World War II Notes (3rd Quarter)

Recognition of Soviet Union

- 1933: Granted diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union
- US desired foreign trade (because we were in a depression)

Philippine Independence
- Tydings- McDuffie Act (1934)- promised the Philippines
complete independence within a decade

Good Neighbor Policy

- US would be the neighbor who respects himself and the
rights of others
- Became the label for his Latin American policy

Totalitarian aggression
- Totalitarian: Centralized control by an autocratic
authority
- The political concept that the citizen should be totally
subject to an absolute state authority. (ex. Germany, Russia,
Italy, Japan)

Japanese in China
- 1931- Seized Manchuria
- 1937- Attacked China; Rape of Nanking. Estimated 300,000
killed (in 1 month; about 75% were citizens)
- 20,000 women raped/murdered
- December 12th, 1937: US gunboat Panay- sunk by Japanese
bombs on Yangtze River- 3 dead, 43 injured

Italians in Africa
- 1935: Italy invaded Ethiopia
- Dreamed of another Italian Empire
- Leader- Benito Mussolini (AKA II Duce)
- Abolished democracy, destroyed liberty- all on the
promise of jobs and glory

German Expansion
- Germany: building an enormous new army, making weapons
at
a frightening speed and menacing neighbors
- March 1936- Militarization of Rhineland
- March 1938- seized Austria
- September 1938- Munich Pact- an attempt to appease Hitler.
Dismember Czech and give a piece to Germany (Sudetenland)
- March 1939- Hitler seized the rest of Czech; appeasement was
a failure
- September 1st, 1939- Germany invaded Poland; WWII begins.
- Germany and USSR sign non-aggression pact
- September 3rd, 1939- Great Britain and France declare war on
Germany

Rule of Isolationism in the US

- Most government officials and citizens in the 1920s were
isolationists
- Felt US should avoid alliances and agreements with other
nations (League of Nations)
- NYE committee- investigated US entry into WWI
o Findings:
o International bank tellers drew US into WWI
o Munitions industry- pressed for American entry into war
- Isolationism dominated US foreign policy in 1930s.

Neutrality Legislation
- Neutrality Act- 1935: Authorized the President to bear arms
sales to warning nations
- 1936: extended neutrality legislation- put limits on sale of
arms to belligerents
- Cash and Carry: a country had to pay cash for goods before
the left our shores. The country at war had to carry the goods
on its own ships

Destroyer- Base Deal

- FDR- traded so old destroyers for the use of 8 British naval
bases
- Legally tried to help allies secure supplies

Lend- Lease
- US would lend or lease whatever war supplies we could
make
- Supplies sent to any nation president considered vital to
defense
of the US

Atlantic Charter
- FDR and Churchill met- wanted a better future for the world
- US and G.B were seeking no territorial gain
- Real reason for the meeting: Churchill wanted American
troops to join- FDR said no
Effects of the War on 1940 election
- Republican Nominee: Wendell L. Willke
- Opposed the New Deal
- Democratic Nominee: FDR
- Both wanted to help G.B
- FDR won
- 1st person elected President for a third term

The Battlefield is everywhere

- New warfare: Blitzkrieg- meaning lightening war-
Hitlers new strategy
- Depended heavily on air power; struck like lightening from the
sky
- Used the fastest new vehicles (airplanes, tanks, trucks,
motorcycles)
- Struck quickly at the heart of enemy territory, overwhelming
them
- 1940- in England- Winston Churchill became Prime Minister

US prepares for war

- FDR warned the US to rearm
- Wanted billions of dollars to create a two-ocean navy
- Also, size of the air force greatly increased

Japanese- American relations

- 1931-1940: Japanese military aggression was military
unopposed by the US
- 1940: Japan became a partner of Germany and Italy
- Japan attacked and expanded through China- July 1941
- US response: Embargo on all trade with Japan (oil)
- US and Japan met: sticking point- China
- Japan wanted US to alt off aid to Chinese
- US demanded Japanese withdraw from China
- Japan had a choice: Give up dream of an empire or go to war.
They chose war

America at war

Attack on Pearl Harbor

- Sunday December 7th, 1941: Japan attacked the airfield and
naval
base at Pearl Harbor
- Surprise attack- 180 AM warplanes destroyed (120 crippled),
18 naval vessels were sunk or heavily damaged
- More than 70 civilians and 2403 servicemen were killed
- 1177 crewmen of the USS Arizona died in the attack
 - Next day- FDR- Japans Day of infamy plunged the
US into war

War on the Home Front

- Selective service
o Draft was started in 1940
- By Pearl Harbor- 1.6 million in army and millions more
volunteered as a result of the attack

Internment of the Japanese Americans

- March 1942- close to 120,000 Japanese Americans were
rounded up and confined to camps
- Were placed in camps because of the threat of possible
acts of espionage and sabotage (spies)

War time agencies

- 1940- industry: just emerging from depression
- 1942- American production: Equal to Germany, Italy, and
Japan combined
- 1944- production was double of Germany, Italy, and Japan
combined
- During WWII, the government regulated industry and
controlled the economy to achieve maximum production and
efficiency
- Fully employment- inflation occurred

Role of Women and minorities

- Women
o 1945: 258,000 women were serving in the armed forces
o 18 million were part of the American workforce
o women were needed as workers
o took a wide variety of jobs in the industry. Ex. Shipyards,
airplane factories, rail yards, truck drivers

Minorities
- About 1 million African Americans served in WWII
- African Americans served in segregated units in the early
stages of WWII
- Many African Americans migrated to industrial areas (cities)
for jobs
- Over 500,000 Latino- American served and were not
segregated

Conservation and Rationing

- Rationing was used to assure availability of scarce items to all
citizens
- Individuals received coupons for a share of the rationed items
- The US and allies needed everything the US could provide

American Strategy
- Get Hitler first- if Germany won in Europe, US would face
aggressor nations alone
- Second Front
o Russians wanted a second front in Europe
o Wanted allies to invade lands held by Axis powers
o Instead, July 1942, Allies decided to invade North
America

Invasion of North Africa

- Germany: led by Desert Fox general Erwin Rommel
- British- led by general Bernard Montgomery
o Montgomerys army broke through Rommels Africa
corps on
November 4th, 1942
o US and British forces struck from west and north-
November 8th 1942

Invasion of Italy
- July 10, 1943- 250,000 US and British troops land on Sicilian
coastlines
- Germans- escaped to the Italian mainland
- Italians- sick of war; Mussolini forced to resign
(eventually shot and killed)
- Allied troops- tied up thousands of German troops;
weakened them elsewhere

Battle of the Atlantic

- German submarine wolf packs sunk tons of allied supplies
o Main years: 1942-1943
- Subs had to be beaten, and soon
- Radar and sonar were invented; both could destroy subs

Control of the air

- British and US forces heavily bombed Germany,
but used different strategies
- British: Saturation bombing: bombed whole areas
- US: pinpoint bombing- attacked in daylight;
could focus bombs on crucial factories
 Attack on the European Continent
- D Day
o US and Great Britain invasion of France
Objective: 2nd front in Europe
o Directed by American general Dwight D Eisenhower,
supreme commander of allied forces in Western Europe
o June 6th, 1944- D Day invasion began
Conditions needed: low tide, half-moon, good
weather
morning invasion
o D- Day code name: operation overlord
o Allies- achieved a tactical surprise; landings were a
surprise
o Secured beach head- one of the greatest allied
achievements
of the war
o General Montgomery (Britain) and Eisenhower lead
allied
forces through Europe towards Germany

Re-conquest of Europe
- By the end of July, 1944 the allies controlled 1500 square
miles of France
- Paris- liberated on August 25th, 1944
- By mid- sept, all of France had been cleared of Germans
- Destruction in Caen. France
o July 1944
- Hedgerows made The Breakout difficult; this was
unexpected
- FDR- elected to a fourth term
- WWII- taking its roll on FDRs health

Battle of Germany
- December 16th, 1944: Battle of the Bulge- Germany final bid
to
break the allies
- Germans penetrated 60 miles creating a bulge in the allied
lines
- Foul weather aided the Germans
o American planes grounded, brutally cold temperatures
- Patton and Montgomery stopped the advancing Germans
- By the end of January, the Bulge was pinched off
- German losses: 120,000 of their best remaining men
- It was also the single most costly American battle of the war
 Yalta Conference
- President Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta to
discuss the Nazi surrender
- Slain- tough and clever bargainer
o Most of Stalins promises were lies
- Western democracies- needed Stalins armies

Death of FDR
- Worn down by wartime burdens, health continued
to decline
- Died on April 12th, 1945 while resting in
warm springs, GA
- The nation grieved

Collapse of Germany
- March 1945: Allies were closing in; US and Great Britain from
West and Russia from the east
- Churchill- Shake hands with the Russians as far east as
possible
- Concerned with Soviet domination of Eastern Europe
- Russia and US troops met at the Elbe River April 25th, 1945
- Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin Bunker
- May 8th, 1945- Germany surrendered; celebrated as V-E day

The war in the Pacific

- Extent of Japanese conquests:
o Controlled a 4500 mile area of the Pacific
- Allied policy in Pacific after Pearl Harbor: Active defense

Island hopping
- General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz- commanders of
Allied forces in the Pacific
- The Allies invaded strategic islands and bypassed others
- May 3-8th, 1942- Battle of Coral Sea
o Result: draw
o First naval battle where the opposing ships never saw
one another
- June 4th, 1942- Battle of Midway
o US Victory
o Japans first great naval defeat; a big turning point in
the war
- August 7th, 1942: Battle for Guadalcanal
o US Victory
 o Our troops first exposure to land battle with the
Japanese
o Fighting was fierce and brutal- Japanese would not
surrender
- October 20th, 1944: re-conquest of the Philippines begins
- Led by MacArthur, the US crushes the Japanese and knocks
their navy out of the war
- February- March 1945: Iwo Jima (650 miles from Tokyo)
o US victory: operation detachment
o Goal: secure airfield
o Heavy losses: 6821 US deaths
o Flag raised: Mount Suribachi
- March 9-10: Tokyo firebombing- operation Meeting house
o Targeted industrial sites but was a very populated area
o Utilized 334 B-29 super fortress airplanes
o 10,000 died in the attack, 1 million were homeless
- April- June, 1945: Okinawa
o US victory
o Brutal fighting: Japan considered it a home island
12,513 Americans died
- Within striking distance of Japan: victory is in sight

The Atomic Bomb (A bomb)

- Developed after Germans and Italians surrendered;
Manhattan Project
- Potsdam declaration (ultimatum)
o Allies warned Japanese
The alternative to surrender is prompt and
utter destruction
- August 6th, 1945- A bomb is dropped on Turoshima
- August 9th, 1945- A bomb is dropped on Nagasaki

Victory
- V-J day: August 14th, 1945