overran

most of Europe and Japan used its military
aggressively in East Asia, US public opinion
changed quickly from isolationism to the
possibility of military action against the Axis
Powers.
WHY DID THE U.S. ENTER
WWII?
Following Japans surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, President Franklin
Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Following this, Nazi Germany declared war on the
United States, and America entered World War II against the Axis Powers.

The US did not want to get involved in another war so quickly. Their slow recovery
from the Great Depression, high rates of unemployment and farm problems were all
main reasons for this. However, the situation changed drastically in May and June of
1940, when the US saw how quickly Germany was taking control of central and
western Europe. They thought that unless they joined the war efforts, they would
eventually have to face Nazi Germany on their own.
SENATOR ARTHUR H.
VANDENBERG
LETTER TO CONSTITUENT, APRIL 16TH 1940

Many American's shared the Senator Vandenburg's reluctance to enter the war against
Germany at this time, for reasons such as:
• The Great Depression and the dept and instability that event had caused to the stock
market.
• The rising number of dictators in Europe (Hitler, Stalin/Lenin, Mussolini, Hirohito)
• The controversial growth of government power during the New Deal (a series of
programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations that FDR enacted after
the Wall Street Crash in 1929).

All of the above were factors that shaped Senator Vandenburg's, and the American public's,
fears of joining the European war.
 After reading the information sheet on the Lend-Lease Act,
respond to the following discussion questions:
THE LEND-LEASE
• Explain what the Lend-Lease Act did.
• Analyse the way that President Roosevelt presented the
program to the public. Were US citi zens informed
appropriately?
ACT
• What was the scope of the Lend-Lease program? What
countries did the US assist and what materials did they
provide?
• What were the domesti c and internati onal implicati ons
of America’s new role in WWII?
• Should the US Congress and Roosevelt have provided
military assistance to support Britain in their eff orts
against Germany? (This is your personal opinion).