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US History 1 - college > WWII Test > Flashcards

WWII Test Flashcards

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1
Q

when does WWII officially start?

A

on September 3, 1939 when Germany invades Poland

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2
Q

what was Germany’s style of warfare?

A

blitzkrieg - lightning warfare, fast + furious, sends in one unit after the other, giving no time for rest

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3
Q

what was the “phony war”

A

after Poland fell, there was no fighting between the Allies and Germany
- Hitler tricked the Allies by facing them along the Maginot Line but actually invading Northern Europe with his main forces

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4
Q

all of Northern Europe fell within 6 weeks in what year?

A

May 1940

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5
Q

what was the Miracle at Dunkirk

A

the British and French forces were trapped against the English Channel, with nowhere to go
- but Winstin Churchhill got all English citizens to send their boats and the rescued most of the British/French army from the Germans.

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6
Q

what was the only nation not occupied by Germany in the summer of 1940?

A

Great Britain

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7
Q

an underground warfare led by British citizens

A

Free France

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8
Q

what was Operation Sea Lion?

A

Hitler’s plan to invade and conquer Britain
- he had to control the sky first so he used his Luftwaffe (German air force) to target airfields (RAF), comm. centers, + later civilians!

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9
Q

what was The Blitz?

A

London was attacked by the Germans for 57 consecutive days
- strengthened Britains will to fight, backfired!

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10
Q

what was the early turning point of the war? and how did it help Britain?

A

the British invented Radar
- they could foresee German attacks now!
- Hitler lost the Battle of Britain and this gave other Europeans hope - he was not unbeatable!

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11
Q

what was the longest continual battle of WWII? (1939-1945)

A

The Battle of the Atlantic (“lifeline of Great Britain)
- the Atlantic was vital to Britain’s survival (trade: supplies and equipment)
- the German U-Boats were successful first two years
- but then the tide changes with Britains “convoys”, “sonar”, and “depth charges”

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12
Q

two sides of the war

A

Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union (+ later the USA)
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan

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13
Q

Neutrality Acts passed by USA to stay out of WWII

A

1) placed an embargo on arms sales to belligerents
2) forbade American ships from entering war zones and prohibited them from being armed
3) banned Americans from traveling on belligerent ships

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14
Q

although the US didn’t enter the war for a while, they still helped the Allies, through…

A

1) the Cash and Carry Program (1939-40): assisted Great Britain with supplies. but only if they came to the US themselves and paid in cash. this enabled the US to help without harming their ships or getting into war loans
2) Lend-Lease Program (1941): USA could lend/lease supplies to any country deemed “vital to the defense of the USA”

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15
Q

what country was known as the “Arsenal of Democracy”

A

America - they were fighting an “undeclared war” against the Axis Powers

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16
Q

what was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union?
- one of the biggest invasions by Hitler in WWII

A

Operation Barbarossa

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17
Q

why did Hitler invade the Soviet Union?

A

1) Lebensraum (living space) for German people
2) Largest population of Jews
3) Natural resources - oil, etc.

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18
Q

Battle of Leningrad

A
  • 900-day siege
  • of the 2.5 million residents, over 1 mil die
  • Germans lost with MUCH Russian blood spilled
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19
Q

Battle of Stalingrad

A
  • fought for control of Russian oil fields
  • Russians fought to the death, no surrender!
  • lasted 5 months
  • bloodiest battle of WWII (over 2 mil casualties)
  • turning point of the war on Eastern Front
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20
Q

why did the Russians have the most casualties from the war? (20 million people)

A

no Russian city ever surrendered! Because of this, they paid a heavy price in casualties

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21
Q

what was Hitler’s biggest mistake in WWII

A

invasion of Russia
- drained over 1/3 of his army

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22
Q

why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?

A

1) they realized the US is the only thing stopping them from taking over Asia
2) they wanted to knock the US out of war before they even joined
3) believed the attack would destroy Americans will to fight

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23
Q

admiral of Japanese navy who plans the attack on Pearl Harbor

A

Isoroku Yamamoto

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24
Q

day of Pearl Harbor invasion

A

December 7, 1941

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25
Q

USA ignored 3 warning signs of Japans PH invasion

A

1) US intelligence was warned of an imminent attack, they just didn’t know where exactly
2) Midget Submarine discovered
3) Radar sighting - 7:05am

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26
Q

Japans bombers and torpedo planes attack 3 targets:

A

1) aircraft carriers
2) battle ships
3) air fields

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27
Q

the attack on Pearl Harbor failed to what:

A

1) destroy the repair fascilites
2) destroy the fuel depots
3) did not destroy the submarines
4) destroy the US aircraft carriers!

28
Q

Results of Pearl Harbor

A

1) America enters WWII!
2) unites people of the USA - people wanted revenge!!
3) internment camps for the Japanese Americans (Nisei)
- forced into camps by the US gov.

29
Q
  • Philippine Islands fall to Japan
  • 70,000 American/Filipino prisoners forced to march to Corregidor Island (POW camp)
  • 27,000 died on the way
A

the Batam Death March

30
Q

commander of the Pacific Theater (Philippines

A

General Douglas MacArthur

31
Q

allies strike back against Tokyo - suicide mission!
- april 1942
- 80 volunteers - only 3 killed
- no military significance but boosted American morale!

A

the Doolittle raid
- Col. James Doolittle

32
Q

major naval/air Battle
- the US fleet stops the invasion of Australia
- Admiral Chester Nimitz
- may 1942

A

Battle of the Coral Sea

33
Q

major naval battle
- june 1942
- US defeats the Japanese and stops their invasion of Hawaii and the West Coast
- most important naval battle of US history!
- turning point battle in the Pacific

A

Battle of Midway

34
Q

American strategy to win the Pacific theater
- conquer island after island, getting closer to Japan (to later build a base and attack)

A

island hopping

35
Q
  • battle to control the airfield
  • 1942
  • first major island taken from Japan
A

Battle of Guadalcanal

36
Q

the two theaters (areas of operation) during WWII

A

the Pacific Theater (US Marines and Navy) + the European/African Theater (US Army and Airforce)

37
Q

what were American soldiers called?

A

GI’s (Government Issued)

38
Q

what were the gardens called that people were required to have
- grow food for the war

A

Victory Gardens

39
Q

what was the symbol of women in the workforce

A

“Rosie the Riveter”

40
Q

what program permitted millions of Mexican men to work legally in the US on short-term contracts

A

Bracero Program

41
Q

two ways the US paid for the war

A

1) war bonds - loans given to the gov. by movie stars/entertainers
2) income tax

42
Q

what was the systematic mass slaughter of the Jews and other “undesirables” called
- and who lead it?

A

the Holocaust lead by Heinrich Himmler (head of the SS)

43
Q

what was Hitlers “final solution” programs?

A

1) Immigration - make life so bad, they leave the country
- failed: during the GD, countries weren’t allowing much immigration
2) Mobile Death Squads (Einsatz) - the undesirables were forced to dig trenches, then machine-gunned to death
- failed: destroyed soldiers morale
3) Ghettos - Jews rounded up and held captive, worked with little food (starved to death)
- failed: too slow, Jews will to live was strong!
4) Death Camps/Gas Chambers - Jews gassed in “showers” and cremated
- 11 million people killed! (6 million Jews)

44
Q

people who spoke out against the evil of the Holocaust and helped the “undesirables”

A

1) Corrie Ten Boom - Dutch Christian who hid Jews
2) Dietrich Bonhoeffer - German Protestant Pastor who gave his life saving Jews
3) Oskar Schindler - businessman who gave his life saving Jews (“Shindler’s List”)
4) Anne Frank - Jewish girl who wrote a diary while in hiding (later sent to camp + killed)

45
Q

three types of concentration camps

A

1) POW camps (Stalags) - mostly in Germany (4% death rate)
2) Work camps - used slave labor to help the German war effort (many worked to death - 15% death rate)
3) Death camps - used to exterminate people! (all six located in Poland - 80% death rate)

46
Q

what law established the rules of war?
- outlawed gas + outlined civilian treatment

A

Geneva Convention (1920)

47
Q

3 joint operations with US and Great Britain in the European/African theater to take pressure off of the Soviet Union

A

1) Operation Torch - allies take N. Africa from the Germans (Gen. Dwight Eisenhower + Bernard Montgomery against Erwin Rommel the “desert fox”)
2) Operation Underbelly - allies liberate Italy! (Mussolini executed)
3) Operation Overlord - conquer Germany! (allied liberation of W. Europe from the Nazis)

48
Q

what was the key allied victory in the North African Campaign (operation torch)

A

Battle of EL Alamein

49
Q

key allied victory in the Italian campaign (operation underbelly)

A

Battle of Anzio

50
Q

key allied victory in the Fortress Europe Campaign (operation overlord)

A

Battle of Normandy - largest amphibious attack in history
- 3 month battle (June to August 1944)
- D-day (Deliverance Day)

51
Q

what was Hitler’s last offensive move of the war?

A

Battle of the Bulge - brought an end to the the war in Europe sooner!
- Germany’s resources exhausted
- bloodiest battle in European theater
- small American unit (101st Airborne) at Bastogne heroically held their ground (14,000 against Hitler’s 200,000)

52
Q

what was the Race to Berlin and what battle ensued?

A

The Russians pushed Germans to Berlin from the east and the British/Americans from the west
- brought the Battle of Berlin - Germany surrenders (V-E Day: May 8 1945, victory in Europe)

53
Q

in what battle is the Japanese navy destroyed and the Philippines are liberated (MacArthur returns to save his men)

A

Battle of Leyte Gulf

54
Q

Japanese suicide planes used in desperation

A

Kamikazes

55
Q

code in which Japanese warriors fight to the death or commit suicide

A

Bushido Code

56
Q

secret Native American US code
- never broken

A

Navaho

57
Q

battle of Iwo Jima

A

5 men raise the US flag on Mt. Suribachi

58
Q

battle of Okinawa

A
  • longest/bloodiest battle of the Pacific
  • last major battle of the war
59
Q

SDA medic who saves over 75 men from death
- wins Congressional medal, 2 Bronze Stars, and 3 Purple Hearts
- refused to carry a gun

A

Desmond Doss

60
Q

USA’s secret atomic bomb program
- led by chief scientist Robert Oppenheimer
- developed 3 bombs, one used in testing (Alamogordo, New Mexico)

A

the Manhattan Project

61
Q

what new president after FDR decides to use the atomic bombs (realizing it will actually save lives)

A

Harry Truman

62
Q

B-29 bomber that drops the first atomic bomb (“Little Boy”) on the Japanese city of Hirashima

A

Enola Gray piloted by Col. Paul Tibbets Jr.

63
Q

second atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki

A

“Fat Man”

64
Q

when does WWII officially end?

A

Japan surrenders September 2, 1945
- V-J Day

65
Q

the two war crime trials

A

1) The Nuremberg Trial
2) the Tokyo War Crimes Trials
- 1945-1948

66
Q

Major results of WWII

A

1) 65 million people died! (40 million civilians)
2) Europe is in ruins - 40 million refugees!
3) the Cold War - two competing superpowers: USA and the Soviet Union)
4) Great Britain lost its empire - broke and forced to give its colonies independence
5) Nuclear Age (atomic bombs)
6) Creation of Israel (Jewish homeland and compensation for the Holocaust)

US History 1 - college (11 decks)

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