WWII Final

-congress passed the lend-lease act in march of 1941 -govt used this act to supply allied belligerents with large amounts of war materials -US given leases on army and naval bases in allied territory during the war -$50 bil in war materials given in war materials, munitions, trucks, and raw materials to allies -Significance: This program effectively ended the pretense of american neutrality in WWII. Provided materials helped allies forces in war effort. Hitler cited lend-lease program and its significance in aiding allied war effort when he declared war on the US

-research/development project of US during WWII that resulted in production of first nuclear weapons. -project started as response to fear that Nazi germany would develop the bomb first and use it against US -significance-bombs used on hiroshima and nagasaki to avoid invasion of mainland japan that wouldve cost hundreds of thousands of american lives -convinced japanese emperor hirohito to surrender to allies which ended the war in the pacific theater

-meeting of senior govt officials of nazi germany and SS leaders held in berlin suburb or Wannsee January 20 1942 -was to ensure cooperation of administrative leaders of various govt depts. in the implementation of the final-solution to the jewish question- most of jews of German occupied europe would be deported to occupied poland and murdered -significance- involved entire nazi bureaucracy and leadership into the final solution. Meeting outlined how european jews would be rounded up and send to massive extermination camps in poland. -conference led to the dispatch of millions of jews to death camps and culminated into the holocaust, leading to the elimination of 6 million jews

-nazi plan for extermination of the european jews in WW2. -Heinrich Himmler took the lead in enacting the final solution -significance- plan incorporated the dispatch of millions of jews to massive death camps eliminated many in gas chambers. -Holocaust killed 2/3 of european jewish population -entire german bureaucracy was involved in final solution

-one of longer and complex yet unglamorous military campaigns of naval warfare between axis and allied powers, which started from onset of war in sept 1939 and cont. until end of war in 1945 -German U boats operating in wolf packs were very successful up until 1943 when means of effective comm., intelligence successes (ULTRA broke German enigma machines code), escort carriers, more surface escort vessels per convoy, better anti-sub warfare tech. (Radar), and long range patrol aircraft all helped to turn the battle the allies way in 1943 -significance: allied victory ensured britain would remain in the war, whose economy depended substantially on resources sailing across the ocean -america could finally project military and industrial might across oceans

-one of WW2s bloodiest battles-signified struggle between invading german army to capture stalingrad, and the desperate attempt of the Soviet army to hold onto the city at all costs -by early Nov. Germans controlled 90% of stalingrad -soviets surrounded the city were able to win-Hitler didn't allow germans to retreat -Significance- Germans missed the soviet military build up due to excellent maskrovka (deception) -soviets attacked weaker flanks of german army and encircled the city (operation uranus) -soviets finally attacked and captured the city in Feb. 1943 -entire German 6th army was destroyed and the defeat meant the germans no longer had the resources or capability to conduct a successful offensive campaign in the east

-one of largest armored battles in history -involved 6,000 tanks, a major confrontation b/w german and soviet forces during WW2 -north of Kharkov, there was a bulge of soviet lines into german lines known as kursk salient -germans began gathering tanks and armor to capture kursk salient en-masse -soviets learned of german intentions and began constructing defensive fortifications, and began assembling ground forces and aircraft to counter german invasion. Used deception to hide build up from germans significance: red army inflicted terrible war of attrition on the invading german army- took heavy toll for little to no gain of ground -first time major german offensive was stopped in its tracks -exhausted german reserves in the east and marked a shift in the balance of power to the soviet union -defeat ended all hopes of successful german defensive campaign

-extended campaign for 6 months which included a series of battles in the pacific theater led by the allies to wrestle control of the Guadalcanal/ Solomon Islands from japanese empire (aug 1942-feb 1943) -initially the japanese had several successes, until 1st marine division finally secured the beachhead with heavy fighting and aircrafts from the Henderson airfield restricting the japanese from reinforcing their positions. -japanese abandoned islands in feb 1943 -significance: -marked beginning of allied effort to penetrate the japanese defensive perimeter in pacific theater and the subsequent strategic offensive -secured supply lines between US and AUS which could've been threatened by the japanese air base in guadalcanal. -allies eventually got control of the solomon islands, from which further operations were launched -Solomons represented the farthest reach of japanese territorial control in pacific, and it would be the first of many islands the US would retake in a brutal 3 year island hopping campaign to reach and defeat japan

-1942-1943 -codename for a major allied operation to encircle and isolate the japanese-held township of Rabaul through a series of attacks through new guinea and northwards from Guadalcanal, and new england and finally the admiralty islands which completed the encirclement significance -US succeeded isolating Rabaul, and almost 135,000 japanese soldiers were cut off from the home islands

-US's unrestricted submarine warfare against japanese shipping in pacific during WW2. -significance: US submarines devastated japanese shipping in 1944 and 1945, which accounted for more than 10 million tons of enemy shipping sunk, as a result the japanese war economy ground to a halt by 1945

-invasion of the tarawa atoll on Gilbert islands conducted by the 2nd marine division of the US forces on Nov 20-23 1943 -significance: Tarawa was the first objective in Nimitz's island hopping campaign across central pacific. -nearly 4700 japanese garrison wiped out, marines lost 990 men -japanese defended island more fiercely than expected and US learned they needed more amphibious tractors as well as lengthier and more precise preparatory bombardments

-battle signifies the engagement between allied commonwealth troops and japanese soldiers near the indian towns of Kohima and Imphal -japanese besieged both towns but the defending allied troops were re-supplied by air and defended both towns fiercely. -eventually japanese returned to burma with heavy losses -significance-japanese suffered more than 60,000 casualties -turning point in burma campaign. -largest defeat to that date in japanese history-many japanese deaths

-was a battle of the pacific campaign of WW2, fought on island of saipan in the mariana islands from june-july 1944, between the invading US forces and the japanese defenders -significance: japanese fought to the last man from the volcanic interiors of saipan and 22,000 civilians died

-a major naval battle in the pacific theatre of WW2, where the japanese navy sought to deal a major blow to the US pacific fleet in the Marianas -significance: decisive allied victory. -hundreds of japanese aircrafts shot down by american pilots "great marianas turkey shoot" -eliminated japanese navy capability to conduct large scale carrier operations

-one of largest naval battles of WW2 -took place b/w allied naval forces and imperial japanese navy in pacific theatre -final gamble by imperial Japanese navy to even the odds in the pacific -significance: decisive allied victory -japanese naval capabilities were crippled and the japanese navy never again challenged US dominance and control in the pacific ocean

-top secret british cryptological effort aimed at cracking the german enigma machine and its codes -significance: ULTRA led to a number of crucial intelligence successes during the war (rerouting of allied convoys around german wolf packs)

-strategic combined bomber offensive was a joint operation of the USA and great britain to create a "second front in the air" against germany in western continental europe -USA focused on daylight precision bombing campaign, targeting key economic and industrial targets to cripple germanys production and infrastructure, whereas britain focused on night-time area bombing of german cities to "dehouse" german workers -oil installations also a main target -significance: allowed western allies to wage war offensively against germany w/o committing significant numbers of ground troops until 1944 -helped allies achieve air superiority over continental europe by may 1944 -dec. germanys oil prod. -caused german econ. to collapse by mid-winter 1945 -enraged Hitler (FEGELEIN!!) and motivated him to squander germanys resources in enormously expensive yet ineffective "revenge weapons"

-the schweinfurt-regensburg mission was a strategic bombinh mission during WW2. -purpose to cripple german aircraft industry by making it impossible to build engines -significance: these raids showed to be a great threat to german economy -raids failed to destroy machinery -extremely costly for allies -bombing campaign suspended until arrival of escort fighters

-oct. 23-nov 11 1942 -was a battle between british empire and german-italian army that took place near the egyptian railway halt of El Alamein -decisive battle victory in north africa in 1942 by Great Britain -commonwealth forces stopped erwin rommel and his Afrika korps and saved Egypt from being taken -significance: british were able to control Suez canal -enabled allies to move supplies, men, equipment, fuel and raw materials around the world to where they were needed much more quickly -marked culmination of N. africa campaign and germans eventually retreated back into Tunisia

-allied invasion in N. Africa in 1942 -america invaded french morocco, whereas british and american forces invaded Algiers and oran. -meant to clear axis powers from N. Africa, improve naval control in Mediterranean, and prepare for invasion of Southern Italy -significance: first time British and US worked on invasion plan together -began push to take tunisia -once Tunisia was captured, 275,000 Axis soldiers surrendered and Hitlers decision to keep troops in N. Africa proved as disastrous as Stalingrad

-conference for allies to plan strategy for next phase of WW2. -Held Jan. 1943 in Casablanca Morocco -allies decided they would accept nothing less than unconditional surrender -significance: allies now had plan for european invasion -operation pointblank was established, which allowed for combined bomber offensive that would allow for the opening of another front of the war that Germany would have to fight

-The allied invasion of Sicily -a major campaign of WW2 in which allies took the island of Sicily from the axis powers -large airborne and amphibious operation followed by a 6 week land campaign -secured shipping lanes in mediterranean and nazis evacuated Sicily -significance: Hitler forced to pull troops from battle of Kursk in order to reinforce southern flank in Italy -Italy forced to surrender

-1943- end of war in Europe -began with British and American invasion of southern toe of Italian mainland -allies encountered stiff german resistance -significance: Was a truly dismal campaign that was extremely costly -costs of campaign exceeded the gains, even with italy's surrender

-allied invasion of normandy and the battle for normandy -launched June 6 1944 with normandy landings (D-Day) -significance: allowed allies to liberate France -Germany military leaders (apart from Hitler) realized the war was lost

-operation Bagration launched by red army -soviet offensive tied to support allied landings in normandy -launched against germany june 22, 1944 -significance: Soviets overran most of Eastern Poland and the Balkans. -Shortly after, Finland sued for peace. -25 divisions totaling 350,000 men, nearly the entire strength of the German Army Group Center, was destroyed

-Dec. 1944 -Hitlers last major offensive and a final gamble -surprise blitzkrieg attack through the Ardennes to recapture Antwerp, in an effort to split the American and British forces and perhaps achieve a draw with the western allies -caught off guard the US forces desperately tried to stem the German advance, and fought gallantly to hold Elsendborn and St. Vith. -Allied frontline resembled a bulge -Fuel shortages crippled german advance -US army counterattacked the Bulge from the south -US drove Germans back and achieved victory -significance: one of largest and costliest battles in US military history (100,000 casualties) -one of greatest US victories -Germans final reserves of men and armor decimated

-Last WW2 meeting near Berlin in Potsdam between big 3: Truman, Churchill and Stalin -focused on post war Europe and how Germany was going to be handled -decided to demand unconditional surrender from Japan -decided to manage Germany in zones -significance: established Council of foreign ministers and a central allied control council for administration of germany -various agreements on German econ., punishment for war criminals, land boundaries, and reparations -demand unconditional surrender from Japan

-major battle of the Philippines campaign in the pacific theatre of WW2. -massive american offensive led by MacArthur with intention to recapture the Philippines capital. -Brutally bloody battle with many civilians and infrastructure paying the price -significance: marked end of Japanese control over the philippines.

-Summer 1945 -one of largest US amphibious assaults in the pacific theatre. -fierce Japanese resistance -significance: American casualties exceed casualties in any of the other campaigns of the entire war in the pacific -played role in decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki

-began summer 1944 -initialy ineffective due to airfields being overrun in china-Major General LeMay changed tactics to incendiary attacks on Japanese cities from pacific airstrips -significance: By july 1945 bombing had killed hundreds of thousands of japanese civilians, damaged 66 cities, devastated the japanese aviation industry, and severely curtailed Japanese industrial production

-Aug 6 1945-US hit Hiroshima with an atomic bomb "Little Boy" (uranium) -Hiroshima selected for its military and geographical value -"Little boy" was dropped by the Enola Gay -Nagasaki hit with second atomic bomb on Aug 9 when Japanese refused to surrender after Hiroshima -Decision to drop bombs motivated primarily by desire to save further US lives -significance: Emperor Hirohito surrendered Aug 15 -ended war in japan -more than 250,000 Japanese civilians died in these two cities

-massive soviet offensive Aug 9 1945 to capture Manchuria from Japanese -discussed at Potsdam conference -significance: completely isolated japan -last major battle of WW2and contributed to japanese decision to surrender

There were multiple reasons for the allies winning the war -battle of the Atlantic-German subs failed to starve britain and they were able to remain in the war -the allies had control of large amounts of oil and strategic resources -the ULTRA program was a huge advantage -Soviet Maskirovika was very successful deception technique -Air power was very effective-Combined bomber offensive -Allies constructed the atomic bomb first There were also multiple reasons for the axis powers losing the war -Italy showed great incompetence in the war-starting with the leaders -They had less access to vital raw materials -Lacked the resources to continue fighting at the end of the war -Germany and Japan lacked effective coordination -Inferior intelligence and logistics problems-Germans never figured out about ULTRA-giving allies huge advantage

US Strategy in pacific war -Nimitz and MacArthur were the twin drives for the US in the pacific -Important for the US to be able to repair ships in the pacific -Emphasis on maintaining air superiority before each island campaign -conducted artillery bombardments before each invasion -unrestricted submarine warfare against the japanese helped to grind their war economy to a halt key strategic decisions by US leaders -invasion of Iwo Jima was a stepping stone to invading Japan-allow planes to stop and refuel -air bombardment and fire bombing of japanese cities strategically blockaded japan -The invasion of Okinawa was done so the US could maintain territory close to the home island -Retrained british forces and commonwealth unit in burma tradeoffs to consider-the US would frequently need to rely on china, which could be quite frustrating Atomic bomb -decision made so US lives wouldnt be lost in massive invasion -faced heavy losses at okinawa -US had the technology and wanted to use their investment -Long term effects of the bomb were unknown at the time