World War II Flashcards
How did the United States mobilize rapidly?
military bases were built to deal with thousands of volunteers
What role did African Americans have in the war?
- recruited for combat
- segregated units
- fighting for Double V
- Tuskegee Airmen
What does Double V mean?
victory vs Axis abroad and victory over racism at home
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?
frist African American Air Force unit
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?
first African American Air Force unit
What role did women play in the war?
joined military forces for the first time in limited support roles
Were Japanese-Americans allowed in the military?
originally barred from joining
What role did Native Americans serve in the war?
code talkers
How did the U.S. government mobilize the economy for war?
- business leaders converted to producing war materials
- new methods for faster production were put into place
What played an important role in helping the US win the war?
industry
How did business leaders help Roosevelt build a strong nation for war?
- Ford: converted from making vehicles to bombers
- “The Dollar-a-Year Men” CEO of General Motors left job to earn $1 salary advising FDR
- Kaiser: liberty ships
What did the increase in jobs on the home front do?
- brought nation out of depression
- into a time of rapid growth
What was included in the time of rapid growth?
- working class entered mainstream of US
- most still unable to spend much of the money that was earned
- sacrifices for families and workers
How were women effected with the rapid growth?
- entered workforce building supplies and doing factory work that was once meant for men
- “Rosie the Riveter”
How were African Americans effected with the rapid growth?
- struggled for equal treatment
- Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802
What was Executive Order 8802?
- outlawed discrimination in employee hiring
- only applied to defense jobs
What steps did the government take to stabilize wages and prices?
- government offices controlled economy and prevent labor strikes
- supplies and foods were rationed so there was enough for the military
Why did wages and prices have to be stabilized?
to avoid inflation
What did victory gardens do?
increased food supplies and sale of war bonds that raised money for the war
What was the Office of War Information?
helped inform the public about war through media outlets such as movies
How did the wartime relocation of many Americans affect US government and society?
When was Executive Order 9066?
1942
What was Executive Order 9066?
War Relocation Authority removed all people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast
Who was affected by Executive Order 9066?
- both citizens and non citizens
- over 100,000 interned in camps in remote areas
- lost home, possessions, and businesses
How did people feel about Japanese internment?
uncomfortable with the similarities between the internment camps and the German concentration camps
What was the outcome of Korematsu vs the United States?
Supreme Court upheld their constitutionality
What was the United State’s apology to the Japanese?
- 1988
- Congress awarded $20,000 to each surviving Japanese American internee
- official apology
What happened first 6 months after Pearl Harbor?
- Japan conquers empire
- push aside US, Great Britain, and Dutch navy and take colonies
- invaded Philippines day after Pearl Harbor
What did General Douglas MacArthur do in the Philippines?
led troops to Bataan Peninsula before surrendering
What was the Bataan Death March?
- 76,000 Filipinos and Americans held as POWs
- faced to march 60+ miles in tropical heat when already weakened
- 10,000 died
- many executed
- survivors sent to camps where 15,000 more died
- violation of Geneva Convention / treatment of POWs
Why didn’t the Pearl Harbor attack eliminate Pacific fleet like Japan hoped?
2 carriers at sea, 1 in California
What was Doolittle’s Raid?
- April 1942
- Lt. Col. James Doolittle leads raid on Tokyo from carriers
- little damage but boosted morale
What was the Battle of Midway?
- allies break Japanese code
- win Battle of Midway
- stop Japan again
- Japan lost 250 planes and most of their skilled pilots
- Japan unable to launch more offensive operations in the Pacific
What is island hopping?
- select important islands to attack
- break Japanese supply line
- advance island by island to Japan
Why did the US capture Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands?
Japanese were building airfield there
Why did Japanese flee into the jungle?
- August 1942
- 11,000 marines land on island
What was the Battle of Guadalcanal?
- provided marines with first taste of jungle warfare
- Japanese defeated after 5 months of brutal fighting
When did troops invaded the Philippine island of Leyte?
October 1944
What was the Battle of Leyte Gulf?
- ground troops battled inland
- MacArthur: “I have returned”
- 280+ warships in three-day battle
- American force destroyed Japanese navy
- 2 months to liberate Leyte
- continued to fight for control of the rest of Philippines until end of war
What was the first battle where the Japanese used kamikazes?
Battle of Leyte
What were kamikazes?
loaded aircraft with bombs and then deliberately crashed them into enemy ships
Why did Churchill and Roosevelt want to attack German-controlled areas in North Africa before areas in Europe?
How did Germany look unstoppable?
- British being bombed
- France occupied by Nazis
- Soviet Union invaded by Germany in June 1941 and entered war on Allied side
- suffering heavy losses
What was the Battle of the Atlantic?
- Great Britain and US try to control Atlantic trade routes
- Wolfpacks left from France, attacked and destroyed merchant ships
- 72,000 Allied sailors killed
- 3500+ ships lost
- convoys ant anti-sub aircraft helped US and GB regain trade routes
What were wolfpacks?
packs of 20+ German U-boats
When were the battles in North Africa?
- 1940-1943
- 1942-1943 for the US
What were the battles in North Africa?
- early victories to Nazi Germany Rommel “The Desert Fox”
- US (led by Eisenhower) and GB troops fight back
- win decisive victories in 1943
- Churchill and FDR meet in Casablanca, Morocco
- announcing they will only accept “unconditional surrender”
- agree to continue “Europe first” strategy but do not attack France yet
When was Germany’s advance?
1941-1942
What was Germany’s advance?
- June 1941, 3 million Axis troops invade USSR
- German armies threatened Moscow and Leningrad
- Stalin begs US an GB for invasion of Europe to relieve pressure
- Russian winter of 1941 halted German advance until summer 1942
When was the Battle of Stalingrad?
1942-1932
What was the Battle of Stalingrad?
- German began two-mont firebombing campaign at Stalingrad
- November 1942, Soviets take advantage of winter conditions and counterattack
- German army surrounded with no supplies or hope of escape
- February 1943, Germans surrendered
What were the losses from the Battle of Stalingrad?
- 300,000 Germans
- over 1 million Russians
How did the Battle of Stalingrad contribute to the war?
- turning point of the war in the east
- Stalin continues to ask for European invasion
What were the turning points in the war?
- Battle of Midway in the west
- Battle of Stalingrad in the east
What were the goals of strategic bombing in Germany and the invasion of Sicily?
What did Roosevelt and Churchill agree to at the Casablanca Conference?
increase bombing of Germany and attack Italian island of Sicily
What did Allies attack on Sicily?
July 1943
What was the attack on Sicily?
- “soft underbelly”
- looking to eliminate Hitler’s strongest ally
- Allies eventually conquer it
- King Victor Emmanuel III fired and arrests Mussolini
- new Italian prime minister surrendered
What happened to Mussolini after he was arrested?
- Hitler attacked Rome and rescued Mussolini
- put him in charge of puppet state in Northern Italy
- after Allies conquer Italy in 1945, Mussolini executed and Italy “freed”
When did the Allies conquer Rome?
April 1945
What if D-Day had failed and Germany had defeated the Allies in Europe?
What was Operation Overload?
- Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower
- largest military operation in history
- amphibious and air attack launched from GB
- 156,000 soldiers, 5,000 ships, 11,000 planes
Who was the supreme commander of Allied forces during Operation Overload?
Dwight D. Eisenhower
When was D-Day?
June 6, 1944
What was D-Day?
- Allies bombed Normandy, dropped paratroopers, amphibious troops stormed beaches
- heavy casualties suffered
- victory gave Allies beach head and supply line to Europe for first time since 1940
- 2 million Allied troops were in France by late July
What were beaches in the D-Day invasion?
Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword
Why was the Battle of the Bulge so important to the Allied forces?
When was the Battle of the Bulge?
- Dec 1944
What was the Battle of the Bulge?
- German counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg
- pushed back US army
- formed bulge in Allied Line
- largest battle in Western Europe during WWII
- 80,000 American casualties
- Germans lost 100,000
- most Nazi leaders realized they had lost
When does Hitler commit suicide?
April 30, 1945
When do the Germans surrender?
May 8, 1945
What is V-E Day?
victory in Europe Day
What factors did President Truman’s have to consider when making the decision to drop the atomic bomb?
What happened at Iwo Jima?
- Feb 1945
- US marines stormed beaches
- more than 100,000 US troops took one month to defeat 25,000 Japanese
- 25,000 US casualties
- 27 medals of honor
When was the Battle of Okinawa?
April-June 1945
What was the Battle of Okinawa?
- last obstacle to invasion of Japan
- 2,000 kamikaze attacks vs 1,300 US ships
- 50,000 US casualties
- costliest engagement of Pacific War
- 100,000 Japanese killed
- 7,000 surrendered
What were the weighed costs of an invasion of Japan?
casualty estimates were hight 500,000 - 1.5 million Allied casualties
What did the US do to destroy war production?
- firebombing cities
- bombs filled with napalm
- over 80,000 killed in Tokyo
What is napalm?
jellied gasoline
What is significant of letter from Albert Einstein?
- suggested that powerful bomb could be built by Nazis
- FDR makes top secret Manhattan Project to develop atomic bomb
When does FDR die?
- April 1945
- Truman takes over
What happened when US tested first bomb?
- explosion of blinding light and blew a huge crater in earth
- shattered windows 125 miles away
What was the Japanese-Potsdam Declaration?
- US issued ultimatum for unconditional surrender
- Japan refused and decision to use bomb was made
What was the first city the bomb was dropped on?
- Hiroshima
- Little Boy
- 60% of city was leveled
- 80,000 dead
- 37,000 injured
- 10,000 missing
- Japan still refused to surrender
What was the second city the bomb was dropped on?
- Nagasaki
- 2 square miles wiped out
- 200,000 civilian casualties in 3 days
When did Emperor Hirohito surrender?
- August 15, 1945
- V-J day
When did the war end?
September 2, 1945
What was the punishment to German and Japanese leaders for war crimes?
International Military Tribunal
