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Allied Powers

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Alliance of Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States, and France during World War II.

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Axis Powers

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Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II.

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Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact

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-Stalin signed this with Hitler -Stalin did this because after the Munich conference, he did not want to join with the west. Hitler also promised him territory -in a secret part of the pact, Germany and USSR agreed to divide Poland between them

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Blitzkrieg

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lightning war -involved fast-moving airplanes or tanks, followed by massive infantry forces, to take enemy defenders by surprise and quickly overwhelm them. -this strategy worked in Poland

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Invasion of Poland

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-German tanks went across the Polish border, and at the same time, German aircraft and artillery began a bombing of Warsaw (the capital) -After this invasion, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany -After his victory, Hitler annexed the western half of Poland

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Luftwaffe

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the German Air Forces

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Battle of France

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-Hitlers sweep through Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg was all to get France -They went through the forest to reach French -germans squeezed between the Maginot Line -at Dunkirk, the Allies retreated because they were outnumbered. -Great Britain sent a ton of ships to rescue the army -After that retreat of Allied soldiers, resistance in France began to crumble. -Germans took Paris, and then French leaders surrendered -this sent a really bad message to hitler, because he saw that people basically ran, terrified from him

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Royal Air Force

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Great Britains Air Force -two technological devices that helped them in the battle of britain. One was radar, so they could tell the incoming amount and speed of planes. Another was Enigma, or a code-breaking machine so they could crack british codes

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Battle of Britain

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-after the fall of france, great britain stood alone against the Nazis -Winston CHurchill declared that they would never give in -in 1940, Luftwaffe began bombing Great Britain -Germany wanted to break the British morale, yet they did not waver -The Royal Air Force was greatly outnumbered, but began to hit back hard -eventually, the Germans gave up daylight raids -stunned by British resistance, Hitler called off the attacks, and taught the Allies a lesson; Hitlers attacks could be blocked

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Battle of Stalingrad

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-stalingrad was a major industrial center on the Volga river that Hitler wanted to seize -the luftwaffe went on nightly bomb raids -stalin had told the defenders to defend until death -after germany had 90 percent of the city, soviet troops launched a counterattack. they trapped the germans and cut off their supplies. -a german war general begged hitler to order a retreat, but hitler said the city was to be held at all costs -eventually, the frostbitten, half-starved germans surrendered. -the soviets had lost over 1 million soldiers on their defense and the city was 99 percent destroyed -but the germans were now on the defensive, and Soviets had won

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Bombing of Pearl Harbor

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-Japan wanted to catch the US by surprise -Hawaii was considered a dagger pointed at Japans throat by Isoroku Yamamoto, japans greatest naval strategist, and it must be destroyed -December 7, 1941 -this attack stunned the american people -congress accepted Roosevelts request for a declaration of war on Japan and its allies

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Battle of Midway

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-japan targeted midway island, 1, 500 mi away from hawaii -an admiral knew a large attack was coming -japan hoped that an attack on midway would draw the whole of US pacific fleet from pearl harbor and defend the island -americna forces knew japan was coming, so they waited and let them begin their assault. -when first planes got in the ai, many japanese planes were attacked bc americans swooped in -the japanese commander ordered his crippled fleet to withdraw

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Bushido

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basically the code that said the Japanese would fight to the death"the way of the warrior"; Japanese word for the Samurai life ; Samurai moral code was based on loyalty, chivalry, martial arts, and honor until the death

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Kamikazes

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suicide pilots: they would sink allied ships by crash-diving their bomb-filled planes into them -in World War II, Japanese pilots who loaded their aircraft with bombs and crashed them into enemy ships

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Decision to drop the bomb

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-roosevelt gave his approval for the american program, called the manhatten project -most advisors felt that using it would bring the war to the quickest possible end -after the first atomic bomb exploded, truman warned the japanese but they did not reply, so a second bomb was dropped

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genocide

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the systematic killing of an entire people

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Hitlers victims

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all non-aryan people (germanic people) were inferior, especially Jewish

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Nuremberg Trial and War crimes

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-In 1945 and 1946, International Military tribunal put Nazi war crimes on trial in Nuremberg -22 Nazi leader were charged with waging a war of aggression, and for committing crimes against humanity (the murder of 11 million people) -Some leaders received life in prison, others sentenced to death

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What was the Cold War and who was it between?

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-The animosity between the Soviets and Americans after WWII led to the Cold War -Even before WWII, relations between U.S. and U.S.S.R began to unravel, because Stalin had signed the nonaggression pact with Germany -The two allies began to pursue opposite goals

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Yalta Conference

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-February 1945 -leaders of U.S., Britain, and Soviet Union met in Yalta -They decided to divide Germany into zones of occupation controlled by Allied military forces

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Reasons for Differences in goals of U.S.S.R. and U.S at the Yalta Conference

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-The Unites States suffered 400, 000 deaths and its cities and factories remained intact -The Soviets lost 50 times as many people and cities were demolished -These contrasting situations, and economic and political differences affected the two countries postwar goals

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Goals of Unites States After WWII

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-Encourage democracy in other countries and prevent communism -gain access to raw materials and markets to fuel good economies -rebuild European governments to promote stability and create new markets for U.S. goods -Rebuild Germany to stabilize it and increase the security of Europe

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Soviet Union goals after WWII

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-Encourage communism in other countries as part of a global workers revolution -Rebuild their own war-ravaged economy using Eastern Europe's industrial equipment and raw materials -Control Eastern Europe to protect Soviet borders and balance the U.S. influence in Western Europe -Keep Germany divided to prevent it from waging war again

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United States Wishes for Germany after WWII

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Reunite Germany to stabilize it and increase the security of Europe

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Soviet Unions Wishes fro Germany after WWII

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Keep Germany divided to prevent it from waging another war

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Iron Curtain Speech: who said it? in response to what?

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-This speech was said by Winston Churchill, in response to the Iron Curtain that divided Europe into East and West. Germany was split into two sections. The Soviets controlled the eastern part and Berlin (the capital) The western zone was became the Federal Republic of Germany -Soviets wanted to shield themselves from another invasion from the West. After the war, Stalin used countries along the Soviet Unions western border as a necessary buffer. He violated the Yalta agreement and installed communism in these countries -"an iron curtain has descended across the continent...All the famous cities are subject to Soviet influence, and and a high and increasing form of control from Moscow, Russia -the phrase Iron Curtain came to represent Europe's division into mostly democratic Western Europe and Communist Eastern Europe

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Soviet Satellites

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Eastern European nations which were influenced by the USSR to establish communist governments-these countries were the buffer zone that Stalin wanted -Stalin violated the Yalta Agreement, and installed or secured communism in all of these countries -The country were: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia

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Stalin's Buffer Zone

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-At the end of WWII, Soviets pushed Nazis back across East Europe -Troops occupied a strip of countries along Soviets Western border, and Stalin thought these countries were a necessary buffer, or wall of protection -Stalin ignored Yalta agreement and put communism in these countries (soviet satellites) -Stalin, Truman, and Churchill met at the Potsdam Conference, where Truman pressed Stalin to permit free elections in Eastern Europe, and he refused. -In a later speech, Stalin declared that communism and capitalism could not exist in the same world, so the iron curtain followed

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Containment Policy

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-U.S and Soviet relationships were getting worse, so U.S was getting worried, so they tried to offset the growing Soviet threat to eastern Europe with the containment policy -this policy was directed at blocking Soviet influence and stopping the spread of communism -these policies included forming alliances and helping weak countries resist Soviet advances

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Truman Doctrine

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-In a speech where Truman asked Congress for foreign aid from Turkey and Greece, Truman contrasted democracy with communism -"one way of life is based on the majority...freedom...the second way is based on terror and oppression" -TRUMAN DOCTRINE- was Trumans support for countries that rejected communism, and it caused controversy -Some objected to Americas interference, in other nations affairs, and US could not afford to carry a global crusade against communism -But Congress immediately authorized more than 400$ in aid to Turkey and Greece

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Marshall Plan

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-Much of Western Europe was in ruins after the war, and there was economic issues -U.S. secretary of state George Marshall proposed that the US would give aid to needy European countries -this assistance program was called the Marshall Plan and it would provide food, machinery, and other materials to help rebuild western europe -$12.5 billion program, and as congress debated, Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. Congress voted approval and the plan was a success

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Multinational Alliances: Warsaw and NATO

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NATO was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was formed as a result of the Berlin blockade, and how it heightened Western Europe's fears of Soviet aggression. -It was 10 western European nations, the U.S, and Canada. They were a defensive military alliance, and an attack on any NATO member would be met with armed forces from all member nations Warsaw Pact was in response to NATO, and formed by the Soviet Union as it's own alliance -the Warsaw pact included the Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania -the Berlin Wall symbolized how the world was divided into rival camps -not every country joined the new alliances

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Relations with Germany: Berlin Airlift

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-U.S. and allies clashed with Soviets over Germany -Soviets wanted to keep them weak and divided -France, Britain, and U.S, decided to withdraw forces and allow occupation zones to form a nation -Soviets held West Berlin (not their territory) hostage. They cut off highway, water, and rail traffic into west Berlin -Stalin hoped the Allies would surrender West Berlin or give up reunifying Germany -U.S and Britain officials flew in food and supplies to West Berlin for nearly 11 months, and then Soviets admitted defeat and lifted the blockade

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Relations with Germany: Berlin Wall

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-In 1961, the East Germans built a wall to separate East and West Berlin -This symbolized that the world was divided into rival camps

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Brinkmanship: U-2 Incident

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-Brinkmanship was the willingness to go to the brink, or edge, of war. It required a reliable source of nuclear weapons and airplanes to deliver them -U-2 Incident: Eisenhower proposed that US be allowed to fly over each others territory to guard against surprise nuclear attacks, but Stalin said no. In response, CIA flew secret spy planes called U-2's over Soviet territory and the Soviets shot down one and its pilot was captured, heightening cold war tensions

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Cuban Missile Crisis

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Khrushchev secretly began building 42 missile sights in Cuba. -American spy plane discovered this, and Kennedy thought that missiles so close to U.S. territory were a big threat -He demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of Cuba -This out the Soviet Union and the U.S. on a collision course and people around the world feared nuclear war -Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if U.S would not invade Cuba

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Nuclear Arms Race

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-U.S already had atomic bombs -in 1949, Soviet Union exploded its own atomic weapon -Truman developed a thermonuclear weapon in 1950. Hydrogen bomb would be thousands of times more powerful. in 1952, US tested this, then Soviet did in 1953 -US strengthened the air force and began producing stockpiles of nuclear weapons -Soviet Union responded with own military buildup, beginning an arms race that would last for four decades

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Surrogate War in Vietnam

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-Involvement of US in Vietnam came from its Cold War containment policy. After WWII, stopping the spread of communism was the main goal of the US foreign policy -France controlled most of Vietnam, and Vietnamese Communists and Nationalists began to fight the French -France suffered a major military defeat, and they surrendered. The US had supported France in the war -Because there could be a Communist victory, they decided to escalate their involvement -Congress sent US troops to fight in Vietnam -US soldiers were fighting in unfamiliar terrain and the government they were fighting was becoming more unpopular -The war grew increasingly unpopular in America, so the president began pulling out troops while the South increased their combat role -Nixon kept withdrawing troops, and eventually the North Vietnamese over ran the South Vietnamese

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Surrogate war in Korea

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-Korea became a divided nation at the 38th parallel (a line that crosses Korea at 38 degrees North) -In the north, Korea surrendered to Communist forces -in the south, Korea surrendered to Americans. -two nations developed. -North Korea continued to advance, but then after a surprise attack from UN commander, they surrendered and retreated -Chinese felt threatened by the UN, so the sent troops into North Korea -UN forces fought to drive Chinese and Notch Koreans back -Eventually, they signed a cease-fire, and the border between the two Koreas was along the 38th parallel -After the war, the countries still remained divided

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Soviets in Afghanistan

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-For several years, Afghanistan maintained their independence --IN the 1950's though,Soviet influence in the country began to increase -Later, a Muslim revolt threatened to topple Afghanistans communist regime. This lead to a Soviet invasion -The Soviets found themselves stuck. The rebel forces outmaneuvered the superpower -The rebel forces, supplied with weapons from the US, fought on -US armed the rebels because they considered them a threat to the Middle Eastern oil supplies -To prtest a Soviet invasion of the Persian Gulf, Jimmy Carter stopped US grain shipment to the Soviet Union, and ordered a boycott of the Moscow Olympics -The new Soviet president announced the wars devastating costs, and he withdrew all Soviet troops. By then, internal unrest and economic problems were tearing apart the Soviet Union

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Space Race: Sputnik

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-Soviets, in 1957, pushed Sputnik, the first unmanned satellite, above the earths atmosphere -Americans felt they had fallen behind, so they poured money into science and education. -In 1958, America launched its own satellite

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Not war crime

answer

Strategic, necessary

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War crime

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Excessive, wanton, unnecessary, exploitive

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examples of things Nazis were charged for

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1. conspiracy- the systematic planning to commit any of the other three crimes 2. crimes against peace-the waging of aggressive war in defiance of all international agreements that outlaw war as a form of national policy 3. war crimes- the killing, enslaving, or mistreatment of POWs or citizens, or the needless destruction of property 4. Crimes against humanity- the killing, enslaving, deportation, or mistreatment of civilians either before or during war and any political, religious, or racial persecutions of specific groups of people

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Death of Goebbels, Himmler, and Hitler

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Suicide

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D-Day

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-1943, Stalin met with Churchill and Eisenhower -Had to be at hightailed, and when brightness of moon was prime -Built fake tanks in order to fake out german spy planes -allied forces attacked on june 6th, 1944 -cloud cover was thick -one soldier found the german guns in a nearby apple orchard -With d-day, they pushed the nazis out of france -Stalin wanted this all along, and is frustrated that he's been wanting their aid for 3 years, so they should not get all the glory. -causes hostility and controversy with us and stalin. -stalin wanted more of a say in the post war world, and now there is underlying tension

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Cold war impact on the third world

answer

-these nations were in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. -economically poor and politically unstable -needed political and economic system around which to build their society, and communism and democracy (us and soviets) were a main choice -both us and ussr used different techniques to gain influence in third world. backed wars, revolutions, etc. -us built schools and set up programs -usssr built military an technical assistance -not all third world countries wanted to be a part of the cold war. -they met to form a third force, or a nonaligned nation group.

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Cold War impact on the USSR

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-soviets had severs economic problems and issues -their influence on eastern europe waned -berlin wall was destroyed -soviet union fell apart

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Cold War impact on the US

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-signed pact that prohibited the making of nuclear arms with soviets -americans lived in constant fear of "the bomb" -communities stocked bomb shelters and practiced air raids -became prepared for nuclear war

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United Nations

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15 members of the security council, winner of WWII get veto. China and Russia are always very anxious to veto. -cold war was russia vs america, and they were both on the security council

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berlin wall

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1961

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yalta conference

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(big three) Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill met to divide ferment into zones and discuss the post war world. Stalin feels entitled to the most say, becausee 65% of deaths from the war were from Russia. -led to resizing tensions for cold war -divided germany into four zones. america and britain thought these were temporary, but stalin wanted them permanent

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potsdam cnference

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(big three) Stalin, Truman, Atlee bc roosevelt dies. At this conference, truman is tougher than roosevelt and he is publicly opposed to communism.

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Rhineland

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demilitarized, but Hitler invaded it and just kept going.

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Septemeber 1, 1939

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Hitler has a nonagression pact with the soviets, but then he invades Poland, whom Soviets said they would protect. he uses blitzkrieg and this was the fist act of war

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Luftwaffe

answer

german air force

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Allies

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great britain, france, america, eventually soviets

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Axis

answer

Germany, italy, japan, soviets at first

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Maginot Line

answer

-built trenches in france because it worked in WWI (Allies did this) -hitler wanted to crush trench warfare with blitzkrieg -shows how allies were not prepared enough -leaves france vulnerable because belgium is open. they believed hthey were indestructible with their lines. -hitler wanted great britain. he already had norway, so he swept right through belgium and frfance falls.

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battle of france 1940

answer

france was under german occupation for 4 years

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Dunkirk

answer

this was when, at the battle of france, there was a mass evacuation of british and french troops. they dropped everything and ran from hitler, across the english channel. this set a real important tone, showing hitler could walk all over everyone.

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Battle of Britain

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summer-fall of 1940 -liftwaffe vs. RAF -Germany bombed Great Britain for months. 20, 000 german citizens were killed -keep calm and carry on -british people stayed and churchill said "we will not run away. we will show strength of character, and carry on" -only people evacuated were children -churchill refused to back down

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Royal Air Force

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had radar, and cracked Nazi code

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Switzerland

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Neutral, but nazis transported goods right through them

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Operation Barbarossa

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-spring 1941 -this was the final betraying of the alliance, where Germany invades the USSR. -shocked Russia -Stalin had faith in the alliance, and they were not prepared for war

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Japanese cities in WWII

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Americans began fire-bombing cities. Japan expected america to tire of the war and negotiate peace, but no

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Battle of Stalingrad

answer

-soviets beat germans who attacked them. -they held out against german troops -cost lives of a million soldiers

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Reasons for France falling to germans

answer

-enterred through a forest that france thought was impassable for tanks -mussolinin joined attack on france -germans occupied paris and france surrendered

question

reasons that britain didn't fall to germans

answer

-winston churchill adressed the desperation of the country directly and dressed in rhetoric that strengthened the countries back bone.

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FDRs limited support in WWII

answer

-since the beginning, he supported allies, but many americans had isolationist feelings. he sent arms shipments and began military conscription

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Surrogate war in Vietnam

answer

-stemmed from containment policy, because stopping the spread of communism was the main goal of foegien policy -french armies fought communists and vietnamese nationalists -US helped france, but france still lost. -takeover by communists seemed inevitable -us escalated their involvement and sent troops in. -fought against communist vietkond, and the unfamiliar terrain and little public support forced them to withdraw

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Surrogate war in korea

answer

soviets supported north korea w machinery -america defended south korea -this put truman policy of containment to the test, and he resolved to help south korea rest communism -UN troops (mostly from US) went in to push North Korea back -eventually, un and north korea signed a cease fire agreement, but 4 million soldiers and civilians had died

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Soviets in Afghanistan

answer

-soviet influence in the country began to increase. however, a muslim revolt threatened to topple the communist regime -the muslim revolt led to the soviets invasion -rebel forces of afghanistan outmaneuvered the soviet superpower -warriors, supplied with weapons from america, fought on -US armed the rebels nv jeu considered the invasion a threat to middle eastern oil supplies. -eventually, the new president of the soviets acknowledged the wars devastating costs, so he withdrew all troops out of afghanistan

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Marshall Plan

answer

this was the plan where the united states gave 13$ billion to help in economic support to help rebuild european economies after the war II

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Truman Doctrine

answer

Truman supported countries that rejected communist affairs

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Containment Policy

answer

This was the US approach of containing, or stopping the spread of communism throughout europe. the idea was to make the countries prosperous enough to avoid the temptation of communism -thi policy included forming alliances and helping weak nations

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NATO:

answer

North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed with the US and canada, and aimed to provide collective security against the Soviet Union -any battle with one would be met with armed force from the others

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Warsaw Alliance

answer

This was a collective defensive treaty with 8 communist countries, so they would protect each other and were allies during the cold war in response to NATO

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Stalins Buffer Zone

answer

-wanted a buffer zone of friendly states around russia so he could never be invaded again -communists took over the country, and made sure they controlled everything. they would beat their opponents -ignored yalta agreement when putting communists in these countries

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Soviet satellites

answer

The countries that were around Russia were the satellites, bc they revolved around russia like planets -they included: Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. The soviet satellites were romania, bulgaria, east germany, czech, and poland and hungary

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Soviet Sateellites

answer

Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, East Germany, Czech, Romania

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Allied Powers

answer

US, Britain, France, Russia eventually

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Axis Powers

answer

Germany, Italy, Japan

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Nazi-Soviet Non-agression pact

answer

guaranteed that Nazi germany and Soviet Russia would not attack each other -With this, Germany protected themselves from not having a two-front war, and soviet gained land -pact was broken when nazi germany attacked soviet russia with operation barbarossa

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nazi-soviet non agression pact

answer

Prevented Germany from having a two-front war, and gave soviets more land

question

Western Front Controversy

answer

-germanys loses on the western front were almost irreplaceable -stalin was under severe military pressure

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