WW II TEST SIMPLE QUESTION Flashcards
Explain Blitzkrieg. How does it work and how was it different from the Schlieffen Plan?
Blitzkrieg was a military tactic that the Germans used against their enemies. It was calculated to create psychological shock and resultant disorganisation in enemy forces through the employment of surprise, speed, and superiority in matériel or firepower. The German army used this tactic against unsuspecting towns and cities and caused lots of destruction. The Schlieffen Plan was different from Blitzkrieg because the Schlieffen Plan was the operational plan for a designated attack on France. They were trying to invade France through Belgium instead of attacking it directly, where Blitzkrieg was a full fledged attack.
a) Why was 1942 a bad year for the allies? Explain each reason.
b) Why was 1943 a good year for the allies? Explain each reason.
a) 1942 was a bad year for the Allies in Western Europe because of the losses at the Dieppe raid. We lost over five thousand Allied soldiers in the fight. In Eastern Europe, the Germans were on the brink of taking Stalingrad which would be a very large problem for the Soviets because of its industrial importance. In North Africa, Erwin Rommel was pushing the Brits all the way back to Cairo and he was trying to take control of the Suez Canal. In the Atlantic, the U.S. loses a fleet & the Germans are skinning countless ships by using u-boats. In the Pacific, the Japanese take the Philippines.
b) Things started to turn around in 1943. In Western Europe, the Allies took Sicily and Italy. In Eastern Europe, the Soviets forced the surrender of 300,000 Germans at Stalingrad and pushed Germany out of the U.S.S.R. In North Africa, the Americans and Brits pushed out Rommel, so they could use it as a staging area for the invasion of Sicily and Italy. In the Atlantic, we cracked the enigma so we could go around u-boats and save our supplies. In the Pacific, the Americans won the Battle of Midway, making the Japanese lose their aircraft carriers and they pushed the Japanese out of the islands.
What measures did the allies make to try to prevent a third world war? What new institution was created and how was it organised? Why was it organised in this way?
To try and prevent a third world war the Allies created the United NAtions. It was a remake of the League of Nations and it was created to solve disputes between countries peacefully. It was organised into two major parts: the Security Council and General Assembly. It was organised this way to separate the five strongest countries in the world, the U.S., France, Britain, China and Russia, from the General Assembly members like Canada and Italy. The Security Council is able to veto anything the General Assembly proposes.
How did WWII increase tension between English and French Canadians? How did the plebiscite,Ralston, the NRMA, and McNaughton play a part in this issue? What were King’s actions and how were they different from Borden’s had been in WWI?
WWII increased tension between the French and English Canadians once again because of conscription. More English Canadians were for it, while French Canadians were against it. The plebiscite that King held in 1942 for compulsory overseas military service once again ties into the whole conscription issue. No one wanted to have to go overseas especially if they were doing their part at home. Ralston was for conscription and was even threatened to resign if King’s government didn’t introduce it. The resignation issue was dropped, but in 1944 he was forced to resign and a new person took his position. King introduced the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA), which called for a national registration of eligible men and authorised conscription for home defence. From April 1941 the young men called up were required to serve for the rest of the war on home defence duties. This meant that they wouldn’t actually have to leave, and this appeased many French Canadians. King was different from Borden because he kept telling the public he would only conscript if necessary. He did end up conscripting and upset many people.
a)Explain how the Allies were successful on D-Day. (planning, preparation, D-Day itself)
b) What happened on Juno beach on D-Day? What obstacles did Canadians face after they left the beachhead during the Normandy Campaign?
a) The Allies had been planning D-Day for several months and had everything planned out very well. They had practised and prepared that attack several times over, right to the very last detail. They went so far as to have a triple agent that would feed the Germans some false information like where the attack was going to be. They would send them deceased soldiers that were dressed up in their uniforms with information about the attack.
b) Juno Beach was the Allied code name for a 10 km stretch of French coastline assaulted by Canadian soldiers on D-Day, 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The Canadian Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and 2nd Armored Brigade seized the beach and its seaside villages while under intense fire from German defenders. The 3rd Infantry Division took heavy casualties in its first wave of attack but took control of the beach by the end of the day. Allies soldiers had to stay awake and aware to make sure there were no counter attacks from the Germans forces. None of the Allied forces achieved all their D-Day objectives, but the Canadians managed to push furthest out of the Allied troops on any of the other beaches.
Explain how WWII was more costly than WWI. (explain each reason)
WWII was more costly than WWI by a long shot, while WWI had 10 million deaths, WWII had a death count of approximately 30 million people. The growth of technology had made the war machines deadlier and more effective. Never before had humans had the ability to kill each other so quickly and in such huge numbers. WWII was fought on several fronts, exposing more to the disgusting reality of war. War crimes also contributed to a big part of the deaths. The concentration camps were set up to kill mass amounts of people in a small amount of time.
What roles did women have during the war – at home and overseas?
At home during the war, the women took on jobs of creating supplies that the men may need while they are fighting overseas. They did factory jobs and they drove buses, taxis and streetcars. Some of them also took on the role of working as firefighters, police officers and paramedics. They also helped out with aeronautical engineering. Overseas some of the women were medics/nurses, some served in the air force, but never got to see the action up close. Women had to take on a lot of the jobs that men usually had and it proved that they truly were capable of doing these jobs.
What happened at Dieppe? What mistakes were made? How were these mistakes corrected for D-Day?
The Dieppe raid of August 19, 1942, was a disaster. Within a few hours of landing on the French beach, almost a thousand Canadian soldiers died and twice that many were taken prisoner. Losses of aircraft and naval vessels were very high. One mistake that was made was not preparing the troops enough to go into battle. They were trained on the beaches in Britain which were sandy and the beaches they actually fought on were rocky. There were not enough men to execute this attack. The geography of Dieppe also wasn’t taken into consideration because Dieppe has high bluffs overlooking the beaches which are very easy to defend. The second time around the troops were more prepared, there were more of them to attack the beaches and they had the element of surprise.
Why did Roosevelt ignore Churchill’s warnings about Stalin? What did Stalin do (not do), after the war,that was seen as a threat by Britain and the U.S.?
Roosevelt ignored Churchill’s warning about Stalin because he himself was suspicious of Churchill. He thought that Churchill was trying to trick him so he could try to establish Britain as a world power. Stalinhad made a promise that Eastern European countries would be free to elect their own governments after WWII ended, this made Stalin not look suspicious. Churchill’s suspicions of Stalin proved to be right. Stalin refused to remove Russian troops from occupied countries in Eastern Europe. The countries either disappeared and became part of the Soviet Union or became satellite countries with communist dictators that reported directly to Moscow.
Explain the significance of each of the following:
a) Poland
b) Nazi-Soviet Non
Aggression Pact
c) Munich
d) Sitzkrieg
e) Finland
f) Norway
g) North Africa
h) Radar/RAF
i) Op. Barbarossa
j) Op. Retribution
k) Op. Dynamo
l) Dec. 7, 1941
m) Stalingrad
n) Dieppe
o) Soviet Theatre
p) D-Day
q) U.N. Security
Council
r) A-Bomb
s) Atlantic control
t) Enigma (related
to wolfpacks)
u) ASDIC
a) Poland - Following the German–Soviet non-aggression pact, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany on 1 September 1939 and by the Soviet Union on 17 September.
b) Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years.
c) Munich Agreement - Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement, by which Czechoslovakia must surrender its border regions and defenses to Nazi Germany.
d) Sitzkrieg– (Phoney War) Both sides got ready for war
e) Finland- It was the only European country bordering the Soviet Union in 1939 which was still unoccupied by 1945.
f) Norway - The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung.
g) North Africa The North African campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943.
h) Radar/RAF- This system allowed Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Command to respond to incoming German attacks and use its precious resources of pilots and aircraft to the best possible effect.
i) Op. Barbarossa- Operation Barbarossa, during World War II, code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which was launched on June 22, 1941
j) Op. Retribution- Operation Retribution was the Second World War air and naval blockade designed to prevent the seaborne evacuation of Axis forces from Tunisia to Sicily.
k) Op. Dynamo -Saved 300,000 Allied soldiers from Dunkirk and gave the Allies hope on June 4, 1940
l) Dec. 7, 1941 - On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii Territory, killing more than 2,300 Americans.
m) Stalingrad- The Germans targeted Stalingrad because of its industrial capacities and because of its proximity to the Volga River, which would allow German forces to cut off sources of trade and military deployment.
n) Dieppe- Dieppe was a humiliation for the Allies and a tragedy for those killed, seriously wounded or taken prisoner.
o) Soviet Theatre - serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis nations.
p) D-Day - Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.
q) U.N. SecurityCouncil- The United Nations (UN) was created at the end of World War II as an international peacekeeping organisation and a forum for resolving conflicts between nations.
r) A-Bomb - The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing 210,000 people.
s) Atlantic control The Battle of the Atlantic was the struggle between the Allied and German forces for control of the Atlantic Ocean.
t) Enigma (related to wolfpacks)- The Royal Navy captured German U-boat U-110 on May 9, 1941 in the North Atlantic, recovering an Enigma machine, its cipher keys, and code books that allowed codebreakers to read German signal traffic during World War II.
u) ASDIC - ASDIC, later known as sonar, was a secret device for locating submerged submarines by using sound waves.
