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Totalitarianism

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political system in which the government controls every aspect of citizens' lives

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Benito Mussolini

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leader of Italy who gained complete control in 1922 and instated a policy of Fascism in Italy

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fascism

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a political system in which the state or government is seen as more important than the individual

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Adolf Hitler

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leader of Germany (dictator) who gained complete control in 1933 under the National Socialist Party. He wanted to rid Germany of intellectuals, Communists, and Jews

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Nazis

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The National Socialist Party, headed by Adolf Hitler

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Josef Stalin

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leader of Russia (dictator), or the Soviet Union, took control in 1928 and became famous for terrorizing political enemies and even regular citizens, killing them or imprisoning them

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Axis Powers

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a coalition (group) of nations in World War II that included Germany, Italy, and Japan

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appeasement

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the policy of giving into the demands of a nation in order to avoid war

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Winston Churchill

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British Prime Minister, who led Britain during World War II and was in disagreement with the policy of Appeasement

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Allied Powers-

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a group of nations that allied to fight the Axis Powers during World War II, including the United States, Britain, France, and Russia

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Lend Lease Act-

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a law giving Franklin Roosevelt the power to sell, transfer, exchange, or lease military equipment to any country to help it defend itself against the Axis Powers in World War II

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Pearl Harbor

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a harbor in Hawaii that serves as a Naval base of the U.S. Pacific fleet that was bombed by Japanese bombers on December 7, 1941 which propelled the United States into World War II

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Bliztkrieg-

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"lightening war", type of warfare used by the Germans to overwhelm their opponents by striking fast with lots of force using planes, tanks, and troops

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War Production Board

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a government agency set up to oversee production of war materials during World War II

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A. Philip Randolph-

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African-American leader who worked to received equal treatment in the factories as African-American workers were paid less than white workers and he also organized a march on Washington in 1941 to protest this

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Women's Airforce Service Pilots

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WASP, women who were test pilots who flew and ferried planes from factories and air bases

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Tuskegee Airmen

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African American pilots who trained in Tuskegee, AL

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Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

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a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, later became the first African-American General in the Air Force

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Zoot-Suit Riots

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a series of riots during which Mexican-Americans were attacked by whites, which took place in Los Angeles in June of 1943 that lasted 10 days

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internment

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the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans in special camps during World War II, mainly on the west coast

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Battle of El Alamein

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a turning point in World War II, in which Allied forces defeated the Afrika Korps of Germany in North Africa for a fight to gain control of the Suez Canal, a main supply route to Europe

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

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American General, who led the Allied forces in Europe

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Battle of Stalingrad

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a major turning point in World War II, Soviet forces defeated Nazi forces after which the Nazis never recovered. This began the downhill fall of the Germany Army in 1943

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D-Day

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one of the largest sea-born invasions in history, Decision Day was an Allied invasion of German occupied France

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Douglas MacArthur

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American General who led Allied forces in the Pacific

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Bataan Death March-

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a forced march of American and Filipino soldiers captured by the Japanese along the Bataan peninsula. It lasted for 63 miles which led to over 600 U.S. soldiers dying and over 10,000 Filipino deaths

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Chester Nimitz

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American Admiral who led the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet to many defeats over the Japanese

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Battle of the Coral Sea

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The first strategic defeat of the Japanese Imperial Navy by American forces in World War II in May of 1942

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Battle of Midway

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Battle of World War II that ended the Japanese advance in the Pacific on June 2, 1942 and resulted in the destruction of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers which severely hurt the Japanese Naval power

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Island Hopping

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a strategy used by the U.S. forces in the Pacific during World War II that involved taking only strategically important islands

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Battle of Leyte Gulf-

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the largest Naval battle in history, during which the American fleet destroyed most of the Japanese Fleet in October 1944 and also gave the Americans a way to attack the main shipping routes that supplied Japan

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Kamikaze

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Japanese pilots who flew suicide missions during World War II

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Battle of the Bulge

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the last German advance or offensive of World War II, which was stopped by Allied forces. About 25 German divisions attacked a weakened line in the Allied forces in the snow causing a huge retreat (bulge in the allied line), but was quickly stopped when planes began attacking

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Harry S. Truman

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Vice President to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became President after Roosevelt died in the Spring of 1945

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Holocaust

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a program of mass murder in which the Nazis tried to kill all Jewish people during World War II

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Genocide

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the complete destruction of a racial or ethnic minority

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Manhattan Project

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the U.S. effort to build an atomic bomb

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Atomic Bomb

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a weapon of mass destruction that receives its explosive power from the splitting of atoms

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Nagasaki and Hiroshima

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These were the two cities in Japan that were nearly wiped out due to the Americans dropping an atomic bomb on these cities leading to the Japanese surrender in World War II

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What types of leaders came to power in Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union before World War II?

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Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union all had dictators come to power before World War II.

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Why did some Europeans have faith in their totalitarian leaders?

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because the leaders promised to deliver prosperity and national glory

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What was going on in Japan during this time?

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Japan had an emperor. There was a group of military leaders who slowly gained complete control of the country. They wanted to build a large empire in East Asia

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What did Hitler do that was in violation of the Treaty of Versailles?

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He began to rebuild Germany's military.

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What is appeasement?

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a policy of avoiding war with an aggressive nation by giving into its demands

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Why didn't Winston Churchill think appeasement would stop Hitler?

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- Hitler could not be trusted. - thought it was shameful for Great Britain to agree to appeasement - thought that war would happen anyway

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What did Hitler promise the German people, and how did he act on this promise?

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- a return to prosperity and a position of international power - He acted on this promise by building up his military and conquering parts of Europe.

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Which countries formed the Axis Powers?

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Germany, Italy and Japan.

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Which countries formed the Allied Powers?

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France and Great Britain

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What countries were invaded by the Axis Powers?

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Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France.

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How did the RAF finally defeat the Luftwaffe?

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They used the new technology of radar to detect and destroy about 2,300 German planes.

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What happened during the Battle of Britain?

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The Luftwaffe attacked British planes and airfields. They also began bombing cities and citizen had to take shelter in the subways.

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What was the Lend-Lease Act? How did it help the Allies?

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It allowed the president to help any nation believed important to U.S. defense. This helped the Allies because we sent billions of dollars' worth of weapons, tanks, planes and food to them.

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What did Japan hope to gain by attacking Pearl Harbor?

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Japan hopes it would give them time to secure control of East Asia before the U.S. could respond.

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Describe the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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Japan attacked at 7:55am on Dec. 7, 1941. In a few hours they sank and damaged all battleships. More than 2,400 Americans died.

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What promise was Roosevelt unable to keep?

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not to send our boys to fight in any foreign wars.

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How did people on the home front support the war effort?

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buying war bonds, collecting scrap metal, adjusted to government rationing and grew victory gardens.

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Why is the Selective Training and Service Act important?

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It allowed the U.S. to be prepared for war when they finally entered the war.

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How did the United States finance the war?

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raised taxes and sold war bonds to citizens

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Why did factories need more workers?

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so many men left to fight in the war.

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What roles did women fill in military service?

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They were nurses and pilots in groups like Women's Auxiliary Army Corps and Women's Airforce Service Pilots.

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Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?

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They were African American pilots who trained at the Tuskegee army Airfield in Alabama. They flew thousands of successful combat missions in North Africa and Italy.

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What unfair treatment did A. Phillip Randolph protest

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low pay and job restrictions for African Americans

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What do you do know about the zoot-suit riots?

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They began in Los Angeles when a group of sailors attacked Mexican Americans wearing zoot suits. They lasted for 10 days.

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How did the war create both opportunities and challenges for minorities?

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Challenges : prejudice, riots, low wages and job type restrictions Opportunities: the anti-discrimination order by president, more employment available, chance to demonstrate competence in jobs that used to unavailable

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What was the internment program?

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FDR ordered all Japanese Americans be forced to relocate and be imprisoned

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What did Japanese Americans lose when they were interned?

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They lost jobs, homes, belongings and freedom.

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How did the U.S. government change its policy toward Japanese Americans serving in the military? How did many respond?

answer

The U.S. government reversed the policy of that banned Japanese Americans from serving in the military. There were about 33,000 who served in the military.

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What new strategies did the Allies use in the fight in Europe and North Africa?

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The Allies decided to build up troops in Great Britain to be used to invade France and they decided to assault German troops in North Africa.

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Why did Stalin get angry at the Allies?

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The Allies because the Allies decided not to invade Europe right away. He hoped this would distract German troops and take pressure off the Eastern front.

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What type of obstacles did the Allies face?

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U-boat attacks.

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How did the Allies gain control of North Africa?

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General Montgomery and General Eisenhower surrounded and defeated General Rommel(Desert Fox).

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What caused the different views of Italy's strength in 1943 and 1944?

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Italy's leaders overthrew Mussolini and surrendered in 1943. Hitler sent troops to Italy to block the allied advance in 1944

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What happened to Mussolini?

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He was executed by Italian freedom fighters.

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What role did General Dwight D. Eisenhower play in the Battle of El Alamein?

answer

He led the U.S. and British troops he brought ashore in Morocco and Algeria to El Alamein and helped defeat Rommel.

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What do you know about the Battle of Stalingrad?

answer

The Axis Powers suffered from lack of supplies and soldiers. They finally surrendered to the Soviets. One million Soviet troops and 800,000 Axis troops died during this battle.

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Why did the Allies invade France? What was the goal?

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This was the first step towards the goal of liberating Europe and forcing Hitler to surrender.

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Describe the D-Day invasion.

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This was a very large invasion that included more than 6,000 ships, 11,000 planes and 156,000 soldiers. Men stepped off the boats under heavy fire only to be confronted by bombs and barbed wire on the beaches of Normandy, France.

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Why did so many people lose their lives on D-Day?

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The German's had placed mines and barbed wire along the beaches. This slowed some down and allowed the Germans in the concrete bunkers to fire at the soldiers as they exited the landing boats.

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What was Japan doing while the U.S. was recovering from the attack on Pearl Harbor?

answer

Japan conquered Thailand, Burma, the British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore and the US territories of Guam and Wake Island.

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Who was Douglas MacArthur?

answer

He was the general in command of US forces in the Philippines.

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What do you know about the Bataan Death March?

answer

70,000 American and Filipino soldiers surrendered and were led on a forced march up the Bataan Peninsula to Prison camps. More than 600 American and 10,000 Filipino dies on this march.

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Compare and contrast the Battle of the Coral Sea with the Battle of Midway.

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The similarities of the two battles were that both battles took place at sea between American and Japanese aircraft carriers and fighter planes. The difference between the two battles was there was no winner of the Battle of the Coral Sea, while the U.S. won the Battle of Midway.

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Who were the Navajo Code talkers? Why were they important?

answer

radio operators who relayed coded messages in their native tongue - an unbreakable code for the Japanese.

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Describe the Invasion of the Guadalcanal.

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six months of intense fighting in August 1942. Soldiers suffered from diseases like malaria and from hunger due to lack of supplies.

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What was the purpose of island hopping?

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Allied forces took only strategically important islands. They could use captured islands as a base for their next attack.

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Why was the Battle of Leyte Gulf important?

answer

It was the largest naval battle in history and it crippled the Japanese for the rest of the war.

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Describe what happened at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

answer

On both islands, the Japanese refused to surrender to the Allies. Both Japanese and Allies suffered large losses.

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