WWII Flashcards
Who was Hideki Tojo?
Japanese general/prime minister
Wanted the United States to remain neutral, but disagreed with the US because the US was against their expansion.
What is Appeasement?
France and Britain tried to appease aggressive nations in order to prevent another war
Policy of granting concessions to a potential enemy in hope that it will maintain peace
Didn’t work, leaders became more aggressive and fascist
What was the Atlantic Charter?
Signed by Churchill (prime minster of Britain) and President Roosevelt on a boat off the coast of Newfoundland.
Endorsed national self-determination and an international system of “general security”
Deepened alliance between US and Britain
Who was Adolf Hitler?
Leader of the Nazi Party/National Socialist German Worker’s Party after the Weimar Republic
Anti-Semitic
Book: Mein Kampf “my struggle”
What was Cash and Carry?
Part of the United States’ goal to remain neutral.
Supplied whatever country want to buy from them with supplies, as long as they paid in cash and transported the supplies in their own ship.
Ended up indirectly supporting Britain, who ruled the seas
What was the Lend-Lease Act?
FDR increased his support of Britain.
Authorized Roosevelt to “sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government any defense article” whenever he thought it was “necessary in the interests of the defense of the United States”
Nothing less than a declaration of war against Germany and the Axis Powers.
What was the Anschluss?
Hitler’s annexation of Austria
Who was Douglas MacArthur?
Struggled to hold US positions in the Philippines.
Japanese destroyed majority of the army’s fighter planes and took Guam, Wake Island, and Hong Kong. Main land attack, MacArthur retreated to the Bataan Peninsula.
Island hopping
MacArthur fled to Australia. Other Americans stayed behind and surrendered later on.
Japanese forced American soldiers PsOW to march a total of 63 miles.
Bataan Death March: 7,000 American and Filipino troops died
What was the Tripartite Act?
Germany, Italy, and Japan become official allies around the same time Roosevelt was increasing American involvement.
What was the Munich Pact?
Hitler, Chamberlain (British prime minister) and Daladier (French) appeased Germany by giving them Sudetenland (because Germany was starting conflicts over it)
Thought it would preserve peace.. Only postponed the war for 11 months
What was the Neutrality Act of 1939?
Interventionists and Isolationists disagreed over the war
Claimed that America was neutral, but had a cash and carry policy where they would aid whoever could pay in cash/transport the goods themselves, and indirectly supported Britain in this way.
When did Pearl Harbor take place?
December 7, 1941
Who was George Patton?
The leader of an army in the D-Day invasion
Turned the tides during the war in Europe by defeating German forces at the Battle of the Bulge
Defeated the last German effort
What was the Battle of the Coral Sea?
No ship on either side was in sight of each other
Naval battle
U.S. Victory: first time a major Japanese advance had been checked
What was the Yalta Conference?
Yalta, Soviet Union
Churchill, FDR, and Stalin
Met to discuss the future of Europe
