This course is an epic combination of Course #1, D-Day, and Course #2 for WWII. It lasts an entire semester.

Have you always wanted to learn about WWII? Well, I can help AND I can bring it to life for you! Learn all about the start of the war, why it was fought and how it ended. Learn about 23 different subjects of the most important war of last century. These include some of the most important battles of the war, and see first-hand the uniforms that were worn during it! As the teacher, I'll be in a different uniform for almost every meeting, and discussing it will only be a small part of the class. World War II was one of the most destructive conflicts in human history, and its important to learn about it so it will never happen again. There were over 30 countries involved in the war, and there were many more that were unwilling participants. The scope is broad indeed, but I'll shrink it down and make it easy to understand! Follow me to learn about one of the most compelling, interesting and monumental events in modern history. The course will cover:

Lesson # 1 - Rise of the Dictators
Students will learn:
-How 2 low ranking soldiers rose to command millions of troops - and how they misguided their countrymen greatly in the process
-What fascism is and how it was structured in Germany and Italy

Lesson # 2 - Blitzkrieg
Students will learn:
- What Blitzkrieg is
-The elements of Blitzkrieg
-How it was implemented
-How it was used by Germany in the campaigns in Poland, France and the Low Countries

Lesson #  3 - The Winter War
Students will learn:
-Why the Soviets invaded Finland in 1940
-The comparisons of the two armies
-Terrain, climate
-Sniping
-The outcome

Lesson # 4 - Japanese Expansion Prior and at the beginning of WWII
Students will learn:
- When WWII really began for the Japanese
-Emperor Hirohito
-The Japanese Army of 1931
-The mentality of the Japanese soldier
-Invasions and gains up to 1942

Lesson # 5 - Battle of Britain
Students will learn:
-About the greatest air battle ever fought
-The sides involved
-radar and its implications
-Equipment and aircraft - British vs. German Aircraft
-Problems for both sides
-Strategy
-The outcome

Lesson # 6 - The Sinking of the Hood and the Bismarck (The Battle of the Denmark Strait)
Students will learn:
-The navies of Great Britain and Germany in 1940
-Battleships in 1940...what were they like?
-The Hood and the Bismarck compared
-The mission of the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen
-Aircraft carriers and the Swordfish Biplane...and the history they made
-The battle itself; location, ships involved, and the outcome

Lesson #  7 - The Battle of the Atlantic
Students will learn:
The opposing sides
Why Germany placed all their hopes on submarines
Early German victories
Allied problems
Fighting the U Boats
The turn of the tide
Operation Deadlight

Lesson # 8 - The War in North Africa
Students will learn:
-Why North Africa was an important theater to fight in
Problems of the fighting in the desert
The Germans come to the Italian's aid
Rommel vs. Montgomery
El Alamein - The Final battle

Lesson # 9 - The Invasion of the Soviet Union
Students will learn:
-Why the Germans invaded the Soviet Union
-Forces involved
-What fighting was like in the Soviet Union
Initial German victories
-Stalingrad - The turn of the tide
-The end in the east

Lesson # 10 - Pearl Harbor
Students will learn:
-Why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
-Admiral Yamamoto's plan
-The importance of aircraft carriers
-The American Pacific Fleet vs. the Japanese fleet
-Radar and code breaking
-The attack
-The aftermath

Lesson #  11 - Stalingrad
Students will learn:
-The reasons for attacking Stalingrad
-The German and Soviet armies of 1942
-Fighting reaches the city
-Sniping in Stalingrad
-How winter affected both armies
-Operation Uranus
-The encirclement
-The German surrender

Lesson # 12 - War in the Pacific post-1942
Students will learn:
-Doolittle Raid
-The Battle of Midway
-Forces involved
-The importance of the LVT
-The Battle of Guadalcanal
-Kamikazes
-Iwo Jima
-The end of the war

Lesson # 13 - The War in the Far East
Students will learn:
Why the far east theater was called "The Forgotten War"
What jungle fighting is like
Units that took part
Objectives for the Japanese Army
The four phases of the Burma campaign
The final allied counterattack

3 Lessons on D-Day, the Allied invasion of northwest Europe

Lesson #14 - 
pre-invasion plans
training
deception tactics
German defense methods

Lesson # 15 - 
The Airborne invasion
Paratroopers
Equipment
Training
Early jumps
British and American Airborne
The D-Day jump

Lesson # 16
The Seaborne Invasion
The Higgins Boat
Units involved
Equipment
Hobart's Funnies
The landings
Omaha Beach
The Aftermath
The results of the attack

Lesson # 17 - The Battle of the Bulge
Students will learn:
-Why the Germans decided to launch a last attack in the west
-The German plan
-Saboteurs: the Germans insert spies into allied lines
-The Tiger II tank
-Allied units in the area
-The attack and its phases
-The Allied counterattack in January 1945
-The end of the war in Europe

Lesson # 18 - Weapons and Technology of WWII
Students will learn:
-Radar
-Sonar
-Schnorkel
-Rockets
-Enigma and Ultra
-Penicillin
-Jet aircraft 
-The atomic bomb

Lesson # 19 - Island Hopping and the End of the War
Students will learn:
-The island hopping campaign in the Pacific
-Douglas MacArthur
-The strategy of the Pacific theater
-The Japanese mentality during WWII
-Pacific Island battle : Iwo Jima
-Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The end of WWII

Lesson # 20 - Obscure WWII
Students will learn:
-The attack on Mers-el-Kabir
-The first D-Day
-The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
-Calvin Graham
-William Patrick Hitler
-Navajo Code Talkers
-Japanese Balloon Bombs
-Audie Murphy
-Hiroo Onoda

Lesson # 21 - Winston Churchill
Students will learn:
-His early life
-His time in the military
-His early governmental service, and his resignation
-WWI service
-Election as Prime Minister of Great Britain
-His service during the war
-Post war service


Lesson # 22 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Students will learn:
-His early life
-Marriage to Eleanor Roosevelt
-Early political jobs
-Election as President
-His Depression-era programs
-His wartime presidency
-4 terms as president!

Lesson # 23 - Diversity in WWII
Students will learn:
-An overview of diversity in WWII
-Women in WWII
-WASP's
-Homefront
-Nurses
African Americans In WWII
-The Tuskegee Airmen
-761st Tank Battalion
Asian Americans in WWII
-442nd Regimental Combat Team



I teach by using slides, original photographs, video clips, discussions and more. There will be several question/answer periods during the session to address questions and comments.  No prior knowledge needed.  As the teacher, I will be dressed in a WWII uniform for almost every session.