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Unit 10
World War II
The war began in September 1939, when Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland despite the attempts at
appeasement in the 1930s. Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany but took little action at first. In
1940, Germany started to take over Europe. Later in the summer of 1940, Germany launched an attack on Britain, the first
all-air battle. The Battle of Britain was Germany’s 1st military failure, as its air force, the Luftwaffe, wasn’t able to
defeat Britain’s Royal Air Force. Italy, an Axis power with Germany & Japan, expanded the war further by invading
Greece and North Africa. In June, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The invasion of the USSR would prove to
be Germany’s downfall since the USSR was just too big, strong and determined. In 1943, after the turning point Battle of
Stalingrad, Germany was forced into a full-scale retreat, after which the Russians pursued them into Germany itself in
1945.
The Normandy Invasion - On June 6, 1944, British, Canadian & US forces launched the D-Day invasion, landing in
German-occupied France on the coast of Normandy. General Eisenhower led this air, land, and sea invasion which
proved to be the largest in history. By early 1945, Allied forces were closing in on Germany from both east and west.
Germany surrendered in May 1945, shortly after the suicide of Adolf Hitler.
The Pacific Theater
The war in the Pacific began on December 7, 1941, when Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. Japan had already been at war with China for several years. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan began
expansion throughout the Pacific region.
The U.S. Entrance and Battle of Midway
Although the US declared war on Japan the day after Pearl Harbor, it would be months before U.S. forces would get
involved militarily. In 1942, the US & Japan engaged in battles, climaxing in the turning point Battle of Midway on June
3–6, 1942. For the first time, aircraft carriers played a decisive role in defeating Japan.
Island Hopping (taking control of some islands to get close to Japan)
Fighting continued in the Pacific in 1944 and early 1945, including major battles at Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. By the late
spring of 1945, most of Asia had been liberated, and Allied forces were closing in on Japan itself. The Allies began heavy
bombing campaigns against major Japanese cities, including Tokyo. This continued through the summer of 1945 until
finally, in early August, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Japan
surrendered a few days later.
THE COLD WAR
The Cold War began during and after World War II. The main enemies were the United States and Soviet Union,
the only 2 remaining superpowers after WWII. The Cold War got its name because both sides were afraid of fighting
each other directly since their nuclear weapons might destroy everything. Instead, they fought each other indirectly by
supporting conflicts in different parts of the world and threatening each other. The Cold War was the major force in world
politics from 1945 until the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989. Beginning with Harry Truman, the U.S. adopted a
policy of containment. The Truman Doctrine was a plan to give money and military aid to countries threatened by
communism and it stopped communists from taking control of Greece and Turkey. The Marshall Plan provided help to
Western Europe, strengthening it so that the popularity of communist parties declined.
In occupied Germany in June 1948, the Soviets blocked all entrances into the western part of Berlin, Germany.
President Truman quickly ordered military planes to fly coal, food, and medicine to the city. The Berlin Airlift
continued for more than a year until the blockade ended.
The United States also led the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. NATO
was a joint military group designed for collective security. Its purpose was to defend against Soviet forces in Europe [or,
as the saying went, "to keep Russia out, America in and Germany down"]. The Soviet Union and its east European allies
formed their own joint military group -- the Warsaw Pact -- six years later. The United States then helped eight Asian
nations fight communism by establishing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) which was later dissolved
when South Vietnam fell to communism.
In 1953, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died. His death gave the new American president, Dwight Eisenhower, a
chance to deal with new Soviet leaders. Cold War tensions increased, then eased, then increased again over the years
around the world, in Vietnam and elsewhere. The Cold War also affected the Middle East, and President Eisenhower
promised aid there in the Eisenhower Doctrine. In 1959, Cold War tensions eased a little. The new Soviet leader, Nikita
Khrushchev, in his policy of peaceful co-existence, visited Dwight Eisenhower at his holiday home near Washington.
John Kennedy followed Eisenhower as president in 1961. During his early days in office, Cuban exiles invaded Cuba in
the Bay of Pigs invasion. They wanted to get rid of the communist government of Fidel Castro. The exiles had been
trained by the CIA but the invasion was a failure. In Europe, tens of thousands of East Germans had fled to the west. East
Germany's communist government decided to stop them. The Berlin Wall was built separating the eastern and western
parts of the city. Guards shot at anyone who tried to flee by climbing over. During Kennedy's second year in office,
American intelligence reports discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis easily could have resulted in
a nuclear war. But, it ended after a U.S. blockade of Cuba (“the quarantine”) convinced Soviet leader Khrushchev to
remove the missiles if the United States agreed not to interfere in Cuba. Relations between east and west also improved
when Richard Nixon, the first president to visit China and the USSR, adopted the idea of détente. A major change in the
cold war took place in 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev held four meetings
with President Ronald Reagan. By 1989 there was widespread unrest in Eastern Europe. The Berlin Wall was torn down
in November. East and West Germany became one nation again. A few months later, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved.
Two years later, after 45 years of protracted conflict and constant tension, the Cold War ended with the collapse of the
Soviet Union.
KOREAN WAR (1950-53)
Cold War tensions eventually exploded in Korea when Soviet-backed North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950.
Determined not to let Communism spread in East Asia, Truman quadrupled military spending and the UN (in a police
action) ordered General MacArthur to push back the North Koreans. MacArthur succeeded and then pushed the North
Koreans almost up to the Chinese border. Threatened, over a million soldiers from Communist China poured into Korea,
forcing MacArthur to retreat back to the 38th parallel, which had originally divided North Korea from South Korea.
When MacArthur began to criticize Truman publicly for his unwillingness to use nuclear weapons in Korea, Truman was
forced to fire his top general for insubordination. United States forces remained at the 38th parallel for two more years, at
the cost of more than 50,000 American lives, until peace in 1953.
McCarthyism—In 1950, first-term Wisconsin Republican senator and member of the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC), Joseph McCarthy, accused more than 200 federal employees of being communists, resulting in
their being blacklisted. Even though McCarthy had no proof to support these claims, Americans supported his goals to
find more “Soviet agents” hiding in Washington. Thousands of people were wrongfully persecuted. McCarthy’s influence
ended when he accused the U.S. Army of harboring (hiding) communists.
VIETNAM WAR
The Geneva Accords of 1954 divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel into North Vietnam (communist and led by Ho
Chi Minh) and South Vietnam. U.S. policy at the time was dominated by the domino theory, which held that the “fall”
of North Vietnam to Communism might trigger all of Southeast Asia to fall, setting off a sort of Communist chain
reaction. Under Eisenhower, the US began to offer support to South Vietnam to fight the Communists. In 1962, President
John F. Kennedy sent US “military advisors” to Vietnam to help train the South Vietnamese army. After North
Vietnamese forces allegedly attacked U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, President Johnson was given the
power to send in US troops under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Bombing campaigns such as 1965’s Operation
Rolling Thunder continued, and the conflict in Vietnam escalated. Johnson’s “Americanization” of the war led to a
presence of nearly 400,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam by the end of 1966. The Viet Cong’s guerrilla tactics frustrated and
demoralized U.S. troops.
In 1968, the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong launched a massive campaign called the Tet Offensive. Although
the United States pushed back the offensive and won, U.S. public support for the war decreased. In 1968, frustrated U.S.
soldiers killed unarmed Vietnamese civilians in what came to be known as the My Lai Massacre. Protests against
Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia and the draft grew violent, resulting in the deaths of four students at Kent State University
in 1970. Nixon began a policy of Vietnamization, promising to withdraw U.S. troops gradually and hand over the war
effort to the South Vietnamese. After secret negotiations in 1972, a cease-fire was finally signed in January 1973 and the
last U.S. military left Vietnam in March of 1973. In 1974, North Vietnamese forces stepped up their attacks on the South.
On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, who reunited the country under
communist rule as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam..
Review – Student Copy
World War II
The war began in September 1939, when Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded ______________ despite the
attempts at ________________________ in the 1930s. Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany but
took little action at first. In 1940, Germany started to take over Europe. Later in the summer of 1940, Germany launched
an attack on _____________, the first all-_____battle. The Battle of Britain was Germany’s 1st military failure, as its air
force, the Luftwaffe, wasn’t able to defeat Britain’s Royal Air Force. Italy, an ___________ power with Germany &
Japan, expanded the war further by invading Greece and North Africa. In June, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
The invasion of the USSR would prove to be Germany’s downfall since the USSR was just too big, strong and
determined. In 1943, after the turning point Battle of ______________________, Germany was forced into a full-scale
retreat, after which the Russians pursued them into Germany itself in 1945.
The Normandy Invasion - On June 6, _____, British, Canadian & US forces launched the ____________ invasion,
landing in German-occupied France on the coast of ____________________. General ______________________ led this
air, land, and sea invasion which proved to be the largest in history. By early 1945, Allied forces were closing in on
Germany from both the east and the west. Germany surrendered in May 1945, shortly after the suicide of Adolf Hitler.
The Pacific Theater
The war in the Pacific began on December 7, ________, when Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base at
________________________, Hawaii. Japan had already been at war with China for several years. After the Pearl Harbor
attack, Japan began expansion throughout the Pacific region.
The U.S. Entrance and Battle of Midway
Although the US declared war on _____________ the day after Pearl Harbor, it would be months before U.S. forces
would get involved militarily. In 1942, the US & Japan engaged in battles, climaxing in the turning point Battle of
___________________ on June 3–6, 1942. For the first time, aircraft carriers played a decisive role in defeating Japan.
Island Hopping (taking control of some islands to get close to Japan)
Fighting continued in the Pacific in 1944 and early 1945, including major battles at Iwo Jima, and _________________.
By the late spring of 1945, most of Asia had been liberated (freed), and Allied forces were closing in on Japan itself. The
Allies began heavy bombing campaigns against major Japanese cities, including Tokyo. This continued through the
summer of 1945 until finally, in early August, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima &
____________________________ Japan surrendered a few days later.
THE COLD WAR
The Cold War began during and after World War II. The main enemies were the _____________________ and
____________________________, the only 2 remaining superpowers after WWII. The Cold War got its name because
both sides were afraid of fighting each other directly since their ________________ weapons might destroy everything.
Instead, they fought each other indirectly by supporting conflicts in different parts of the world and threatening each other.
The Cold War was the major force in world politics from 1945 until the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989. Beginning
with ________________________, the U.S. adopted a policy of __________________. The Truman Doctrine was a
plan to give money and military aid to countries threatened by communism and it stopped communists from taking control
of ________________ and Turkey. The _____________________- provided help to Western Europe, strengthening it so
that the popularity of communist parties declined.
In occupied Germany in June 1948, the Soviets blocked all entrances into the ________________ part of Berlin,
Germany. President ____________________ quickly ordered military planes to fly coal, food, and medicine to the city.
The Berlin _________________ continued for more than a year until the blockade ended.
The United States also led the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (_____________) in 1949.
NATO was a joint military group designed for _________________________. Its purpose was to defend against Soviet
forces in Europe [or, as the saying went, "to keep Russia out, America in and Germany down"]. The Soviet Union and its
east European allies formed their own joint military group -- the _____________________ -- six years later. The United
States then helped eight Asian nations fight communism by establishing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
(____________) which was later dissolved when South Vietnam fell to communism.
In 1953, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died. His death gave the new American president, ___________________
______________________, a chance to deal with new Soviet leaders. Cold War tensions increased, then eased, then
increased again over the years around the world, in Vietnam and elsewhere. The Cold War also affected the ___________
___________, and President Eisenhower promised aid there in the Eisenhower Doctrine. In 1959, Cold War tensions
eased a little. The new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, in his policy of peaceful co-existence, visited Dwight
Eisenhower at his holiday home near Washington. ____________________ followed Eisenhower as president in 1961.
During his early days in office, Cuban exiles invaded Cuba in the ___________________________ invasion. They
wanted to get rid of the communist government of Fidel Castro. The exiles had been trained by the CIA, but the invasion
was a failure. In Europe, tens of thousands of East Germans had fled to the west. East Germany's communist government
decided to stop them. The _______________________was built separating the eastern and western parts of the city.
Guards shot at anyone who tried to flee by climbing over. During Kennedy's second year in office, American intelligence
reports discovered Soviet missiles in _________ The Cuban Missile Crisis easily could have resulted in a nuclear war.
But, it ended after a U.S. __________________ of Cuba (“the quarantine”) convinced Soviet leader Khrushchev to
remove the missiles if the United States agreed not to interfere in Cuba. Relations between east and west also improved
when Richard Nixon, the first president to visit ___________ and the ________________, adopted the idea of
_________________. A major change in the cold war took place in 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the
Soviet Union. Gorbachev held four meetings with President ___________________________. By 1989 there was
widespread unrest in Eastern Europe. The Berlin Wall was torn down in November. East and West Germany became one
nation again. A few months later, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved. Two years later, after 45 years of protracted conflict
and constant tension, the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
KOREAN WAR (1950-53)
Cold War tensions eventually exploded in Korea when Soviet-backed North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950.
Determined not to let communism spread in East Asia, Truman quadrupled military spending and the UN (in a ________
_______________) ordered General ___________________ to push back the North Koreans. MacArthur succeeded and
then pushed the North Koreans almost up to the Chinese border. Threatened, over a million soldiers from communist
China poured into Korea, forcing MacArthur to retreat back to the _________ parallel, which had originally divided
North Korea from South Korea. When MacArthur began to criticize Truman publicly for his unwillingness to use nuclear
weapons in Korea, Truman was forced to fire his top general for ____________________________. United States forces
remained at the 38th parallel for two more years, at the cost of more than 50,000 American lives, until peace in 1953.
McCarthyism—In 1950, first-term Wisconsin Republican senator and member of the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC), ______________________________, accused more than 200 federal employees of being
communists, resulting in their being blacklisted. Even though McCarthy had no proof to support these claims, Americans
supported his goals to find more “Soviet agents” hiding in Washington. Thousands of people were wrongfully persecuted.
McCarthy’s influence ended when he accused the U.S. ___________ of harboring (hiding) communists.
VIETNAM WAR
The ________________________________of 1954 divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel into North Vietnam
(communist and led by ______________________) and South Vietnam. U.S. policy at the time was dominated by the
________________________________, which held that the “fall” of North Vietnam to Communism might trigger all of
Southeast Asia to fall, setting off a sort of Communist chain reaction. Under Eisenhower, the US began to offer support to
South Vietnam to fight the Communists. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy sent US “military ________________” to
Vietnam to help train the South Vietnamese army. After North Vietnamese forces allegedly attacked U.S. Navy ships in
the Gulf of _________________ in 1964, President Johnson was given the power to send in US troops under the Gulf of
Tonkin ___________________________. Bombing campaigns such as 1965’s ________________________________
Thunder continued, and the conflict in Vietnam escalated. Johnson’s “Americanization” of the war led to a presence of
nearly 400,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam by the end of 1966. The Viet _______________ guerrilla tactics frustrated and
demoralized U.S. troops.
In 1968, the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong launched a massive campaign called the ________
Offensive. Although the United States pushed back the offensive and won, U.S. public support for the war decreased. In
1968, frustrated U.S. soldiers killed unarmed Vietnamese civilians in what came to be known as the __________
Massacre. Protests against Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia and the draft grew violent, resulting in the deaths of four
students at ___________________ University in 1970. Nixon began a policy of ________________________, promising
to withdraw U.S. troops gradually and hand over the war effort to the ______________ Vietnamese. After secret
negotiations in 1972, a cease-fire was finally signed in January 1973 and the last U.S. military left Vietnam in March of
1973. In 1974, North Vietnamese forces stepped up their attacks on the South. On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese
capital of _____________________ fell to the North Vietnamese, who reunited the country under communist rule as the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam..