World War II I. The Road to War –A. Totalitarianism: State control over all facets of life 1. Fascist Italy – Benito Mussolini 2. Soviet Russia – Joseph Stalin 3. Nazi Germany – Adolph Hitler 4. Imperial Japan – Military Rule

World War II I. The Road to War –B. Aggression : Manchuria invaded by Japan –i) 1937: Full-scale invasion of China : Ethiopia invaded by Italy : Austria & Rhineland controlled by Germany : Axis Powers joined together

World War II I. The Road to War –C. Diplomatic Failure 1. League of Nations ignored by Japan & Italy 2. Appeasement by GB & Fr. fails w/ Hitler –i) 1938: Munich Agreement gives Hitler Sudetenland : Non-Aggression Pact b/w Hitler & Stalin emboldens Nazis –i) Secretly divides up Poland

World War II I. The Road to War –D. War Begins 1. Sept 1939: Invasion of Poland –i) Blitzkrieg attack –ii) GB & Fr. declare 2. June 1940: Nazis capture Paris 3. Aug. 1940: Nazis attempt invasion of GB in Battle of Britain 4. June 1941: Nazis invade Russia

World War II II. US Responses –A. Early-mid 1930’s: Amidst Depression, Americans want little to do with growing “European conflict” 1. Neutrality Acts –i) 1935: US may not provide weapons to nations at war –ii) 1936: US may not provide loans to nations at war

World War II II. US Responses –B. Mid-late 1930’s: As US econ. shows signs of recovery, situation in Europe grows worse 1. Allies (Fr, GB) pressure US to get involved 2. Jewish refugees seek asylum – safe haven, in USA

World War II II. US Responses –C. Roosevelt’s Actions 1. “Cash and Carry”- 1937: Allows US to sell war goods, so long as buyers pay in cash & transport themselves 2. Evian Conference- 1938: FDR calls meeting of 38 nations to address plight of German-Jewish refugees –i) US Immigration quotas remain unchanged

World War II III. US Involvement –A. Push for Support : As German forces advance towards GB, British PM Winston Churchill urges US to join war : Roosevelt supports “all aid short of war” during 3 rd prez. campaign –i) Selective Service Act introduces 1 st “peace - time” draft in US history

World War II III. US Involvement –B. Resistance 1. America First Committee forms to oppose further involvement with the Allies & the war –i) Wide-spread membership 2. Opposition in Congress grows r.e full-scale aid to the Allies

World War II III. US Involvement –C. “The Great Arsenal of Democracy” 1. Lend-Lease Act – 1941: US will provide full-scale $ & material support to GB & Allies –i) Navy activated to protect shipments –ii) Extends to USSR & 40 other nations –iii) ~ $50 billion in aid given out during war

World War II IV. The US is Attacked –A. Tensions w/ Japan 1. Embargo – July 1941: After Japanese invade Fr. Indochina, US freezes assets & cuts off oil supply 2. Ties Cut – Nov. 1941: As negotiations fail, Japan pulls away from talks –i) US intelligence suspects attack, but doesn’t know where –ii) US Naval fleet in Hawaii mobilized for deployment to Pacific

World War II IV. The US is Attacked –B. December 7, Japanese attack naval base at Pearl Harbor, HI –i) 2400 killed, 1200 wounded –ii) Pacific fleet severely crippled 2. Japanese attack U.S bases in Guam, Wake Island & the Philippines 3. Dec 8: US declares war –i) Dec 11: Germany & Italy declare war on US

World War II V. The War in Europe –A. US Entry Nazis concentrated on invasion of USSR 2. British attempting to halt Axis offensive in North Africa –i) Nazi Gen. Erwin Rommel sent to bolster Italian Army 3. US focuses on shipment of supplies & troops across Atlantic

World War II V. The War in Europe –B. Halting the Axis Operation Torch: US troops land at Morocco and push back Axis forces along the N. African Coast –i) British push from East –ii) Gen Dwight Eisenhower named Supreme Allied Commander 2. Nazi advance in USSR Stalingrad –i) Stalin pleads w/ GB & US to open “2 nd front” in Eur.

World War II V. The War in Europe –B. Halting the Axis Invasion of Italy: US & GB push in through Sicily, forcing King Victor Emmanuel to dismiss Mussolini & surrender –i) Gen George S Patton leads US invasion –ii) Germans move in to replace Italian troops, fighting continues until 1945

World War II V. The War in Europe –C. The Allied Invasion 1. D-Day – June 6, 1944 –i) Mass of Allied forces move across English Channel to attack Nazi position in Normandy »a) Largest “amphibious” invasion in history –ii) Despite huge Omaha Beach & others, Allies secure base from which to push onto mainland

World War II V. The War in Europe –D. On from Normandy: After coming ashore, US forces move forward in two groups: 1. Omar Bradley leads break-through attack East towards Belgium –i) Formal, “textbook” style general –ii) Favored by Eisenhower & others

World War II V. The War in Europe –D. On from Normandy 2. Gen. George Patton leads charge South towards Paris –i) Aggressive personality disliked by politicians –ii) Blitzkrieg-style attacks w/ Panzer tanks 3. Liberation of Paris – 1944: Assisted by French Resistance, Allies force Nazis to abandon city

World War II V. The War in Europe –E. On to Berlin 1. Battle of the Bulge – December 1944 –i. Facing Allied advance, Nazis make one last attempt to break Allied line –ii. US 101 st Airborne leads effort to hold line at Bastogne »a) Largest battle ever fought by US Army

World War II V. The War in Europe –F. On to Berlin 2. Nazi Retreat – 1945 –i) As US crosses into Germany, Soviets close in rapidly from East –ii) Allied bombing campaign starts to break German will –iii) V-E Day: May 8, follows Hitler suicide & surrender

World War II VI. The War at Home –A. The War Economy 1. Production – Viewed as essential element of war effort –i) Military Production grows from 2% of GNP in 1939 to 40% in 1943 –ii) Avg. Farm income doubles b/w –iii) US out-produces Germany 2x, Japan 5x

World War II VI. The War at Home –A. The War Economy 2. Mass Employment –i) Unemployment drops below 2% by 1945 – lowest in US History –ii) Female labor force grows by 50% –iii) Minority labor force grows by 40% –iv) Union activity rapidly strengthens

World War II VI. The War at Home –B. Wartime Politics 1. War Powers Act – Gives FDR “emergency powers” to control politics & economy 2. War Production Board - created to oversee “conversion” to wartime economy 3. Federal Budget- 1945: grows to 10x level of 1939 –i) Income taxes pay for 41% of spending –ii) National debt grows from $43b to $259b

World War II VI. The War at Home –B. Wartime Politics 3. Ex. Order 9066 –i) Suspends Civil Rights of all Japanese Americans –ii) Forces ~ 120,000 Japanese-Americans living on West Coast into Internment camps –iii) Korematsu v. United States, 1944: Supreme Ct upholds the order

World War II VII. War in the Pacific –A. Japanese Offensive 1. Early 1942: Following Pearl Harbor, Japanese expand control of Pacific & SE Asia 2. Douglas MacArthur struggles to keep the Philippines, but forced to retreat to Australia –i) Bataan Death March: 76,000 American & Filipino P.O.Ws forced to march to prison camp; 10,00 die along the way

World War II VII. War in the Pacific –B. Battle of Midway 1. June 24, 1942: US Code-breakers discover plan to attack Naval base at Midway island – Ad. Chester Nimitz decides to successfully defend & counter-attack –i) Battle fought entirely in the air –ii) Japanese Air-force severely damaged

World War II VII. War in the Pacific –C. Island-Hopping 1. Guadalcanal : First large-scale jungle combat for US military 2. Marshall & Mariana Islands : Back & forth series of battles 3. The Philippines : MacArthur returns to pitch brutal fight for the territory

World War II VII. War in the Pacific –D. Push towards Japan -1945: As US closes in on mainland, fighting intensifies 1. Bombing campaigns by US target Tokyo & major cities, hoping to break morale 2. Kamikaze attacks by Japanese pilots increase 3. Mainland invasion is planned out by Allies

World War II VII. War in the Pacific –D. Push towards Japan 4. Iwo Jima – Feb-March: US Marines struggle to take tiny volcanic island –i) Key air-base location 5. Okinawa – April-June: Japanese fight urgently to defend last outpost before mainland –i) Invasion 2 nd only to Normandy in #s of US military involved

World War II VII. War in the Pacific –E. The Atomic Bomb 1. The Manhattan Project: Team of top scientists put together in 1939 to develop a bomb –i) J. Robert Oppenheimer placed in charge –ii) 130,000 people & ~ $2 billion devoted to project –iii) July, First successful explosion near secret lab in Los Alamos, NM

World War II VII. War in the Pacific –E. The Atomic Bomb 3. Ending the War –i) Aug. 3, 1945: Japanese reject demand for unconditional surrender –ii) Aug. 6: Enola Gay drops bomb Hiroshima »40-70,000 people die instantly »200,000 die of radiation poisoning by 1950 –iii) Aug.9 : 2 nd bomb dropped on Nagasaki »80,000 dead by 1950 –iv) V-J Day – Aug. 16: Japanese surrender