World War II Vocab

Question 1

Battle of the Bulge

Answer 1

1944-1945 battle where Allied forced turned back the last major German offensive of World War II

Question 2

French Indochina

Answer 2

area of southeast Asia controlled by France during Imperialism. Includes Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

Question 3

embargo

Answer 3

a government order preventing trade with another country

Question 4

Battan Death March

Answer 4

horrifying 60-mile march of American prisoners of war (POW) by the Japanese

Question 5

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Answer 5

American General who began in North Africa and became the Commander of Allied forces in Europe

Question 6

Battle of Midway

Answer 6

1942 WWII battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific

Question 7

Guadalcanal

Answer 7

one of the Solomon Islands in Southwest Pacific, Japanese building airstrip, August 1942 battle, Allies won

Question 8

island hopping

Answer 8

military strategy used during WWII that involved slectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others

Question 9

unconditional surrender

Answer 9

giving up to an enemy without any demands or requests

Question 10

D-Day

Answer 10

greatest successful naval invasion on June 6, 1944 led by Eisenhower; troops stormed beaches of Normandy with a goal to liberate Paris

Question 11

operation overlord

Answer 11

code name for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy

Question 12

government issue

Answer 12

term used to describe U.S. uniforms, weapons, and soldiers

Question 13

Pearl Harbor

Answer 13

U.S. military base on Hawii that was bombed by Japan on December 7, 1941, bringing the U.S. into WWII

Question 14

Iwo Jima

Answer 14

a bloody and prolonged operation in which American Marines landed and defeated Japanese defenders (February-March 1945)

Question 15

Okinawa

Answer 15

a campaign in the closing days of WWII in the Pacific (April-June 1945)

Question 16

Manhattan Project

Answer 16

code name for the secret U.S. project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in WWII

Question 17

Hiroshima

Answer 17

city in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The bombing hastened the end of WWII

Question 18

Nagasaki

Answer 18

Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped (August 9, 1945)

Question 19

Tokyo Harbor

Answer 19

where the U.S.S. Missouri was “parked” September 2, 1945