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World War II By Chris Anderson Italy’s Early Military Attempts 1935: Benito Mussolini wanted to test his powers He “flexed his muscles” by invading Ethiopia (Africa) Ethiopian soldiers had no chance against Mussolini’s mechanized military Ethiopians were fighting on horseback with outdated weapons By the Spring of 1936, Italy had control over Ethiopia Japan—Prime Minister Hideki Tojo Japan’s government shifted from a civilian controlled government to a military controlled government after the world wide depression struck in the 1920s and 1930s The military government was looking to create an empire for Japan Japan’s growing population placed heavy strains on the nation’s resources Japan needed to find new places to get the resources it needed—especially land and raw materials Japan was also tired of being dependent on other nations for much of the resources they needed A Pacific Empire would make Japan more self-sufficient and less reliant on other nations Japan started their quest for an empire even before their involvement in World War I 1895: Japan had gained the island of Taiwan 1904-1905: Japan had gained land in Korea and parts of Manchuria Japan wanted the rest of Manchuria 1931: Japan invaded Manchuria to get its iron and coal Japan also wanted the land in Manchuria so that Japan could colonize the land to produce agricultural and industrial goods By 1932, Japan had control over Manchuria Japan installed a “puppet government” in Manchuria The League of Nations looked down on Japan for Japan’s taking of Manchuria 1937: Japan moved its forces into Northern China Japan withdrew from the League of Nations Japan executed over 200,000 Chinese citizens in their capture of the Chinese capital—called the “China Incident” 1940: Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany—creating the Axis Powers Each nation pledged to help one another if the U. S. attacked either Japan, Germany, or Italy By the fall of 1941, Hideki Tojo had become Prime Minister of Japan The U. S. had become very upset at Japan’s attacks on China FDR cut off all fuel and metal shipments to Japan America’s Early Reactions The U. S. was witnessing everything going on in the world The U. S. wanted to ensure its non-involvement if war was to break out again Congress passed the Neutrality Acts The acts prohibited the sale of American weapons to nations at war American citizens were advised not to travel on ships of warring nations Countries at war had to pay cash for non-military goods purchased from the U. S. FDR asked Congress for more $ to spend on the development of tanks, planes, guns, etc.—in case the U. S. had to go to war Rise of Germany and Appeasement 1938: Hitler marched into Austria and proclaimed Austria part of Germany 6 months later, Hitler’s troops marched into the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia Hitler faced NO opposition in gaining Austria This region had a large German population No one in Europe was willing to stand up to Hitler and challenge his taking over of Europe France and Great Britain took on a policy of appeasement toward Hitler France and Great Britain were trying to avoid war with Hitler They would give into Hitler’s demands in an attempt to keep peace September 1938: a conference was held in Munich British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier agreed NOT to oppose Hitler’s advance into the Sudetenland The 3 nations signed the Munich Pact—this allowed Hitler’s conquest of the Sudetenland to stand Chamberlain believed war had been averted by the Munich Pact—”We have secured peace in our time.” Non-Aggression Pact and the Soviet Union 5 months after the signing of the Munich Pact, Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia August 29, 1939: Hitler signed the NonAggression Pact with Stalin and the USSR The Pact stated that neither nation would attack the other Hitler, could then, avoid a 2-front war—he could concentrate his efforts on the West and France Invasion of Poland Hitler and Stalin had divided Poland between them in the Non-aggression Pact With Stalin’s approval, Hitler’s mobile army moved into Poland on September 1, 1939 Hitler’s Luftwaffe (air force) bombed Polish cities His Panzer tank divisions stormed into Poland This swift attack style is called Blitzkrieg (lightening) warfare September 3, 1939: France and Great Britain declared war on Germany—World War II had begun Invasion and Fall of France France had prepared for a German invasion Nearly 1-million French soldiers stood along the French/German border in an attempt to protect France England had also sent supplies and troops to help aid the French in a possible German attack May 1940: German tanks stormed across the French border from Belgium The Germans went north and swept in behind the French troops defending the border The fortified guns of the Maginot Line were never fired The failure of the Maginot Line to defend France sucked the life out of many in France The massive tank attacks and constant bombardment by the Luftwaffe caused the French and British to retreat By the end of the month, many French soldiers had given up the fight The British had retreated all the way to Dunkirk—a port on the English Channel The British were saved by boarding private ships that took them back to England The evacuation of the British left the French to fight alone June 3: Paris was bombed One week later, Italy declared war on France and attacked Southern France June 14: Germans marched into Paris June 22: France surrendered to Hitler Hitler could now focus on Great Britain Battle of Britain Hitler now set out to conquer Great Britain Great Britain was now led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill Hitler attempted to use his Luftwaffe to bomb the British The British conquered with their Royal Air Force The RAF had better planes and pilots The RAF shot down hundreds of German planes Hitler put a ban on the daytime bombing of Great Britain Hitler started attacked Great Britain at night from Sept. 1940 until May 1941 Hitler also started using his V-2 rockets to bomb Great Britain Churchill pleaded for the Americans to give the British some aid against the Germans America’s Response Many in the U. S. felt that the nation should have stayed out of WWI and were in favor of the Neutrality Acts These people were isolationists Others believed in interventionism and believed the U. S. should give all possible support to Great Britain—except a full scale declaration of war FDR remained cautious as not to offend any groups within the United States After the French fell to Germany in 1940, FDR began sending aid to the British September 1940: FDR sent 50 American destroyers to Britain in return for the right to establish U. S. naval bases on British held lands FDR also singed into law the Selective Training and Service Act—the 1st peacetime draft in history All men between the ages of 21 and 35 were eligible Over 1 million men served 1-year terms, but they only served in the Western Hemisphere FDR was trying to build an American military in case the U.S. got involved in the war In 1941, after his re-election—FDR created the Lend-Lease Bill This was open support for the Allies The president had the right to sell, lend, or lease military supplies to any nations deemed vital to the defense of the U. S. Most Americans supported the Lend-Lease Bill The U. S. was not physically at war with Germany, but was in an economic war with Germany March 1941: Congress approved the Lend-Lease bill Summer 1941: German subs sank many American and British ships carrying supplies to Great Britain FDR ordered the US navy to help track German subs The Navy was ordered to escort British ships and destroy any subs trying to sink the ships Fall 1941: a German sub sank an American destroyer FDR ordered the navy to shoot Axis ships on sight October 1941: German subs sank 2 American destroyers killing 100 American sailors Congress responded by repealing the Neutrality Acts FDR and Churchill met to talk about what would happen in the world when and if the war ended The 2 created the Atlantic Charter— becomes the basis for the United Nations German Invasion of the Soviet Union 1939: Germany and the USSR signed the Non-aggression Pact Stalin still did not fully trust Hitler June 22, 1941: Germany invaded the Soviet Union The invasion took Stalin and the Soviets by surprise German troops used Blitzkrieg warfare to take Leningrad and the Crimean Peninsula By November 1941, Germany had the capital of Moscow surrounded The harsh Soviet winter helped the Soviet military push the Germans back Spring 1942: Germans attacked Soviet oil fields in SW Russia September 1942: 300,000 German soldiers were attacking Stalingrad the Battle of Stalingrad lasted 5 months until the Germans surrendered in 1943 The surrender stopped the German’s advance eastward Stalin never forgave the Allies for failing to support the Soviet’s defense—one reason for the Cold War United States Enters the War Although the US had gone a long ways to help Great Britain, the US had not officially entered the war Japan had started taking steps that made FDR upset FDR placed further embargoes on Japan after Japan made an alliance with Germany and Italy—Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis The US continued to use negotiation to deal with the Japanese instead of taking hostile action The US would only reopen trade with Japan if Japan pulled out of China and Indochina By November 1941: war with Japan was just about inevitable—everyone knew it Japan decided it was time to act Most Americans believed the attack would come in Malaysia or the Philippines The Japanese planned to attack the Americans at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii December 7, 1941: the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor destroying many American ships and killing thousands of American sailors The attack only lasted 3 hours 19 ships were destroyed 188 planes were destroyed 2400 men were killed December 8, 1941: FDR asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan A few days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States The US had officially entered WWII The US had to prepare for war on 2 fronts One in Europe One in the Pacific As soon as war was declared, the draft was increased in the United States Thousands of men and women voluntarily enlisted in the military By 1945, the US had 12 million people in the military About 1 million soldiers were AfricanAmericans The military was segregated into black and white units Most black units were commanded by whites Many black soldiers were put into cooking or laboring jobs Racial discrimination existed on most military bases Some African-Americans did get to see some battle action Hispanic-Americans and JapaneseAmericans also fought for the US in WWII Japanese-Americans were the most decorated war heroes in World War II The War @ Home in the United States: Conflict between the different races was going on in the US while the US was fighting in WWII Segregation was the norm in the southern states 1.) African Americans: Segregation was legal in the 1940s The war gave many civil rights groups a reason to protest against segregation A. Philip Randolph led the movement for black equality Randolph was upset that minorities were excluded from the high paying industrial jobs in many wartime plants Randolph organized the March on Washington Movement (MOWM) “We loyal American citizens demand the right to work and fight for our country.”—A. Philip Randolph A. Philip Randolph 1943: riots broke out in Detroit Blacks attacked white workers The next day, a mob of whites roamed the streets looking for any blacks they could find 25 blacks and 6 whites were killed 2.) Mexican-Americans: Thousands of farm workers form Mexico illegally entered the US to work—American Southwest Many of these workers had children in the US Those born in American were called Chicanos The Chicanos began getting jobs in industry— willing to work for less than poor whites and blacks In Los Angeles, the discrimination against the Chicanos and Hispanic-Americans turned into hatred Many Hispanic teenagers wore “Zoot Suits”—a long jacket with padded shoulders and pleated pants The Zoot Suiters and white sailors squard off in LA The sailors blamed Zoot Suiters for stabbing and robbing a group of white sailors The sailors roamed the Hispanic neighborhoods, beating up any one in a zoot suit The police arrested the zoot suiters, NOT the sailors 3.) Japanese Americans: 1942: many Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and placed in internment camps Many in the US government feared the Japanese Americans were going to try to sabotage the US from within—helping Japan win the war Over 100,000 Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps even though they showed NO signs of disloyalty The people were eventually released and a public apology was given to them by the US government Ironically, Japanese American soldiers were the most decorated of all American soldiers in WWII How the War Changed Home Life: As soon as the US officially entered the war, the US began to change Factories were converted over to produce materials for war Planes Tanks Weapons Uniforms The War Production Board (WPB) was created to oversee the transformation Production of non-essential materials was cut back The government paid businesses to build new plants and factories to produce war materials Industrial production nearly doubled— helping the economy The war and its need for materials caused the American economy to grow The nations GNP (Gross National Product) rose from $90 billion to $211 billion in 1945 17 million new jobs were created Crop prices doubled between 1940 and 1945 With more money, people looked to spend $ on stuff This need to spend caused prices on consumer goods to inflate FDR wanted to stop the inflation in prices FDR began freezing people’s wages FDR created the National War Labor Board (NWLB) to control wages and monitor inflation Workers said that if wages were to freeze, the prices on goods should also freeze 1942: Congress allowed the Office of Price Administration (OPA) to fix a maximum price on goods the OPA instituted rationing—limiting how much of something the people could buy Local rationing boards were created Each family had a quota on their rationing coupons Since most men were out fighting, women were needed to work in the factories Welding Carpentry Heavy construction The women had a job, but the job security was only temporary The women were paid less than men After the war, most of the women lost their jobs to the soldiers returning home To help pay for the war, the government began selling war bonds The government was borrowing $ from the US people People would buy a bond and, in a few years, they buyer would get their $ back plus interest The bonds also helped to control inflation European Front The Allies were in a jam early in the war with France surrendering and Hitler bombing Great Britain The Allies decided they had to fight an offensive war to have any chance of defeating Hitler Allied Offenses: Nov. 1942: the US and Great Britain landed troops in Northern Africa Trying to get Africa so the Allies could enter Europe through the back door The Allies marched into Morocco and Algeria The Allies faced the German tank commander Erwin Rommel The British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery defeated Rommel at El Alamein the Allied victory marked the turning point in the war The Allies had control over Northern Africa by 1943 From North Africa, the Allied launched an invasion of Southern Europe July 1943: the Allies landed in Sicily August 1943: the Allies had driven the Germans out of Sicily Mussolini’s fascist party fell out of power in Italy The Allies invaded Italy from Sicily September 8, 1943: Italy surrendered to the Allies June 4, 1944: the Allies finally liberated Rome D-DAY: June 6, 1944: General Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the largest land-sea-air attack in history—Operation Overlord 175,000 Allied soldiers came ashore on the coast of Normandy, France The Allies established a beach head, but suffered heavy casualties The Allies were trying to gain a foothold in Hitler’s Europe 2245 killed 1670 wounded From Normandy, the Allies began to launch an invasion into Europe to drive the Germans back to Germany Near the End: The Allies proved their superiority in the skies over Europe With control over the skies, Allied ground troops could move against the Germans August 25, 1945: Paris was liberated from the Germans By the end of the summer other European nations had been freed from German control France Belgium Luxembourg The Allied navy began using SONAR to track and destroy German U-boats The Allies also used naval convoys to help transport goods across the Atlantic Battle of the Bulge: Hitler launched one last ditch effort to help him win the war He launched a counter-offensive in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium German troops drove a bulge 80 miles long and 50 miles deep into the Allied lines After a week of fighting, the Allies were able to drive the Germans back The Battle of the Bulge was the final German offensive of the war the Allies could now advance toward Germany Yalta Conference : Just before the end of the war in Europe, the big three nations met at Yalta in the Soviet Union Great Britain—Winston Churchill United States—FDR Soviet Union—Joseph Stalin These nations and their representatives became known as the “Big Three” Churchill wanted to save the British empire Stalin wanted to protect his borders and rebuild the USSR FDR wanted a worldwide spread of democracy and free trade FDR wanted the Soviets to help him defeat Japan The Big Three met for a week in Yalta Stalin agreed to help the US against Japan, but only after the war has been over for 2 or 3 months For his help, Stalin would get some territory in Asia All 3 disagreed on what should be done with Germany after the war Each nation agreed to divide up Germany once the war was over Stalin wanted to have power in Romania Poland Bulgaria Austria Hungary Czechoslovakia Holocaust: After arriving in Germany, the Allies met with something they had never expected The troops witnessed what Hitler was doing with the Jews 1942: Hitler began to round up Jews, 1st in Germany, then in the rest of Europe Jews were shipped to concentration camps to do slave labor or face medical experiments Many Jews were beaten or starved or killed The bodies were burned or buried in mass graves 1945: the Allied forces liberated many of the concentration camps and were shocked at what they saw About 6 million Jews were killed Victory in Europe: The British and US were moving east through Germany, the Soviets were moving west through Germany April 12, 1945: FDR died leaving VP Harry Truman as president April 30, 1945: Hitler committed suicide May 2, 1945: Berlin fell May 7, 1945: Germany surrendered to the Allies May 8, 1945: V-E day War in the Pacific While the war in Europe was over, it still raged on in the Pacific against Japan The war in the Pacific was fought differently than the war fought in Europe Very early in the Pacific theatre, Japan was victorious May 1942: the Americans were having more success against the Japanese the US kept Japan from taking Australia June 1942: Battle Midway Island The Americans sank 4 Japanese carriers and destroyed 300 Japanese planes A great victory for the US Japan still held a lot of strategically important islands in the Pacific The US adopted a strategy called island hoping A way of capturing key islands Once captured, military bases were built on the islands August 1942: the Marines landed on Guadalcanal The Americans were trying to destroy a Japanese military base Early 1945: the US fought Japan at Iwo Jima and Okinawa the US gained the islands, but suffered heavy losses The US pulled within 700 miles of the Japanese islands The battles also proved that an all out assault on Japan would cost millions of American lives Convinced Truman to use the Atomic bomb Atomic Bomb: The US was secretly working on a new weapon—the atomic bomb The name of the project to build the bomb was called the Manhattan Project the project was led by J. Robert Openheimer Truman had scheduled an invasion of Japan for late in 1945 July 16, 1945: scientists successfully detonated the 1st atomic bomb in New Mexico Truman decided to use the Atomic bomb instead of sending in millions of Americans to their death with an invasion of Japan August 6, 1945: “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima 100,000 people were killed on impact 100,000 more died from burns, radiation, or wounds The bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay August 9, 1945: Japan had still not surrendered The US dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki—40,00 killed instantly August 14, 1945: Japan finally surrendered to the US—V-J Day WWII was now over Now members of both Japan and Germany were placed on trial for war crimes committed against the Jews and other people in the war