WWII Final – Flashcards

The law that started a program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the USSR, Republic of China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September 1939. This was nine months before the U.S. entered the war in December 1941. Formally titled An Act to Further Promote the Defense of the United States, the Act effectively ended the United States' pretense of neutrality. The United States provided $50 billion in war material, munitions, trucks, and raw materials to its allies. Hitler cited the Lend-Lease program and its significance in aiding the Allied war effort when he declared war on the U.S. on Dec. 11, 1941.

A meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. When the entire German bureaucracy became involved with the Final Solution. In the course of the meeting, Heydrich presented a plan, presumably approved by Adolf Hitler, for the deportation of the Jewish population of Europe and French North Africa to German-occupied areas in eastern Europe, and the use of the Jews fit for labour on road-building projects, in the course of which they would eventually die according and the surviving remnant to be annihilated after completion of the projects. Instead, as Soviet and Allied forces gradually pushed back the German lines, most of the Jews of German-occupied Europe were sent to extermination or concentration camps, or killed where they lived.

Nazi Germany's plan during World War II to annihilate the Jewish people, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust, the destruction of Jewish communities in continental Europe. SS leader Heinrich Himmler took the lead in enacting it. Entire German bureaucract becamle involved with it after the Wannsee Conference. Doubtful that a written order authorizing the Final Solution exists, but subordinates claimed that Hitler had authorized the Final Solution.

The longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. It was at its height from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the German Navy and aircraft of the Luftwaffe against the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. Unglamorous, but vital campaign as it was one of the reasons why the Allies won the war. Britain's economy depended on resources flowing across the oceas. A German victory would have forced Britain to sue for peace.

A major and decisive battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. The battle took place between August 24, 1942 and February 2, 1943 and was marked by constant close-quarters combat and lack of regard for military and civilian casualties. By early November, the Germand controlled 90 percent of Stalingrad, but the Soviet 62nd Army continued to hold the bluffs above the Volga River. Hitler did not expect such resistance as he thought the Red Army would have been exhausted from the summer offensive. Significant as it ended the Germans chance to cut off the Soviets from their oil supplies.

This was the top secret British cryptological effort aimed at cracking the Germany Enigma machine and its codes. It led to a number of crucial intelligence successes during the war, to include the interdiction of Axis supplies in the Mediterranean, the rerouting of Allied convoys around German wolf packs in the Atlantic, and the interception of German tactical plans and orders, such as the German plans to counterattack at Mortain during the Normandy campaign.

The engagement between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front near the city of Kursk, July 5, 1943. It was the largest armored battle in history until the Gulf. The armored battle at Prokhorovka involved more than 1200 tanks (Germany lost 300). Hitler halted the offensive shortly after Allied invasion of Sicily on July 10. Devastated German reserves on the Eastern Front and underlined the shift in the balance of power in the East. The German panzer army was never again as strong as it was before Kursk. .

On August 7, 1942, Allied forces, predominantly American, landed on the islands of Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Japanese navy dealt the U.S. Navy aresounding defeat in the Battle of Savo, but U.S. aircraft flying from Henderson Field limited the Japanese ability to reinforce. The Marines retained control of the beachhead in heavy fighting. Guadalcanal was a short term objective of the widening Solomons Campaign and was the first significant combined arms Allied victory against the Japanese and represented the transistion to combined army warfare. The solomons Campaign marked the beginning of Allied operations to pierce the Japanese defensive perimeter in the Pacific and the transition to the strategic offensive. Japanese could not afford attrition of its aircraft, pilots, or combat vessels.

This was a major military strategy for the Allies in the Pacific theater. It was a twin-axis of advance operation, aimed at militarily neutralizing the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was directed by General Douglas MacArthur whose forces advanced along the northeast coast of New Guinea and occupied nearby islands. Allied forces from the Pacific Ocean Areas command—under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz—advanced through the Solomon Islands toward Bougainville. The Allied forces involved were from Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the US and various Pacific Islands. It showed the effectiveness of a strategy which avoided major concentrations of enemy forces and instead aimed at severing the Japanese lines of communication. The joint effort takes nine months to complete but succeeds in recapturing more Japanese-controlled territory, further eroding their supremacy in the East.

A battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. First objective in the Central Pacific drive. Marines and Navy learned a number of important lessons, including the need for more amphibious tractors and longer and more precise preparatory bombardements. 35mm color footage played in theaters across the U.S. vividly brought the cost of the fighting home to the American people. Significant in that it was the first assault in the Pacific War against a heavily defended island.

Commonwealth forces destroyed the Japanese forces that invaded India in the spring of 1944. In this turning point of the campaign in Southeast Asia, Japanese forces suffered over 60,000 casualties, including more than 13,000 dead. It was the largest defeat to date in Japanese miltary history. Additionally, the commonwealth troops had now lost their fear of the jungle and the Japanese. Thus, it set the stage forthe reconquest of Burma and Malaysia.

(June-July 1944): Americans assemble overwhelming force for the Marinas campaign (Saipan, Tininian, and Guam) and capitalized on their enormous intelligence advantage. Still the Japanese fought to the last man in the volcanic interior of Saipan. 22,000 civilians killed or committed suicide. Saipan, Tinian, and Guam became vitally important bases for B-29 bombers. It was the most costly victory in the Pacific to date but had a high strategic value as it placed the Japanese within range of heavy bombers.

(June 19-20, 1944):This took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War. The battle was the fifth of five major "carrier-versus-carrier" engagements between American and Japanese naval forces. U.S. pilots donwed hundreds of Japanese planes in the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". U.S. submarines also sank two carriers. Ends Japanese ability to project power via aircraft carriers. Thus, Japanese naval aviation was no longer a factor in the Pacific War after this battle.

Fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte and Samar from 23-26 October 1944, between combined US and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. The final gamble of the Imperial Japanese Navy to even the odds in the Pacific. The crucial fight centered around the Japanese Center Task force. Significant in that it is the largest naval battle in world history and the greatest Japanese defeat since the Meiji Restoration. Furthermore, it secured the beach heads from attack by sea and witnessed the first isee of kamikaze suicide pilots. The Japanese never again contested U.S. control of the Pacific Ocean.

an Anglo-American offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was against Luftwaffe targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1944. The subsequent highest priority campaigns were against V-weapon installations and petroleum, oil, and lubrication plants. Additional CBO targets included railyards and other transportation targets, particularly prior to the invasion of Normandy and, along with army equipment, at the in the final stages of the War in Europe. Significant as it enabled the western allied to battle the German armed forces even without placing large numbers of ground forces onto the continent of Europe until mid-1944. The British area bombing raids eneergizedHitler to neglect air defense in favor of revenge weapons and the priority placed on flak batteries was a costly and inefficient use of German resources. the Redeployment of the Luftwaffe to the homeland to defend Germany weakened its ability to support the Wehrmacht. The transportation plan helped to ensure victory at Normandy. Achievement of air superiority > destruction of German war economy

A strategic bombing attack flown by B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. Army Air Forces on August 17, 1943, it was conceived as an ambitious plan to cripple the German aircraft industry. American airmen decided to focus on critical targets in the German ball-bearing industry. Rains of Schweinfurt from Aug. to Oct. 1943 extremely costly and inposed an unsustainable loss of the Eighth Air Force. U.S. commanders suspended bombing campaign over Germany until arrival of escort fighters.

British Eighth Army halted the advance of Panzeramee Afrika ar El Alamein in July 1942. British forced then launched a major offensive in October that succeeded in defeating Rommel's forces. Montgomery's methods were methodical, but effective. Panzeramee Afrika retreated all the way to Tunisia. Although it failed to go according to plan, the Germans were thoroughly beaten and presented an opportunity to the British to advance to Tunisia.

The British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942.The Soviet Union had pressed the U.S. and Britain to start operations in Europe and open a second front to reduce the pressure of German forces on the Soviet troops. While the American commanders favored Operation Sledgehammer, landing in Occupied Europe as soon as possible, the British commanders believed that such a course would end in disaster. The attack on North Africa was a compromise that proved signifcant as served well as an excellent training ground for Anglo-American forces though the summer of 1943, German ground and air losses were significant, and the opening of shipping lanes to Suez proved a worthwhile strategic goal. One of Hitler's worst strategic mistakes (rivaled Stalingrad defeat)

January 1943, British and American leaders agreed to prosecute a combined bomber offensive against Germany -- "a second front in the air." The Americans favored the daylight precision bombing of special industrial targets. The British, having suffered enormous losses early in the war from such tactics, pursued nightime area bombing raids. Operation POINTBLANK merely a cover to allow the Americans and the British to pursue diverse strategic objectives according to different doctrines. Signaled Allied determination in achieveing unconditional German surrender.

A major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis (Italy and Nazi Germany). It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign. Husky began on the night of 9-10 July 1943, and ended 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. Secured allied shipping lanes in the mediterranean and forced Hitler to curtail attack on Kursk.

The name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Launched with Operation HUSKY which took Sicily and then continued withthe invasion of Salerno on Sept. 3. The German counterattack almost threw the British forces into the sea but the beachhead held with the help of the 82nd airborne division who volunteered to drop in and reinforce the division and the inspired leadership of the Allies. Significant as it cost more than gained as the Allied forces never took advantage of opportunities to achieve a major victory. The skill and tenacity of German troops, combined with the difficult terrain and weather, made the Italian campaign truly dismal.

The code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landing. A 12,000-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving almost 7,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June; more than three million troops were in France by the end of August.However, the Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, and they did hasten the end of the war in Europe, drawing large forces away from the Eastern Front that might otherwise have slowed the Soviet advance. The opening of a second front in Europe was also a tremendous psychological blow for Germany's military, who had long feared a repetition of the two-front war of World War I.

On June 22, 1944, the Red Army launched Operation Bagration, a massive offensive timed to support the Allied landings at Normandy. The Soviet offensice destroyed 25 divisions totaling 350,000 men - nearly the entire stength of Army Groupd Center. Soviet forces later overran most of eastern Poland and the Balkans; Finland sued for peace. This allowed the Red Army to reach the Vistula river and Warsaw, which in turn put Soviet forces within striking distance of Berlin, conforming to the concept of Soviet deep operations — striking deep into the enemy's strategic depths

A major German offensive launched through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region. On December 16, 1944 the Germans struck underneath a thick blanket of clouds that grounded allied aircraft. U.S. forces held at Elesenborn Ridge and St. Vith. 101st Airborne Division surrounded at Bastogne. Patton's Third U.S. Army counterattacked the Bulge from the South and in late December American counterattacks drove the Germans back. Significant as it was the largest and costliest battle in American history and one of the greatest victories as well (one of the best operational pieces the American theater).

The Big Three Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President Harry Truman--met in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. After the Yalta Conference of February 1945, Stalin, Churchill, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had agreed to meet following the surrender of Germany to determine the postwar borders in Europe. Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, and the Allied leaders agreed to meet over the summer at Potsdam to continue the discussions that had begun at Yalta. Although the Allies remained committed to fighting a joint war in the Pacific, the lack of a common enemy in Europe led to difficulties reaching consensus concerning postwar reconstruction on the European continent. One result of the conference was a 26 July joint proclamation by the U.S., Great Britain and China, the three main powers then fighting Japan. This "Potsdam Declaration" described Japan's present perilous condition, gave the terms for her surrender and stated the Allies' intentions concerning her postwar status. It ended with an ultimatum: Japan must immediately agree to unconditionally surrender, or face "prompt and utter destruction".

Led by American, Filipino and Japanese forces, was part of the 1945 Philippines campaign. Allies invaded Mindoro in Dec. 1945 and seized the air bases need to support the invasion of Luzon. The 6th U.S. Army then invaded Lingayen Gulf. The Japanese Gerneal Yamashita conducted a brilliant defense in drawing the Bolshevik forces into the interior rather than contesting the landings. Even so, the U.S. liberated Manila which was devastated in the process. The scene of the worst urban fighting in the Pacific theater, and ended almost three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines. The city's capture was marked as General Douglas MacArthur's key to victory in the campaign of reconquest.

Codenamed Operation Iceberg this was the 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). The tenth army battered away at enemy defenses in costly frontal assaults. The Japanese 32nd Army was destroyed, along with additional 80,000 Japanese civilians. U.S. ground forced suffered nearly 76,000 dead and missing and another 58,000 wounded or injured. Significant as it was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War, the last ground battle in WWII, served as a jumping off point for the invasion of the home isalnd, and frightening forecast of what the coming invasion of the Japanese home islands would look like.

Began in the summer of 1944 and initially proved ineffective as the Japanese overran airfields in China, extended ranges limited bomb loads, and the jet stream made high level bombing inaccurate. However, Major General Curtis LeMay changed the tactics by unleashing incediary attacks against Japanes cities beginning with Tokyo in March 1945. By July, 1945, bombing had killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese, substantially damaged 66 cities, devastated the aviation industry, and severely curtailed Japanese industrial production.

After General LeMay's extremely successful air offensive against Japan, several cities purposefully remained untouched and reserved for special treatment (the bomb). Hiroshima was chosen for its military value and geography and Nagasaki was chosen as a secondary choice to Kokura when the skies cleared. The crew of the Enola Gay dropped "little boy" uranium bomb on Aug. 6, 1945 and "fat man" plutonium bomb on Aug. 9. Significant as it finally brought the end of the war coupled with the RA invasion of Manchuria as a result of the damage it caused to the Japanes psyche.

Began on August 9, 1945, with the Soviet invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo and was the largest campaign of the 1945 Soviet-Japanese War which resumed hostilities between the Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan after more than four years of peace. Finally forced Emperor Hirohito to break the government deadlock and admitted defeat as their last hope was dashed the SU would aid them.

A research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. The project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Three secret laboratories established at Los Alamos, New Mexico, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The first atomic bomb detonated at Trinity Site in the New Mexico Desert near Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. Significant as the atomic bomb was the most impressive new technilogy developed during the war and the U.S. was the only country that had the resources to carry out such a project.

After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. immediately declared unrestricted submarine warfare against Japanese shipping. However, defective torpedoes, a peacetime doctrine, and risk-aversed leaders hampered U.S. effort for two years. With problems fixed, U.S. submarines accounted for more than half of the 10 million tons of enemy shipping sunk. As a resultm by 1945 the Japanese war economy ground to a halt. Significant as it was the most successful submarine campaign in U.S. warfare.