World War II Flashcards
0
Q
Zhukov
A
- Stalin’s chief military advisor
- Commanded Red Army
- Won the race to Berlin
- Involved in almost all of the battles
1
Q
Hitler
A
- Chancellor of Nazi Germany
- As the war went on, he became more and more independent in decisions and didn’t listen to his advisors
- Committed suicide before the Allies reached his bunker
2
Q
Goebbels
A
- Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
- 1943 = basically running the country while Hitler concentrated on the war; urged the people of Germany to resist
- Committed suicide with Hitler
3
Q
Badoglio
A
- Field Marshal of Italian army then commander-in-chief
- Directed the campaign in Abyssinia
- Resigned after the failure of the Greek campaign
- Formed government that signed armistice with the Allies and declared war on Germany after Mussolini fell
4
Q
Doenitz
A
- Commander of German U-boats
- Significantly underestimated forces necessary to win the Battle of the Atlantic
- Greatly supported U-boats
5
Q
Big Three
A
-Leaders of the Allies:
Churchill = Britain
Stalin = Russia
Roosevelt = USA
-Common aim of defeating Hitler and Nazi Germany
-Willing to compromise and listen to each other
-Mutual distrust but Churchill and Roosevelt were able to build an accumulation of trust
6
Q
Mussolini
A
- Leader of Italy
- Fascist
- People of Italy turned against him, specifically his Fascist party
- Shot by Italian partisans on April 28, 1945 when he tried to flee
- Role model and ally of Hitler
7
Q
Roosevelt
A
- President of the United States
- At home = brought opponents into his administration, allowed big businesses to get bigger, and increased federal budget
- At first simply provided aid to the Allies but when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the US entered the war
- Coined unconditional surrender
- Supported cross channel strategy to defeat Hitler
8
Q
Hirohito
A
- Emperor of Japan = treated like a divine being, and controlled all of the armed forces and the government
- Emphasized preserving honor so citizens killed themselves when invaded and soldiers fought to the death
- Surrender = only condition was to keep Hirohito as Emperor
9
Q
Rommel
A
- Leader of Afrika Korps
- Successful in North Africa
- Short of equipment and overwhelmed in battle spelled his loss at the battle of El Alamein in November 1942
- Exceptional at initiative and improvisation = one of the best-known generals of WWII
10
Q
Montgomery
A
- British commander
- Desert campaign = replaced Auchinleck; pushed the Afrika Korps back to Tunis
- Commander of ground forces in the Normandy invasion = cautious, meticulous preparation and unflagging tenacity
11
Q
Stalin
A
- Leader of Russia
- Deferred to his outstanding generals, Zhukov and Antonov for military advice
- Desperately wanted Poland and Soviet-friendly nations around Russia as buffer states
- Controlled the meetings of the Big Three
- Driven by the need to spread communism, by concerns for security, and by expansionist aims
12
Q
MacArthur
A
- General of the American army
- Led the Philippine campaign = 2 years of fighting
- Accepted Japan’s surrender
13
Q
Eisenhower
A
- Led American forces in the desert campaign to close net around Afrika Korps
- Later became President of the United States
- Appointed Supreme Commander
- Launched invasion of France, which was an enormous success
14
Q
Himmler
A
- Nazi
- 1943 = Minister of the Interior
- 1944 = Commander-in-chief of the German home forces
- Ordered destruction of concentration/death camps, hoping to cover up the deaths or make them disappear in a sense
15
Q
Churchill
A
- Succeeded Chamberlain as Prime Minister in May 1940
- Worked hard to maintain a British voice in the Grand Alliance
- Urged the British people to help as much as possible
- Wanted to defeat Hitler by going through the Mediterranean
16
Q
Chamberlain
A
- Prime Minister of Britain until 1940
- Declared war on Germany with France though had to be pressured to do so
- Failure of the Scandinavian expedition led to the fall of Chamberlain’s government and he was thus replaced
17
Q
Schuschnigg
A
- Chancellor of the First Austrian Republic
- Opposed to combining with Hitler’s Nazi Germany
- Forced to sign the Anshluss
18
Q
Ribbentrop
A
- Foreign Minister of Germany
- Key role in creating the Pact of Steel (with Italy) and the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact
- Later hanged for war crimes
19
Q
AJP Taylor
A
- British broadcaster and journalist
- Served in the Home Guard
- Befriended foreign statesmen
- Helped to encourage the expulsion of the entire German population of Czechoslovakia
20
Q
Kristallnacht
A
- The Night of Broken Glass
- Coordinated attacks against Jews in Nazi Germany
21
Q
Appeasement
A
- Method of avoiding war by providing concessions
- Britain used this in an effort to lessen Germany’s anger
- Hitler was actually encouraged by this
- Germany ended up better than before after WWI
22
Q
Anschluss
A
- Combining Germany and Austria
- One of Hitler’s goals
- Had to be forced
23
Q
Munich Agreement
A
- Settlement that allowed Hitler to annex parts of Czechoslovakia with Germans in it, a territory called Sudetenland
- Failed act of appeasement
- Czechs felt betrayed by France and Britain
- Signed by the European powers
24
Hossbach Memorandom
- Summary of a meeting between Hitler and his foreign ministers in which he outlined his expansionist aims
- Showed a radical change in policy = outlined his aim of expanding across Europe
- Hitler didn't at first want a full scale war
25
Vichy
- Unoccupied zone of France ruled by Petain
- Retained control of the French Empire and the French Navy
- Eager to collaborate with the Germans
26
Maginot Line
- Line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts, and other protections France built along its shared borders with Germany and France
- Inviolable but the French assumed that they were then safe and then didn't expect the Germans to go around it through the Ardenne Forest
27
Blitzkrieg
- Fast-moving attacks delivered by a small but effective tank force and supported by overwhelming air power
- Used in the Scandinavian campaign, the defeat of France, and the conquest of Poland
- Didn't require a fully mobilized economy and country
- Made possible by German advancements in technology, which eventually became old news
28
Panzer
- German word for tank or armor
| - Used in Blitzkrieg
29
Afrika Korps
- Leader = Rommel
- German troops in Libya and Tunisia
- Used in the desert campaign
- Eventually defeated = turning point
30
Yalta Conference
- Last Big Three meeting
- Roosevelt was dying
- Reached an agreement on post-war settlement = Stalin won Poland
- Deal between Roosevelt and Stalin that in return for Poland, Stalin has to help the US defeat Japan (this doesn't happen)
31
Operation Overlord
- Overall Commander = Eisenhower
- Included nearly 2 million men
- Target = Normandy
- Made possible by complete control of air and sea
- Plan to attack German-occupied territories
- German weaknesses = destruction of communication immobilized troops and Germans believed that attack on Normandy was a ruse
- Factors countering a quick victory = Allies had difficulties keeping such a huge force supplied, strategic disagreements between Montgomery and the Americans
- Germans retreated to the West Wall to regroup and recover
- German industry collapsing and great losses
- Hitler spread his airpower too thinly and reacted too slowly
32
Operation Bagration
- Coincided with Allied landings in the west
- Germany's biggest defeat
- Eliminated twice as many Germans as the western campaign
- Germans only expected the Soviets to attack from the south instead of both the south and the north
- Paralyzed German transportation system
33
Holocaust
- Systematic and mass genocide
- Anti-Semitism = in Germany Jews were treated as scapegoats, condemned for their capitalism and their association with the origins of bolshevism and the death of Christ
- Decision for murder made by Heydrich, not just Hitler
34
Red Army
- Soviet army
- Commander = Zhukov
- Troops that conquered Germany and Berlin
- Was cruel to German citizens, raping and pillaging, though German forces did the same in Russia
35
RAF
- British air force = fighter planes
- Necessary in the victory of the Battle of Britain
- Couldn't train pilots quickly
- Used radar, radio telephones, and operation rooms
- Used in strategic bombing, which was overall not very effective
36
Battle of Midway
| Turning Point
- Battle around Midway Atoll, an island formed from a coral reef with an airfield
- US deciphered Japanese codes and moved to intercept the fleet, hiding two carriers a safe distance away
- Japanese losses = 4 carriers, 240 aircraft, a cruiser, and 3000 men
- US losses = 1 carrier, 150 aircraft, a destroyer, and 300 men
- First real victory against the Japanese, reduced the Japan's fighting power, and prevented the IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) from making any major attacks for months
37
Nazi-Soviet Pact
- Non-Aggression Pact with secret clauses
- When Hitler invaded Poland, Russia invaded from the east in accordance to this Pact
- Was broken when Hitler invaded Russia, and then Russia joined the Allies
38
Phoney War
- Britain and France prepared for attack but none came
- No fighting but both planned for victory
- Britain and France wanted to go through Belgium and attack Germany, but Belgium refused to allow them passage
39
Miracle of Dunkirk
- Large scale evacuation of British and French troops
- Made possible because of bad weather and German mistakes
- British citizens using normal boats/yachts picked up troops
40
Battle of Britain
- Hitler wanted peace with Britain but Churchill refused
- Britain could only survive
- RAF versus Luftwaffe = RAF got the better of Luftwaffe
- Luftwaffe bombed major cities = British morale didn't decrease
- Britain only won because Hitler wasn't actually serious
- Britain realized that their only hope to defeat Germany in the war was the United States
41
Luftwaffe
- German Air Force
| - Played key role in Blitzkrieg
42
Barbarossa
| Turning Point
- June 22 1941 = Hitler attacked Russia and surprises Stalin
- German strategy = divide and conquer; at first worked perfectly but then Hitler changed his plans
- Stalin was slow to react but when he did he was a great leader
- Russians = increasingly determined and tenacious in defense
- Bad weather slowed German advance, interfered with machinery, and reduced mobility; Soviets better prepared for winter
- Leningrad = Stalin stayed and faced German troops with weapons and soldiers from his Eastern Front
- December 8 = Hitler called a halt to all offensives
- December 16 = Hitler forbade any withdrawal
- Marked the end of Blitzkrieg
43
Lend-Lease program
- US sent arms to Britain with the matter of repayments undecided
- Shows the United State's reluctance to get directly involved in the war and isolationist policy
44
U-boats
- German submarines
- Only option available to fight against Allied ships = disrupt transportation of supplies between the US and Britain
- Roamed the sea in groups
- Almost all U-boats were destroyed in the Battle of the Atlantic for Allied destroyed hunted them down
- Commander = Doenitz
- Could be tracked by radar and then avoided
45
Total war
- Germany didn't fully mobilize their economy and country, while all the Allies did
- Easy for Russia to convert into a total war economy since there was already heavy government control
- Home front = factories, morale, and women and children took up extra tasks since the men were away
- Japanese honor = never surrendering and committing suicide
46
Battle of the Bulge
- Hitler planned a surprise yet risky winter offensive = attack through the Ardennes, recapture Antwerp, split the Allies and roll them back to sea
- Occurred on December 16 1944, after D-Day
- Succeeded in surprising the Allies but they soon recovered and won
47
D-Day
| Deliverance Day
-June 6 1944 = Operation Overload started
48
Wehrmacht
-German army
49
Operation Citadel
- German offensive designed to destroy salient (a bulge in the line) at Kursk in order to stabilize the front and consolidate the conquered territory
- Originally planned for April 1942, but Hitler became hesitant and kept postponing it, which destroyed its chances of success and gave the Russians time to build up their defenses
50
Battle of Kursk
- Great Tank Battle
- Germans sent 700,000 troops and 2,400 tanks against over a million Soviet troops and 3,400 tanks
- Hitler called it off quickly with a loss of half a million men
- Shattering defeat for Wehrmacht = Germans lost initiative
- Russians now had superiority in numbers and in tanks and air
- Ended Hitler's hopes of holding onto the bulk of his conquests in Russia
51
Teheran Conference
- End of November 1943 = Big Three met for the first time
- Stalin was much more professional and better prepared than Roosevelt and Churchill, and thus he controlled the meeting
- Stalin and Roosevelt favored invasion of France over continuation of Mediterranean campaign
- Stalin wanted territory, especially Poland
52
"Percentage Agreement"
- Between Churchill and Stalin
- Churchill flew to see Stalin in October 1944 to try and limit Soviet influence
- Stalin agreed to stay out of Greece and to some extent Yugoslavia though he still got Poland, Hungary, Rumania, and Bulgaria
- Germans hoped these differences would break apart the Grand Alliance, but this of course was not the case
53
Stalingrad
- Battle of Stalingrad became a matter of personal prestige though it wasn't essential for victory
- October-November 1942
- Germans fought a vicious house-to-house battle until they had control of most of the city, but Soviets counterattacked
- Hitler forbade the Marshal from withdrawing and wrongly relied on the Luftwaffe who couldn't reclaim victory
- End of January 1943 = German Marshal surrendered
- German invincibility broken and thus morale harmed in Germany
54
Anglo-Soviet Alliance
-Formal military alliance signed by Britain and Russia when the latter was invaded by Germany
55
Battle of the Atlantic
- Churchill coined the name
- Convoy system paired with radar to protect the Allied transportation system of supplies
- Germans late to innovate U-boat in time to make a difference
- Defeated U-boats
- Britain was able to crack the enigma codes
56
Strategic bombing
- Not very effective = bombers were operating beyond the range of fighter escorts and were too vulnerable to German fighting planes
- Hamburg = German city that burned greatly with many losses, but this is an exception to the norm
- Commander-in-chief of Bomber Command = Harris
- Though there were a lot of losses when the Luftwaffe was defeated, civilian morale wasn't broken
- Made a significant contribution to victory = led to elimination of Luftwaffe
- Night bombing was adopted
- Britain wanted to bomb civilians as revenge for the Battle of Britain
57
Orthodox view
- Blames certain events, people, and/or countries quickly
- Hitler = all major decisions in German foreign policy was made by Hitler; Mein Kempf
- Chamberlain = appeasement was the deliberate surrender of smaller nations and Chamberlain is uber guilty
- Paris Peace Settlements = failed compromise between the idealism of Wilson and the greed of European powers
58
Revisionist view
- Reinterpretation of orthodox view after time as passed, considering motivation, new evidence, and decision-making process
- Hitler = Hitler being an all-powerful leader is simply Nazi propaganda; his foreign policy was a spontaneous response to the situation
- Chamberlain = appeasement was an attempt to stop another war; Britain felt guilty for its part in starting WWI; at the time Chamberlain thought this to be the only option
- Paris Peace Settlements = brave attempt to deal with the difficult problems; failed because of the lack of enforcement
