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World War II Flashcards

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1
Q

World War II ended in

A

1945

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2
Q

Factor that played a role in the eventual Nazi defeat

A

The entry of the United States of America (USA) into the war on the side of the Allies

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3
Q

Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in

A

1941

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4
Q

USA entered the war and…

A

Built a powerful wartime coalition with Britain and the Soviet Union

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5
Q

Nazi Germany had control over much of Europe

A

By 1941

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6
Q

Germany had defeated and occupied the following countries:

A
  • Poland (attacked in September 1939) - start of war
  • Denmark (April 1940)
  • Norway (April 1940)
  • Belgium (May 1940)
  • Netherlands (May 1940)
  • Luxemburg (May 1940)
  • France (May 1940)
  • Yugoslavia (April 1941)
  • Greece (April 1941)
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7
Q

World War 2 began with…

A

Nazi attack on Poland in September 1939

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8
Q

07 December 1941

A

Usa did not enter the war until Japanse bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii

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9
Q

Neutrality Act

A

1939 - Prohibited USA from supplying arms, ammunition/financial aid to belligerent countries

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10
Q

Lend-lease agreement

A

September 1940 - USA (although not at war) provided military supplies and other forms of assistance to Allies

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11
Q

Lend-lease agreement enabled the USA to:

A
  • Loan/give armaments to Britain
  • Became the supply line that enabled Britain to resist Hitler
  • Billion dollars of aid of weapons, ships and other vital needs
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12
Q

USA’s agreement with the government of Greenland:

A
  • To build bases and station troops in Greenland
  • To extend America’s protection of their Lend-lease ships that were crossing the Atlantic between the USA and Britain
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13
Q

Relationship between Japanese and Americans

A

Hostile relationship between Japanese and Americans for decades

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14
Q

USA was unhappy with Japan’s

A
  • Expansionist policy
  • Hostile attitude towards China
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15
Q

Japanese government had ____________ problems

A
  • Economic
  • Demographic
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16
Q

Japanese government believed that to solve its economic and demographic problems they needed to:

A
  • Expand into China
  • Take over China’s import market
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17
Q

Japan declared war on China

A

1937: resulting in the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities

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18
Q

American officials responded to Japans actions towards China with:

A
  • Economic sanctions and trade embargoes
  • Believed that without access to money, goods, oil - Japan would have to reconsider its policy
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19
Q

However sanctions imposed on Japanese made ______

A

Japanese more determined to stand their ground

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20
Q

________ of negotiations between America and Japan were ______

A

Months
Unfruitful

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21
Q

Pearl Harbour

A
  • US Naval Base near Honolulu, Hawaii
  • In the Pacific Ocean, about 2000 miles from US mainland and about 4000 miles from Japan
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22
Q

No one _____________ that Japanese would ________

A

Believed
Start a war with an attack on Pearl Harbour

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23
Q

American __________ were confident that if Japan attacked it would be:

A

Intelligence officials
Nearby European colonies in the South Pacific e.g. Dutch East Indies, Singapore/Indochina

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24
Q

US __________ were not expecting an attack so close to home therefore:

A

Military leaders
Naval facilities at Pearl Harbour were relatively undefended

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25
Q

To Japanese Pearl Harbour was considered

A

An Easy Target

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26
Q

When was Pearl Harbour attacked

A

07 December 1941: America’s isolation from war ended when Japan staged a surprised attack on the American fleet at Pearl harbour just before 8h00

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27
Q

Pearl Harbour casualties:

A
  • Destroyed/damaged nearly 20 American naval vessels
  • 8 Battleships
  • Over 300 airplanes
  • More than 2400 Americans died, including civilians
  • 1000 people were wounded
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28
Q

Attack on Pearl Harbour lasted:

A

2 hours

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29
Q

Day after the attack…

A

American president Franklin.D.Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan

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30
Q

Who were the Kamikaze Pilots?

A

Part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military pilots who flew suicide attacks for Japan near the end of the war in the Pacific of WWII

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31
Q

Kamikaze attack casualties:

A
  • About 3800 kamikaze pilots died during the war
  • More than 7000 naval personnel were killed by kamikaze attacks
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32
Q

Kamikaze means

A

‘Divine Wind’ - pilots believed that their sacrifice paid the debt they owed to God and showed the love they had for their families, friends and emperor

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33
Q

Why US Navy was able to recover quickly from the attack:

A
  • Japanese had failed to cripple the US Pacific Fleet
  • By the 1940’s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: aircraft carriers were
  • All the Pacific Fleet’s carriers were away from the base on 07 December - some had returned to mainland and others delivered planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands
  • Bases’ most vital onshare facilities, oil storage deposits, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks were intact
34
Q

US Congress approved President Roosevelt’s declaration of war on Japan

A

08 December 1941

35
Q

Japan’s allies Germany and Italy declared war on USA

A

11 December 1941 (3 days later)

36
Q

When did the USA enter the war

A

More than 2 years after the start of WWII: 1941

37
Q

What pushed USA into the war:

A

Japanese wanted to provoke the USA into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions against them, instead this pushed the USA into the war.

38
Q

USA entering the war resulted in:

A
  • Defeat of the Japanese
  • End to the war in the Pacific
  • Eventually to the end of WWII
39
Q

Entry of USA may be considered …

A

A turning point in the war because it made the eventual defeat of Germany possible

40
Q

Allies’ military effort against Germany was…

A

Strengthened by the entry of USA into the war (financially and in terms of man power) which contributed significantly to the defeat of Nazis and end of WWII

41
Q

Axis Powers

A
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Japan
42
Q

Allies Powers

A
  • France
  • Great Britain
  • United States
  • Soviet Union
  • China (to a lesser extent)
43
Q

On ________ Japan signed a __________ with ________ thus ________

A

1940
Treaty
Germany and Italy
Bringing it to WWII

44
Q

The attack on Pearl Harbour resulted in:

A
  • Entry of USA into the war
  • Moving the war into areas in the Pacific Ocean and Far East
45
Q

War was not going well for the Germans

A

By April 1945

46
Q

Hitler realised that all was lost on

A

30 April

47
Q

Hitler realised that all was lost:

A
  • Battle of Nuremberg and Battle of Hamburg ended with American and British occupation
  • Battle of Berlin raging above his bunker
  • Soviets surrounding the city, Berlin
  • Hitler’s escape routes was cut off by the Americans
48
Q

Hitler’s death

A

Not wishing to suffer Mussolini’s fate, German dictator Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his Führerbunker along with Eva Braun 30 April 1945

49
Q

Eva Braun

A

Hitler’s long-term partner whom he had married less than 40 hours before their joint suicide

50
Q

Joseph Goebels death

A

Committed suicide 01 May 1945 (following day)

51
Q

Final battles of the European Theatre & German surrender to the Allies

A

Late April and early May 1945

52
Q

Which German forces were first to surrender

A

German forces fighting in Italy in 29 April 1945 and became effective in 02 May 1945

53
Q

_______ followed suit and surrendered

A

Italy & Austria

54
Q

Germany unconditionally surrendered to Allied forces

A

07 May 1945

55
Q

VE-Day

A

Victory on Europe Day marking the end of the war in Europe

56
Q

Which war still continued

A

War in the Pacific and Far East

57
Q

Japanese believed that surrendering…

A

Was dishonourable and were prepared to fight to the death

58
Q

When Japanese refused to surrender

A

USA was convinced they needed to take more drastic actions

59
Q

When is VE-Day

A

News of the surrender broke in the west and celebrations erupted in Europe and parts of British Empire, US Americans awoke to the news and declared 08 May VE-Day

60
Q

Russia and many other European countries east of Germany commemorate Victory Day on

A

09 May: Soviet Union was east of Germany, it was 09 May Moscow Time when German military surrender became effective

61
Q

The atomic bomb the first weapon of mass destruction was ready

A

July 1945

62
Q

_____ decided to use the atomic bomb against Japan

A

President Harry Truman of the USA

63
Q

Bombing of Hiroshima

A

06 August 1945: an American aeroplane, Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Japanese city of Hiroshima

64
Q

Why was Hiroshima chosen

A

Because it was an industrial city with military operations

65
Q

First atomic bomb was nicknamed

A

Little Boy

66
Q

Causalities of the bomb on Hiroshima

A

Killed about 80 000 people and destroyed about 90% of city - Japanese still did not surrender

67
Q

Bombing of Nagasaki

A

09 August 1945 (3 days after bombing on Hiroshima): USA dropped a second atomic bomb on city of Nagasaki

68
Q

Why was Nagasaki chosen

A

Nagasaki was the oldest port city in Japan, bomb was aimed at the harbour but missed its mark

69
Q

Casualties of the bomb on Nagasaki:

A

Destroyed half the city

70
Q

Japan surrendered

A

14 August 1945, signing the formal surrender on board the battleship USS Missouri

71
Q

Dropping of the atomic bomb was and is…

A

One of the most controversial decisions in military history

72
Q

Casualties of the atomic bombs

A
  • Killed almost 110 000 Japanese citizens
  • Injured 130 000 Japanese citizens
  • By 1950, 230 000 Japanese died from injuries/radiation sickness
  • Many others died of cancer
  • Decades later, some people gave birth to children with physical and mental disabilities because of the radiation
73
Q

Reasons why USA dropped the bomb:

A
  • Japan wold never surrender unless the country was utterly destroyed
  • Germany had already surrendered
  • Believed that using the bomb would end the war quickly
  • Avoid further casualties: as a full scale invasion of Japan would have cost more Allied and Japanese lives
  • Japan had started the war against the USA when they attacked Pearl Harbour
74
Q

Decision to use the atomic bomb was not justified

A
  • USA wanted revenge for Pearl Harbour
  • USA knew how much destruction the bomb would cause
  • Japan tried 3 times to discuss peace terms with USA
  • Japan asked Sweden and Portugal to help get the message to USA that they were prepared to surrender but didn’t want Emperor Hirohito to be touched
  • USA ignored these attempts
75
Q

Decision to use the atomic bomb was justified

A
  • It would save American lives
  • It would save Japanese lives
  • Dropping the bomb would end the war faster - American soldiers were desperate for this
  • The bomb was in retaliation of Japanese cruelty
76
Q

World War 2

A
  • Deadliest military conflict in history which involved over 30 countries, e.g. US, Soviet Union, Germany, Japan etc.
  • One of the largest and most widespread wars in history
  • Six years of conflict - over 60 million people killed (3% of 1940 world population)
  • On home front with many men away fighting, women stepped into many roles, challenging traditional gender roles
  • Many new technologies developed, e.g. radar/first computers which had lasting impact on world
77
Q

Holocaust

A

Most tragic example of genocide in History

78
Q

After the war…

A

United Nations (UN) was created in 1945: to help countries work together, prevent future wars and protect human rights, a role it continues to play till today

79
Q

End of WWII saw the beginning of a new era for all countries involved:

A
  • Decline of all European colonial empires
  • Rise of 2 super powers: Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States of America (USA)
80
Q

______ became competitors on ________

A

USA and USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
World stage and became involved in the Cold War

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