Download Name: Period: ______ US History Homework Packet #18 Points

Name: ____________________________________
Period: _______
US History
Homework Packet #18
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Section
Part I: Read the Notes and Complete the matching assignment and timeline
Part II: Art—Create a World War II Battle Memorial
Part III: Creative Writing
Part I: Notes and Matching
Stalingrad
Iwo Jima
Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Midway
Battle of Okinawa
D-Day Invasion
Major battles and military turning points
North Africa
 El Alamein—German forces threatening to
seize Egypt and the Suez Canal were defeated
by the British. This defeat prevented Hitler
from gaining access to Middle Eastern oil
supplies and attacking the Soviet Union from
the south. Forces battle between July and
November 1942.
Europe
 Blitzkrieg—Germany’s invasion of Poland is
called Blitzkrieg because it was “lightning
fast.” Both France and Britain declare war on
Germany after this1939 invasion.
 Stalingrad—Hundreds of thousands of
German soldiers were killed or captured in a
months-long siege of the Russian city of
Stalingrad in 1943. This defeat prevented
Germany from seizing the Soviet oil fields
and turned the tide against Germany in the
east.
 Normandy landings (D-Day)— American and
Allied troops under Eisenhower landed in
German-occupied France on June 6, 1944.
Despite intense German opposition and heavy
American casualties, the landings succeeded
and the liberation of Western Europe from
Hitler had begun.
Pacific
 Midway (June 1942)—In the “Miracle of
Midway,” American naval forces defeated a
much larger Japanese force as it prepared to
seize Midway Island. Coming only a few
months after Pearl Harbor, a Japanese victory
at Midway would have enabled Japan to
invade Hawaii. The American victory ended
the Japanese threat to Hawaii and began a
series of American victories in the “island
hopping” campaign that carried the war closer
and closer to Japan.
 Iwo Jima and Okinawa (1945)—The
American invasions of the islands of Iwo Jima
and Okinawa brought American forces closer
than ever to Japan, but both invasions cost
thousands of American lives and even more
Japanese lives, as Japanese soldiers fought
fiercely over every square inch of the islands
and Japanese soldiers and civilians committed
suicide rather than surrender.
1. Place the battles from World War II on the timeline.
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1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Matching:
____ 1. Battle of Midway
a. German airplanes repeatedly bombed military and civilian targets in
England, especially large industrial cities like London. The British Royal
Air Force fights back and prevents Germany from taking over Britain.
____ 2. Battles of Iwo Jima and
Okinawa
b. The surprise attack by Japan on the US Naval fleet (group of ships) in
Hawaii. The United States started fighting in WWII because of this
attack.
____ 3. Blitzkrieg
c. A turning-point naval battle in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and the
United States. The United States broke Japanese codes, learned of the
attack and planned an ambush. After this battle, the United States was on
the offense in the Pacific and will began the island-hopping campaign.
____ 4. Pearl Harbor
d. The last two battles between Japan and the United States in the Pacific
Theater. Because the Japanese refused to surrender, the fighting was
extremely brutal and bloody. The US predicted that an invasion of
mainland Japan would result in massive deaths, so the president decided
to drop atomic bombs rather than invade.
____ 5. Battle of Britain
e. The Allies invaded of France on the beaches of Normandy in order to
free the country of France from Nazi German occupation. After France
was freed, the Allies moved toward Germany to force an end to the war in
Europe.
____ 6. Battle of Stalingrad
f. This battle was an important victory for the Allies. The battle was fought
in North Africa over control of the Suez Canal. Both sides wanted to
control the Suez Canal because it was the easiest way to get oil, which was
very important for winning the war.
____ 7. Battle of El-Alamein
g. The people of Russia fought back as the German soldiers lay siege to their
city. The Germans were defeated and as a result Germany could not get
to the Soviet oil fields. This battle is considered a turning point battle
because Germany was forced to retreat.
____ 8. D-Day
h. WWII officially started in Europe when Germany invaded Poland with
lightning fast attacks. Britain and France declared war on Germany
because of this invasion.
Part II:
World War II Battle
Memorials
Assignment
A memorial is a statue or a group of statues made to remember something important. The picture shows the
memorial for The Battle of Iwo Jima. It reminds people of the battle and the soldiers that fought and died in the
battle.
Your assignment is to pick one battle from WWII (listed in Part I) and draw a memorial that would help people
remember the battle and the soldiers who died fighting. Your memorial should show facts about the battle. On the
back of your memorial, explain in writing why you made the memorial the way you did.
Example of writing: My battle monument includes an airplane because the Battle of Britain was fought in the air between the Air
Force of . . .
Part III: Creative Writing. Write a brag or a whine for a soldier who fought in any of the battles listed in Part I.
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