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Course and End of World War II – “World War II,”
Overall main idea: Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S.-led Allies defeated the Germans and Italians in
Europe before defeating the Japanese in the Pacific, ultimately using atomic weapons and disagreeing
over the post-war world.
Holding the Line
Main idea: Turning points in favor of the Allies did not come until late 1942.
Stopping Germany
Main idea: The U.S. joined a worldwide war and decided to concentrate on Europe first, where the Germans were finally
stopped by the Russians in early 1943.
World War II was fought on more than six fronts – European Eastern Front (East of Germany), European Western
Front (West of Germany), North Atlantic naval battles, North Africa, China, Southeast Asia, and the Central Pacific
U.S. decided to attack Germany in Europe first, as Germany was far stronger and more crucial than Japan; if U.S.
defeated Japan first, Germany could still survive and perhaps be stronger
By 1942, Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union was succeeding – they had seized near half of Soviet
population, cities and resources; they had extended very far into difficult territory, however
Battle of Stalingrad, 1942-1943 – the Soviet “Red Army” held at the key supply city of Stalingrad, finally
defeating the Germans and capturing over 300,000 of them; it’s a turning point because from this point on, the Germans
will be the ones retreating in the face of the Russians instead of the other way around
The Survival of Britain
Main idea: In 1942, the British were still successfully surviving the German onslaught in the North Atlantic and North
Africa.
1940-1941 – German submarines were blockading Britain, sinking all imports; some even extended as far as the
American coast
Battle of the Atlantic – long naval battles between German submarines and Allied navies/shipping in the North
Atlantic Ocean
British and Americans used convoys of battleships grouped around transports and shipping to discourage and
prevent German attacks; new technology allowed easier fighting against subs; by 1943, U.S. shipyards were producing
ships faster than the Germans could sink them
In North Africa, German and Italians under Erwin Rommel were defeated by the British at El Alamein before they
could seize the Suez Canal; Allied-controlled Middle East was protected from the Axis
Retreat and Stabilization in the Pacific
Main idea: The Japanese continued to expand after Pearl Harbor but were finally stopped at the Battle of Midway in 1942.
Japanese struck and seized the Philippines soon after Pearl Harbor, then defeated the Allies in the Battle of the
Java Sea and seized Singapore; Japanese expansion controlled most of the Pacific around Southeast Asia
Battle of Coral Sea halted the Japanese near Australia
Battle of Midway – turning point, as it stopped the Japanese advance in the Pacific; Americans had cracked the
Japanese coded messages and so ambushed the Japanese at Midway Island near Hawaii, destroying much of their fleet
War and Peace
Main idea: The U.S. government completed the Pentagon during World War II, symbolizing its growth and power.
Gathering Allied Strength
Main idea: In 1943, the Allied countries gained the edge in wartime production and Allied leaders met to unite their
purposes superficially.
Americans and British landed in North Africa and Italy first, despite what many American congressmen and the
Soviet Union wanted; the USSR wanted the U.S. to attack on the Western Front to ease the fighting on the Eastern Front
U.S. was far outproducing all other countries by 1943; even as the Soviets produced more and more soldiers and
materiel, many of them were using U.S. goods gained by lend-lease assistance
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in Tehran, Iran in 1943 and discussed plans for the war and afterwards; the
U.S. and Britain promised to invade German-held France on the Western Front; unity was short-lived and shallow, as the
Soviets and Americans distrusted each other and Churchill disagreed with U.S. ideas of self-determination for smaller
countries
Turning the Tide in Europe
Main idea: The U.S. entered the European war by defeating the Axis in North Africa and in parts of Italy.
General Dwight Eisenhower was in charge of Allied forces in North Africa and eventually all of Europe; he led the
attacks that defeated the Axis in North Africa
Eisenhower and the Allies then invaded Italy; Mussolini was fired by the King of Italy, then imprisoned, but he
was rescued by German forces and then set up an Italian government that still coordinated with the Axis Powers; the Allies
only occupied around two-thirds of Italy throughout the war
Soviets stopped the German advance with a huge tank battle at Kursk Salient in 1943
Operation Overlord
Main idea: As the Soviets slowly and brutally advanced in the East, the Americans and British pushed the Germans back in
the West with Operation OVERLORD.
Operation OVERLORD – name of the U.S. and British invasion of Nazi-held France in 1944
D-Day – the name for the first attack on the Nazis at Normandy, France on June 4, 1944; British and American
forces landed on French beaches with troops, landing craft, ships, and aircraft; very bloody fighting was slow, but
eventually the Allies won
Operation Overlord continued, pushing the Axis back toward Germany; the Allies liberated Paris in Aug. 1944
On the Eastern Front, the Soviets had retaken central Poland from the Germans, slowly advancing and losing 20
million casualties; the Soviets suffered the most from fighting the Axis, a fact which they would later partially blame on
American and British reluctance to attack
Victory and Tragedy in Europe
Main idea: Allied bombings and attacks on the Eastern and Western Fronts defeated the Germans and also exposed the
horrors of the Holocaust.
End of 1944 – massive raids of 1000s of airplanes bombed German cities, destroying war production; firebombing
of Dresden – controversial bombing of German city of culture with little industry, killing some 25,000 civilians
Battle of the Bulge – last offensive effort of Nazi Germany to break the Allies; Germany took all of its tanks and
pushed a 50 mile bulge into the U.S. lines, but eventually were pushed back
Americans and British pushed the Germans on the Western Front while the Soviets pushed on the Eastern Front,
sandwiching the Germans to end the war; the Soviets captured Berlin, Hitler committed suicide, and the Nazis formally
surrendered on May 8 – known as “V-E Day” = Victory in Europe Day
Germany’s defeat revealed the extent of the Holocaust – the systematic genocide of Jews and other undesirable
people by Nazi Germany, between 6-11 million people; Soviets and Americans discovered many extermination camps,
created specifically for killing people efficiently
The Pacific War
Main idea: The United States military closed in on Japan by “island hopping” and heavy aircraft bombing.
General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz were the American commanders in the Pacific; they
hoped to isolate Japan from the rest of its empire; Britain would attack by land from the West, China would occupy most of
the Japanese land army, and the U.S. would use “island hopping” to get closer to Japan
Island-hopping – American campaign of quickly attacking island by island to get closer to Japan, sometimes
bypassing less important islands; considered the U.S. version of the Blitzkrieg
Especially strong racial dislike between the U.S. and Japan compared to Germany and Italy
Allied navy also blockaded Japan, limiting imports to one-eighth of their total in 1940
Allied bombing of Japan, especially Tokyo, killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed many cities
Searching for Peace
Main idea: The main powers of the Allies met multiple times in 1945 to plan the end of the war and its results, which finally
came when Japan surrendered after the dropping of the atomic bombs.
Yalta Conference – FDR, Stalin, and Churchill met in Yalta, Ukraine (USSR) in early 1945 to plan the end of the
war and the post-war arrangements; Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan once the European war was over; however, FDR
and Stalin were not completely agreeable on the status of Eastern European countries after the war, as Stalin wanted them
to be Communist while FDR wanted them to have self-determination; Stalin did agree to join a new international
organization, the United Nations, to preserve post-war peace
FDR died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945 before the European war ended; Vice-President Harry Truman took
over, who was inexperienced compared to FDR
Potsdam Conference – Truman, Churchill, and Stalin met again at Potsdam, Germany after the European war had
ended; this time they discussed the arrangements for Germany after the war and issued the Potsdam Declaration, explaining
their plans to democratize Japan after defeating them and reintroducing them to the international community
The U.S. offered the Japanese a chance to surrender unconditionally, but the Japanese wouldn’t do it without
keeping their emperor in power, despite being on the verge of collapse; American officials expected more heavy casualties
in invading Japan itself
Some officials under Truman wanted to drop the new atomic bomb on the Japanese; reasons: force the Japanese to
surrender unconditionally, end the war quicker, intimidate Stalin, prevent the Soviets from capturing Japan first, and justify
all the money and time that went into the Manhattan Project (see p. 708 table)
Atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 140,000 instantly and
poisoning thousands more with radiation and injuries; a few days later, Japan stopped fighting and formally surrendered a
month later, with the emperor still in power
Overall main idea: Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S.-led Allies defeated the Germans and Italians in
Europe before defeating the Japanese in the Pacific, ultimately using atomic weapons and disagreeing
over the post-war world.