7.3,7.4,7.6 TIDWELL

Aggression

The use of force to expand territory or power.

Totalitarianism

A system in which the government controls all aspects of public and private life.

Spanish Civil War

Conflict between Republicans and Nationalists in Spain (1936-1939).

General Francisco Franco

Nationalist leader who won the Spanish Civil War and ruled Spain as a dictator.

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to an aggressor's demands to avoid conflict.

Anschluss

Germany's annexation of Austria in 1938.

Neville Chamberlain

British prime minister who supported appeasement.

Munich Pact

Agreement allowing Germany to annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.

Fascism

Authoritarian political ideology emphasizing nationalism, dictatorship, and militarism.

Anti-Semitic

Prejudice or hostility toward Jewish people.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war" strategy using fast-moving planes and tanks for surprise attacks.

Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Allies

Nations opposing the Axis, including Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and later the United States.

Neutrality Act of 1939

Law allowing the U.S. to sell arms to nations at war on a "cash-and-carry" basis.

Tripartite Pact

Agreement formalizing the Axis alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Charles Lindbergh

Famous pilot and leading isolationist voice in the America First Committee.

Lend-Lease Act

1941 law allowing the U.S. to lend or lease war supplies to Allied nations.

Atlantic Charter

Joint statement by Roosevelt and Churchill outlining Allied war goals and support for self-determination.

Weimar Republic

The weak elected government of Germany just after WWI.

Rhineland

The area along the Rhine River between France and Germany which had been made a de-militarized zone.

Blackshirts

Mussolini's followers who were his own private army.

Il Duce

The name given to Mussolini meaning their leader.

National Socialist German Workers (NAZI)

The party led by Adolph Hitler.

Brownshirts

The early militia followers of Hitler who were eventually replaced by the SS.

Mein Kampf

Book written by Hitler while in jail explaining his views and how he would run Germany.

Kristallnacht

"Night of broken glass" in November 1938, the Nazi followers of Hitler attacked Jews all across Germany.

Holocaust

The term used to describe the persecution and slaughter of over six million Jews by Hitler and his Nazi followers.

Hirohito

The emperor of Japan during WWII.

Manchuria

A large geographic region between mainland China and Russia which was invaded by Japan in 1931.

Stimson Doctrine

Statement said the US wouldn't recognize any territory Japan acquired in violation of the Kellog-Briand Pact.

Ethiopia

The African nation invaded by Mussolini's forces in 1935.

Sudentenland

The Czechoslovakian land bordering Germany that would be taken by Hitler in late 1938.

Munich Agreement

The agreement to appease Hitler, allowing him to take over the Sudetenland.

Non-aggression Pact

Document signed in 1939 between Germany and Russia stating they would not go to war with each other.

Isolationism

The policy of the US after WWI that America practiced until forced to abandon it.

Neutrality Act of 1935

Prohibited all arms sales to countries at war and prohibited Americans from travelling on vessels of countries at war.

Neutrality Act of 1936

Forbade the granting of loans or credits to warring countries.

Neutrality Act of 1937

Applied restrictions on goods and travel to the Spanish Civil War.

Naval expansions act

Signed in 1939

Maginot Line

The defensive line built by France on its border with Germany.

Phony War

(Sitzkrieg) The period of time between the invasion of Poland and the invasion of France.

Dunkirk

The beach front city in France where British and French troops were trapped by the invading German military.

Battle of Britain

The air war over GB between July 1940 and the end of October 1940.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union who used terror, purges, and forced industrialization to maintain control.

Benito Mussolini

Italian dictator who founded fascism and sought to rebuild a Roman-style empire.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

U.S. president during the Great Depression and WWII.

Adolf Hitler

Leader of Nazi Germany who promoted extreme nationalism and expansion.

Winston Churchill

British prime minister who refused to surrender to Germany.

Hideki Tojo

Became head of the Army in 1940 and allied Japan with Germany and Italy.

Emperor Hirohito

Became emperor in 1926 and approved military plans for the assault on the Allied Powers.

Chiang Kai-shek

Led China against Japan after the invasion of 1937.

Harry S. Truman

Became president upon FDR's death in April 1945.

General George Marshall

Appointed Army Chief of Staff in 1939 and responsible for rebuilding the US army.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Chosen by Roosevelt and Churchill to become Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

General Omar Bradley

Chosen to command US troops in Europe after D-Day.

General Douglas MacArthur

Commander of Americans and Filipino forces in the Philippines at the outbreak of the war.

Admiral Chester Nimitz

Appointed Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet after Pearl Harbor.

Admiral William Halsey

Most aggressive commander under Nimitz in the South Pacific.

General George Patton

One of the most gifted military leaders of the European Theater.

Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery

British commander in North Africa responsible for driving the Germans out.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Planned the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the US into WWII.

Chuichi Nagumo

Japanese Admiral in command of the carrier group that attacked Pearl Harbor.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

German commander of the Afrika Corps dominating North Africa until 1943.

Reich-Marshal Herman Goering

Commanded the German air forces and responsible for the 'final solution.'

Colonel James Doolittle

Remembered for his bomber raid on Tokyo in April 1942.

Major Paul Tibbets

Flew the B-29 bomber Enola Gay and dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan.

Admiral Karl Doenitz

Commander of the German submarine operations of WWII.

Cordell Hull

Secretary of state from 1933 to 1944.

September 1, 1939

Germany invades Poland. England and France declare war on Germany. The Soviet Union invades Poland from the East (ten days later). **beginning of WWII

July 10 - October 1, 1940

The Battle of Britain time period (air war for Britain).

September 15, 1940

RAF major victory at the battle of Britain

December 7, 1941

Japanese attack the naval instillation at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japanese launch attacks on the Philippines, Guam, and Hong Kong.

December 8, 1941

US declares war on Japan.

December 11, 1941

Germany and Italy declare war on the US, so the US includes them in the declaration of war passed on the 8th.

November 8, 1942

Operation Torch which is the US invasion of North Africa begins. Though initially American forces in North Africa do not fare well against German Field Marshall Rommel's Afrika Corps, that changes with the appointment of General Patton as field commander.

January 14-24, 1943

The Casablanca Conference between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill result in the decision that only "unconditional surrender" of Axis forces will be accepted to end the war.

July 10, 1943

Operation Husky has American forces lead by General Geroge Patton and British forces lead by Fiel Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery invading Sicily and forcing the Germans to retreat to Italy by August 1943.

August 11-24, 1943

The Quebec Conference between Roosevelt and Churchill will establish that 1944 will be the year of the cross channel invasion of Normandy.

September 9, 1943

(Operation Avalanche) Allied forces continue the Italian campaign at Anzio, and Monte Cassino.

November 28-December 1, 1943

The Teheran Conference is held. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet face to face for the first time. Coming out of this conference is the agreement that a second front will be started in 1944. (invasion of Normandy) Stalin agrees to declare war against Japan, but only after Germany is defeated, and the idea of the United Nations

December 24, 1943

General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander of the European Theater and plans are continued for Operation Overlord (Invasion of Normandy)

June 6, 1944

D-Day - The invasion of Normandy is begun. Allied forces will land on the beaches of France in the largest combined invasion in history. American forces are commanded by General Omar N. Bradley and British forces are led by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. By the beginning of July, Allied forces have broken out of the beachhead and are forcing the enemy back all across France.

December 16, 1944

The Battle of Bulge is begun. This will be the last German offensive of the war. This surprise attack by German forces is launched through the Ardennes Forest. The Battle of Bastogne is key to victory and when the Germans fall to be able to take Bastogne the offensive is stopped. When the weather clears and Allied Air forces are able to fly the Germans are quickly pushed back into Germany.

April 12, 1945

President FDR dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at Warm Springs, Georgia.

April 30, 1945

Hitler commits suicide.

May 7, 1945

Admiral Doenitz surrenders Germany to the Allies.

Women's Army Corps

A branch of the U.S. Army created in 1942 that allowed women to serve in non-combat military roles such as clerks, mechanics, and communications workers; important because it freed more men to fight and expanded women's role in the war effort.

Bataan Death March

A forced march of about 70,000 American and Filipino prisoners by Japanese troops in 1942 after the fall of Bataan; important because thousands died and it became a symbol of Japanese brutality during the war.

Battle of Coral Sea

A naval battle between the United States and Japan in May 1942 fought mainly by aircraft from carriers; important because it stopped Japan's attempt to invade Australia and was the first naval battle where ships never directly saw each other.

Unconditional surrender

A demand by the Allies that Axis nations surrender completely without negotiations; important because it ensured total defeat of the Axis powers.

Saturation bombing

A bombing strategy where large numbers of bombs are dropped over a wide area to destroy targets and surrounding areas; important because it was used to weaken enemy cities and industries.

Strategic bombing

The bombing of enemy factories, transportation systems, and war industries; important because it reduced Germany and Japan's ability to produce war materials.

Tuskegee Airmen

The first African American military pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps who trained in Tuskegee, Alabama; important because they proved African Americans could serve successfully in combat and helped challenge segregation in the military.

George S. Patton Jr.

A bold and aggressive U.S. Army general who commanded forces in North Africa and Europe; important because his leadership helped the Allies win several key battles.

Battle of the Bulge

Germany's last major offensive against Allied forces in Belgium in December 1944; important because the Allies defeated Germany's final attempt to push them back on the Western Front.

Island-hopping

A U.S. strategy in the Pacific of capturing key islands while bypassing heavily defended Japanese ones; important because it allowed the Allies to move closer to Japan more quickly.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed explosive-filled planes into Allied ships late in the war; important because it showed Japan's desperation and caused heavy Allied losses.

Albert Einstein

A famous physicist who warned the United States that Nazi Germany might develop an atomic bomb; important because his warning helped lead to the creation of the Manhattan Project.

Manhattan Project

The secret U.S. program to develop the atomic bomb during World War II; important because it produced the bombs that helped force Japan to surrender.

J. Robert Oppenheimer

The physicist who directed the Manhattan Project; important because he oversaw the development of the first atomic weapons.