WWII in the Pacific and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

Flashcards covering the end of World War II in the Pacific, the Manhattan Project, the atomic bombings, and the subsequent ideological split of the Cold War.

WWII (World War II)

A global conflict spanning from $1939$ to $1945$ where new technology made weapons bigger, faster, and deadlier.

The Nuclear Age

A new global age of fear that began following the use of destructive atomic weapons in warfare.

Pearl Harbour

A US naval base that Japan attacked in December $1941$, leading to the creation of a massive Japanese empire across Asia and the Pacific.

Battle of Midway ($1942$)

The turning point in the Pacific war where the US defeated Japan, breaking Japanese naval power by sinking $4$ aircraft carriers and destroying hundreds of planes.

Island Hopping

The strategy used by the Allies following Midway to slowly liberate Japanese-controlled areas one island at a time.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who volunteered to fly planes packed with explosives directly into Allied warships.

Tokyo Air Raid (March $1945$)

A massive bombing raid that killed $83,000$ people and destroyed much of the city with walls of fire that suffocated residents.

The Manhattan Project

A secret US government project directed toward developing the first atomic bomb to ensure the Allies had it before Nazi Germany.

Hiroshima ($6$ August $1945$)

The site where the first American atomic bomb was dropped, resulting in roughly $80,000$ deaths and total destruction of everything standing upright.

Nagasaki ($9$ August $1945$)

The site where the US dropped its second, larger atomic bomb three days after Hiroshima, causing even more devastation.

End of WWII

Marked by the official surrender of Japan on $14$ August $1945$.

Radiation sickness

A deadly illness caused by exposure to a nuclear explosion, affecting victims in the days, months, and decades following a blast.

Superpowers

The two strongest nations that emerged after WWII: the USA and the USSR (Soviet Union).

Blocs

Groups of countries that form alliances, such as the Capitalist West (led by the USA) and the Communist Bloc (led by the USSR).

The Russian Brown Bear

A symbol often used in anti-Soviet propaganda to represent the USSR's desire for global expansion.

Communism

A system in which the government (one-party state) controls the economy, bans private property, and makes all societal decisions.

Capitalism

An economic system based on competition and private ownership of farms, factories, and mines with minimal government interference.

Democracy

A political system featuring regular elections and many political parties where government branches work under a binding constitution.

The Grand Alliance

The temporary wartime partnership between the USA, USSR, and Britain formed to defeat Nazi Germany.

Reparations

Payments or goods demanded following a war to fix damage, as requested by the USSR from Germany after WWII.

Satellites

The communist countries of Eastern Europe which were under Soviet domination following World War II.

The Iron Curtain

An imaginary political barrier that separated the Communist East from the Capitalist West in Europe.

The Cold War

The state of extreme political and military tension between the US-led West and Soviet-led East from $1945$ to $1989$.

Atomic bomb

A very powerful and deadly weapon that utilizes the energy released when atoms are split.

Dishonourable

A term meaning shameful or a disgrace.