Notes – World War II



Notes – World War II

Powers: Axis – Germany, Italy and Japan

Allied – U.S., Britain, France, Soviet Union

I. Unrest in Europe

A. Italy

i. 1935 -- Benito Musolini (against the League of Nations) invades Ethiopia.

ii. 1936 – Italy joins forces with Germany creating the Rome – Berlin Axis.

B. Germany

i. 1933 – Adolf Hitler elected Chancellor of the National Socialist Party.

ii. 1936 – Germany invades the Sudetenland

iii. Munich Conference – Britain and France agree that Germany can take over Czechoslovakia – the conference soon came to represent appeasement.

iv. 1939 – Germany and Soviet Union – non-aggression pact

C. Conditions are now set for War –

i. Germany invades Poland (Sept. 1, 1939)

ii. Britain and France had guaranteed France’s independence – so they declare war on Germany on Sept. 3, 1939.

II. U.S. works to minimize possibility of war:

A. Neutrality Legislation

i. 1st Neutrality Act 1935 –

1. Prohibit the export of implements of war to belligerents and to forbid American citizens from traveling on belligerent vessels except at their own risk.

ii. 2nd Neutrality Act 1936 –

1. Extended the neutrality act of 1935 – added a clause prohibiting loans to belligerents.

iii. The Neutrality Act of 1937 – designed to be permanent

1. Compulsory Prohibitions

a. The export of implements of war to belligerents

b. Travel by Americans on belligerent ships

c. The extension of loans to belligerents

2. President could also prohibit

a. The transport of any type of commodity on American vessels to belligerents

b. The use of American ports as supply bases for belligerent warships.

iv. War broke out – Roosevelt urged Congress to reconsider certain of the mandatory provisions of the 1937 Neutrality Act.

1. Neutrality Act of 1939 –

a. Amended the act of 1937 to permit the export of arms and munitions to belligerents on a “cash and carry” basis.

b. 1940 – Axis continued aggression encourages U.S. to begin building a stronger U.S. army and navy in order to be prepared.

c. Selective Training and Service Act – first peacetime conscription

2. Lend-Lease Act – Authorized the President to sell, lend, lease, transfer, or exchange arms and other supplies to or with any nation whose defense he considered vital to the defense of the United States.

III. The Atlantic Charter

A. Conversations between Roosevelt and Churchill at their secret meetings off the coast of Newfoundland.

i. Renounced territorial aggression around the world

ii. Opposed territorial changes contrary to the wishes of the people concerned

iii. Respected the right of all people to choose their own form of government

iv. Would assist in arranging for all nations equal access to the trade and raw materials of the world

v. Favored cooperation among the nations to improve the economic status and social security of all people

vi. Hoped that the peace settlement would enable people throughout the world to “live out their lives in freedom from fear and want”

vii. Supported freedom of the seas

viii. Advocated disarmament of aggressor nations

IV. United States Entry Into War

A. 1937 – Japan invades China – Japan makes statement that they will be the new world leader in Asia.

i. Breaks Open Door Policy

ii. War of Words – By 1939, Japan and U.S. were conducting a war of words over the breaking of the Open Door policy.

1. U.S. continued selling products to Japan, but the control over their sale became increasingly vigorous.

2. U.S. lends over $70 million to the Chinese government for badly needed supplies infuriating Japan.

B. 1940 – Japan signs a ten year pact with Germany and Italy pledging to assist one another in case war should occur with a nation not then a belligerent.

i. U.S. continued a policy of appeasement – unwilling to fight Japan in the Pacific while war still loomed in Europe.

C. The Attack on Pearl Harbor

i. December 7, 1941 – Japanese Airplanes made a surprise attack on American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

1. Eight battleships stationed at Pearl Harbor – three were sunk, one was grounded, and four were damaged.

2. Small number of lesser warships were disabled and approximately 175 airplanes were destroyed.

3. 2,335 American soldiers and sailors were killed and 1,178 were wounded.

4. On the same day Japanese forces assaulted the Philippines, Guam, the British crown colony of Hong Kong, and the British-controlled Malay Peninsula, including its port city of Singapore.

ii. Roosevelt’s War Message

1. “A date which will live in infamy” – asked for a declaration of war against Japan.

2. December 11 – Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

V. The Home Front:

A. The War Production Board

i. Nine members headed by Donald Nelson

ii. Constructed many new plants in order to manufacture all the needed war supplies and converted many existing plants from peacetime to wartime production.

1. By the end of the war the nation had produced:

a. 85,000 tanks

b. 295,000 airplanes

c. 70,000 warships

d. 5,500 merchant ships

B. The Food Administration –

i. Food shortages created the need for a federal agency to control the food supply.

ii. 30 % of American’s meat supply was allocated to the armed forces.

iii. Within 15 months of the U.S. entry into WWII, more than 7 billion pounds of food had been shipped to Great Britain, the Soviet Union and China.

C. The Office of Price Administration –

i. Set rationing policies on scarce goods (sugar, coffee, meat, butter, tires, and gasoline)

ii. Set price limits

D. Employment of Women

i. Need for labor to keep up wartime production efforts led to the hiring of women in such numbers that their participation in the job market skyrocketed.

ii. By the end of the war women made up 35 % of the labor force.

iii. Rosie the Riveter – Exemplified women in the work force

VI. War in Europe

A. Germany conquers much of the west quickly with devastating effects.

i. French surrender after Italy entered the war on the side of Germany in June 1940.

ii. Britain continues to fight alone despite severe bombings by the Luftwaffe (the German Air Fleet)

B. Germany heads towards the Soviet Union with early victories, but Soviets respond with fierce counteroffensives.

i. Germany almost gets to Moscow.

ii. Winter sets in (1941-42) – halting Germany and giving the Soviets opportunity for a counteroffensive.

C. August 1940 – Italy attacks British territories in North Africa. Germany goes in to support Italy keeping the British very busy protecting their interest.

D. 1943 – Germany was massively bombed by American and British airplanes.

i. Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Dresden, and Cologne all suffered even more destruction than the English cities had earlier in the air.

E. Soviet Offensive

i. While British and U.S. are keeping Germany busy with air attacks the Soviets launched a large-scale offense from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea aiming to destroy the German forces.

F. The Battle of France – June 6, 1944 – D-Day

i. Supreme Commander Eisenhower – troops left Great Britain and crossed English Channel to storm the French beaches.

VII. War in the Pacific –

A. The world is astonished at how quick Japan overtakes much of the Pacific.

B. Island to Island Battles

i. In order to fight in the Pacific, the Allied forces had to win island after island throughout the area.

C. Major Battles

i. Midway – U.S. attacks Japanese forces delivering them a strong blow. Japan suffered major losses in air power and battleships.

ii. Coral Sea – Stops advancing Japanese forces from invading Australia.

D. Bombing of Japan

i. Roosevelt dies in April 1945 – Truman takes over

ii. Defeat of Germany in May 1945 pushes the U.S. to speed things up with Japan.

iii. MacArthurs troops had successfully captured Iwo Jim and Okinawa in the spring of 1945 making the next step a major inland invasion of the mainland Japan.

iv. Manhattan Project – group of scientist gathered to perfect the Atomic Bomb.

1. August 6, 1945 – first bomb dropped on Hiroshima

a. Approximately 180,000 people were killed or wounded.

2. August 9, 1945 – second bomb dropped on Nagasaki

a. Approximately 80,000 immediate casualties.

3. Both cities were virtually obliterated.

Unconditional Surrender –

Both Germany and Japan were forced to unconditional surrender.

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