Download VUS.11ab Narrative

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VUS.11 a and b – World War II
The War in Europe
World War II began with Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939, followed shortly after by the Soviet
Union’s invasion from the east of Poland and the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia). During
the first two years of the war, the United States stayed officially neutral, as Germany overran both France
and most of Europe and pounded Great Britain from the air. This German air attack on Britain was called
the Battle of Britain. In mid-1941, Hitler turned on his former partner and invaded the Soviet Union.
Despite strong isolationist sentiment at home, the United States gradually abandoned neutrality
and increasingly helped Great Britain. In 1941 Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act, which allowed the
President to sell, lease, or lend defense equipment to nations whose defense the President deemed
(considered) vital to American security. Under this law, the United States gave Britain war supplies and
old naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean Sea. President Franklin
Roosevelt compared Lend-Lease to “lending a garden hose to a next-door neighbor whose house is on
fire.”
The War in Asia
During the 1930s a militaristic Japan invaded and brutalized Manchuria and China as it sought
military and economic domination over Asia. The United States refused to recognize Japanese
conquests in Asia and placed an embargo (ban) on exports of oil and steel to Japan. Tensions rose but
both countries negotiated to avoid war.
While negotiating with the United States and without warning, Japan carried out an air attack on
the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. This attack destroyed much of
the American Pacific fleet and killed several thousand Americans. President Roosevelt called December
7th “a date that will live in infamy” as he asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
After Pearl Harbor, Hitler honored the Axis pact (agreement) with Japan and declared war on the
United States. The debates over isolationism in the United States were over. World War II was now a
true world war and the United States was fully involved. The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet
Union were the three most important countries that made up the Allies. Winston Churchill was the British
prime minister (leader of the government) during World War II. The Soviet Union had come into
existence in 1917, when communist revolutionaries had overthrown the czar (king) of Russia. Josef
Stalin was the communist dictator of the Soviet Union during World War II. In theory communism is an
economic system in which all property and means of production are owned by society as a whole. As
practiced in the Soviet Union, communism was a form of government in which both political and
economic decisions were made by a small group of government leaders.
Allied Strategy
The United States and its allies, Great Britain and the Soviet Union, followed a “Defeat Hitler First”
strategy. Therefore, most American military resources were targeted for Europe. In the Pacific, American
military strategy called for an “island hopping” campaign. This meant the United States would seize
Pacific islands closer and closer to Japan and use them as bases for air attacks on Japan. In addition,
the United States would cut off Japanese supplies through submarine warfare against Japanese
shipping.
Axis Strategy
The Axis Powers were the World War II alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Germany hoped to
defeat the Soviet Union quickly, gain control of Soviet oil fields, and force Britain out of the war through a
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bombing campaign and submarine warfare, before America’s industrial and military strength could turn
the tide.
Following Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines and Indonesia and planned to invade both
Australia and Hawaii. Its leaders hoped that America would then accept Japanese predominance
(control) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, rather than conduct a bloody and costly war to reverse
Japanese gains.
Major Battles and Military Turning Points
North Africa:
El Alamein – The British defeated German forces, who were threatening to seize Egypt and the
Suez Canal. This defeat denied Hitler control over Middle Eastern oil supplies and prevented him from
potentially attacking the Soviet Union from the south.
Europe:
Stalingrad – The Soviet army killed or captured hundreds of thousands of German soldiers in a
months-long siege of the Russian city of Stalingrad. 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 General Dwight D. Eisenhower
landed in German-occupied France on 6 June 1944. Despite intense German opposition and heavy
American casualties, the landings succeeded and the liberation (freeing) of Western Europe from Hitler
had begun.
Pacific:
Midway – 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 – The American invasions of the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
brought American forces closer than ever to Japan. Both invasions cost thousands of American lives
and even more Japanese lives. Japanese soldiers fought fiercely over every square inch of the islands,
and Japanese soldiers and civilians committed suicide rather than surrender.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki (the atomic bomb) – Harry S. Truman, who became president when
FDR died in April, 1945, faced the prospect of very heavy casualties among both Americans and
Japanese, if American forces had to invade Japan itself. Therefore, President Truman ordered the use
of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force the Japanese to surrender.
Tens of thousands of people died in both cities. Shortly after the United States dropped the atomic
bombs, the Japanese leaders surrendered. President Truman, thereby, avoided the need for American
forces to invade Japan.
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VUS.11ab QUESTIONS – World War II
1. How did the war in Europe begin?
2. What was America’s position on at the beginning of the war?
3. How long did America hold the position in #2?
4. What was the Battle of Britain?
5. What was the Lend-Lease Act?
6. What was President Roosevelt’s reaction to the Lend-Lease Act?
7. How did the war in the Pacific begin?
8. What happened on December 7, 1941?
9. Why was the event from #6 a surprise to the Americans?
10. What was the Axis Pact?
11. What was Roosevelt’s quote about the attacks at Pearl Harbor?
12. Who were the three main countries of the Allies?
13. What were the Axis powers?
14. What were the two Allied strategies?
15. What were the axis strategies?
16. What was Hitler trying to gain in North Africa?
17. What was Germany trying to get in Stalingrad?
18. What happened June 6, 1944?
19. What did the American victory at Midway prevent?
20. Iwo Jima and Okinawa got America closer to _____.
21. In order to avoid being captured, what did many Japanese soldiers do?
22. What president made the decision to use the Atomic Bomb?
23. What was the American alternative to dropping the atomic bomb(s) in Japan?
24. Create a timeline of FIVE events from the narrative. Make sure to include both the date and title
of the event.