Chapter 27- World War II Flashcards
years of WWII
1939-1945
the name for Germany, Italy, and Japan in WWII
Axis Powers
countries of the Allies
the US
Britain
France
the Soviet Union
China
in reality, WWI created
more problems than it solved
where the League of Nations met to discuss general disarmament in 1932
Geneva Conference (Switzerland)
three main areas of international tension
- high war debt laid on Germany by Treaty of Versailles
- competition for colonies, resources, and markets among the nations of Europe
- extreme nationalism
the international tensions were compounded by
spiritual blindness
Lenin renamed the total Communist dictatorship of Russia
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
assumed full control of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union after Lenin’s death
Joseph Stalin
inaugurated by Stalin and were aimed at making Russia modern industrial and military state
“Five-Year Plans”
while building up state-controlled industries, Stalin _________________ Russian agriculture, forcing small private farms to band together into large collective farms managed by the state
collectivized
Post WWI, Italians resentment towards their government coupled with inflation, unemployment, and other economic hardships made them receptive to this man to come into power
Benito Mussolini
Mussolini transformed Italy into a ______________ state
exercises total control of political, economic, cultural, religious, and social activities
Fascist
promised prosperity and protection to the depressed, hardship-worn Germans
Adolf Hitler
Hitler was the leader of the
National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi Party)
Hitler called himself
Der Fuhrer (the leader)
Hitler’s government and empire was called the
Third Reich
Hitler’s autobiography that reveals much about his philosophy of life and his drive for power
Mein Kampf
leader who recognized the threat of renewed aggression in Germany under Hitler was
Winston Chruchill
the warrior class in Japan
samurai
the highest duty of man according to the Japanese
submission to the emperor and conquest of other nations
allowed some private ownership
Mussolini
where Japan invaded in 1931 because of its natural resources
Manchuria
The Nationalist Chinese leader
Chiang Kai-shek
Chinese Communist leader
Mai Tse-Tung
American general who went to China
Claire Chennault
a volunteer squadron of American airmen who flew sorties against the Japanese and fought them in the air aginst incredible odds
Flying Tigers
emperor of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I
nation that invaded Ethiopia
Italy
Mussolini
defeated the Communist forces in Spain and became leader
supported by Germany and Italy
Francisco Franco
Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles by sending German troops into the
Rhineland
was formed by Germany, Japan, and Italy after Germany formally recognized Ethiopia as under Italy
Romer-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
Hitler’s troops march triumphantly into Vienna and seize _________ without firing a shot
Austria
PM of Britain that went to Munich to confer with Hitler and Mussolini
Neville Chamberlain
French diplomat sent to Munich for the meeting with PM Chamberlain, Hitler, and Mussolini
Premier Edouard Daladier
dismembered Czechoslovakia by giving the rich Sudetenland to Germany
Munich Pact
seized by Mussolini and would later provide a springboard for an invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia
Albania
Hitler’s “last claim” in Europe
demanded Polish relinquish the Polish Corridor
Nazi fortifications in the West to oppose the French Maginot Line
Seigfried Line
Hitler signed nonagression treaty with
Stalin
France and Britain declared war on Germany on
beginning of WWII
September 3, 1939
German dive bombers the destroyed the Poland air forces
Stuka
German tanks
Panzer
the conquest of Poland was the world’s first experience of
also called lightning war
blitzkrieg
two of the Nazi’s most infamous concentration camps which were both located in Poland
Treblinka
Auschwitz
because there were no major battles in Western Europe during the first seven months, the Germans referred to it as the
sitzkrieg (sitting war)
where the Russians slay over 10,000 Polish officers
Katyn Forest
Nazi sympathizers in Norway called
Fifth-Columnists
the French government that cooperated with the Germans was located in
Vichy French government
the Germans air force was called the
Luftwaffe
was installed as the head of the Nazi puppet in Norway after the king fled to London
Vidkun Quisling
what does Nazi stand for
National Socialist German’s worker Party
were able to hold off German forces at Dunkirk until the British Navy arrived
Royal Air Force
French leader that surrendered to Hitler in the same railroad car in which the German’s had surrendered in 1918
Marshal Petain
capital of the small zone in southern France that was not under German control
Vichy
collaborated with the Germanus
Vichy French government
organized by Frenchmen that escaped to Great Britain
Free French government
leader of the Free French government
Charles de Gaulle
name for Hitler’s plan to invade and conquer Great Britain
Operation Sea-Lion
became PM of Great Britain in 1940 after Neville resigned
Winston Churchill
name for Hitler’s bombing at London for three months
London Blitz
credited with winning the Battle of Britain or London Blitz
RAF
two countries that Mussolini and Italy unsuccessfully tried to conquer in 1940
Egypt
Greece
group that reconquered all of the territory in Africa lost by the Italians to the British and began to menace Egypt
Africa Korps
leader of Africa Korps
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Rommel’s nickname
Desert Fox
Convinced of England’s eminent downfall, Hitler turned towards
Ukraine (Russia)
Russia’s two “allies” that set Hitler and his army back from their initial success
Mud
Winter
PM of Great Britain during the Battle of Britain
Churchill
formed by Lindbergh
dedicated to keeping the US out of a general European war
America First Committee
adopted the important “cash-and-carry” principle for dealing with warring nations
Neutrality Act of 1937
sent a forceful note to every foreign office in the world immediately following the Japanese invasion of China
Cordell Hull
act which sacrificed the principle of “freedom of the seas” while trying to keep America out of the war
Neutrality Act of 1939
put into place by President Roosevelt as one of the important steps for American defense
Selective Service Act
declared that any means of defense, including warships, which belonged to a friendly belligerent could be refitted or repaired in the US
granted the President powers to seel, lease, lend or otherwise dispose of war materials to any nation whose defense he felt to be vital to American security
Lend-Lease Act
incident where Japan bombed and sank a US gunboat on the Yangtze River, making it clear AMerica will not stand in their way of taking Asia
The Panay Incident
led the extremely militaristic army-controlled ministry in /japan
General Hideki Tojo
date of the attack on Pearl Harbor
December 7,1941
way Americans got food during WWII
ration book
tended by Americans to grow their own food so that more farm crops could be sent to troops overseas
victory gardens
carried on by many young people to collect fats, tin foil, cans, paper, and other times that could be used in producing necessary war materials
scrap drives
purchased by many Americans during WWII
war bonds
streamlined vessels that enabled the Allies to win the battle of supply
liberty ships
President Roosevelt appointed Nelson as chairman of this which gave him almost complete control of production
War Production Board (WPB)
the new general staff for the home front created in May 1943 was called the
Office of War Mobilization (OWM)
several million women took the job of ___________________ in plants that manufactured goods for war because their men were at war
Rosie the Riveter
the first time women received full military status
WWII
women that joined the armed services belonged to either
Women’s Army Corps (WACS)
or
WAVES (navy branch)
two of Irving Berlin’s most popular songs during the war years
God Bless America
White Christmas
Allied commander in Europe
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
became the affectionate nickname for the average AMerican soldier
GI (Government Issue)
campaign to catch Rommel’s troops in North Africa between the American and British troops
Operation Torch
British general that assisted General Eisenhower in march against Rommel In North Africa
General Bernard L. Montgomery
AMerican general that attacked Sicily and quickly overwhelmed their forces
General George S Patton
formally surrendered to the Allies on September 18 and turned against her Axis partners
Italy
Hitler’s 1942 summer offensive was crushed at
Stalingrad
date Italy surrendered to America
September 18
the beginning of the end for the war in Europe
D-Day
date of D-Day
June 6, 1944
where D-Day was staged
Normancy
battle which Germans tried to recapture the busy port of Antwerp
battle in Belgium between the Germans and four weal AMerican divisions
Battle of the Bulge
the Germans surrendered unconditionally on
May 7, 1945
the date for V-E day
May 8, 1945
the first black commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron
Colonel Benjamin O Davis
American fighter unit that was the first to sink a German destroyer single-handedly
Fighting Red Tails
the three American outposts between Hawaiian and Philippine Islands
Midway
Wake
Guam
sent to the Philippines in 1936 to prepare the islands’ defenses against future Japan attack
General Douglas MacArthur
proclaimed by MacArthur to be an open city in order to preserve the civilian population from further bloodshed
Manila
where MacArthur withdrew to from Manila
Bataan Peninsula
American regiment made up of second generation Japanese that were born and educated in America
NIsei
the most decorated infantry unit in all of the US army
Nisei (442nd RCT)
one particular battalion of the 442 RCT (Nisei) that was nicknamed because every member had earned at least on of these
Purple Heart Battalion
fortified island which guarded the entrance to Manila Bay which fought alone against overwhelming odds until May 6
Corregidor
name for march of American prisoners from Bataan and Corregidor who were forced to walk many miles to prison camps
got its name because the Japanese shot or bayoneted those prisoners who fell out of the line of march due to disease, wounds, hunger, or fatigue
Bataan Death March
British territories attacked by Japan
Hong Kong
Singapore
Burma Road
the last land route into China
Burma Road
led the bombing raid against Tokyo and other Japanese cities in 1942
Colonel Jimmy Doolittle
the Japanese planned to seize all of
New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands
the first naval battle of history in which the opposing vessels did not sight one another
Battle of the Coral Sea
naval battle that was the turning point of the war in the Pacific
Midway
battle that was the beginning of the Allied counteroffensive in the South Pacific
Guadalcanal
American strategy in the Pacific
island-hopping
concentrated his forces in the Central Pacific to crack the Japanese fortress
Admiral Chester Nimitz
keystone island of the Japanese defenses
Saipan
battle in which Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers and 400 planes
Battle of the Philipine Sea
battle in which the Japanese lost almost all of their remaining ships and planes
Battle of Leyte Gulf
two weapons which promoted Japan’s collapse
B-29 raids
submarine attacks
volcanic island where some of the most desperate fighting in human history occurred
Iwo Jima
even more intense than the struggle for Iwo Jima
Okinawa
pilots flying suicide planes loaded with explosives
kamikazes
American President at the POtsdam Declaration
Harry S Truman
succeeded Churchill as British PM
Clement Atlee
Chinese leader who joined Truman and Atlee for the Potsdam Declaration
Chiang Kai-Shek
called for the Japanese surrender unconditionally and to withdraw to the home islands
Potsdam Declaration
President’s decision against Japan in order to save the lives of American servicemen that would have been spent in invasion against Japan
atomic bomb
The US possessed the atomic bomb as a result of the
the largest research and scientific effort of its day
Manhattan Project
wrote a letter to President Roosevelt warning that Germany might begin building atomic bomb
Albert Einstein
three scientists who worked on atomic bomb
Enrico Fermi
Edward Teller
J. Robert Oppenheimer
primary reason for the atomic bomb being developed in the US and not in Nazi Germany
America’s willingness to protect the Jews
first Japanese city hit by atomic bomb
Hiroshima
second Japanese city hit by atomic bomb
Nagasaki
Emperor of Japan that surrendered
Emperor Hirohito
name for the day Japan surrendered aboard the American battleship Missouri
V-J Day
date for V-J Day
September 2, 1945
