Transcript The US Enters WWII… - Warren County Public Schools

World War II
BEGINS
Munich Conference
• Representatives from England, France, Germany,
and Italy met in Munich, Germany to avoid war
• Britain and France followed appeasement, so
they let Hitler have the Sudetenland, assuming he
would not continue to annex/take/invade lands
• March 1939 – Hitler annexed the rest of
Czechoslovakia
Map
• Britain and France warned him of war if he
continued
German Non-Aggression Pact
with the Soviet Union
• August 1939 – Hitler signed a treaty (non-aggression pact)
with the Soviet Union so he wouldn’t have a threat from
the east
Map
• Publicly, the agreement said that neither country would
attack the other.
• The pact was meant to last ten years. It only lasted for
two.
• If the Germans invaded Poland, the USSR would not be
allowed to intervene.
• Therefore, if Germany declared war against Western
Europe, the Soviets would not be allowed to enter the
war.
1930s HAPPENINGS
AROUND THE WORLD
• GREAT DEPRESSION –
worldwide
• 1931- Japan invades
Manchuria (China)
• 1935- Italy invades
Ethiopia
Invasion of Poland
• September 1, 1939: The German army invaded Poland, a
country that Britain and France had pledged to support.
• Due to the terms of the pact, the USSR couldn’t do anything
about it.
• September 3, 1939 (two days after German’s initial invasion of
Poland): Britain and France (Allies) declared war on Germany,
starting WWII.
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AXIS POWERS
Italy
Germany
Japan
Powers
Map
Germany’s Inva
Poland
* Blitzkrieg – “Lightening war” –
using planes and armored strike
before Poland could respond
* moved through Poland (Poland
Germany took over it) in less tha
the Soviet Union (Joseph Stalin)
seized eastern Poland
Maginot Line
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At this point (after Poland fell), German
troops sat and watched French forces on
the Maginot Line, a massive system of
forces that France had built along its
border with Germany. –PHONY WAR
April 1940 – Germany attacked Denmark
and Norway
May 1940 – Germans moved around the
Maginot Line (through the ArdennesMap
Forrest) and launched a blitzkrieg on
Belgium, the Netherlands, and France
reached Paris by June 1940 and France
surrendered
By mid-1940s, Hitler had conquered most
of Western Europe, leaving Britain as the
only Allied Power.
• After the fall of France,
Hitler targeted Great
Britain.
• Winston Churchill – British
Prime Minister
Map
o encouraged
the British
people by pledging
defense at all costs
• Hitler planned to take
Britain with the Luftwaffe
(German air force) –
launched the greatest air
assault yet, as over 1000
planes per day dropped
bombs on Britain and
eventually London
Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
• RAF = Royal Air Force
o Greatly outnumbered
o Pilots flew 6-7 missions per day
• Huge losses due to death, fire, etc.
• Despite the huge losses that London suffered, the RAF still
defeated the German’s, marking one of the first military
losses for the Germans.
Japan (Military Monarchy)
• Also discontent with their situation, just like Europe and
Asia, and wanted to build an empire
1. Lacked sufficient raw materials and markets for its
industries because it is a chain of small islands
2. needed land to support its growing
population
Axis
Powers
• 1931 – seized Manchuria
Italymost of it by 1940
• 1937 – invaded China, and controlled
• Turned to Southeast Asia and the Germany
Dutch East Indies
• 1940 – became an ally of Germany
and Italy
Japan
• 1941 – signed neutrality pact with the Soviet Union
Map
The American Response to
Japan’s Actions
• 1938 – began building up the navy in the Pacific; moved
fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• Initially…
The U.S. Enters WWII
o America favored isolationism
• Neutrality Act (1935)
• Prevent the U.S. from being drawn into war
• In a war b/w 2 or more foreign countries, the U.S.
would not export arms, ammunition, or tools of
war to those nations
• But…
• Manchuria, Ethiopia, etc. (events along road)
• These actions bothered FDR – he did not want to
be neutral
The U.S. Enters WWII…Why?
1. 1937 – FDR began to speak against events &
aggression (i.e. Quarantine Speech)
2. 1938 – FDR sought $ for navy
3. US signed Neutrality Acts in 1934,1935, 1937, 1939
4. Changed neutrality laws to “cash-and-carry” and the
Lend-Lease Act
•Cash and Carry
•Allowed the US to supply arms to nations; those nations had to
pay cash and transport the items on their own ships
•Lend-lease Act
•Allowed the US to send weapons to Britain regardless of their
ability to pay
•Resulted in the loss of two U.S. Ships by U-attack (Oct 1941)
USS Kearny
USS Reuben
“Lend-Lease” Act (1941)
Great Britain.........................$31 billion
Soviet Union...........................$11 billion
France......................................$ 3 billion
China.......................................$1.5 billion
Other European.................$500 million
South America...................$400 million
The amount totaled: $48,601,365,000
The U.S. Enters
WWII…Why?
4. The Atlantic Charter
• FDR and Churchill proclaimed that Britain and U.S.
shared the goal of opposing Hitler
5. German U-boats attacked the USS Kearny (all died) &
USS Reuben James (100 died)
• American vessels moving goods based on the LendLease Act
Germany Breaks the Pact
• The Germans and the Soviets stayed with the agreement
until Germany invaded the USSR on June 22, 1941.
The U.S. Enters
WWII…Why?
8. Pearl Harbor
• Pearl Harbor, at the time, was about 22,000 acres in size
• After the U.S. annexed Hawaii, construction began on
Pearl Harbor, with intentions of it becoming a first-class
naval base.
• Repairs were being made in 1941
• Japan was continuing to attack Chinese territory
• U.S., the Netherlands, and Britain froze Japanese assets
• Japan had two options – concede to the U.S. or attack
The U.S. Enters
WWII…Why?
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U.S. thought Japan would attack our base in the
Philippines or SE Asia
U.S. did not want to fire the first shot; continued to
negotiate with Japan and warned of possible Japanese
attack
Japan was planning a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor
• Spies on Oahu and Maui
• Aircraft carriers would approach the harbor from
the north, planes w/ bombs and torpedoes
would take off from those ships and destroy U.S.
ships and planes
• About 360 Japanese attack planes had
launched at dawn from aircraft carriers
The U.S. Enters
WWII…Why?
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U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor were not ready to defend it
• No single commander to prepare defense (i.e. no
planes to watch for approaching ships)
Japanese attack on December 7, 1941
The Aftermath
• 2,403 people killed, including 68 civilians
• 1,178 wounded
• 188 aircraft, 8 battleships, three destroyers, three cruisers,
and one mine layer were destroyed or were sunk
• However, of the ships destroyed, the U.S.S. Arizona was the
only ship 100% non-recoverable and Japan did not sink
any of the Pacific aircraft carriers and left most of the fuel
that was needed to win the war in the Pacific.
Pearl
Harbor
• The Following Day, December 8th 1941, FDR will ask for a
Declaration of WAR against Japan!
• December 11th FDR will ask for a Declaration of War
against Germany and Italy!