7.7 Flashcards
Conducting WWII
Name 3 similarities between WWI and WWII.
- the development of new technologies
*WWI: barbed wire, improved machine guns, submarine warfare
*WWII: warplanes capable of bombing, atomic bombs, tanks - the use of colonial armies
- total war
Explain Japan’s efforts to expand into Russia.
Japan attempted to continue expansion after China and Korea into the Serbian region of Soviet Russia, but couldn’t because Germany (Japan’s ally) signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression pact with Russia.
Instead of pursuing this, then, Japan continued expansion into southeast Asia, taking over territories controlled by Western nations. Following the Japanese acquirement of Indochinese land, this led to the US imposing harsh economic sanctions including freezing Japanese assets and stopping exports to Japan of oil and gas.
When was the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression pact broken?
In 1941, when Hitler invaded the USSR without warning during Operation Barbarossa. Hitler was ultimately unsuccessful, with Soviets resisting at Leningrad.
Expand on Germany’s use of blitzkrieg.
Blitzkrieg was a method of waging war that literally means “lightning war”. It relied on shock and awe campaigns with rapid, overwhelming tanks and airstrikes - it was designed to inflict the most damage possible in a minimal amount of time.
List some countries conquered by Germany following their acquirement of Poland. What happened to Poland’s territories?
Poland’s territories were split between Stalin and Hitler, given their Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
Other countries occupied by Nazis include but are not limited to:
- Denmark
- Belgium
- Norway
- France
- the Netherlands
What was the relationship between Russia and US during WWII?
They were allies; at first, when the US was attempting to remain neutral, the US responded to Britain’s call for aid with the Lend-Lease Act. Under the Lend-Lease Act, war materials were shipped to Britain.
What is the broad significance of Pearl Harbor?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war on Japan with the approval of the US Congress in 1941, officially involving the US in WWII.
Describe the US’ reaction to being involved in WWII.
The US economy was geared towards producing guns, bombs, ships, tanks, ammunition, and aircraft carriers. Women were pushed to work industrial jobs; Rosie the Riveter was a propaganda tool pushed by the US government to push women into the industrial workforce.
In contrast, Japan refused to push its women into the workforce even during wartime, with the exception of the employment of Chinese, Korean, and otherwise Asian “comfort women” in state-sponsored brothels to supposedly preserve the vitality of Japanese troops.
Explain the decline of the Axis powers in WWII.
In 1943, Britain and the US defeated Italy, leading to the fall and death of Mussolini.
In 1944, Operation Overlord was launched: the US and Britain invaded Normandy Beach and pushed back the Nazis until they liberated Paris, and eventually France. Allies focused on Germany after this.
- air raids destroyed German infrastructure
- 1944: Battle of the Bulge - Hitler’s last, desperate attempt to stall Allied forces; he sent massive amounts of troops directly into the western front
- 1945: Allied powers crossed the Rhineland into Germany, towards Berlin
*Hitler hid in bunker, committed suicide on April 300th of 1945
*Germany surrendered on May 8th, 1945, known as VE [victory in Europe] Day
- Japanese refused unconditional surrender to US
President Truman ordered atomic bomb from the Manhattan Project to be detonated.
*US dropped “little boy” nuke on Hiroshima, Japan refused to surrender
*US dropped “fat man” nuke on Nagasaki
**the nuclear bombs combined caused between 140,000- 200,000 deaths - Japan surrendered on August 14th, 1945 = END OF WWII :D
*primed the stage for the Cold War.
What was the name of the operation that launched D-Day?
Operation Overlord
