Unit 7.4 Fighting World War II
· The US Declares War
o Dec. 8, 1941: US and Britain declared war against ______
o Dec. 11, 1941: Germany and Italy declared war against the ______, believing that by helping Japan against the US, Japan would help them against the ______
· Pacific Theater: Japan Moves Quickly to Secure Its Empire
o Japan immediately launched successful attacks against US colonies of ______and the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and the free nation of Thailand
· Pacific Theater: Japanese Actions in the Philippines
o US forces in the Philippines were forced to surrender by May 1942
o US Gen. ______was ordered to evacuate to Australia, but vowed “______”
o Japanese forced prisoners to march 65 miles in tropical heat without food, water, or medical care, and while enduring physical abuse, to a prison camp – about 18,000 of the 78,000 prisoners died on this “______”
· Pacific Theater: The Doolittle Raid (April 18, 1942)
o American bombers, under the command of Col. James Doolittle, mounted a daring mission to launch from aircraft carrier to bomb ______in retaliation for ______
o Mainly a public relations move to improve morale; bombings did no major damage
· Pacific Theater: The Battle of Coral Sea (May 4 – 8, 1942)
o US Navy had broken Japanese codes and learned of Japan’s intention to stage an attack ______
o US sent 2 aircraft carriers to intercept the Japanese in the Coral Sea
o First naval battle in history fought entirely with ______
o U.S. lost an aircraft carrier, but prevented the Japanese invasion
· Pacific Theater: The Battle of Midway (June 4 – 7, 1942)
o Japanese attack on U.S. island of Midway was intercepted and turned back
o 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk, a loss from which Japan would never recover
o Japan would not be able to mount any ______attacks for the remainder of the war – they would have to try to defend what they held from US invasion
· European Theater: The Battle of the Atlantic
o US countered German U-boat attacks against shipping by enforcing ______along the East Coast (so U-boat commanders couldn’t see activity on the US coast) and by using the convoy system (ships traveling in large groups with naval escort)
o Also used new technologies like sonar and depth charges to combat the U-boat threat
o As the war progressed, the Germans began to lose more U-boats than they could replace and Allied shipping was able to deliver more supplies
· European Theater: The Allies Retake North Africa: Operation Torch (November 1942)
o US troops landed in Algeria and Morocco in North Africa
o Landings were designed to bring relief to British forces in Egypt who had been holding off Germany’s Afrika Korps under the command of the “______,” Gen. Erwin Rommel
§ Erwin Rommel (1891 – 1944)
§ Highly decorated hero from WWI, became ______top officer during WWII
§ Commanded German forces in the invasions of France & North Africa
§ Committed suicide after being implicated in an assassination plot against Hitler
o Despite the inexperience of the US forces, Axis troops were forced out of North Africa by May of 1943
· Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 – 1969)
o Master strategist who helped devise the US plans for winning the war against both Germany and Japan
o Placed in charge of US forces in ______and, later, over all Allied forces in Europe
o Would go on to be elected President of the United States in 1952
· Gen. George Patton (1885 – 1945)
o Outlandish and outspoken (but highly effective) US general
o Played a pivotal role in the US invasions of North Africa and Italy, but was removed from command after ______
o Returned after the D-Day invasion, helping with the final push of Allied forces into Germany
o Died in a car crash shortly after the end of the war
· The Casablanca Conference (Jan. 1943)
o FDR and Churchill met in ______to determine the next steps to take in the war
o Decided to increase bombing campaign in Germany and to attack Italy, rather than France
· European Theater: The Allied Invasion of Italy
o July – Aug. 1943: Allied forces invaded and captured ______
o The Allies easy conquest of Sicily was disheartening to the Italian army and alarming to the King of Italy
o Mussolini overthrown
§ July 25, 1943: Mussolini was fired and ordered arrested by Italian King Victor Emmanuel III
§ Italian people had lost all confidence in Mussolini and rejoiced at his ouster
§ Italy broke its alliance with Germany in September and joined the ______in October 1943
o Germans Defend Italy
§ The German army seized control of northern Italy, freed Mussolini from prison, and forced the Allies to fight a long and costly campaign in Italy
§ Bloody battles took place at Monte Cassino (Jan. – May 1944) and Anzio (Jan. – June 1944)
§ Took Allies until May 1945 to gain control of Italy and cost them over 300,000 casualties
· The Tehran Conference (Nov. 1943)
o Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin met in Tehran, Iran
o US and Britain agreed to invade ______, dividing Germany’s troops along several fronts
o Agreed to break up Germany after the war to permanently remove them as a threat to peace
o Stalin agreed to help fight Japan once Germany was beaten
o Stalin agreed to the creation of an international organization to help keep world peace after the war
· European Theater: The Normandy Invasion: Operation Overlord
o Allies created ______camps along one section of the British coast to trick Germany into believing that the Allied attack would be farther north on the French coast than was actually planned
o Allies then had to wait for a perfect combination of weather, tides, and moonlight to launch the real invasion, aimed at Normandy
o D-Day (June 6, 1944)
§ 7000 ships moved over 100,000 troops to Normandy;
§ 23,000 paratroopers were dropped behind the German lines
§ Allied bombers hit critical German defense and communication sites
§ Naval warships began a bombardment of German fortifications along the French coast
§ By the end of the day, the Allies had established a foothold in France
· European Theater: Allies Liberate France
o By July 25, Allied forces had shattered the German defensive positions in Northern France
o August 25: Allies retook ______, to great celebration by the French population
o By mid-September, Allies were at the German border and ready to begin an invasion of Germany itself
· European Theater: Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945)
o Germans made one last effort to beat the Allies by cutting their supply lines
o The initial surge caused a “bulge” in the Allied lines, but the Germans could not maintain the surge, especially after Patton arrived with reinforcements
o The battle cost Germany over 100,000 casualties and used up their remaining war materials
· The Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)
o Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in the Soviet Union to discuss postwar plans
o Agreed to reestablish Poland
o Issued the Declaration of ______: agreement to let all the peoples of Europe to choose their own forms of government through free elections
o Agreed to strip Germany of its industrial machinery as war reparations
o Agreed to divide Germany (and its capital of Berlin) into ______zones (US, France, Britain, and USSR)
· Roosevelt Dies
o After months of noticeably declining health, Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945
o He was replaced by his Vice-President ______
· Benito Mussolini Dies
o Mussolini was captured by Italian communists on April 28, 1945
o He and his entourage were shot, bodies were then hung from meat hooks, stoned by an angry crowd
· Adolf Hitler
o Committed suicide on April 30, 1945
o Took cyanide and shot himself (along with his newlywed wife Eva Braun)
o Body was then______by his secretary and no verifiable remains have ever been recovered
· European Theater: Germany Falls
o Berlin captured by the Soviets on May 5, 1945
o May 7, 1945: Germany formally surrendered to the Allies; their surrender was unconditional, meaning that they had to accept whatever terms the Allies offered to end the war
o May 8: celebrated as “V-E Day” (______)
· Pacific Theater: “Island-hopping”
o US forces elected to focus on capturing only certain strategic islands in the Pacific – ones that would allow US bombers to get within striking range of Japan and create a safe route for troop and supply movement
· Pacific Theater: Battle of Guadalcanal (Aug. 1942 – Feb. 1943)
o U.S. amphibious attack on Japanese fortifications
o Land, sea, & air battle
o Eventually 31,000 of the 36,000 Japanese on the island were killed
· Pacific Theater: Other Major Pacific Battles
o Tarawa (Nov. 1943), Kwajalein (Feb. 1944), Saipan, Tinian, & Guam (Jun. – Aug. 1944)
o US Marines took heavy losses unseating Japanese defenders, but US B-29 bombers could reach Japan once these islands were secured
· Gen. Douglas MacArthur (1880 – 1964)
o Seasoned veteran of WWI, highly decorated soldier who had won the Medal of Honor
o Had vowed to return to the Philippines when forced to evacuate in 1942
o Led US effort to retake the ______and proclaimed “I ______” when he finally landed in Oct. 1944
o Later was US commander of occupied Japan after WWII and led UN forces in the Korean War
· Pacific Theater: The Philippines
o US forces landed at Leyte in Oct. 1944 to begin the retaking of the Philippines, but relied entirely on the US Navy for air cover for protection
o Japanese navy counterattacked, drawing the US Navy into a major naval battle that left MacArthur’s forces unprotected and nearly led to disaster
o US forces would not gain full control of the Philippines until July 1945, just weeks before the war ended
· Pacific Theater: Kamikaze Attacks
o The Battle of Leyte Gulf marked the first coordinated use of suicide attacks by Japanese pilots known as kamikaze (“______”)
o Japanese high command was now resorting to desperate tactics as Japan ran out of experienced pilots and the industrial capacity to continue making new weaponry
· Pacific Theater: Battle of Iwo Jima (Feb./Mar. 1945)
o First Japanese “______” captured by the US
o 20,700 of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island were killed; about 6800 of the 60,000 US Marines who landed on Iwo Jima were killed
o Badly damaged Japanese morale; placed Japan within easy bombing range for US bombers
· Pacific Theater: The Firebombing of Japan
o Gen. Curtis LeMay ordered the use of ______(jellied gasoline) bombs on Japanese cities because his bombers were having trouble hitting their targets
o The napalm was designed to start massive fires, which would ensure the destruction of the desired military targets, but would also lead to heavy losses of civilian life
o Mar. 9, 1945: firebombing of ______killed over 80,000; by the war’s end, 67 Japanese cities had been destroyed using napalm
· Pacific Theater: The Battle of Okinawa (Apr.-June 1945)
o Most ______battle of the Pacific war: about 125,000 Japanese killed and 12,500 Americans
o Nearly 700,000 men fought in this battle (550,000 Americans)
o Okinawa was needed to set up a base of operations for an invasion of Japan itself
· The Manhattan Project
o US effort to build a new type of weapon that would unleash tremendous destructive energy by splitting uranium atoms – an “atomic bomb”
o Led by Gen. Leslie Groves and researcher J. Robert Oppenheimer, the team produced 3 bombs
o 1 bomb was tested in the New Mexico desert, leaving just 2 bombs for military use
o Bombs were code-named “______” and “______”
· Harry S. Truman (1884 – 1972), (President from 1945 - 1953)
o Became president upon FDR’s death
o Truman now had to decide how to end the war – should the US mount an invasion of Japan, which would cost an estimated 1 million American lives or should it use the new atomic bomb, which would kill an unknown number of Japanese civilians and whose after-effects were still unknown?
· Pacific Theater: Hiroshima
o Japan was warned that unless they surrendered immediately and without conditions, they faced “______”
o When the Japanese did not reply, orders were given to destroy the industrial city of Hiroshima
o August 6, 1945: The B-29 ______ dropped “Little Boy” on the city, destroying 76,000 buildings and killing over 120,000 people
· Pacific Theater: Nagasaki
o When the Japanese still did not surrender, the B-29 Bock’s Car dropped “______” on the port of Nagasaki, killing over 50,000 on August 9, 1945
o On the same day, the Soviets declared war on Japan and began to prepare to enter the war in the Pacific
· Pacific Theater: Japan Surrenders
o Faced with destruction on an unforeseen scale (and unaware that the US had no more atomic bombs to use), Emperor Hirohito ordered his government to surrender unconditionally
o Fighting stopped August 15, 1945 (“V-J Day”)
o Formal surrender took place on September 2, 1945
o As part of the terms of surrender, Japan was occupied by U.S. forces until Apr. 1952