Download World War II

World War II
(1942-1945)
Mobilizing the Military
• Selective Service Act
– 5 million volunteers
– 10 million drafted
– Only 8 weeks of training
• Expanding the Military
– George Marshall: US Army Chief of Staff
– Created WAAC (Women’s Air Corps)
– Segregated units for minorities
Industrial Changes
• War Productions Board: consumer products
to military products
• New workers: women and minorities (Rosie
the Riveter)
• Office of Scientific Research and Development
– Radar, sonar, DDT, Manhattan Project
Opportunity and Adjustment
Economic gains (unemployment at 1.2%)
Women- 35% of workforce
Farmers- able to pay off debts
Population shifts (California, Midwest)
Families
Single parent homes
Teenage delinquency
Quick marriages
GI Bill of Rights: education and training for
veterans
Discrimination
Discrimination
• CORE (Congress on Racial Equality)
– James Farmer
– Detroit Riots (34 dead)
• Mexican Americans
– Zoot suit riots
• Japanese Americans
– Internment Camps: 110,000 people
– Korematsu v US: gov’t upheld policy
US & Great Britain join forces
FDR & Churchill’s plans
– Decided to focus on Germany first
– Would accept only unconditional surrender
– Battle of the Atlantic
• Germany attacking US ships off east coast
• US enhanced ship building program
Eastern Front
German troops attacking USSR
German troops couldn’t continue during winter
USSR held onto Stalingrad and Germany
retreated
Considered a turning point of war
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd_Wt4N1Sss
North Africa
Operation Torch
• Led by General Eisenhower
• US pushed Germany/Italy north
Casablanca Conference: planning of D-Day
Italy
Allies captured Sicily & headed
towards Italy
Italians tired of war; forced Mussolini
to resign; King of Italy had him
arrested
German’s took Italy and released
Mussolini
Allies freed Italy after 1 year of
fighting; Italians arrested/killed
Mussolini
D-Day
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
– Largest amphibious invasion in history
– Allies attacked Normandy, France
– Led by Eisenhower and Patton
– Sept: Allies freed France from Germany
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31nt2fsMORU
Battle of the Bulge
Oct. 1944
Last major battle with Germany
Allies won
The End (Europe)
Liberation of concentration camps
FDR died on April 12, 1945
Germany surrendered
– April 25, 1945: USSR in Berlin
– April 30, 1945: Hitler committed suicide
– May 8, 1945: V-E day (Victory in Europe)
Pacific
Japan advances
– Conquered most of Pacific by 1942
– Defeated Gen. MacArthur in the Philippines
First Actions
Bombed Tokyo
Battle of Coral Sea (stopped Japan from attacking
Australia)
Battle of Midway
Stopped Japan from advancing to Hawaii
– US Admiral: Chester Nimitz
– US victory; the avenging of Pearl Harbor
– Considered the turning point in the Pacific
Military Strategy
Island Hopping
– US bypassed
Japanese strong
islands
– Freed the
Philippines
– Leyte Gulf: use of
kamikazes
– Last battles: Iwo
Jima and Okinawa
The End (Pacific)
Manhatten project had already begun
– Secret creation of the bomb
– Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer
– 7-16-45: bomb tested in New Mexico
– Hiroshima and Nagasaki
– August 6, 1945 & August 9, 1945 (200,000 killed)
– Sept 2, 1945: Japan surrendered
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncq_Wye43TM
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwkyPvlWPM0
Rebuilding (Europe/Japan)
Yalta Conference: agreed to establish UN
Nuremburg war trials: Nazi leaders on trial
Occupation of Japan
– Led by MacArthur
– Focused on economy, government, education