WWII Part 2 Flashcards
What was the Yalta Conference
The meeting of the big three
Who was apart of the big three
Winston Churchill, FDR, Joseph Stalin
What did the big three agree on in feb 1945
They met to decide the final attack on Germany. They decided to split Germany into 4 parts.
What was the final major counter attack done by the Germans
the Battle of the Bulge
What happened in the Battle of the Bulge
Hitler had used the Rail way to try and punch a hole in our defenses
When was Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day )
May 8th, 1945
Who surrounded Berlin
(USSR) Soviet Union
When did FDR die
April 12, 1945 (he didn’t see the US win)
What were the Philippines seen as
A strategic point for the Japanese (the took over in 1942)
Where did some American soldiers and nurses hold out against the Japanese
Corregidor
How many Americans / Filipinos surrendered in the Philippines
76,000
What happened to the people that surrendered
Kept as prisoners and forced to walk 60 miles
What happened during the death marches
Americans and other prisoners were beaten and tortured with no food, water, and rest.
How many people died on the death marches
10,000 dies during the 6-12 day journey
What did the death marches become known as
Bataan Death Marches
What does Japan control
The Philippines, Indochina, Indonesia, Maylaya, and other islands
Where did America stop the Japanese advancement on Australia
The battle of coral sea (May 1942)
Who were all US army units in the pacific under controlled by
Douglas MacArthur
Who were all the US navel units controlled by
Chester Nimitz
What was Guadalcanal apart of
The Solomon Islands
What happened when the US Marines landed on Guadalcanal in august
The Japanese retreated into the jungle and the marines were not ready for the harsh geography
The marines became easy targets for Japanese…
Snipers
What new strategy did the US use
Island hopping
What is Island hopping
Strategy do selectively attacking specific enemy help islands and bypassing others
What did island hopping do
Cut of the bypassed islands for supplies and reinforcements- made those islands useless
What are Kamikazes
Suicide planes/ bombers (saw our first in the summer of 1944)
Why was Japanese so dangerous
They felt threatened and would do anything to stop up. They would die for their country.
Where was one of the bloodiest battles
Iwa Jima
Why was Iwa Jima so difficult to traverse
The island has a honeycomb of caves and cliffs- the Japanese would hide in miles of tunnels
What was the battle of Iwa Jima used to promote
War bonds
When was the battle of Okinawa
April- June 1945
What was the Battle Okinawa known for
It was the second largest invasion fleet
How many kamikaze attacks did we get hit with at Okinawa
2,000
What is a Banzai or Banzai charges
Attacks in which the soldiers tried to kill as many of the enemy as possible until they themselves were killed
What was the estimate casualties of troops
50,000 US casualties
What was the estimate for how many troops we would need to prepare for the invasion of Japan
1 million troops
What was the estimated causalities for the invasion of Japan
Half a million
Who did gave FDR and idea of the atomic bomb
Albert Einstein
What did FDR start so we could make the atomic bomb
The Manhattan project (New Mexico)
Who was the decision to drop the bomb left up too
president Harry S. Truman (VP)
Why did Truman go ahead with it
He viewed it as a military weapon and it would make Japan surrender
When was the first bomb dropped
August 6th 1945
What plane dropped the bomb on Hiroshima
The Enola Gay
3 days later, what plane dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki
bockstar
When was victory in Japan day (V-J)
August 15, 1945
Where was the formal surrender signed
USS Missouri
When was the formal surrender signed
September 2, 1945
What did the Executive Order 8802 do
Opened jobs and job training programs in defense plants to all Americans ( without discrimination of race )
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen
A group of African American pilots who learned to fly in Tuskegee
What was the Tuskegee Experiment
They trained an entire combat unit of African Americans to see if they were as trainable as white menz
What was the Bracero Program
Helped give many jobs to Mexican Americans
What were Mexican farm laborers brought to work in the US called
Braceros
What were Spanish speaking neighborhoods called
Barrios
What were zoot suitors
Mexicans who wore long draped jackets, baggy pants, tight cuffs, and had slicked back “ducktail” haircuts
Why did sailors beat the zoot suitors
Because they would take their “women”
Where did most Japanese Americans live
The west coast
Why were internment camps made
Because the government feared they were sending information to Japan and decided to remove all “aliens”
What did the War Relocation Authority do (WRA)
Moved anyone with Japanese ancestry to be interned
What happens to the Japanese people
They were confined in camps away from the coast
The US was taken to court over the legality :
Korematsu V. United States
The court ruled the US….
Had no wrong doing
Where were most camps located
In the middle of no where (most Great Plains region)
How many Japanese Americans fought for America
17,000
Most Japanese Americans that would fight with America would be…
Nisei
What is a Nisei
Japanese people born in the US (second generation)
What team would most Japanese Americans fight with
442nd Regimental Combat Team
At one point what percent of the working force were women
35%
What did Rosie the riveter come from
A song in 1942
What ended when the war ended
Women’s jobs
