The War Itself

**What was the fighting like in** __**North Africa**__**?** 

It was a long battle and there were attempts to try and push back German troops. It was one of the largest invasions in history. It was an amphibious attack launched by the British and French troops.

**Erwin Rommel**

A German soldier stationed in North Africa who was defeated by allied forces and was forced to retreat. This was the first time U.S. troops saw action against Nazi Germany, trapping Erwin Rommel’s army

Dwight Eisenhower

Leader of the entire Operation

Operation Torch

A U.S invasion of French North Africa from November 8, 1942 - November 16, 1942.

Soviet Union:

\-Why did Hitler invade the USSR?

\-Why was invading the USSR a major mistake for Hitler?

\-Hitler invaded the USSR to gain more territory and expand even further. However, this was a major mistake because it was the bloodiest battle that resulted in him losing a lot of his artillery and soldiers

Europe: What was the significance of Operation Fortitude?

It was a fake plan to trick Germany about the location of invasion when entering Normandy (included fake armies, tanks, planes, and radio broadcasts).

\-Gen. George Patton sent to lead the “phantom” 1st Army Group in southern England, across from Calais France

What was D-Day (Operation Overlord)?

The largest human invasion in history that occurred on June 6, 1944. Land, sea, and air forces attacked. It was the plan to invade Nazi-controlled France and had been planned for months with careful detail

What was the Atlantic Wall?

Fortifications (obstacles) in Northern France and all over the Northern European. There were log spikes planted on the beach to make it harder to travel from boat to land.

Why was the liberation of Paris significant?

Occurred in August, 1944. It was the first major loss of Germany and the first big step towards the end of the war.

What was the Battle of the Bulge, and its significance?

The Battle of the Bulge occurred on December 16th, 1944, and was an attack against the Allies in order to gain more land. It was a brutal battle and depleted much of Germany’s resources and troops.

What was the significance of the Yalta Conference? (meeting of the “Big Three”)

The Yalta Conference was held in February, 1945, and

signified that Germany was crumbling. Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill discussed what do with Germany once they fall and discussed how they would distribute the land.

What were V-1 and V-2?

They were advanced bombs created by the Germans and were mainly used to destroy Britain from a distance efficiently and in a timely manner.

Operation Market Garden

An airborne invasion into Holland which consisted of 30,000 paratroops landing in the Netherlands to seize the bridges. This would allow for easy access to Germany.

What was important about the Rhine River crossing?

It was a key barrier to the center of Germany because if Allied forces could cross, they would be able to have direct access to attack Germany

Hitler’s suicide/fall of Berlin

In the final weeks of April, 1945 the steady destruction of the German resistance continued. At the same time, Berlin was under heavy bombardment. On April 30 Hitler finally recognized that all hope was lost and committed suicide in his Berlin bunker. Berlin surrendered on May 2 after Hitler’s death

What and when was V-E Day?

Following Hitler’s death, Berlin surrendered on May 2. The rest of the German armies gave up on fighting and the new German leader, Karl Donitz, surrendered on May 7. The surrender took effect on May 8, which was called Victory in Europe Day.

Pacific:
Why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor? What was the impact of the attack?

Japan wanted to take over the Pacific and wanted to cripple America's military strength in the Pacific. Japanese bombs and torpedoes took a heavy toll on the American warships and many lives were lost. This caused the U.S. to enter WWII.

Iwo Jima

A volcanic island that American forces set out to capture in February, 1945. It was heavily defended by Japanese soldiers. Marines were able to capture the tallest point of the island early in the battle. Over 7,000 of American soldiers were killed and wounded and many lives of the Japanese soldiers were lost as well due to their refusal to surrender.

Okinawa

Allied troops invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945. The island was to be the launching pad for the final invasion of Japan itself. Over 12,000 Americans died in the battle of Okinawa but they were able to gain full control of the island in June, 1945.

island-hopping

A method used by the U.S. to seize islands in order to establish military bases which would help in defeating Japan. The tiny pacific islands enabled the U.S. to establish air bases for bombers.

kamikazes

It was a new Japanese weapon established to destroy U.S. ships. A pilot would load his aircraft with bombs and deliberately crash it into an enemy ship

dropping the A-bomb: Pros

* Ended WWII
* Saved money and time
* the bombs made US a superpower

dropping the A-bomb: Cons

* Caused too many civilian deaths
* Deployed too early
* the US could have used a better plan (more peaceful)

dropping the A-bomb: Alternatives

* sign a treaty
* blockade where you can block off islands by using ships so Japan can’t access
* amphibious invasion

Manhattan Project

The most significant scientific program of WWII. It was a top-secret program to build an atomic bomb

Albert Einstein

He helped the U.S Navy to evaluate designs for future weapon systems.

J. Robert Oppenheimer

A physicist who researched into building an atomic bomb and started to work on the weapon

Hiroshima, Little Boy

Most of the city was reduced to rubble in one single, massive blast. It was the first place the atomic bomb hit and it was called Little Boy because it was small in shape.

In spite of the horrible aftermath and casualties, Japan’s leaders took no action to end the war.

Nagasaki, Fat Man

On August 9, the United States dropped a second bomb on this city. The death toll there was 40,000. Fat Man was the codename for nuclear bomb which dropped in this city and ruined everything.

What was V-J Day?

It stood for Victory in Japan Day, when Japan stopped fighting in the war and formally surrendered. Hirohito announced the end of the war in a radio broadcast on August 15th.

How many Americans died in the war? How many people died worldwide?

111,606 Americans died and 36 million people died worldwide