World War summary and notes

The following texts are the property of their respective authors and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to share for free to students, teachers and users of the Web their texts will used only for illustrative educational and scientific purposes only.

The information of medicine and health contained in the site are of a general nature and purpose which is purely informative and for this reason may not replace in any case, the council of a doctor or a qualified entity legally to the profession.

World War summary and notes

WORLD WAR II IN SUMMARY ( 1939 - 1945 )

I) AFTER POLAND: SITZKRIEG (phony war) 9/39 - 3/40

A. Operation White: British naval blockade

B. Maginot Line (lessons of history??)

1. Bel to Switz = 1,000 forts w/ own power, H2O, kitchens, phones, ammo, 8' thick roofs

II) SOVIET UNION TAKES ADVANTAGE OF "BOUGHT TIME"

A. Lithuania, Latvia, & Estonia forced into treaties re: naval and air bases

B. Finland refuses & is broken (Nov 39 - Mar 40)

C. Soviets add part of Rumania to buffer zone

INITIAL GERMAN SUCCESS (1939-1940)

III) GERMAN CONQUEST OF DENMARK & NORWAY (APR 1940)

A. Denmark falls easily

1. thanks to paratroopers dressed in uniforms of other nations & hidden soldiers on a ship in harbor of Copenhagen

B. Norway more stubborn

1. role of fifth column vital (spies etc.) i.e. Quisling = traitor

C. Germany gained valuable submarine bases, air bases, & food supplies

IV) GERMAN CONQUEST OF FRANCE (May - June 1940) BLITZKRIEG RETURNS!

A. Confidence in Maginot Line leaves France unprepared

1. Germans bypass Franco-German border & go around Maginot Line thru Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg

2. Allied army moves north to halt Germans, but is cut off & surrounded

3. Forced retreat to Dunkirk: "a miracle of deliverance"

a) approx. 850 civilian craft rescue 338+ thousands

B. Paris Captured ( June 14, 1940)

1. Armistice signed by Petain in infamous rr car on June 22

a) Occupied France: Direct German control: the north

b) Vichy France: Petain as puppet: the south

c) Free French govt in London: De Gaulle

d) Maquis: underground guerrillas: "the resistance"

C. Italy joins war - Mussolini believes victory in sight (June 10, 1940)

V) ENGLAND STANDS ALONE (summer 1940)

A. Leadership of Churchill (Begins may 1940)

1. inspiring: " I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat... We shall never surrender."

B. Battle of Britain

1. Goering convinces Hitler of value of air attack

a) Br. navy still superior to Ger.

2. Object: Break Britain's will to exist: soften for invasion by land

3. RAF + radar + ultra hold off German Luftwaffe, and thus invasion never happens

a) Germans not realize importance of radar

b) RAF pilot = new breed

(1) "Never was so much owed by so many to so few." Churchill

(2) in 3 months German losses were 2x the British!!

c) ultra decoder allowed receipt of vital information

4. Goering's big error: switched from targeting airfields & communications to bombing London

a) Why? anger over Berlin bombings of RAF

VI) U.S. = "ALL MEASURES SHORT OF WAR." / "ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY."

A. Neutrality Acts (1935-1937)

B. All around military preparedness

C. 50 Destroyer/naval base deal (1940)

D. Selective Service Act (1940)

E. Lend-Lease Act (1941) to countries considered vital to U.S. security

F. Japanese Embargo (1941)

G. Atlantic Charter (summer 1941): FDR & Churchill

1. "All nations must come to the abandonment of force." (be able to choose their own govts.)

H. American Merchant ships are armed (Nov 1941)

VII) BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC (1940-1943)

A. "The Happy Time" for German U-Boats (summer--fall 1940)

1. 217 ships sunk between Jul - Oct

B. Battle of Britain ends = more energy put into defenses against U-Boats

C. Hitler's mistake: low submarine production

D. German wolf pack tactic: resurgence of success (mid 41 - early 42)

1. "easy hunting" : Atlantic coast & Gulf

E. By 1943, w/ U.S. help, anti-sub campaign pretty much ends threat

VIII) AXIS OVERRAN BALKANS

A. Tripartite Pact: Germany, Itlay, & Japan agree to mutual aid (1940)

1. Plan: sweep thru Balkans eastward & meet up w/ Japanese

B. Greece refused pact> Hitler invaded successfully

1. Saved Mussolini's failure

2. Crete overwhelmed by airborne invasion

C. Yugoslavia refused pact = Blitzkrieg in all its fury!

IX) SUCCESSES BY ROMMEL (Desert Fox) IN NORTH AFRICA (1941)

A. Mussolini opened up front in Africa

1. Felt Britain wouldn't defend possessions

B. Afrika Korps + Rommel; a genius in tank warfare -- saves Mussolini again

2. Driving for Suez Canal; of course Britain will defend!

1941: YEAR OF TWO MAJOR MISTAKES FOR THE AXIS POWERS

X) HITLER ATTACKS SOVIET UNION (June 1941)

A. Germany disregards pact w/ USSR -- begins Operation Barbarossa

B. Ger successes slow, but progressive during first summer

1. Oct 1941, Hitler confident of success

2. Leningrad surrounded & seiged: massive suffering: "the 900 days"

a) Leningrad pop from 4 mill to 2.5 mill

C. General Georgi Zuhkov manages to save Moscow from total takeover

D. Why not Successful?

1. Hitler's strategic mistakes

2. "scorched earth" policy of the Russians

3. The Russian winter : "General Winter" to you!

XI) JAPAN ATTACKS U.S. AT PEARL HARBOR (DEC 7, 1941)

A. This "day in infamy" solidifies American public

1. approx. 2,500 dead

B. U.S. officially declares war: readies self for another "total war"

VICTORY IN EUROPE (1942-1945)

XII) ALLIES ADVANCE: N. AFRICA TO ITALY (1942-1943)

A. Br. General Montgomery from east (Egypt) + General Eisenhower from west (Fr. N. Africa)

1. Rommel crushed in vise by 1943 in Tunisia

B. Allies then cross Mediterranean & invade Sicily: took 39 days

1. two weeks after Sicily, Mussolini out of govt - later shot

2. new govt signs armistice; unconditional surrender

3. Italy declares war on Germany

XIII) RUSSIAN COUNTER OFFENSIVE (Summer 1943-1945)

A. Stalingrad: Jan 1943 finally a victory for Russians

1. began Aug 1942 -- 6 months battle

2. revenge for Leningrad!

3. Russians annihilated 300,000 German troops

B. Communists seized initiative

1. Drove nazis back thru Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, & Poland

C. April 1945 Russians enter Berlin

XIV) ANGLO-AMERICAN INVASION OF FRANCE: D - DAY (JUNE 6, 1944)

A. The Grand Alliance: 1943 = U.S. + GB + USSR

1. Agreements:

a) seek unconditional surrender

b) USSR would join fight against Japan after defeat of Germany

c) replace the League of Nations

B. Operation Overlord a consideration since 1942

1. Stalin was upset that it wasn't carried out sooner

C. By 1944: 1.5 mill troops amassed in GB ( + ships etc.)

D. Germans did not expect an invasion thru the "Atlantic Wall" : ( mines, bunders, etc.)

1. Why? Because a "phantom army" had been issued false orders to advance to Calais, a Fr. port not part of the "wall"

E. Nazis strong, but not anticipate full on blitzkrieg - "Allied Style"

XV) INVASION AND SURRENDER OF GERMANY

A. Massive German counterattack: Battle of the Bulge

1. Unexpected by Allies that Hitler would throw full force into offensive move instead of saving troops for final defense of Germany itself

a) Pushed Allies back 40-50 miles, but only really delayed the Allied advance one month

2. "The Last Blitzkrieg" failed

a) Hitler had bet too much when he could not afford it

3. The Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)

a) Another "Big Three" make decisions on postwar control & territorial arrangements in Europe

I) Germany to be divided, USSR big brother to E. Europe, etc.

II) Generally, many concessions made to Soviets for guarantee of attack on Japan

4. Final surrender of Germany: May 8, 1945: V - E Day!!!!

a) Hitler had committed suicide

b) German troops in Italy had given up in April

WAR IN THE PACIFIC: EARLY JAPANESE SUCCESS

XVI) JAPAN/SOVIETS SIGN NON-AGGRESSION PACT (APRIL 41)

XVII) DEC 41: JAPANESE HAD MANILA(almost), WAKE IS. , GUAM, & HONG KONG

XVIII) PACIFIC BLUEPRINT:

A. U.S. fleet crippled

B. Meantime, quickly overrun SE Asia & set up defense

C. Then, Japanese could exploit SE Asia at own leisure

XIX) FEB 42: SINGAPORE DISASTER (+ Dutch E Indies, Malaya , & Burma)

A. Britain had all protection facing seaward: attack came from land!

XX) JAN - APRIL 42: PHILIPPINES FELL AFTER TOUGH FIGHT

A. Manila an open city: Homma moves in

1. Homma "soft" on Manila, removed

2. Later tried as a war criminal on Mac Arthur's orders and shot

B. Bataan Peninsula surrenders (April)

1. Bataan Death March: 60-65 miles, 75,000 started -- 54,000 finished

C. "I shall return" : Mac Arthur

VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC: 1942 - 1945

XXI) TIDE TURNS: BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (May 1942)

A. Japanese advance stopped just short of Australia

XXII) DOOLITTLE RAID ON TOKYO (April 42): " 30 seconds over .... "

A. Insignificant except as American morale booster

XXIII) JAPANESE EASTWARD EXPANSION HALTED AT MIDWAY (June 1942)

A. Yamamoto vs. Nimitz

1. No surprise: we had broken code!

B. Rising sun begins to set

1. Japanese threat to Hawaii & U.S. ended

XXIV) THE SOUTH PACIFIC: GUADALCANAL & NEW GUINEA

A. Guadalcanal itself taken easily: provided base of operations

1. However... off Guadalcanal = a seesaw battle (Aug - Nov 1942)

2. Final victory set stage for advance up "ladder" of Solomon Is.

B. New Guinea victories for Allies (1943-1945)

1. Burma campaign: costly but valuable

C. Objective: encirclement of Rabaul, then on to the Philippines

XXV) THE CENTRAL PACIFIC: ISLAND HOPPING AT ITS BEST

A. Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline, & Marianas Is. = "unsinkable aircraft carriers"

B. Strategy: seize key islands, bypass others = "island hopping"

C. Tarawa: lessons learned (Nov 43)

D. Saipan: lg enuf for B-29's (June 15, 1944)

1. takeover of Guam to follow

E. Finally, the Philipines (Oct 44 - Feb 45)

1. Leyte Gulf: taken first, secured by Dec

2. He did return: Mac Arthur

3. Manila retaken: "instant replay"

XXVI) CLOSER TO TOKYO

A. Iwo Jima: (Feb - Mar 45)

1. wi/750 mi. Tokyo

2. 7 months of pre-invasion bombing

3. "uncommon valor was a common virtue"

4. Costliest operation in Marine history

B. Okinawa: (Apr - Jun 45)

1. only 325 mi. south of Japanese island of Kyushu

2. Most intense Kamikaze campaign

a. "divine wind"

3. 110,000 Japanese died, 11,000 prisoners

XXVII) THE ATOM BOMB & SURRENDER OF JAPAN

A. July 1945: Potsdam Declaration

1. a surrender ultimatum to Japan

2. supported by Truman after Alamagordo

B. Hiroshima: Aug 6, 1945 -- "Little Boy"

1. Uranium bomb dropped by the Enola Gay destroys the city

2. approx 130,000 killed and wounded

C. Soviets declare war and begin penetration

D. Nagasaki: Aug 9, 1945 -- "Fat Boy"

1. Plutonium bomb destroys the city

E. V -- J Day!!

1. Sept 2, 1945

2. Japan: Shigemitsu signs terms of surrender

Source : http://teacherweb.com/MA/RockportHighSchool/ScottLarsen/WORLD-WAR-II----IN-SUMMARY.doc

Web site link: http://teacherweb.com/MA/RockportHighSchool/ScottLarsen

Google key word : World War summary and notes file type : doc

Author : not indicated on the source document of the above text

If you are the author of the text above and you not agree to share your knowledge for teaching, research, scholarship (for fair use as indicated in the United States copyrigh low) please send us an e-mail and we will remove your text quickly.

World War summary and notes

American History

Chapter 24 Review

World War Looms

Totaliarism

Defined as a government that exerts complete control over its citizen’s lives.

Individuals have no rights
Government suppresses all opposition

Soviet Union created such a state by 1939 under Joseph Stalin

Created a model communist state

Italy formed a totalitarian state beginning in 1922 under Benito Mussolini

Created a Fascist State

Germany’s creation of a totalitarian state under Adolf Hitler began in 1933

Known as Nazism

A brand of Fascism built on extreme nationalism

Japan became part of a totalitarian state by 1931

Nationalistic military leaders tried to take control

Shared a common belief with Hitler

More living space for a growing population

Spain’s Civil War under Francisco Franco, fascist dictator, resulted in a totalitarian government

League of Nations dealing with the developing European crisis

1. Sent representatives to Manchuria to investigate Japan’s invasion of the Manchurian Province.

a. Condemned Japan for the invasion

2. Allowed France and Belgium to invade the Ruhr in 1923

a. Germany’s most important industrial zone

i. Allowed them to break their own rules due to anti-German feelings throughout Europe

3. Italy bombarded the coastline of Corfu in the Greek Islands due to a border dispute between Italy and Albania.

a. An Italian survey team as part of al mixed nationality team was sent to survey the disputed area and settle

the dispute

i. Italian section of the team was separated from the main party

1. Five of the Italians were shot by gunman

b. Italy blamed Greece for planning the incident

i. Demanded payment of a fine which Greece refused

c. Italy sent its navy to Corfu and bombed the coastline

i. Greece appealed to the League

d. League under the persuasion of Mussolini, fined Greece 50 million lire

4. League in any instance of complaint issued no more than ineffective boycotts or did nothing.

a. Hitler invading Austria

b. Mussolini invasion of Ethiopia

c. Japan’s invasion of Manchuria

Political Developments in Germany:

Germany was in a deep depression following World War I

The burden of reparations
Efforts to rebuild
Limits on industrial growth placed on the country by the Treaty of Versailles

Inflation skyrocketed

German marc becomes worthless

The Weimar government is viewed as worthless

Ineffective in dealing with the depression
Weak

German people began to look to extremist groups

Groups had promised strong leadership
Some turned to Communism
Many of the upper class and military wanted the return of a monarchy
New political party emerged during the 1920’s and early 1930’s

Called the “National Socialist German Worker’s Party”

Referred to as the Nazi Party
Led by Adolf Hitler

Party based on extreme nationalism and racial “purification”

Saw all that did not fit their definition of an “Aryan” race as inferior

Jews
Slavs
All non-whites

iii. Wanted to unite all German speaking people into a German empire

Political Developments associated with Italy

Country in a crisis mode post World War I

Frustrated over the Treaty of Versailles

Gained little of the Austrian territory it had wanted but did not receive

Internal struggles are a work

Economy is failing

Unemployment and inflation produced strikes

Social Class tensions

Peasants began seizing lands
Workers took over factories

Benito Mussolini established a Fascist regime

Stressed nationalism
Appealed to the country’s wounded pride
Promised to restore Italy to ancient Roman Empire’s greatness
Organized a private army

Used to break up left-wing rallies
Beat up political opponents

Changes made under Fascist regime

Outlawed all other political parties
Forced all the countries leaders to join the Fascist Party

Government officials
Business leaders
Union chiefs

Flooded the country with pro-fascist propaganda

Fascism

Defined as a political philosophy that advocates a centralized, nationalistic government

Headed by a strong dictator
Places the interest of the state above the individual

Spanish Civil War and the West’s Reaction

The western democracies remained neutral

Individuals in the United States supported the Spanish loyalists

Approximately 3,000 went to Spain to help with the fighting

Britain, France and the United States did not interfere with the Spanish Civil War

Do to their fear that intervention could lead to another war.

United States Foreign Policy Following World War I

Took the stand of remaining neutral

Determined to isolate themselves from European problems

People in the United States had their own economic worries in the 1930’s

Did not care much about what was happening elsewhere

Strong isolationist mood took the United States when threats of a war in Europe became known
Isolationists in Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts

Banned arms sales or loans to countries at war
Warned Americans not to travel on warring countries ships
Limited economic ties with warring countries

Hoped to stay out of the conflict

Factors that saw neutrality break-down

Following Hitler’s invasion of Poland the president announced the United States would remain neutral

Most Americans did sympathize with the Allies

Britain was standing alone after the fall of France

Roosevelt knew that if Britain fell the United States would have a problem

Axis Powers would be in position to bring enormous military and naval resources against the Western Hemisphere

Roosevelt believed if this happened the United States would be living at gunpoint

Roosevelt believed that 90% of the world population was being jeopardized by the remaining 10%.

Breaking down international order and law

The Good Neighbor Policy

An effort to improve relations with Latin American countries

Withdrew troops from two countries

Nicaragua
Haiti

Withdrew the Platt Amendment

Limiting the independence of Cuba

Emphasized cooperation and trade

Wanted to end military force to maintain stability in the hemisphere

Hitler’s Foreign Policy

Began moving cautiously on the international scene
Pulled Germany out of the League of nations in 1933
Used Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia as a distraction

Announced Germany would rearm

Year after announcing rearmament sent soldiers into the Rhineland

Britain and France did nothing

Used propaganda to justify the invasion by Germany

Declared to the world that German minorities were being mistreated

Threatened Austria

Germany would attack if current government not replaced by Austrian Nazis.

Hitler met with Britain, and France

Signed the Munich Agreement

Gave Germany the Sudetenland as long as Hitler promised to go no further.

Hitler broke the agreement six months after signing it.

Britain and France Respond to Germany’s Actions:

1. Britain and France promised they would protect Czechoslovakia from German invasion

2. Met with Hitler in Munich to discuss Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union

a. Mussolini was also there

3. Hitler told the diplomats the Sudeten was the last territory he would demand

a. Both France and Britain feared war

b. Wanted to believe Hitler and signed the Munich Agreement

i. Agreed to give Hitler the Sudetenland

ii. Believed their people would not fight so had no other alternative

iii. Believed appeasement was the best policy when dealing with Hitler

Actions that Freed Hitler to Attack Poland

1. Joseph Stalin suggested to Britain that the Soviet Union and France back Britain’s guarantee to Poland

a. Help them if Germany attacked

2. Britain’s Prime Minister, Chamberland, turned Stalin down

a. Believed it would give the Soviet Union the right to send troops into Poland to fight the Germans

b. Poland refused to allow the Soviet Union’s troops on their lands

3. Stalin came to the conclusion that Britain and France would not help the Soviet Union if attacked by Germany

a. Decided to sign a nonaggression pact with Germany

i. The two nations agreed no to fight each other

ii. Signed a second secret pact to share Poland with Germany

1. Germany would take the western half of Poland

2. Russia would take the eastern half of Poland

4. Hitler had outwitted the democratic nations

a. Signing the nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union removed the threat of a two front war

i. He now had a clear path to invade Poland

Tactics Used by Germany to Attack Poland

1. Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939

a. Used various modes of military force

i. Planes

ii. Tanks

iii. Ship’s

iv. Used approximately 2 million troops.

2. Used the tactic known as “Blitzkrieg”

a. Lightning War

i. Stated by dive bombing Polish airfields and large cities

1. Disrupted communication

2. Created general confusion

ii. Mechanized panzer divisions followed

Moved over roads strafed by low-flying planes

Cleared the roads of defense forces and refugees

iii. Used Genocide

Exterminated two million German-occupied Polish Jews

The “Phony War”

1. After the initial terror of the Polish campaign everyone expected heavy combat

2. Germany had paused to regroup during the winter of 1939-1940 until April 1940.

3. The British and French decided to stay on the defensive.
a. Because so little combat took place, it soon became known as the Phony War or the Sitzkrieg.

4. During this time, the British Royal Air Force started dropping propaganda leaflets on Germany.

a. These leaflet flights were often called "Bomphlet raids" or "Confetti War" in the British press.

5. Ended on June 17, 1940

a. Germany attacked Denmark and Norway and later the Netherlands in order to protect their freedom

and independence

i. Reality was the Hitler planned to build military bases on their coastlines in order to strike

at Britain.

France Following The “Phony War”

Germany pushed their way to Paris through the Ardennes

France and Britain thought they would try to go through the Maginot Line

Went through the French army
Trapped Britain army at Dunkirk

Italy entered the war a few days after Dunkirk on Germany’s side
France surrendered to Germany in on June 22, 1940

Germany took control of the northern half of France
Southern France became part of a puppet government
Charles de Gaulle fled to Britain

Britain in 1940

Germany attacked Britain

Sent waves of bombers over the English Channel

Wanted to soften Britain’s air defenses

1. Before a planned sea and airborne invasion of Britain

2. Britain began using the new invention called “Radar

Used to warn against upcoming attacks
Using radar, Britain was able to shoot down hundreds of German planes

3. Hitler gave up his plans to invade Britain by October 1940

Continued bombing British cities

Wanted to continue disrupting production
Wanted to break civilian morale

Results of the Battle of Britain

Battle was small in terms of the number of combatants and casualties
Battle of Britain marked the first defeat of Hitler's military forces
Signaled a shift in the United States opinion that Britain would not survive the attack
German attacks failed to destroy British Industrial potential
Victory was as much psychological as physical

Turned a tide of defeats and encouraged the enemies of Germany.

Battle of Britain had a heavy cost

Britain losses included 23,002 dead and 32,138 wounded civilians

Winston Churchill’s Leadership Style

Delegated freely
Regarded nothing to big or small for his attention
Prodded and pressed the Chiefs of the Armed Services

Never went against their collective judgment

Dominated Parliament

Never neglected it or took it for granted
Saw it as an instrument for public persuasion

Committed to an all-out victory
Laid out elaborate strategy

He followed it religiously

Asked all British citizens to share in his goal

Even asked the Communists

Treatment of Jews By the Nazis After Taking Power

Nazi Party blamed two groups for the outcome of World War I

Jews
Communists

Hitler once in power went forward with the program he had outlined in “Mein Kampf

Burned all books written by Jews
Declared Anti-Semitism the official government policy

Deprived Jews of citizenship
Barred Jews from Government service
Brutally attacked Jews

Encouraged Germans to do this

Destroyed synagogues
Looted Jewish homes and businesses

Jews were excluded from working in specific jobs other than government

Radio
Journalism
Farming
Teaching
Practicing medicine

Businesses could not sell to Jews

Butcher shops
Bakeries
Drugstores
Dairies

Forced Jews to wear yellow “Star of David” on their clothing

Germans could then tell them apart from the public

Created enclosed slum areas in cities
Created a program called “Final Solution”

Jews Could Not Escape Germany

1. Tens of thousands of Jews fled Germany

a. Many nations would not ease immigration restrictions

b. Many refused to accept Jewish refugees

2. Anti-Semitism had a long history in many European nations

a. Refusal to take immigrating Jews fueled the German belief that everyone wanted to get rid of them

3. All Jewish property and money, jobs, and citizenship were taken from them

a. Had no means to get out of Germany

4. Germany halted all emigration of Jews in 1938

The Final Solution

1. A policy of genocide imposed by Hitler concerning the Jews of Europe

a. It was a systematic and deliberate way of killing the entire population of Jews and others deemed

undesirable by the German Nazis.

2. To strengthen and purify the superior master race

a. “Aryans”

Nazis Industrialize the Killing of Jews

1. This is the final stage of Hitler’s “Final Solution”

2. Large numbers of Jews were emptied from Ghettos and sent to death camps

a. Daily trains of Jews and undesirables were being shipped to the various camps throughout Nazi

territories

b. There they were paraded by several doctors where they would be separated into groups strong

enough to work and those chosen to die

All their belongings were left for the Germans to go through
Those marked for death were marched to mass shower rooms on the pretext of delousing

Cyanide gas was pumped into these rooms and in some instances cheerful music was being played by

by a Jewish inmate orchestra

Chelmno averaged 12,000 deaths per day

Bodies were then removed and in the beginning of the third stage of the “Final Solution” were

buried in mass graves

This ended when the decaying corpses gave off such a stench towns complained.
Mass graves also left evidence of what the Nazis were doing

New options included the building of huge crematoriums and other camps threw the bodies into big pits and burned

Began burning the evidence

Other methods used to eliminate the undesirables were also used

Some were shot
Some hanged
Others injected with poison
Medical experimentation

Concentration Camps Brutalities

1. Carried out medical experiments and reserved several blocks of housing for these purposes

a. Experimented on with destructive materials: new gases or burning fluids and medicinal materials as

well: vaccinations or anti-viral materials."

b. Experiments with gases

2. Millions of prisoners were killed through mistreatment, disease, starvation, and overwork

3. Prisoner labor, initiated construction of a large complex of buildings on the grounds

4. Prisoners were shot for not working fast enough, what was perceived as talking back.

5. Some were thrown into electrified fences

6. Forced to sleep on barbed wire bedding

7. Women were used as prostitutes, Germans opened brothels

8. Not all the prisoners were equal

a. Treatment depended largely on the category assigned to each inmate

i. Nationality

ii. Disabilities

Religion
Sexual preferences
Criminal status

Effects of Concentration Camps on Survivors

1. Remember the treatment by the Germans

2. Feeling of guilt that they survived

3. Remembering the faces of those who were killed

4. Remember their loss

a. Some lost their entire family

5. Smells that remind them of the burning bodies

6. Arm tattoos are a constant reminder

7. Never forget their desire to live during their interment

Events by the United States after the beginning of World War II in Europe

1. Continued with the an approach of isolationism

2. Laws were passed in 1935 forbidding the supply of arms to warring nations

a. Neutrality Acts in 1939 were a compromise

i. Allowed sales of arms to belligerent- warring nations

ii. Forbid American ships to go into war zones

3. Hitler’s victories in 1940, changed American thinking

a. Passed the Selective Service Training and Services Act in 1940

i. First time there was a peace-time draft

b. Increased of defense spending

4. Continued to transfer surplus World War I arms and supplies to Britain

a. Gave Britain fifty aging destroyers

i. Payment was a free lease to British naval bases in Canada and the Caribbean

5. Land-Lease Act of 1941

a. Allowed the United States to sell, lend or lease war materials to any nation whose defense is

believed vital to American security

Stripped away any pretense of neutrality

Formation of Axis Alliance and It’s Impact on the United States

1. Consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan

a. Japan quickly occupied new territories

i. Southeast Asia

ii. Strategic Islands in the Pacific

Germany was sinking three to four ships in the Atlantic daily

The United States formed an alliance with Britain and the Soviet Union called Allies

Believed Germany and Italy were the greater threat of the three
Allies agreed on fighting the European theatre first

The purpose of the Axis Alliance was to keep the United States out of the war.

With the United States involved it could be a two ocean and two continent war.

Germans Threaten the Lend-lease Program

1. U-boats preyed on the Atlantic convoys

a. Supplying Britain from the US

2. Protecting airplanes did not have the range to fly

3. Convoys had destroyer escorts but faced problems

a. Speed of the U-boats

b. Confusion caused in a large convoy under attack

Atlantic Charter

1. Joint program between the United States and Britain

a. Statement supporting specific principles and aims

i. Rejection of territorial enlargement

ii. Opposition to territorial changes made against individuals concerned wishes

iii. Restore the sovereign rights and self-government to those that were forcibly deprived

Access to raw materials for all nations of the world
Ease trade restrictions
World cooperation to secure economic and social conditions for all
Freedom from want and fear
Freedom of the seas
Abandon use of force
Disarmament of aggressive nations

Signed on August 14, 1941.

Japan and the United States on a collision course

1. Japanese military leaders believed it was Japan’s destiny to drive out the Western colonial powers and rule all of

Asia.

a. Idea was supported by many Japanese business leaders

Supported expansion for economic reasons

b. Invades Manchuria in 1931.

2. The invasion of Manchuria was a direct slap at the United States

United States announced that we would not recognize Japanese rule in Manchuria or any other territory they ruled by force.

Referred to as the Stimson Doctrine

The United States saw itself as a Pacific Power and China’s protector

In 1940, the United States embargoed specific exports to Japan

Iron
Steel

Demanded that Japan abandon all claims in China and Southeast Asian colonies

Japan furious

Felt the United States was trying to strangle Japan’s economy
Remained in China
Moved into French Indochina in 1941

Cambodia
Vietnam
Laos

The United States seized all Japanese money and property in the United States
The United States cut off all oil exports to Japan

This would halt Japan’s war machine

Japan forced into two options

Give the United States what they wanted
Grab the Dutch East Indies Oil

This would mean war.

Events that Precipitated America’s Entry into World War II

1. United States had broken Japanese codes

a. Learned that Japan was planning a strike on the United States

i. Did not know where or when, but wanted Japan to make the first move

2. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii on December 7. 1941

a. Killed 2,403 Americans

b. Wounded 1,178 Americans

c. Damaged 21 ships and more than 300 aircraft

3. United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941

a. Japan’s allies declared war on the United States three days later

i. Germany

ii. Italy

Selective Service and Its Efforts to Meet the United States Manpower Needs

1. Increased military forces within the United States

a. For the first time it went beyond the army

2. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, recruiting offices in the United States were jammed with American’s

wanting to join.

a. More than Five million volunteered

i. It was not enough to face an all-out war on two fronts

1. Pacific

2. Europe

3. Selective Service expanded the drafts

a. Eventually provided ten million more solders

Undeclared War in the Atlantic

1. German submarines were sinking millions of tons of shipping

2. British nay was stretched to its limits

a. American ships were desperately needed

3. Roosevelt met the threat in gradual stages

a. Launched neutrality patrols in American waters

i. Watching for German U-boats

b. Allowed American destroyers to accompany British convoys halfway across the Atlantic

i. U-boats fired on American destroyers

c. Announced the navy would shoot any U-boat found in the western Atlantic

4. In October 1941, U-boats torpedoed two more American destroyers

a. First uniformed Americans to die in 1941

Women’s and Minorities Contributions to the Military Efforts

1. Women joined the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps

a. Worked at many jobs that were performed by men prior to this time

i. Nursing

ii. Ambulance drivers

Radio operators
Electricians
Pilots

Not part of direct combat

2. Many of the minorities in American joined the Armed Forces

a. 300,000 Mexican Americans

b. Approximately one million African Americans

i. Placed in segregated units

ii. Most were limited to non-combat roles

iii. Eventually saw combat in 1943 after much protesting

3. More than 13, 000 Chinese Americans served in the military

4. There were also 33,000 Japanese Americans who also served in uniforms

a. Several thousand served in other ways

i. Spies

ii. Interpreters in the Pacific

5. Native Americans that enlisted reached approximately 25,000.

a. This included 800 women

American Industry Contributions to the War Effort

1. Automobile plants shut down and retool to produce war vehicles

a. Tanks

b. Airplanes

c. Boats

d. Command cars

2. Other factories also converted to war production

a. Mechanical pencil producers made bomb parts

b. Bedspread manufactures made mosquito netting

c. Soft drink companies filled shells with explosives

3. Shipyards and defense plants expanded

4. Labor contributions changed due to selective service and volunteers

a. More than six million women take industrial jobs

b. More than two million minorities went to work for the war effort

Scientists Help With the War Effort

1. Roosevelt created the Office of Scientific Research and Development in 1941

a. Used this to bring Scientists into the war effort

2. Scientist made many contributions

a. Improved radar

b. Improved sonar

c. Use of pesticides like DDT to fight insects

d. Development of penicillin

e. Developed the atomic bomb

i. Under the Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project

1. A two billion dollar effort to build the first Atomic Bomb

a. Program to study the potential military use of fission

2. Early research was done at Columbia University

a. Also was carried out at the University of California and the University of Chicago

3. Laboratory to construct the bomb was established at Los Alamos, N.M.

a. Staffed by scientists headed by J. Robert Oppenheimer.

b. Production also was carried out at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Washington

4. Bomb was tested successfully at Alamogordo, New Mexico in July 1945

Mass Media And It’s Contribution to the War Effort

1. Used by the United States government as a form of propaganda

a. Encouraged media programmers to do their part

i. Responded by urging all-out participation in the war effort

1. Moviemakers

a. . . Hundreds of war movies came out of Hollywood

i. Build support for the war

ii. Romanticized American and allied soldiers

iii. Portrayed Japanese as treacherous

iv. Portrayed Germans as fanatical

v. Portrayed the Italians as cowards

2. Songwriters

a. Wrote songs popularized a new form of jazz

i. Bebop

ii. Sentimental songs that expressed the longing for peace

3. Radio station programmers

a. Broadcast war news and entertainment

2. Movie stars advertised war bonds

a. Traveled overseas to entertain the troops

3. Hundreds of war movies came out of Hollywood

a. Build support for the war

b. Romanticized American and allied soldiers

c. Portrayed Japanese as treacherous

d. Portrayed Germans as fanatical

e. Portrayed the Italians as cowards

Federal Controls on the Economy

1. Government increased more than ten times the number of Americans who would pay income tax

a. Most middle and lower income groups

2. Remainder of the money came from borrowing

a. Sold war bonds

3. Sale of war bonds helped the government deal with a major concern

a. Keep inflation down

b. Offered a way of siphoning off excess income

4. Other ways the government took to stop inflation

a. Rationing of consumer goods

i. Gasoline

ii. Heating fuel

iii. Tires

iv. Coffee

v. Sugar

vi. Meat

viii. Butter

ix. Canned goods

Tried to keep wages and prices down

Froze wages

Until cost of living rose it allowed wages to rise 15%

Churchill and Roosevelt Agreed Early in the War

1. Churchill and Roosevelt met in Washington D.C. two weeks after the assault on Pearl Harbor

a. Two leaders and their staffs agreed that defeating the Axis powers in Europe would be the first Allied

priority

b. Allied strategy in the Pacific would be defensive instead of offensive

2. To formalize the alliance, representatives from 26 Allied nations called themselves the United Nation

a. Roosevelt and Churchill drafted the Joint Declaration that was signed

i. Promised full military and economic cooperation in the war effort

ii. Agreed that none of them would make a separate peace with the Axis powers

iii. Endorsed the war aims outlined by Roosevelt and Churchill in the Atlantic Charter

Importance of Winning the Battle of the Atlantic

1. Continued to need the routes to bring troops, war supplies and food to Europe from the United States.

2. Destroy Germanys U-boats hold in the Atlantic

a. Important factor was the use of sonar equipment

b. Allies developed fast escort ships for convoys

c. Allies air-bombed German u-boats and submarine yards.

Battle of Stalingrad

1. Took place in fall of 1942

2. Soviet Union attacked German troops in Stalingrad

a. Winter was terrible

b. Hitler forbid the Germans to surrender

i. Trapped in the city

ii. Few supplies and little food

Axis surrendered in February 1943

Less than one third of the original German force remained alive

3. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad and El Alamein broke the momentum of the Axis advance

Events in the North African War

1. Italians forces launched an invasion in North Africa in 1940

2. British at a later date began inflicting heavy damage on the Italians

3. Hitler sent in the German Afrika Korps

a. Commanded by Rommel

i. Known as the Desert Fox

b. Advanced as far as El Alamein, Egypt by July 1942 and ready for the final thrust of the Suez

Canal and the oil fields of the Middle East

c. Axis aircraft all but forced the British navy out of the Mediterranean

i. Forced Britain to send its hips thousands of miles around Africa

1. The only way to reach Egypt, Middle East and India

d. Rommel was having shortages of both men and supplies

i. British used this to their advantage

1. Won a victory at the Battle of El Alamein which turned the corner for

the Allies in North Africa

Operation Torch

1. British invasion of French North Africa

a. Started on November 8, 1942

2. Purpose was to clear the Axis from North Africa and improve naval control of the Mediterranean and

Prepare an invasion of Southern Europe in 1943

3. Allies planned an Anglo-American invasion of northwestern Africa

a. Morocco and Algeria territory

i. Normally in the hands of the Vichy French government

b. Believed that the Vichy French would not fight

i. American Consul in Algiers provide such information

4. Allies intended to advance into Tunisia rapidly to attack German forces in the rear

a. Had to have a secure cooperation from the French forces

5. Allies planned a three-pronged amphibious landing

a. Seize the key ports and airports of Morocco and Algeria at the same time

b. Also targeting Casablanca, Oran and Algiers at the same time

6. The only fighting that took place was in the port of Algiers.

Tuskegee Airmen’s Heroism

1. African American military pilots were formed due to a series of legislative moves by Congress in 1941

2. Ready for combat duty during the North African campaign

a. Were transported to Casablanca, Morocco and then traveled to Tunis

i. Purpose was to operate against the Luftwaffe

3. Flyers and ground crews were isolated by racial segregation practices

a. Result was little guidance from battle-experienced pilots

4. Group were bounced around between three Air Command groups

5. First million was to attack the volcanic island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean

a. Located between Sicily and Tunisia to prepare for the Allied invasion of Sicily

6. During the Battle at Anzio, fighter squads of shot down enemy fighters

a. Shot down a total of 32 German aircraft

b. Squadron won its second Distinguished Unit Citation in 1944

i. Attacked German positions on Monastery Hill and bombing a nearby strong

point to force the German garrison to surrender

7. flew as escorts fro heavy bombers

a. Clamed no bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen had ever been lost to enemy fire

8. At the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen had credited with 109 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down

D-Day

1. Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6. 1944

a. Known as Operation Overlord

b. Had been prepared since 1943

2. Invasion began with tactical bombing to destroy German communications in northern France

3. British and American airborne forces landed behind German coastal fortification in June

a. Known as the Atlantic Wall

4. After daybreak seaborne troops from Britain and the United States assaulted the beach fortifications

a. Men swarmed the shore

5. United States forces established two beachheads

a. Utah Beach

b. Omaha Beach

6. British troops landed near Bayeux on three beaches

a. Gold

b. Juno

c. Sword

d. Stopped before Caen

7. Between the two Allied forces wiped out a major part of the German army in August

a. Opened the way for the Allies to overrun Northern France

Battle of the Bulge Outcome

1. The German counterattack in the Ardennes

a. German forces broke a thinly held American front in the Belgian Ardennes

2. Germans took advantage of foggy weather to surprise the Allies

a. Allowed Germans to penetrate deeply into Belgium

i. Created a bulge in the Allied lines

ii. Threatened to break through to the north Belgian plain and take Antwerp

3. American forces help at Bastogne

a. Surrounded and outnumbered

4. United States attacked the German salient from the north and the south

a. Allied counterattacks were the result of the weather improving to fly

5. German forces were destroyed or routed

During the Conquest of Germany Allied Troops Discovered

1. Encountered tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners

a. Prisoners were suffering from starvation and disease.

2. Germans attempted to hide the evidence of mass murder by demolishing the camp

3. Abundant evidence of mass murder

4. Confronted unspeakable conditions in the Nazi camps

a. Piles of corpses lay unburied

Extent of Japanese Conquests

1. Conquests included most of Southeast Asia and the Pacific

a. Manchuria, China

b. French Indochina

c. Thailand

d. Burma

e. Malaya

f. Sumatra

g. Java

h. Borneo

i. Dutch West Indies

j. New Guinea

k. Solomon Islands

l. Korea

m. Hong Kong

Battle of Midway

1. Winner of this battle would shift the balance of power in the Pacific

a. Japan had hoped to destroy the aircraft carriers they had missed at Pearl Harbor

2. Japan secured New Guinea before this battle

3. The United States had broken the Japanese Code prior to the battle

4. A defeat would permanently weaken the Japanese navy

a. Lost over 200 naval aviators

5. Japan plan was to lure America’s remaining carriers into a trap and sink them

a. Intended to occupy Midway Atoll to extend their defenses perimeter farther from Japan

6. Had Japan captured Midway, the northeastern Pacific Rim would have been defenseless

a. Would have managed to remove the last capital ship of the United States fleet

b. Would have ensured naval supremacy in the Pacific

7. Battle was considered the “turning point of the Pacific”

Strategies Used by the United States in Fighting Japan

1. Used a technique called “leapfrogging” across the Pacific

a. Guadalcanal

b. Leyle Islands

c. Iwo Jima

d. Okinawa

Kamikazees

1. Term used for suicide-plane attacks by Japanese pilots

a. Crashed their planes into Allied ships like a bomb

2. Term means “divine wind”

a. Referring to the typhoon that saved Japan from being destroyed by a Mongol invasion in 1281

Iwo Jima

1. United States invasion was aimed at capturing the airfields on the Island

2. Japan was heavily fortified on the island

a. Bunkers

b. Hidden Artillery

c. Eleven miles of tunnels

3. First attack by the United States on Japanese Home Islands

4. Island had provided an airbase for Japan

a. Could intercept long-range Allied bombers

b. Provided a haven for Japanese naval units who needed support

c. Capture would have meant eliminating problems for the Allies

Okinawa

1. Largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Campaign

2. Referred to as “Typhoon of Steel”

a. Referring to the intense fighting that took place

i. Gunfire

ii. Large number of Allied ships was involved

iii. Number of armed vehicles used to assault the island

Island had large civilian population

Approximately 150,000 of them were killed during the fighting

Battle was not expected to be the last by either side
Soviet Union declared war on Japan during August in 1945
Believed this is what an invasion of Japan would be like if the Allies tried

Massive losses on both sides
Japanese willing to do anything to win for the Emperor

Scientists View of the Atomic Bomb

1. Mixed feelings among scientists

a. Some believed the use of the Atomic Bomb would save American lives

2. Other scientists felt strong enough against its use to submit a petition to the President

a. Believed it was immoral to use without fair warning to Japan

i. Believed that Japanese officials should view what the bomb could do and see if they would

surrender

Impact of the Bomb in the World Immediate Future

1. Beginning of the Cold War

a. Soviet Union concerned that the United States would have an advantage over them

Peacekeeping

1. Different opinion as to what should happen to Germany by Soviet Union and Britain

a. Roosevelt acted as a mediator between the two nations

2. Yalta Conference in 1945

a. Made concessions with Russia

i. Wanted them to join the United Nations

ii. Wanted them to join in the war with Japan

b. Roosevelt convinced Churchill to agree to a temporary division of Germany

Four zones that would eventually be reunited

Each zone would be ruled under one of these four nations

France
Soviet Union
Britain
United States

What Happened to the Surviving Japanese and German Leaders

1. Allies put Nazi leaders on trial for war crimes

a. This followed the discovery of Hitler’s death camps

b. These individuals were charged with crimes against humanity

2. Trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany

a. Some sentenced to death

b. Others sentenced to life in prison

3. Japanese leaders were also arrested and placed on trial

a. Seven of them were sentenced to death

4. Japanese officials in the Philippines, China and other battlegrounds were tried for atrocities against civilians and

prisoners of war

Japan At the Conclusion of the War

1. American occupation

a. Headed by General MacArthur

2. Nation’s economy was introduced to the free-market practice

3. Government was transformed

a. New Constitution

b. Free elections

c. Democratic government presided over the Emperor

War Affects American Workers

1. Good for workers

a. Defense Industry boomed

b. Unemployment fell

2. Women were once again employed

3. Prices and wage controls averaged a 10% pay raise

4. Long work hours with overtime

Population Patterns Affected by the Defense Industry

1. Triggered the greatest mass migration in American history

a. Millions of people poured into California between 1941 and 1944

2. Towns with defense industries populations doubled or tripled

3. African Americans left the south for northern cities to work

Home Life Activities during the War

1. Children were being left with family members, child care centers or alone

a. Fathers fighting the war

b. Mothers working

2. Juveniles without parent supervision became delinquents

3. War helped create new families

a. Long time sweethearts rushed to marry before leaving for war

4. Government passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act to help men return to civilian life

Treatment of African Americans

1. African Americans made some progress at home

a. Thousands left the south to the Midwest

i. Worked at skilled or semiskilled jobs

2. Discrimination was present where ever they went

a. Civil Rights leader founded an interracial organization

i. Congress of Racial Equality in 1942

3. Racial violence swept across the country

Internment Camps

1. Pearl Harbor resulted in citizens fearing Japanese citizens

a. Fear that they would commit sabotage

b. Resulted in prejudice against Japanese Americans

2. War Department called for the mass evacuation of all Japanese Americans in Hawaii

a. Removal would have destroyed the economy

b. Hinder military operations

3. Military was eventually ordered to place 1,444 Japanese Americans into interment on Hawaii

4. The west coast of the United States placed 110,000 Japanese Americans into interment camps

a. Individuals forced to relocate lost everything.

i. Homes

ii. Business

iii. Jobs

iv. Belongings they could not bring with them

5. Japanese American Citizen League pushed the government to compensate those sent to interment camps

a. Congress authorized $38 million to provide for losses of Japanese families during that time in 1965

b. In 1978, Regan signed a bill promising $20,000 for every Japanese American sent to a camp.

Source : http://sharepoint.aasd.k12.wi.us/staff/NHSStaff/HERMANSENJOEL/US/Shared%20Documents/Notes/World%20War%20II.doc

Web site link: http://sharepoint.aasd.k12.wi.us/staff/NHSStaff/HERMANSENJOEL/US/

Google key word : World War summary and notes file type : doc

Author : not indicated on the source document of the above text

World War summary and notes

If you want to quickly find the pages about a particular topic as World War summary and notes use the following search engine:

World War summary and notes

World War summary and notes

World War summary and notes

World War summary and notes

World War summary and notes

World War summary and notes

Please visit our home page

Larapedia.com Terms of service and privacy page

World War summary and notes