Download WWII – US Enters the War

WORLD WAR II
Part V Notes: United States Enters World War II
United States History 11
Moving Away from Neutrality:
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Axis Powers – Germany, Italy, Japan; formed the Tripartite Pact, which builds an alliance system between the three Axis nations to serve as a
deterrent for the United States entering the war.
Why is this important? – the United States feared a two-ocean war; Roosevelt still vows to provide Great Britain with all “aid short of war.”
Germany Invades the Soviet Union:
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Hitler wanted more “living space” for the German people and hadn’t gotten
it yet (Lebensraum)
Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1944) – German Army invades the Soviet
Union; Soviets bitterly resist the German advance; burned supplies as they
pulled back; Russian winter sets in causing German advance to stop;
Blitzkrieg cannot work if logistics are not available; with the United States
using Lend-Lease, the Soviets were able to continue to get resupplied;
Churchill: “If Hitler invaded hell, Great Britain would be prepared to work
with the devil himself.” “…a Date Which Will Live in Infamy…”
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United States had cut off trade with Japan after they invaded Indochina
November 5, 1941 – Japanese sends delegates to talk about peace with the Americans and reconnect oil purchases
December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor is attacked
¬ Tora, Tora, Tora!
¬ Americans taken by surprise by first wave of attacks; targeted airfields and battleship row
¬ Second wave targets other ships and shipyard facilities
¬ Air raid lasts about two hours; eight battleships were damaged and five sunk; three light cruisers, three destroyers, 188 aircraft, etc. were
lost in the raid
¬ Escaping damage were the prime targets – three of the Pacific fleets prized carriers (Lexington, Enterprise, Saratoga)
¬ The casualty list includes 2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians killed, with 1,178 wounded. Included are 1,104 men aboard the Battleship
USS Arizona killed after a 1,760-pound air bomb penetrated into the forward magazine causing catastrophic explosions.
Converting the American Economy:
§ Industrial output during WW2 was twice as productive as Germany and five times
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more productive than Japan; turned the tide in favor of the Allies; part of the success
was the result of the government mobilizing the economy before the United States
entered the war
Roosevelt and his advisors believed the best way to rapidly mobilize the economy was
to give industry an incentive to move quickly; the government signed cost-plus
contracts agreeing to pay a company whatever the manufacturing cost, plus a
guaranteed percentage of the costs as profit
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) – set up during the Great Depression;
made loans to companies in order to help them with the cost of converting to war
production
Almost all major American industries and over 200,000 companies converted to war
production
Automobile factories turned to the production of trucks, jeeps, and tanks. Others built
artillery, rifles, mines, helmets, pontoon bridges, cooking pots, etc.
Ford Motor Company created an assembly line for bomber aircraft
War Production Board (WPB) – set priorities and production goals; control the
distribution of raw materials and supplies
Office of War Mobilization (OWM) – settle arguments between different agencies Building the Armed Forces:
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After the fall of France, Congress was no longer opposed to the idea of a peacetime draft. The Selective Service and Training Act was a plan
for the first peacetime draft in American history.
GIs (nickname given to recruits; stands for “government issue”) went through basic training for eight weeks; some complained the short time
spent in training did not adequately equip them for the difficulties of combat.
Congress established the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in 1942; this was the first time women were allowed in the military; by
1943, women became a part of regular war operations.
African American Involvement in World War II:
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Double-V Campaign – many African Americans were disenfranchised (had been denied the right to vote). An African American newspaper,
Pittsburg Courier, launched the Double-V Campaign stating that African Americans should join the war effort because a win would be a double
victory over racism abroad and at home.
Roosevelt, knowing the African American vote had helped him win office, ordered the United States military to recruit and send African
Americans into combat
Tuskegee Airmen:
¬ 99th Pursuit Squadron; would train African American pilots at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Tuskegee, Alabama
¬ Thirteen started the class and only five finished; one of the most famous of the first class was Capt. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (previously
had graduated from West Point)
¬ The “Fighting 99th” would play an important role in escorting Allied bombers over Europe to protect them from German fighters
¬ Made famous by their “red tails”
¬ Played an important role in the Battle of Anzio (Italy)