world war II, aos 3 Flashcards
1
Q
beginning of ww2
A
- germany invades Poland on September 1st 1939
- Phoney War period between September 1939 and April 1940 where no fighting occurred, despite declarations of war
- hitler’s forces finally attacked in April 1940, invading Holland and Belgium then sweeping into France
2
Q
major turning points of ww2
A
- June 1940 - evacuation of Dunkirk
- June 1941 - Operation Barbarossa
- 7th December 1941 - Pearl Harbour
- July 1942 - War in Egypt
- 6th June 1944 - D-day (Operation Overlord)
- August 6th and 9th - Atomic Attacks on Japan
3
Q
Evacuation of Dunkirk
A
- while germany conquered france, british and french troops reatreated to the coast of dunkirk
- 340,000 troops were rescued by ordinary british civillians using their own boats
- built a sense of camaraderie
4
Q
Operation Barbarossa
A
- hitler defied the pact with stalin and used blitzkrieg to invade the soviet union
- ussr was overwhelmed, and stalin ordered a Scorched Earth policy, which was to retreat and burn everything behind them, leaving nothing of value for hitler
- hitler had now repeated the fatal mistake of opening a war on two fronts
5
Q
Pearl Harbour
A
- japan launched a surprise attack against pearl harbour in hawaii which was a us navy base of operations
- aimed to subdue the us navy long enough for Japan to conquer much of SE Asia ( 6 months)
- the next day (8th) usa declared war on Japan and entered the war against hitler due to the attack
6
Q
War in Egypt
A
- allies needed contol of north africa and mediterranean to maintain supply routes through the suez canal
- germany wanted access and domination over the middle east oil deposits
- allied success in the second battle of El Alamein ended germany’s plans
- australian troops played a role in repelling the attack
7
Q
D-Day
Operation Overlord
A
- the allied invasion of europe by landing on the beaches of normandy, northern france
- in wave after wave of thousands of landing ships, more than 156,000 Allied infantrymen stormed the five beaches
- british and american forces had liberated paris by august
- germany was forced to retreat out of france due to the surprise assault
8
Q
Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A
- the US president ordered the japanese to surrender, but they refused
- 6th August: first atomic bomb is dropped on hiroshima
- 9th August: second atomic bomb is dropped on nagasaki
- thousands were killed upon impact and thousands more died soon afterward
- the emperor of japan announced the surrender on 15th August 1945
9
Q
australia’s involvement in ww2
A
- almost 1 million australian men and women served in ww2, fighting in campaigns against germany and italy in europe, the mediterranean and north africa
- australians also fought against japan in se asia and other parts of the pacific, including new guinea
- japan bombed darwin in feb 1942, which was the first and only time world war has reached our shores
- australian troops formed a frontline on the Kokoda track in New Guinea to deter japanese troops from reaching mainland australia
10
Q
end of ww2
A
- as the soviets closed in on germany from the east, and british and american troops closed in from the west, hitler retreated to his bunker in Berlin where he committed suicide
- shortly after, germany surrendered on 8 May 1945
- japan surrendered on 15th august 1945, ending the war in the pacific
11
Q
National Security Act
A
- introduced 9th September 1939 by the australian government
- aus government could:
- make laws in areas other than those allowed by the Constitution,
- and create regulations that only needed approval from the governor-general and key ministers rather than both houses of parliament
12
Q
Directorate of Manpower
A
- the government introduced laws under the directorate of manpower to ensure that men and women would work in industries important to the war effort
- all adults had to have identity cards, and officials would raid hotels and racetracks to check for anyone avoiding war work
- from january 1943, the directorate could conscript childless women aged 18-45 into specific areas of employment, addressing clothing and food shortages
- women were transferred to higher paying ‘men’s’ work
13
Q
Censorship and Propaganda
A
- the menzies government introduced censorship and established a Department of Information, initially headed by Keith Murdoch
- censors judged what parts of radio, newspaper, telegraph, telephone and postal communications were acceptible for the Australian public to know
- their job was to encourage people to join the war and protect australias strategies from enemies
- could ban servicemen from gossiping or writing about the war, check letters and black out information, and ensure media communications provided positive reports about the war
14
Q
Treatment of Enemy Aliens
A
- the National Security Act allowed the government to put ‘enemy aliens’ into interment camps
- refers to people living in a country which their own country was at war with, including germans, italians, people with ‘enemy’ heritage and ‘naturalised’ australians
- caused a breakup in communities and forced people who’d been living in australia for decades to leave home
15
Q
Contribution of Women and Citizens to the War Effort
A
- women took on new roles in essential industries, working in previously male-dominated sectors
- thousands of women joined the women’s auxiliary services
- many factories shifted to war productions
- many citizens were engaged in volunteer work, knitting clothes for men serving overseas or organising entertainment for those on leave
