Defeat of Germany Flashcards
Defeat of a country in a war is a content concept.
(1) Victory for the Allies means ________ outcome during the war.
(2) Defeat for Germany means _________ outcome for Germany during the war.
(1) positive
(2) negative
Control of the air is important in a war. Provide 3 reasons why this is important.
(1) Protect merchant shipping from air or naval attacks
(2) Provide cover (protection) for the navy & army from air attack
(3) Bomb enemy cities to disrupt or cripple armament production, destroy communication lines and infrastructure, to cut off access to raw materials
(4) Bomb enemy cities to lower morale and reduce labour force
Control of the Atlantic Sea was of utmost importance for the Allies to win the war. Provide 2 reasons why this was important.
(1) Protect merchant shipping from U-boats (German submarine) attacks
(2) Land troops and armaments to attack enemy coastline from the sea (D-Day Landings)
Why were merchant ships important in the war in Europe?
Merchant ships
(1) transport military equipment, armaments, war supplies, troops, raw materials from one place to another
(2) supplies will enable Allies to continue fighting the war
Why was the Fall of France in June 1940 important for Germany? Provide 2 examples on how Germany use France during the War in Europe.
(1) Gave Germany U-boats bases on the Atlantic coast
(2) Germany started building V-rockets launching sites in northern France
Before September 1939, USA was determined not to involve itself in another “European War”. It had adopted a policy of ____________.
Isolationism.
USA had also passed a series of Neutrality Acts in 1937. What were these Acts?
(1) Military-related products would not be sold to nations at war.
(2) American ships were also prohibited from transporting any passengers or materials to warring nations.
What was the ‘Cash and Carry’ policy implemented by USA in September 1939?
Allowed Britain and France to purchase arms from the USA provided they paid in cash immediately.
After the fall of France in June 1940, USA implemented the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941. What was the Lend-Lease Act?
(1) Gave the President authority to send military and non-military goods (food, oil, equipment) to major Allied nations to protect the USA’s interests.
(2) Countries getting help need not pay immediately for the goods.
In December 1940, US President Roosevelt appealed to the nation and said that USA must be the ‘great arsenal of democracy’. What ‘Great arsenal of democracy’ means?
main supplier of material for Allied war effort - Protect the free world; world policeman
In the Lend-Lease Act implemented in March 1941, what Britain and USSR received from USA respectively?
(1) Britain - US$31.4 billion + 50 old destroyers
(2) USSR - US$11.3 billion
USA’s Lend-Lease Act in March 1941 led to the defeat of Germany because Allies (particularly Britain whose resources were almost depleted especially after the B________ of B_____________ (July 1940 – May 1941) were able to receive vital resources to allow them to continue fighting the war with Nazi Germany.
Battle of Britain
In March 1941, US President Roosevelt also embarked on rapid rearmament (‘Arsenal of Democracy’ Speech). He expanded and equipped the US Army and Navy.
Provide 2 reasons how rapid rearmament by USA led to the Defeat of Germany.
Rapid rearmament led to the defeat of Germany because
(1) it allowed USA to contribute vast amount of troops and military equipment (convoys for protection of merchant ships in the Atlantic, long-range bombers B-52 to close the Atlantic gap, etc) to help the Allied Powers during WWII.
(2) It contributed to effective combined Allied strategies (e.g. D-Day Landing; Operation Tidal Wave, etc). This helped sustained a long war.
Which event in December 1941 triggered USA to be directly involved in the war?
The attack on US naval base stationed at Pearl Harbor by the Japan.
Why did Japan launch an attack a pre-emptive (surprise attack) on Pearl Harbor? Provide 2 reasons in chronological order (which came first?). (hint: think of events in from 1937 to 1941)
(1) Japan needed oil to continue its war with China which started in 1937.
(2) USA had embargoed oil when Japan invaded French Indochina in 1940-41.
(3) SEA colonies were vulnerable as the West were fighting in Europe – Japan wanted the resource-rich land of SEA
(4) US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor had the sea and air power to control Asia-Pacific & defend SEA from Japan
Why was the Control of the Atlantic Sea, that is, removing German U-Boat threat, important for the Allies? Provide 2 reasons.
(1) Ensure the flow of merchant shipping that so that Britain can keep fighting
(2) (from 1942) Allow the build-up of Allied supplies and equipment in Britain in preparation for the invasion of occupied Europe (starting with a landing in France) – Operation Overlord (to liberate countries that were occupied by Nazi Germany)
When did the Allies manage to remove German U-boats threat in the Atlantic Sea?
By the end of May 1943, German naval commander ordered U-Boats to be withdrawn from the North Atlantic convoy routes.
What is the ‘Black Pit’ in the Atlantic Sea?
The area beyond aircraft range where many convoys (made up of battleships and merchant ships) suffered heaviest losses.
Allied planes used earlier in the war were short range planes that could not provide air cover all the way across the Atlantic.
USA’s involvement in the Battle of Atlantic led to better resources and strategies that led to the defeat of Germany. Provide 4 examples how the Allies managed to remove U-boats threat in the Atlantic.
(1) US provided escort roles for all Allied convoys at sea
(2) US long-range aircraft closed the mid-Atlantic gap
(3) Increased warship production in US led to better escorted convoys
(4) New radar and sonar (ASDIC) technologies helped the Allies find the U-boats
(5) US & British code breakers unlocked German naval code – able to locate and destroy U-boats.
(6) New anti-submarines weapons, “Hedgehog” bombs, helped sink the submarines more effectively.
(7) American-occupied Greenland and Iceland gave Britain bases in mid-Atlantic
Allied strategic bombing of German cities & Axis military sites from 1943 – 1945. Which of these sites did they bomb?
synthetic oil plants & oilfields in Germany and in Nazi-occupied territories
What was Operation Tidal Wave carried out by the Aliies in August 1943?
The bombing of oil fields around Ploesti, Romania, Hitler’s main source of oil
One of Germany’s weaknesses was its over-reliance on oil in order to fuel its industrial economy and power its growing war machine. Provide 2 reasons why Germany had to rely on other sources of oil.
(1) Germany had no oil reserves. Oil production was negligible.
(2) It lacked an empire - like the British - that would give it access to oil overseas.
(3) in the 1930s oil production was dominated by a handful of countries—the United States, which accounted for 50% of global oil production, as well as the Soviet Union, Venezuela, Iran, Indonesia, and Romania.
How did the lack of access to oil (because of Allied bombing) lead to the defeat of Germany? Provide 2 reasons.
(1) With lack of supply of oil, German war machine and economy cannot continue fighting in the war.
(2) Loss of oil supply also meant a reduction of air missions – Germany lost control of the air.
Allied control of the Air and the Atlantic Sea helped them achieved success against Germany – they launched ‘Operation Overlord’ in June 1944. What was Operation Overlord?
the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe - to liberate (free) countries captured by Nazi Germany during the war.
