World War II Flashcards

(1939 - 1945) A war fought in Europe, Africa and Asia between the Allied Powers of Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States against the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

50-60 million; 20-30 million Russian; 400,000 Americans

China (Kai-Shek); USSR (Stalin); France (Daladier); United States (Roosevelt and Truman); Great Britain (Chamberlain and Churchill)

Germany (Hitler), Italy (Mussolini), Japan (Hirohito, Tojo, and Yamamoto)

1. The Great Depression 2. Treaty of Versailles 3. League of Nations 4. Allies wanted to avoid war

Last straw for the Allies, when Hitler invades the buffer zone

Hitler promised not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia

Giving in to the demands of a person or country, in order to avoid conflict

"Marriage of Convenience"; The two men agreed that their countries would not attack each other, either independently or along with other nations

Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

Race and Lebensraum (Living Space)

argued that Western society was decadent and incapable of real creativity because of its reliance on reason; Ubermensch

Those who rise to the top; "Overman"- Above everyone else, Superior

Scientifcaly erroneous and immoral theory of "racial improvement" and "planned breeding"

Poisoning the bloodline by marrying and having children with non-Aryans

Adolf Hitler

The sending out of children for refuge; only Great Britain accepted

America's Ability to supply its European allies with war supplies prior to the U.S. entry into WWII.

The laws passed by the U.S. allowing us to give aid to our Allies in early WWII

Bombed Pearl Harbor

The Allies retake control of North Africa and us it as a launching point into Italy

Nicknamed "Red Tails"; Were not allowed to fight in direct combat missions; Escorted bombers across North Africa and Europe

Racism in America and Facism in Europe; Fought against the racial ideology

Nicknamed "The Desert Fox"; Greatest military mind in world history promoted by propaganda; Led the Nazi Afrika Korps

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe

Captured or liberated territory that was equal to the size of France; Had German spies on him as he was so influential on attacks; Led the first tank brigade in WWI

Led the "Desert Rats"

They used this country to take over Italy and re-control Europe

The Allied invasion that began the liberation of France; Largest air, sea, and land invasion in history

Series of obstacles along the coast of France to protect Nazi occupied France

Led y George Patton; Fake Army to trick the Nazis on the real invasion

Utah, Omaha (Deadliest), Gold, Juno, Sword

Native Americans from the Navajo tribe used their own language to make a code for the U.S. military that the Japanese could not decipher

Hitler's "Last Stand"; Final counter-attack; Multiple series of battles

Nazi troops and tanks surround the city and put under siege for 6 days

Responded to Germans surrender threat with "Nuts!"

May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered

Take back Japanese occupied islands with the eventual goal of invading Japan; Air, sea, and land invasion of Japan

Commander of the US Pacific Fleet

Commander of the Allied Land Forces in the Pacific

japanese slogan- it was more honorable to die for your country than to come back with a loss

Civilians in Saipan, Mariana Islands, were indoctrinated to never surrender; 8,000 jumped off cliffs

Japan's first major defeat in the Pacific; No land fighting between troops; Turning point in the Pacific

Aircraft carrier that sunk at Battle of Midway

First land or territory Japan lost to America

MacArthur and Filipino forces are defeated and surrendered

where MacArthur retreated from the overwhelming Japanese

POW were sent on a 65 mile "death march"; 6 day march that killed 9000 Filipinos and 1000 Americans

It began the liberation of the Philippines; The largest naval battle in history

Nicknamed "Sulfer Island"; Island hopping was successful but costly; 1500 rooms dug into the rock, 16 miles of tunnel; bombed for 2 and half months straight

Highest point in the island; captured after 4 days of fighting; iconic photo of soldiers putting up the flag

Operation Iceberg; The last battle in the "island hopping" strategy; cave to cave fighting; Indigenous people living in the island;

Suicide pilots; "Pilots of the Divine Wind"

Conscientious Objector who saved 75 comrades

General Curtis LeMay led this, US used napalm on the Japanese cities to create firestorms

Victory in Japan Day

Started in NY by Roosevelt; Started to develop the atomic bomb

Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill agree on what Europe will look like when the war is over. Roosevelt gives Eastern Europe to Stalin; Staling agrees to fight in the Pacific after the war in Europe is over

"five Ds" decided upon at Yalta: demilitarization, denazification, democratization, decentralization, and deindustrialization; US successfully tested the 1st atomic bomb called "Trinity"

First atomic bomb successfully tested

First atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima; Made of uranium; Killing 70,000-100,000 and destroying 80% of the city

Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki; Made of plutonium; 40,000 to 80,000 killed and 65% of the city destroyed

Organized volunteers in home front activities

Switched industry from civilian to military production

"We can do it"; Symbol of encouraging women to join the work force

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans

the democratic government in Germany after the First World War; German currency lost all its value; Problems overwhelmed them

Large government owned farms, each worked by hundreds of families

Man of Steel, created Communist state, led Soviet Union, Allied Powers, killed between 8-13 million

Il Duce (the leader); formed a totalitarian regime in Italy; Established the Fascist Party

stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals

A bundle of rods tied around an ax handle; Symbol of unity and authority in ancient Rome

The private army of Mussolini, wearing black uniforms

Chief of staff of Japan's Kwantung Army; Became prime minister in 1941

They were a large group of the Japanese Army that launched invasions farther into China

Japanese leaders believed in the need for a strong army to accomplish their country's goals

Fascist leader of the Spanish revolution, helped by Hitler and Mussolini

3000 Americans formed to travel to Spain to fight against Franco

Der Fuhrer (The Leader); Joined the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) after WWI; Wrote Mein Kamph; Appointed Chancellor and established the Third Reich

German brand of fascism based on extreme nationalism

Set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party

Nazis' private army used by Hitler to terrorize communists, Socialists, and trade union workers, especially the Jews

Third German Empire; "Thousand-year Reich"l it would last a thousand years

Formal alliance between Germany and Italy

an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations

A German region bordering France and Belgium

Naile Selassie (Ethiopian emperor) called for help but did little to no help

The peace conference that decided the terms of WWI peace and Treaty of Versailles; Helped create Austria out of what as left of Austro-Hungarian Empire

Hitler successfully creates an alliance with Austria

US correspondent in Berlin; "The Nazi press is full of hysterical headlines"

Signed by Daladier and Chamberlain; Turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without resistance

Chamberlain's political rival in Great Britain; Though the Munich Agreement adopted a shameful policy of appeasement

German air force

British air force

Made use of advances in military technology to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force

Fortifications along the German-French Border

Allies sat staring at Germany waiting for them at the Maginot line, waiting for something to happen; Ended when Hitler built bases along the coasts to strike Great Britian and overran Northern Europe

Set up government-in-exile

France surrendered to Hitler

when Hitler gained control of northern France, he was in charge of south, hero from WWI who betrayed France by setting up a puppet government. The Vichy government.