1939-1945 WWII Flashcards
Blitzkrieg
Lightning War
Invasion of Poland
September 1, 1939
No country suffered greater misery, destruction, and loss of life in WWII than
Poland
330,000 British and French Troops are evacuated to England in what becomes known as the
Miracle of Dunkirk
The German objective is to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the royal Navy in preparation for an invasion of the British Isles. Desert Fox
Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
June 22, 1941 -> Hitler invades
Russia (Soviet Union)
Fuhrer Directive 21
“Rules of war no longer apply”
Order 227
“Not a step back”
The Russians call World War II
“The Great Patriotic War”
For Hitler the temptation for invasion are too great
- its the heart of Bolshevism (communism)
- its where Lebensraum is to be found
- it is home to the largest Jewish population in the world
For the remainder of the war, the battle between the Soviet Union and Germany will simply be called
“The Russian Front”
Passed by Congress in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1938
Neutrality Acts
“If you got the cash, we got the goods, come get em”
Cash and Carry
the first peacetime draft in US history
Selective Service Act of 1940 vietnam
the US will give $46 billion in aid
lend-lease
Pearl Harbor gets the United States into WWII
Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941
The Axis Powers
- Germany -> Adolf Hitler
- Italy -> Benito Mussolini
- Japan -> Hideki Tojo
The Allied Powers
- America -> FDR
- England -> Winston Churchill
- Soviet Union (Russia) -> Joseph Stalin
- These 3 will collectively be known as the “Big Three” - China
Seize Vital Materials necessary to the war effort
- War production board
First combat in European theatre
- Operation Torch
- North African division
Ole Blood and Guts
George S. Patton
FDR issues his controversial “unconditional surrender ultimatium”
Casablanca conference
Stalingrad this defeat “shatters” the means of Germany instability
the most important battle of WWII and the turning point in Europe
Allies invade ______ July 10, 1943. Mussolini is forced from power and Italy withdraws from the war
Sicily
D-Day. Allies invade Normandy in France
June 6, 1944 Operation Overlord
The supreme allied commander in Europe
Dwight David Eisenhower
3rd Army
Patton’s
Largest Tank battle in history
The Battle of Kursk
it is Hitler’s last offensive of the war
Battle of the Buldge
Sellout
The Yalta Conference
April 12, 1945 FDR dies. _______________ is now president
Harry Truman
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders unconditionally
