Unit 8: World War II Flashcards
Adm. Chester Nimitz
a fleet admiral of the United States Navy; played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II
Appeasement
the granting of concessions to a hostile power in order to keep the peace
Atomic bomb
also called atom bomb; weapon with great explosive power; used by the United States on Japan that led to the Japanese surrender
Battle of Midway
a World War II battle that took place in early June 1942. The Allies decimated the Japanese fleet at Midway, an
island lying northwest of Hawaii. The Allies then took the offensive in the Pacific and began to move closer to Japan
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest confrontation of World War II, in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia
Battle of the Atlantic
was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, and was a major part of the Naval history of World War I
Big Three
The leaders of those allied countries:Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union
D-Day
a name given to June 6, 1944—the day on which the Allies launched an invasion of the European mainland during World War II.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
an American five-star general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army; Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II
Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
American army general; he became a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe
Holocaust
the systematic murder—or genocide—of Jews and other groups in Europe by the Nazis before and during World War II
Island Hopping
A military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against the Axis powers (most notably Japan) during World War II that entailed taking over an island and establishing a military base there. The base was in turn used as a launching point for the attack and takeover of another island
Kamikaze pilots
involving or engaging in the deliberate crashing of a bomb-filled airplane into a military target
Korematsu v. US
a landmark United States Supreme Court case upholding the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast Military Area during World War II
Lend Lease Act
a law, passed in 1941, that allowed the United
States to ship arms and other supplies, without immediate payment, to nations fighting the Axis powers
Munich Conference
an agreement concluded by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French, and the Kingdom of Italy that allowed Germany to annex certain areas of Czechoslavakia
Neutrality Acts
a series of laws enacted in 1935 and 1936 to prevent U.S. arms sales and loans to nations at war
Non-aggression pact
an agreement in which two nations promise not to go to war with each other
Nuremberg Trials
the court proceedings held in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II, in which Nazi leaders were tried for war crimes
Pearl Harbor
a surprise, preemptive military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
United Nations
an international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong, founded in 1945 to promote world peace, security, and economic development
