Untitled Flashcard Set

Why did Japan attack the United States in WWII?

To crush the US Pacific Fleet, break the US oil embargo, and seize resource-rich territories in Southeast Asia.

Who was the US President for the majority of WWII?

Franklin D. Roosevelt led the nation for the vast majority of the war.

What was the Manhattan Project?

American research program that developed the world's first atomic bombs.

Describe what the 'Blitzkrieg' was.

A 'lightning war' tactic using fast, concentrated tanks and aircraft to rapidly break through and encircle enemy lines.

What did Kamikazes do during the war?

Japanese pilots who flew suicide crash-attacks directly into Allied warships.

What country did Hitler invade first using blitzkrieg tactics?

Poland.

Which countries made up the Axis Powers?

Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Which leaders made up the big 3?

Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA), Winston Churchill (UK), and Joseph Stalin (USSR).

What was D-Day?

The invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, to liberate Western Europe.

How long did Hitler rule Germany?

12 years.

How many Jews are estimated to have died at the hands of the Germans?

6 million.

What occurred as a result of the Munich Pact?

Britain and France allowed Germany to take part of Czechoslovakia in a failed attempt to avoid war.

People of Japanese descent born in America were forced into internment camps after Pearl Harbor. What were these people called?

Nisei.

Which Axis nation was once referred to as 'the soft underbelly of the Axis'?

Italy.

Why was Okinawa significant to the Japanese defenses?

It was the final major island base shielding mainland Japan from an Allied invasion.

Explain the tactic of 'Island Hopping'.

Bypassing heavily fortified Japanese islands to instead capture weaker, strategically placed islands.

What was the German Air Force called?

Luftwaffe.

Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to first defeat ______, before focusing on the Pacific.

Germany.

Which Italian group helped kill Mussolini?

Italian partisans.

The first atomic bomb was dropped over this city on August 6, 1945.

Hiroshima.

What is the Munich Pact?

1938 deal letting Germany take Czech land to avoid war.

What was the Lend and Lease Act?

1941 US policy sending war supplies to Allies.

What did the Cash and Carry Plan entail?

1939 US policy selling weapons for cash if buyers shipped them.

What was the Atlantic Charter?

1941 US-UK declaration setting goals for the post-war world.

What was the Non-Aggression Pact?

1939 secret peace deal dividing Poland between Germany and USSR.

What does appeasement mean?

Giving in to an aggressor's demands to prevent war.

What is nationalism?

Extreme, aggressive pride and devotion to one's nation.

What was the Yalta Conference?

1945 Allied meeting to plan post-war Europe.

What was the Battle of the Atlantic?

Long naval war between Allied ships and German U-boats.

What was significant about the Battle of Iwo Jima?

Brutal 1945 Pacific battle for a strategic volcanic island.

What happened in the Battle of Okinawa?

Final major Pacific battle right next to mainland Japan.

What happened in the Battle of Midway?

1942 naval battle where US sank four Japanese carriers.

Who led the Soviet Union during WWII?

Stalin.

Who led Germany during WWII?

Hitler.

Who led Italy during WWII?

Mussolini.

Who led the US during WWII?

Roosevelt.

Who led Japan during WWII?

Tojo.

How many estimated American lives did people believe would be lost invading Japan?

1 million.

Where were the trials held for remaining Nazis?

Nuremberg, Germany.

How many American soldiers died at Pearl Harbor?

2,335.

What 'act of nature' caused the Germans all kinds of problems at Stalingrad?

Russian winter (temperatures dropped far below zero, freezing German equipment, vehicles, and soldiers who lacked winter uniforms).