Past unit Flashcards
Why was the Battle of Midway significant?
- Midway was located close to Hawaii and could be used as a base to invade Hawaii
- America sank 4 of Japan’s aircraft carriers and over 300 planes
- It was the turning point in the Pacific war, after this Japan will be on the defensive the rest of the war
Why did president Roosevelt choose to move the pacific fleet to Pearl Harbor?
Roosevelt wanted to send the Japanese a message to stop taking over lands in the Pacific and be prepared in case the US needed to intervene militarily
What did Japan do that increased tensions between the US and Japan before the bombing of Pearl Harbor?
- invaded and took over land, including some close to land the US held
- Joined the axis powers
- Sank an American ship
- Invading and bombing china
Define genocide:
When a country tries to kill all members of one ethnic group in an organized way.
Characteristics of the ghettos
- Neighborhoods
- Cut off from surrounding areas
- Jews were concentrated in them
Status of the war when the US got involved in 1942
The Axis powers had been taking over country after country and the Allied powers didn’t seem to be able to stop them.
What is the significance of the Doolittle Raid?
It was the first attack on the Japanese mainland
Explanation for how the US oil embargo against Japan might have contributed to Japan deciding to bomb Pearl Harbor?
Japan decided to attack the US while they still had plenty of oil hoping to severely limit the US’s ability to interfere with Japan taking over other lands for resources.
What did Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and what was decided?
Churchill: attack Germany and Italy where they might be weakest, Africa
Stalin: attack Germany in France to open up a western front
Decided: attack Germany and Italy where they might be the weakest, Africa
Define anti- semitism
Prejudice against Jews
What is the significance of the Battle of El Alamein?
it stopped Germany from taking over Egypt and protected the Suez Canal
Which of the following were difficulties the Allies faced in the Operation Torch invasions of North Africa?
- British troops didn’t trust the American troops
- American troops were unprepared for the fight
- The French who were expected to help them put up resistance instead
Where did the Americans troops come on shore in Africa during Operation Torch?
Along the north western shore, in Algeria and morocco
Define island hopping
capturing select islands and avoiding others, while moving closer to Japan
Which islands were skipped with island hopping?
Islands that were heavily defended
What helped the Allies eventually win the Battle of Stalingrad?
an early fierce winter that made it hard for the Germans to keep fighting
What happened when the Allies invaded Sicily and Italy?
Italians overthrew Mussolini and tried to surrender, but the Nazis came in and fought the Allies in Italy
On D-Day the Allies…
landed on the coast of France opening a Western front in Europe
Why is the battle of the bulge important?
It was the last time Hitler’s armies went on the offensive and they were unsuccessful
Why was the island of Iwo Jima considered worth fighting for even though it was very heavily defended?
it had an air base that could be used to launch planes to attack Japan, and we didn’t want the Japanese to be able to use it to attack us
Which of the following are characteristics of Blitzkrieg?
- tries to break through your enemy’s lines and surround them
- fast paced war
- relies primarily on machines
Which of the following are arguments that were made for using the atomic bomb?
- intimidate other countries and improve the status of the US after the war, particuarly with the Soviet Union
- we had spent billions of dollars developing this weapon and if it wasn’t used some might consider that money wasted
- if we could end the war before the Soviets got involved the Soviets would not have a say in how things were done after the war
- it could prevent an invasion which would have killed a lot of people on both sides
- the idea of “total war” including killing civilians had already been used by all sides of the war
Iwo Jima
In this Pacific battle, the Americans dealt a sever blow to Japanese naval power and turned the tide in the Pacific war.
Germany
Allied
Italy
Axis
Japan
Axis
Soviet Union
Allied
Great britian
Allied
us
Allied
The Supreme Commander of hte US troops on the European front.
Dwight eisenhower
General of U.S. troops in the Pacific front
Douglas MacArthur
In what cities were the atomic bombs dropped cities?
First on Hiroshima, second on Nagasaki
Arguments against dropping the bomb
- Effects of the bomb are so horrible it makes the bomb immoral
- using the bomb makes a nuclear arms race after the war more likely
- We seized communications from the Japanese showing interest in surrendering if they could keep their emperor,we might have been able to end the war without the bomb if we told them we were willing to let them keep the emperor.
- war could be ended w/out using, we could have waited to see if the Soviet Union joining war would cause Japanese to surrender
- US could be accused of committing war crimes
- If we were the only country to ever use the atomic bomb we would not have as strong a position in telling other countries they could not develop/use one
