7.7 Conducting World War II

Question 1

When Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Nonagression Pact in 1939, what was the effect on Japan?

Answer 1

It could not expand into Soviet Siberia so it went looking for more territory in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

Question 2

What was Blitzkreig?

Answer 2

Blitzkreig, or lightning war, was an aggressive all-out approach to invasion of a country. Hitler used this to expand Germany’s control of Europe.

Question 3

What was Vichy France?

Answer 3

Nazi controlled France - the top two-thirds of the country.

Question 4

What was the 1940 Destroyers-for-Bases Agreement?

Answer 4

An agreement between the United States and Britain where the United States gave Britain 50 destroyers in exchange for eight British naval and air bases in the Western Hemisphere.

Question 5

What was the 1941 Lend-Lease Act?

Answer 5

Legislation allowing the United States to lend war materials to Britain.

Question 6

What was the Atlantic Charter?

Answer 6

A policy statement authored by the United States and Britain that set forth basic goals for a post-war world.

Question 7

What was the Battle of Britain?

Answer 7

A Nazi military campaign carried out against Britain by the Luftwaffe.

Question 8

After the British Air Force retaliated against Germany for bombing British military bases by bombing Berlin, what did Germany do?

Answer 8

Germany bombed British cities. British civilians endured months of ruthless bombing.

Question 9

After Germany’s efforts to invade Britain failed, where did Hitler try to invade?

Answer 9

The Soviet Union

Question 10

What was the Siege of Leningrad?

Answer 10

Germany’s unsucessful siege of Leningrad/St. Petersburg that lasted three years. Over a million Soviets died in this siege, but Germany did not succeed.

Question 11

When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, what was destroyed?

Answer 11

A lot of the U.S. Pacific fleet.

Question 12

What did Japan expect would happen from the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

Answer 12

The United States would be prompted to negotiate a quick settlement favorable to Japan.

Question 13

How did the U.S. respond to the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

Answer 13

It declared war on Japan.

Question 14

What was the name of the German-Italian-Japanese alliance?

Answer 14

The Axis

Question 15

Who was Erwin Rommel?

Answer 15

A German General nicknamed the “Desert Fox” who led German troops in the invasion of north Africa.

Question 16

Did Rommel and German troops succeed in invading north Africa?

Answer 16

Initially, but the British defeated these trouples at the Battle of El Alamein.

Question 17

What happened in the Battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 17

The Soviet army defeated the German Sixth Army, the pride of Hitler’s military.

Question 18

What happened in the Battle of the Coral Sea?

Answer 18

The U.S. Navy stopped the Japanese fleet from invading New Guinea and the Solomon Islands

Question 19

What happened in the Battle of Midway Island?

Answer 19

Allied Naval Forces destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers

Question 20

What was General MacArthur’s island hopping strategy?

Answer 20

Allied forces would attack islands where Japan was weak and skipped islands where Japan was strong.

Question 21

Allied forces had a lot of success by using aircraft carriers. What did this new military technology allow them to do?

Answer 21

Take off from and land planes at sea, increasing the range and flexibility of naval forces.

Question 22

What country did the Allies identify as the weakest point of the Axis?

Answer 22

Italy

Question 23

What happened on D-Day, June 6, 1944?

Answer 23

Allied forces landed on the beach of Normandy in Northern France

Question 24

Was D-Day successful for the Allies?

Answer 24

MANY Allied troops died in the invasion, but the Allies were able to establish a base to support a march toward Paris.

Question 25

What was the Battle of the Bulge?

Answer 25

A final German attempt to win the war fought in the Ardennes Forest across Franc, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Question 26

Who won the Battle of the Bulge?

Answer 26

The Allies

Question 27

Did Hitler give up after losing the Battle of the Bulge?

Answer 27

No.

Question 28

What happened in the Battle of Kursk?

Answer 28

A large tank battle about 300 miles south of Moscow where the Soviets successfully defended their position and then counterattacked, pushing the Nazis out of Ukraine, the Baltic States, and eventually Berlin. By April 1945, they were advancing on Berlin.

Question 29

What was V-E Day?

Answer 29

The day when Germany officially surrendered to the Allies.

Question 30

Why did the United States not want a physical invasion of the Japanese mainland?

Answer 30

It anticipated tremendous casualties.

Question 31

What did the United States do to Japan instead of physically invading it?

Answer 31

The United States dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan.

Question 32

What were the two Japanese cities that suffered nuclear bombing?

Answer 32

1. Hiroshima 2. Nagasaki

Question 33

What was V-J Day?

Answer 33

The day of formal Japanese surrender to the United States.

Question 34

What was Guadacanal?

Answer 34

Guadalcanal is one of the Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific. It was the site of the first major Allied offensive in early 1943, ending with an Allied victory.

Question 35

Who was U.S. General Douglas MacArthur?

Answer 35

Douglas MacArthur was a general of the army for the United States and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II