WWII presentations

African Americansricans  Served in Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard  Non-combat units at beginning, then served in all-black units, distinguishing themselves in combat – most famous was Tuskegee Airmen, nicknamed “Redtails” – fighter pilots  Double V campaign – victory against enemy overseas and victory against racism at home

Battle of Britain  First German invasion to be cancelled because the British Royal Air Force (RAF) was able to use new radar technology to dominate the German Air force (Luftwaffe)  July 10, 1940 – October 31, 1940

Battles in Italy  Battle for Sicily  July 9, 1943 – August 17, 1943  The Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since Benito Mussolini was kicked out of power in Italy and the Allied invasion of Italy could begin.  Battle of Anzio  22 January – 5 June 1944  To liberate Italy – nicknamed Bloody Anzio due to intense fighting, but ended with Allies marching in to liberate Rome

Battle of Guadalcanal  7 August 1942 – 9 February 1943  This Island of Death was the end of Japanese offensives in the Pacific, the Allies pushed them back toward the Japanese home islands after this victory

Battle of Midway  June 3, 1942  Turning point in the Pacific War, the Japanese naval code was broken

Battle of Stalingrad  February 1943  Turning point in the war in Europe. Germans first official loss, as the Soviets pushed them back, but the Soviets lost 11 million troops.

Battle of the Atlantic  September 3, 1939 – May 8, 1945  Battle for supply lines, dominated by German u-boat “Wolf Packs” until their code machine, the Enigma, was captured, and US ship building increased

Battle of the Bulge  16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945  The last German defensive of the war. After they put everything they could on the line, and created a bulge in allied lines, American reinforcements pushed them back. After this battle, the Germans retreated for the remainder of the war.

Codes and Code-Breaking  Navajos saved American lives using their language as the unbreakable American Code  Germans used a code machine called the Enigma, which was impossible to crack without having an Enigma machine

New Technology  Radar, Sonar  Penicillin

D-Day  June 6, 1944  Greatest land, sea and air invasion in history  Put the Allies into mainland Europe and ready to liberate France

General Douglas MacArthur  General in charge of Allied Pacific operations  Led occupation of Japan at the end of WWII

General Dwight Eisenhower  General in charge of all Allied Forces in Europe and Africa  Chief architect of the D-Day invasion

Internment Camps  Put in place by Executive Order 9066, February 19,  Put all persons of Japanese descent on the west coast into 10 camps in the interior of the US  Meant to keep America secure after Pearl Harbor

Manhattan Project  1942–1946  Mobilization of scientists, under the leadership of J. Robert Oppenheimer, to create the atomic bomb (a-bomb)

Pearl Harbor  December 7, 1941  Attack on American forces by the Japanese in response to American sanctions

Rationing  Government limiting amounts and types of items that you could buy during the war due to short supplies  Included items such as gasoline, tires, sugar, coffee, meats, cheese and typewriters

Women’s Roles  Almost 350,000 women served in the Armed Forces.  The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps served in non-combat positions in every theater of WWII.  In the Navy, women served in the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES)  Women made up more than 37% of the American work force