WWII turning point Flashcards
what made Roosevelt realise that US military spending had to be dramatically expanded and that Britain would need increased support from the USA.
The Nazis successful invasion of France, in the summer of 1940, leaving Britain standing alone against
Germany.
when was the Destroyers for Bases Agreement?
September 1940
what was the Destroyers for Bases Agreement?
the US exchange 50 destroyers with Britain, for British bases in the Caribbean.
when was the Selective Service Act?
1940
what was the Selective Service Act?
first peace time conscription, all men between 21 and 35 to register for the draft and the US army increased to
375,000.
what did the Lend-Lease Act of March 1941 do?
allowed the US to give military supplies to any nation, if it was felt that the countries’ defence was necessary for the defence of the USA.
when was the The Lend-Lease Act?
march 1941
how much did the US provided to Britain, China, and eventually the USSR, due to the Lend-Lease Act?
roughly $50 billion worth of supplies
what was the Atlantic Charter?
a joint declaration from the USA and Britain that set out a vision for a post-war world. including the fact that no territorial gains should be made from the war, self-determination and freedom of the seas.
when did the other Allied nations supported the Atlantic Charter?
January 1942, it is seen as one of the key steps towards the creation of the United Nations.
when did the USA adopt a policy of restricting trade with Japan?
1938
why did the USA adopt a policy of restricting trade with Japan?
as retaliation against their expansionist aims in the Far East.
what was the result of Japan and the US not being able to come to a compromise in 1941?
- USA froze Japanese assets in July 1941 and established a trade embargo on oil the following month.
- The Japanese made plans for a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.
when did the Japanese launched an attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor?
7 th December 1941
what were the casualties of Pearl Harbor 7 Dec 1941?
- 2, 403 Americans were killed
- 8 battleships were destroyed or damaged
- 188 aircraft were destroyed.
when did America declare war on Japan?
8th December 1941
3 days later the other Axis powers declared war on the USA (Italy & Germany)
how was America more prepared for WWII than WWI?
- The Selective Service Act of 1940 had increased the size of the army to nearly 1.5 million by 1942.
- War Powers Act of 1941 gave the President wide ranging powers and Roosevelt used them to mobilise the US population and economy for total warfare.
what two fronts did America have to fight WWII on?
Europe and the Pacific
why did America have to fight in Europe once they joined WWII?
- Nazi Germany controlled the vast majority of Europe
- the Axis powers had also taken control of Northern Africa and occupied France.
How was America successful in their fight on the European front in WWII?
- played an important role in the Allied invasion of Northern Africa in 1942 and in the invasion of Italy in 1943.
- played a pivotal role in the Normandy landings.
what was the Normandy landings (D-day) and how was America involved?
the Allied invasion of France was launched under the
command of General Eisenhower, with 73,000 US troops involved.
when was the Normandy landings?
June 6 th 1944
when was the fight on the European front finished? (WWII)
7th of May 1945 Germany surrendered after Allies invaded 2 months earlier.
why did America fight in the Pacific after joining WWII?
the US wanted to stop and ultimately reserve Japanese expansion in the Pacific and the Far East.
what were Americas naval victories during the war in the Pacific?
- May 1942, the Battle of Coral Sea stopped the rapid Japanese advance in the Pacific.
- June 1942, the Battle of Midway resulted in a decisive American victory, with four Japanese aircraft carriers
sunk and 248 aircraft destroyed. - The battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 was the largest naval battle in US history.
what was the US strategy of island-hopping in a land war against the Japanese?
US forces moving from island to island, using each island as a base for capturing the next.
what were Americas island hopping successes in the Pacific?
- Guadalcanal was captured in February in 1945
- The islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were also captured by the US in 1945.
what lead to the end of the war in the Pacific?
President Truman made the decision to use atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 bc Japan repeatedly refused to the unconditional surrender
significance: how many Americans lost their lives in WWII + economic cost?
- 418,000 Americans died
- cost an estimated $341 billion for US
significance: For Herring how was WWII benificial for Americas world standing?
they emerged the world most powerful nation. “in 1945, the United States was
the superpower”
significance: how had Americas views changed on their world position from WWI to WWII?
when the United Nations was set up in 1945, Congress voted overwhelmingly to join, drastic change compared to USAs failure to enter League of Nations.
significance: how did WWII impact Americas approach to foreign policy?
the US had moved away from the more isolationist foreign policy of the 1920s and 1930s to containment.
significance: how did WWII improve US economy?
- was revovering from depression at start of war
- The huge production of war materials benefitted industry and agriculture had also developed.
- GNP rose from $91.3 billion in 1939 to $166.6 billion in 1945.
significance: how did WWII impact the USAs military?
- now the world’s strongest nation militarily
- more than one million soldiers in its army
- navy and air force was vastly superior
- the only nation to possess the atomic bomb
