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Unit 6
Unit 6 – World War II
World War Looms
I. Dictators Threaten World Peace
Nationalism Grips Europe and Asia
Ø For many nations peace had brought not prosperity, but revolution fueled by economic depression and struggle. What (2) things did this led to?
1. Failures of the WW I Peace Settlement
q Treaty of Versailles did not secure peace, but caused anger and resentment- especially in Germany.
q What was the Weimar Republic?
2. Joseph Stalin Transforms the Soviet Union
q Russia became the Soviet Union (and communist) in 1922 and after VI Lenin died, Joe Stalin took control of the USSR and ruled with an iron fist.
q Success = he transformed the USSR from a backward, rural nation into a great industrial power – what was the cost of this?
3. The Rise of Fascism in Italy
q Benito “Il Duce” Mussolini established the Fascist Party in 1921
q Why was he able to seize absolute power in Italy?
4. The NAZIS Take Over Germany
q Adolf Hitler followed a path to power that was similar to Mussolini
q In his book Mein Kampf he set forth the (3) basic elements of Nazism:
a. extreme nationalism
b. racial purification
c. national expansion
q used the economic condition in Germany to establish the 3rd Reich
ü How long was this supposed to last?
5. Militarists Gain Control in Japan
q Japanese military leaders took control in post WW I Japan and seized the raw-material rich Chinese province of Manchuria
Ø What did the League of Nations do?
6. Aggression in Europe and Africa
q The failure of the League of Nations in Japan led to aggression by:
Ø Germany =
Ø Italy =
7. Civil War Breaks Out in Spain
q Francisco Franco led a fascist rebellion backed by military support from Hitler and Mussolini
q Franco, however, did not join the Rome-Berlin Axis.
The United States Responds Cautiously
Ø Most Americans were alarmed by the international conflicts of the mid 30’s, but believed that the United States should not get involved
1. Americans Cling to Isolationism
q Congress held hearings on war profits made from WW I, and this helped fuel isolationist feelings.
q What were the Neutrality Acts?
2. Neutrality Breaks Down
q FDR found it more and more difficult to remain neutral, especially when Japan attempted to seize all of China
q What held FDR back?
II. War in Europe
Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall
q In 1937, Hitler met secretly with his top military advisers and boldly declared that to grow and prosper Germany needed the land of its neighbors.
1. Union with Austria
q On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed
q This Anschluss was met with silence from the US and the rest of the world.
2. Bargaining for the Sudetenland
q 3 million Germans were living in this western part of Czechoslovakia.
q What did Hitler say was happening to these Germans?
q Munich Conference
§ Hitler invited the French, British (Neville Chamberlain) to a meeting to discuss this problem with the Sudentenland.
§ What did Hitler promise if he received this part of Czech?
§ DEFINE appeasement
The German Offensive Begins
Ø Hitler broke his promise and swept through all of Czechoslovakia (March 1939)
1. The Soviet Union Declares Neutrality
q Hitler began to turn his attention to Poland, but the Soviet Union could cause a problem – WHY?
q Non-aggression Pact
§ Stalin surprised everyone by signing this pact with Hitler
§ Agreed never to attack one another.
§ What was the secret provision of this pact?
2. Blitzkrieg in Poland
q September 1, 1939 the German Air Force ( Luftwaffe) roared over Poland and at the same time German tanks (Panzers) raced across the countryside
q DESCRIBE blitzkrieg =
q The attack was successful, Poland fell in 3 weeks
3. The Phony War
q For the next several months after the fall of Poland, French and British troops waited along the Maignot Line for the German offensive
q Germans were poised to attack behind the Siegfried Line, and some newspapers began calling this the “phony war”
q Where did the German offensive strike next?
France and Britain Fight On
Ø What happened to the Maignot Line?
1. The Fall of France – Operation Case Yellow
q The German offensive into France (June 1940) trapped almost 400,000 British and French soldiers on the beaches of Dunkirk. What happened?
q Italy then invaded France from the South and the Germans closed in on Paris from the north – June 22, 1940 France fell to the German Army
q IDENTIFY Charles De Gaulle
2. The Battle of Britain
q In the summer of 1940 the Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. Operation Sea Lion
q German launched an air war; the Lutwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain – What was Hitler’s goal?
q MISTAKE by Hitler = at 1st he concentrated attacks on airfields and aircraft but then switched to civilian targets. Why was this a mistake?
q The Royal Air Force (RAF) fought back brilliantly and by September, Hitler had called off any hopes of invading England, but the bombing continued.
III. America Moves Towards War
The United States Musters its Forces
Ø As German tanks thundered across Poland, FDR proclaimed American neutrality; at the same time he began to prepare the US for war.
1. Moving Cautiously Away from Neutrality
q What was the “Cash – and – Carry provision of the Neutrality Act?
2. The Axis Threat
q September 1940; the Germans, Italians and Japanese signed a mutual defense treaty, the Tripartite Act and became known as the Axis Powers
q How could this keep the United States out of the conflict?
3. Building US Defenses
q FDR asked Congress to increase defense spending and pass the nation’s 1st peacetime draft – the Selective Training and Service Act
4. FDR Runs for a 3rd Term
q FDR decided in 1940 to break the precedent set by George Washington and run for a 3rd term – wins 55% of the votes cast
“The Great Arsenal of Democracy”
Ø FDR tells the American people that if England falls to Hitler, we would be left alone in the world, so we need to help defeat the Axis powers.
1. The Lend-Lease Plan
q US would lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country whose defense was vital to the Unites States (England had run out of money)
2. Supporting Stalin
q Operation Barbarossa – Hitler invaded the USSR in June 1941 and FDR began sending Lend-Lease supplies to aid Stalin and the Russians
3. German Wolf Packs
q To prevent delivery of lend-lease shipments, Hitler deployed hundreds of German U-boats to attack supply ships. Became known as “Wolf Packs”
FDR Plans for War
1. The Atlantic Charter
q FDR and Churchill met secretly aboard the USS Augusta where the leaders signed the Atlantic Charter:
- both countries pledged collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation and freedom of the seas.
- What was this the basis for?
2. Shoot on Sight
q After a German submarine fired on the US destroyer Greer, FDR ordered navy commanders to respond.
q German U-boats began sinking more American ships and destroyers; American sailors were killed – war seemed inevitable.
Japan Attacks the United States
1. Japan’s Ambitions in the Pacific
q In July of 1937 Hideki Tojo, Japan’s war minister, launched an invasion into China and threatened European colonies
q The British were too busy fighting Hitler in Europe, the US and their navy were the only thing in Japan’s way in the Pacific
q How did the US protest Japanese aggression in the South Pacific?
2. Peace Talks are Questioned
q Tojo met with the Japanese emperor Hirohito and promised to work for peace with the US, but he was simultaneously planning an attack on the US.
q The US had broken the Japanese military code and figured out an attack was inevitable, but was not sure of where the attack would take place.
3. The Attack on Pearl Harbor
q December 7, 1941 more than 180 Japanese war planes attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor – our largest naval base in the Pacific.
q In less than 2 hours, the Japanese had killed 2400 Americans and sunk or damaged 21 ships; including 8 battleships; 300 airplanes were also lost.
4. Reaction to Pearl Harbor
q FDR asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan, he got it and 3 days later, Germany and Italy declared war against the US.
The United States in World War II
I. Mobilizing for Defense
Americans Join the War Effort
Ø The day after the Pearl Harbor attack the Japan Times boasted the US was “trembling in her shoes” – Boy were they wrong!!!
1. Selective Service and the GI
q 5 million men volunteered for military service, but it was not enough to fight a war on two fronts (Europe and Pacific)
q The Selective Service System expanded the draft and provided another 10 million men for the armed forces.
2. Expanding the Military
q Army Chief of Staff George Marshall pushed for the formation of a Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)
q What jobs did they perform?
3. Recruiting and Discrimination
q Why did many minority groups (Blacks, Asians, etc) question the draft?
q Despite discrimination, minority groups did serve in the military.
A Production Miracle
1. The Industrial Response
q Factories (automobiles especially) were converted to war production
q Shipyards and defense plants expanded with dizzying speed
2. Labor’s Contribution
q Defense contractors were afraid there were not going to be enough workers.
q Who filled the holes left by the Selective Service draft?
q A. Philip Randolph
- president and founder of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
- planned a march on Washington to protest discrimination in military and
war effort industries (July 1941)
- What happened to this march?
3. Mobilization of Scientists
q FDR created the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) to bring scientists into the war effort
q List some important contributions:
1.
2.
3.
The Federal Government Takes Control
Ø As war production increased, there were consumer products available for purchase, which would lead prices to shoot upwards.
1. Economic Controls
q What did the Office of Price Administration (OPA) do for prices?
q Congress also raised taxes, which reduced consumer demand on scare goods by leaving workers with less to spend.
q Government also encouraged the purchasing of War Bonds
q What was the War Production Board (WPB) ?
2. Rationing
q Defined as establishing fixed allotments of goods deemed essential for the military
q Households received ration books with coupons for scarce goods such as meat, shoes, sugar, coffee and gasoline
q How did most Americans feel about rationing?
II. The War for Europe and North Africa
The United States and Britain Join Forces
1. War Plans
q Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived at the White House on December 22, 1941 and met for 3 weeks with FDR to map out war plans.
q They agreed on a Europe 1st policy because they felt that Germany and Italy posed a bigger threat than Japan.
2. The Battle of the Atlantic
q Hitler ordered submarine raids against ship’s along America’s East Coast.
q What was the German goal?
q In the 1st four months of 1942, the Germans sank 87 off the Atlantic coast; in 7 months the total was up to 681
q How did the US respond to this?
q By mid-1943 the tide of the Battle of the Atlantic had turned.
The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean
1. The Battle of Stalingrad – 1st great turning point of the war
q Summer of 1942, the Germans took the offensive in southern USSR
q There was brutal house to house fighting, along with the cold Russian winter.
q German commander surrendered on January 31, 1943.
q What was the significance of this loss for the Germans?
2. The North African Front
q Why did Stalin want another front opened against Hitler?
q Allies launched Operation Torch – November 1942
§ Invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
§ By May 1943, the German Afrika Korps led by Gen. Erwin “Desert Fox” Rommel had surrendered.
3. The Italian Campaign - Operation Husky - Summer 1943
q Allies agree to attack Hitler’s “soft underbelly” of Europe.
q Allies easily took Sicily, and then they advanced up the Italian peninsula.
q When did the Allies eventually liberate all of Italy?
4. Heroes in Combat
§ IDENTIFY the Tuskegee Airmen and the Nisei Battalion
The Allies Liberate Europe
Ø “Operation Overlord”; the Allied invasion of occupied France
1. D-Day
q The Allies gathered a force of nearly 3 million British, US + Canadian troops
q Invasion occurred on June 6, 1944; it was successful but very costly
2. The Allies Gain Around
q Despite heavy casualties, the Allies held the beachheads.
q Who led the advance against the Germans across France?
q August 25, 1944 – Paris was liberated
3. The Battle of the Bulge
q Last major German offensive of WW II – German defeat
q Why was it called the Battle of the Bulge?
4. Unconditional Surrender
q By April 25 ,1945 the Soviets had stormed Berlin and Hitler eventually committed suicide (April 20, 1945)
q V-E Day = May 8, 1945 the Germans unconditional surrender to Ike.
5. Roosevelt’s Death
q FDR did not live to see VE day; he died April 12, 1945 and Vice-President Harry S. Truman became the nation’s 33rd President.
III. The War in the Pacific
The Allies Stem the Japanese Tide
1. Japanese Advances
q In the 1st 6 months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese conquered an empire that dwarfed Hitler’s 3rd Reich