The United States Fights

WWIIAPUSH – Lecture 8A(covers Chapter 28)

Ms. KraySome slides taken from Susan Pojer

The Road to War:

Causes of WWII

Long-Term Causes Unhappiness with Treaty of Versailles Weak and ineffective League of

Nations International Agreements of the

1920s bred false sense of security Locarno Pact, 1925

Agreement between Fr, Ger, GB, & Italy -- considered the official end of WWI

Guaranteed existing frontiers/boundaries Demilitarized Rhineland Promised to refrain from aggression against

each other

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Great Depression Allowed aggressive dictators to come to

power

Short Term Causes: Appeasement & Aggressors on the

March1931 – Japan invades Manchuria1935 – Italy invades Ethiopia1936 – Germany invades the

Rhineland1937 – Japan invades China1938 – Germany annexes AustriaSept. 1938 – Munich Pact hands

Sudetenland over to GermanyMarch 1939 – Germany annexes

the rest of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakian woman

Hitler Seeks AlliesMay 1939: Rome-Berlin

Axis “The Pact of Steel”

Aug. 1939: Non-Aggression Pact Signed by Germany and Soviet

Union Secret Component: Partition of

Poland

Sept. 1940: Tripartite Pact Germany, Italy, and Japan

The Spark: Invasion of PolandSept. 1, 1939

Blitzkrieg

WWII: 1939-1941

U.S. Maintains Neutrality

The Collapse of France

May 1940: The Phony War Ends

June 4, 1940: British army flees France Miracle of Dunkirk

June 17, 1940: France is under German control

Britain Stands Alone . . .sort of

Battle of Britain, 1939-1941 Germany begins massive

bombings to soften Britain up for invasion

U.S. sends aid – “Arsenal of Democracy” Cash-and-carry policy Destroyers-for-bases Lend-Lease Act

Hitler violates non-aggression pact, U.S. sends aid to Soviets too

The Atlantic Charter, 1941Created during secret

meeting between FDR and Churchill Declaration of friendship

Became a blueprint for postwar world No territorial gains sought Self-determination Free trade Freedom from want and

fear Freedom of seas Disarmament

The U.S. Enters WWIIDec. 7, 1941

“I fear we have awoken a sleeping giant.” -- Isoroku Yamamoto, mastermind of Pearl Harbor

The U.S War Plan

U.S. faced a two-front war European theater and Pacific theater

1942 – Height of Japanese Power Occupied much of Asia Portrayed selves as “liberators”

U.S. strategy: Get Germany First Feared “Fortress Europe”

The European Theater, 1942-1945

1942: An Overview1942-43: Battle of Stalingrad

German advance in Russia finally halted

1942: Battle of the Atlantic Naval war to see who would control shipping lanes U.S defeated Germany by utilizing: convoy system,

radar, sonar, bombing German naval bases

Late 1942: Operation Torch U.S. & British invasion of North Africa U.S. General D. Eisenhower & British General B.

Montgomery defeated German Gen. E. Rommel Battle of El Alamein

1943: Italian Campaign“Europe’s Soft Underbelly”

Stalin begs Allies to open a 2nd front in France Jan. 1943: Casablanca Conference

Victory at Stalingrad convinces FDR it’s time for invasion of France

Later Churchill convinces FDR invasion of Italy should come first – Stalin upset

Italian Campaign, 1943-1945 Battle of Sicily, 1943: Huge

success Led by U.S. General G. Patton

Fighting bogs down in Northern Italy when Germany sends troops to reinforce Mussolini

1944: D-Day Invasion

Largest naval invasion in world history Stalin finally gets his wish, a 2nd front in France

U.S. General D. Eisenhower in command

Images of D-Day

1944-1945: The War in Europe Winds

DownJune 25, 1944: Paris is

liberated!Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945:

Battle of the Bulge Hitler’s last offensive

The Race to Berlin April 1945: Soviet troops

enter Berlin

May 8, 1945: V-E Day!!! The war in Europe is over

Images of V-E Day!

The Horrors of War:Discovery of the Holocaust

Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed

The Pacific Theater,1942-1945

Early 1942: Japan on the Offensive

March 1942: Battle of Corregidor U.S. loses the

Philippines “I shall return” –

Gen. D. MacArthur

April 1942: Bataan Death March

Late 1942: The Tide Turns

Doolittle RaidMay 7-8, 1942: Battle of the Coral Sea

Japanese offensive halted for the first time

June 4-7, 1942: Battle of Midway Turning point battle Japan now on the defensive

A New U.S. Strategy: Island-Hopping

Strategy developed by Adm. Chester Nimitz

1943-45: The U.S. Closes InOct 1944: Battle of

Leyte Gulf Largest naval battle in

history 1st use of kamikazes Laid groundwork for U.S.

re-conquest of Philippines

April-June 1945: Battle of Okinawa Last island before Japan 50,000 American

casualties 100,000 Japanese killed

The Yalta ConferenceFebruary, 1945

Issues FDR wants quick Soviet entry

into Pacific War Stalin wants a weak Germany

& Churchill wants a strong Germany as buffer against Stalin

Decisions: Germany would be divided

into zones of occupation Free election would be held in

liberated countries Soviets enter war against

Japan by Aug. 8, 1945 New world peace organization

would be formed (United Nations)

Last Meeting of the Big Three

The Manhatten Project, 1942

“I have become death, the shatterer of worlds!”

Headed by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer

Employed 100,000

Cost $2 bil.

The Potsdam Conference, July 1945

Big Three are gone! FDR is dead, Churchill is

out of office Stalin only original left Truman doesn’t trust

Stalin

U.S. has the A-bomb

Decisions: Issue warning to Japan to

surrender unconditionally or “face utter destruction”

Hold war-crime trials (Nuremberg Trials) PM Clement

AtleePres. Harry

TrumanJoseph Stalin

Col. Paul Tibbets & the A-bomb

Hiroshima: Aug. 6, 1945

70,000 killed immediately

48,000 building destroyed

100,000s died of radiation poisoning and cancer later

Nagasaki: Aug. 9, 1945

40,000 killed immediately

60,000 injured

100,000s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later

V-J Day: Sept. 2, 1945

The War is Finally Over!

The War's Legacy

The CostsMost destructive war in

world history 300,000 Americans killed 800,000 Americans wounded

$320 billion price tag a sum ten times greater than

the spending for WWI Federal spending increased

1000% National debt reached $250

billion

Europe After WWIIMassive

human dislocation

USA & USSR emerge as Superpowers Bi-Polarization

of Europe, beginning of the Cold War

Division of Germany

Creation of the United NationsApril 1945 – delegates

from 50 nations assembled in San Francisco

Drafted a charter for the United Nations

U.S. Senate quickly voted to accept U.S. involvement

The Nuremberg Trials: "Crimes Against Humanity"

Japanese War Crimes Trials

Gen. Hideki Tojo

7 U.S. Presidents Served in WWII

The De-Colonization of European Empires