War for Europe & North Africa - Part II

6. What was D-Day?
D-Day was the first day of the Allies' invasion of Normandy. On D-Day, hundreds of American troops parachuted into German lines; they were joined hours later, in the early morning, by thousands of soldiers who had gotten there by naval transport.

7. What happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
The Battle of the Bulge occurred on December 16, 1944. German tanks broke through the American lines. The tanks pushed miles into the American lines, causing the troops to bulge back - this is where the name of the battle came from. The Germans captured 120 Americans early on in the battle; these soldiers were shot to death in an open field after being taken. The Battle of the Bulge went on for a month; though the Germans had lost little ground, they had lost massive amounts of men and supplies. After this battle, the war took a decidedly downward turn for Germany.

8. What did Allied troops find in Germany?
When the troops pushed through into Germany, they came upon the proof of the Holocaust. They soon stumbled upon the Nazi death camps - they found millions of starving people, emaciated beyond belief, as well as inconcievable amounts of dead bodies, and the methods that were used to kill them - gas chambers, crematoria, and other murderous devices too horrible to imagine.

9. What happened to Hitler? What happened to F.D. Roosevelt? Who became U.S. President?
Hitler shot himself in a bunker on April 30, 1945, the day after marrying Eva Braun. His body, as well as his wife's, was burned in the streets. FDR suffered a stroke on April 12; he did not live to see the official end of the war. His Vice-President, Harry S. Truman, became president.

War for Europe & North Africa

1. To what did Roosevelt and Churchill agree early in the war?

Early on in the war, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to accept only unconditional surrender from the Axis powers; all terms that the Allies set forth had to be met before surrender would be accepted.

2. Why was winning the Battle of the Atlantic so crucial to the fortunes of the Allies?

The Atlantic provided the main route for getting supplies from the U.S. to Great Britain and the Soviet Union. had German u-boats continued to gun down cargo ships, Great Britain would quickly have starved to death, and the Axis powers would easily have won the war.

3. Why was the Battle of Stalingrad so important?

First, it marked a major victory for the USSR and for the Allies as a whole; the Allies came out firmly on top, and German forces had been severely weakened. Also, from Stalingrad, the Soviet army began to shift westwards into Germany.

4. What happened in the war in North Africa?

About 107,000 American troops landed in Oran, Casablanca, and Algiers. They pushed the German troops eastwards, until finally, after months of heavy combat, the German troops surrendered in May 1943.

5. What happened after the Allies invaded Italy?

Soon after the Allies invaded Italy, they captured Sicily. The Italian government, horrified by this turn of events, forced Mussolini to resign. He was quickly arrested and stripped of all power. The Allies thought they had won, but their battles were not over; Hitler launched attacks within Italy to avoid battles on German soil. One battle, near Rome, ended with tens of thousands of casualties to each side. Italy was not freed until 1945.

Mobilizing for WWII

Read Chapter 25-1: Mobilizing for War and note how each of the following contributed to that effort.

1. Selective Service System
Although 5 million Americans willingly volunteered to join up, it was simply not enough. The SSS enlarged the draft, which turned up 10 million more men to fill out the army's needs.

2. Women
Women helped the war effort. They were able to help within the military in any non-combat roles, thanks to the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. They also filled thousands of service jobs in factories - without the new women's partition of the workforce, it is unlikely that the U.S. would have had enough civilian power to create both a functioning army and factory force.

3. Minorities
Just as with women, minorities contributed invaluable manpower to the war effort. They filled many necessary places in the military forces, as well as filling important factory jobs. Thanks to anti-segregation legislations, African-Americas, Native-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and even Japanese-Americans were able to join the armed forces.

4. Manufacturers

Many manufacturers shifted the purpose of their factories to those that aided the military. Factories that had formerly filled soft-drink bottles now filled shells with explosives, and former mechanical pencil factories now made bomb parts. Thanks to these changes, military supplies were produced at much faster rates.

5. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)
The OSRD made several strides in the scientific aspects of the war effort. Radar and sonar technologies were improved; DDT was developed to fight off insects; penicillin became more widely used. Most famously, though, the OSRD began racing against Germany to develop the first atomic bomb.

6 Entertainment industry

The entertainment industry rapidly began producing propaganda films to incite patriotism in Americans. These films focused either on portraying the Axis powers in a negative light, or on glorifying the war and the duty of soldiers. These films were quite popular.

7. Office of Price Administration (OPA)

The OPA fought off inflation that was sure to occur during wartime. The OPA froze rents, wages, and prices, and set up rations on staple items like shoes, meat, and vegetables. Thanks to the OPA, inflation during WWII did not rise above 30%.

8. War Production Board (WPB)

The WPB, similar to the OPA, rationed items for the war effort. Unlike the OPA, though, the WPB rationed items such as rubber, heating oil, metals, and plastics. These items could be used to build military technology.

9. Rationing

Rationing, as mentioned above, was a huge effort during WWII. Not only did it let Americans feel like they had a hand in the war effort, it really did support the troops - rationing meant that there was extra food, leather, rubber, metal, etc. that could go to troops overseas. Rationing prevented consumer waste.

Japan and U.S. Relations in 1941

Japan and U.S. Relations in 1941

Document A

-Japan hoped that by advancing into the South, they could help Germany and Italy take England (a U.S. ally)

-Japan thought it likely that they could defeat China and the USSR (both of whom were trading with the U.S.)

-By attacking the South, Japan would be able to cut off supplies to America

-Japan thought that by defeating England, America would be more likely to give in to Japan's demands

Document B

-FDR paid little attention to Japan
-Japan was being treated like a small, bratty, weak child

-Japan was dissatisfied with not being taken seriously

-Tojo was running circles around the U.S.

-FDR thought he had a handle on the Pacific situation, but in reality, the situation was out of his control

-The U.S. had turned their backs to Japan, enabling Tojo to sneak up on them

Document C

-Japan saw the U.S. proposal (for peace in the Pacific) as unfair and embarassing

-They thought the U.S. had reached their decision unexpectedly

-Japan was completely unwilling to accept any of America's suggestions for negotiation

-They were ready to end the negotiations, but did not want America to know this

- Japan was under the impression that they had already suffered enough for the "sake of peace in the Pacific"
- They thought that the U.S. had been inflexible in negotiations

Document D
- Japan saw the upcoming attack as being either their downfall of the beginning of an era of glory

-Tojo acted in order to please the Emperor

-There was a certain amount of fear of retribution from the Emperor driving each of Japan's attacks

-Japan's goals were to "bring the Government and the military ever closer" and "repay" their "obligations" to the Emperor

-Japan planned to make an "all-out effort" against the Allies

Document E

- The U.S. thought that it had been in a state of peace with Japan up until the attack

-The U.S. had still been negotiating with Japan when the attack was launched

-They had, in fact, been looking towards a peaceful solution for the Pacific

-Japan sent the U.S. a response an hour after the attack on Oahu occurred

-Said response was perfectly peaceful and contained no hints at war

-Due to logistics, Japan's attacked must have been planned "days or even weeks ago"

-Japan had deliberately been deceiving the U.S.

-The U.S. declared war on Japan

America Moves Toward War

1. What did the 1939 Neutrality Act allow?
The Neutrality Act of 1939 allowed warring nations to buy U.S. goods, as long as they paid for them in cash and came to the U.S. to pick the goods up themselves. This was referred to as the "cash and carry" policy.

2. Who were the Axis powers?
The Axis poweres were Germany, Italy, and Japan.

3. What did the Lend-Lease Act do?
The Lend-Lease Act allowed America to lend and lease arms or other wartime supplies to any country whose "defense was vital to the United States".

4. What pledges were contained in the Atlantic Charter?
In the Atlantic Charter, both Great Britain and the U.S. pledged several things: freedom of the seas, disarmament, collective security, economic cooperation, and self-determination.

5. Who were the Allies?
The allies were Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.

6. What did the attack at Pearl Harbor do to the U.S. Pacific fleet?
The attacked had sunk or damaged 21 ships, 8 of which were battleships. This meant that the attack at pearl Harbor wiped out nearly the entire U.S. Pacific fleet.

7. Why did Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S.?
On December 8, 1941, Roosevelt declared war on Japan. The other two Axis powers held good to their promise and swiftly declared war on the U.S. in retaliation.

Isolationism and FDR (1935-1941)

1. What were the goals of the isolationists? Why is "isolationism" a misleading term?

The primary goal of the isolationists was to stay uninvolved in war. They wanted American to stand strong amid all the chaos that was erupting around it. Overriding all others goals was the isolationists' deep want not to compromise American interests; the isolationists felt that America needed to be able to make its own decisions and act however and whenever it wanted, without pressure from other countries.

The term "isolationism" is a misnomer because it insinuates that American wanted to cut itself off completely from the rest of the world; this is, in fact, not the whole truth. America was still very interested in staying in the midst of foreign trade, and also continued to obey the international laws that were set up after WWI.

2. What did some isolationists feel that there was no need for Americans to feel threatened by developments in Europe and Asia?

Said isolationists thought that the distance provided by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans would be enough of a buffer zone to keep out any conflicts developing in Europe or Asia. Also, the U.S. was allies with all the other nations in the Western hemisphere - surely this provided some protection, as well.

3. What were the purposes of the Nye Committee hearings?

The purposes of the Nye Committee hearings were to uncover the reasons for the U.S. entering WWI; hopefully, by uncovering these reasons, war could more easily be avoided in the future.

4. List two impressions that the Nye Committee hearings created.

1) American soldiers had died in battle because business men, looking to make money, had pressured President Wilson into going to war.

2) Any strong business plans or convictions would simply be leading America into WWII.

5. What were the purposes of the Neutrality Acts?
The Neutrality Acts were meant to keep America from going to war by ending the "powerful business interests" that Nye and many Americans believed would bring them into world conflict. The Neutrality Acts hoped to keep the U.S. out of the conflict by not allowing to lean one way or the other; even if the president had wanted to, he could not have supported one side more than the other.

6. List two reasons that some Americans considered Roosevelt's leadership radical and dangerous.
1) Roosevelt attempted to insert several new members to the Supreme Court -members who just so happened to be sympathetic to him politically.

2) In 1940, he decided to run for a third term of presidency - at that time, this was completely unheard of.

7. What was "Cash and Carry"?
"Cash and Carry" was the main "act" of the Neutrality Act of 1939. "Cash and Carry" allowed the U.S. to trade with warring nations, but said nations had to pay for the imports in cash, and pick them up from U.S. shores themselves.

8. Why did President Roosevelt freeze Japanese assets in the United States?
In an attempt to limit Japanese aggression, Roosevelt stopped all sales of scrap metal and aviation fuel to them. Japan felt that the U.S. was cutting them off too severely; in order to feel less "strangled", Japan moved in the northern part of French Indochina. Roosevelt saw this as one step too far; immediately, he froze all Japanese assets in the U.S.

9. What was the purpose of the America First Committee?

The AFC aimed to pick up right where the isolationists had left off and lobby as hard as they could to keep America out of the war.

World Events Set Stage for Isolationism

1. What was the Japanese reaction to the Treaty of Versailles? (pgs. 4 - 5)

Japan was torn in its reaction to the Treaty. Some Japanese saw the Treaty as a way to become closer to the world powers, and as a way to negotiate bigger trade deals to support its rapidly booming economy. Others, though, worried that the major world powers would always treat Japan as a second-tier country; racist behavior was common, and prevalent enough for Japan to push for a clause to be added to the Treaty that would make descrimination based on race illegal.

2. Read the pull-out box on page 4 entitled, "Japan Becomes a Great Power." Cite specific evidence Japan was becoming a strong power that rivaled European & American interests. And, why specifically was Japan threatened by U.S. actions?

Japan's navy was based off of Britain's; its army and constitution were based off of Prussia; its banking system off of the USA - all evidence shows that Japan was becoming a modern, powerful country. Simply between 1885 and 1920, its GDP tripled. Manufacturing and mining industries grew by a factor of six. In 1905, Japan was able to defeat Russia, gaining itself certain parts of Manchuria. In 1910, Japan invaded and annexed Korea. Eventually, it started looking towards China - just like other major world powers, Japan was trying to expand over its surrounding territory. Japan was threatened by the U.S.' presence in the Pacific; the U.S. was then in control of Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines, and Japan worried that its own plans for expansion were being stifled.

3. Why was the Washington Naval Conference convened and what was accomplished? (pg. 6) (Note: Japan signs the agreement.)

The Washington Naval Conference was called to discuss Japan's sudden surge of naval power in the Pacific, which the U.S. viewed as a threat to their interests in that region. The conference accomplished several things: size regulations were placed on naval ships, a temporary ban was placed on battleship production , the use of poison gas in warfare was banned, and the use of submarine warfare was severely limited. All nine countries involved also agreed to sign a treaty that marked China as a sovereign power, and set up a policy of open trade with China. A final accomplishment of the conference was that it was agreed upon that future conflicts in the Pacific region would be submitted to be solved before a committee.

4. The Senate's willingness to ratify the Kellogg-Briand Pact relected two strong and widely held sentiments. What were they? (pgs. 6 - 7)

1) Americans remembered how bloody WWI had been and voraciously wanted to avoid entering another European war.

2) Political leaders strongly wanted to avoid making permanent alliances; they much prefered being able to what they wanted, whenever they wanted.

5. Why did Hitler enjoy popular support in Germany for most of the 1930s? Give three reasons. (pgs. 9 - 10)

He improved the economy and reduced unemployment; he restored Germany's national pride; he rejected all provisions of the Treaty of Versailles and went on to put Germany back in a position of power.

6. Japan voiced its intentions to invade China for what two reasons? (pg. 10)

Japan's reasons for invading China were to increase Japan's power in general and to obtain raw materials that were bountiful in the area.

7. Compare the Reichstag fire and the explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria. What did they accompllish?

Both were explosions in public areas that shocked the public. In both cases, the government blamed it on groups that were in the way of their plans for power - Hitler blamed it on the Communists in order to persuade the populace that a new, stronger government was necessary to maintain control; Japan blamed it on China in order to create a "valid" reason for invading China. Historians think that both explosions were really launched bu the government. Both explosions accomplished exactly what the government wanted it to - after the explosion in Germany, the populace immediately looked to Hitler to take action and strengthen the government. After the explosion in Japan, Japan immediately invaded China because it had "proof" that the invasion was validated.

8. Why was the united States unable to oppose Japan in the early 1930s with a significant military force? (pgs. 11 - 12)

Since WWI, the US had massively reduced the size of its military. The US was simply not prepared to send what little military force they did have out into the world to fight the impressive Japanese navy.

9. Describe the major similarities and differences among liberal democracy, fascism, and socialism. (pg. 8)

Both fascism and socialism saw themselves as a challenge to liberal democracy; they both thought of themselves as the new future of government. Liberal democracies are based off of a constitution, and place high value on the rights of the individual; fascism encourages government control of the economy and few rights for individuals; socialism combined the ideas of fascism and liberal democracy, aiming to create a state in which every individual was equal.