Transcript File

Chapter 25
America and World War II
1941-1945
Section 1: Mobilizing for War
Objectives:
• Explain how the
United States
mobilized its
economy.
• Describe the issue
involved in raising an
American army.
Converting the Economy
Instead of asking companies to
bid for contracts the government
signed cost-plus contracts.
The government agreed to pay a
company whatever it cost to
make the product plus a
guaranteed percentage as profit.
Under the cost-plus system, the
faster a company worked and the
more it produced the more
money it made.
Converting industry was not
cheap and many smaller
companies could not afford to
change.
The Reconstruction Finance
Corporation (RFC) was given
authority by the government to
make loans to companies to help
them cover the cost of
converting.
American Industry Gets the Job Done
Tanks Replace Cars
The automobile industry was
uniquely suited to the mass
production of military
products.
They began producing
trucks, jeeps, and tanks,
which was critical in modern
warfare because the country
that could move troops and
supplies more quickly
usually won the battle.
Automobiles did not just
produce vehicles, they also
built artillery, rifles, mines,
helmets, pontoon bridges,
etc….
Over a third of all military
equipment made during the
war was manufactured by
the automobile industry.
The Liberty Ship
• The Liberty Ship was the basic cargo ship used
during the war.
• When a riveted ship was hit, the rivets would often
come loose, fall apart and sink.
• Most Liberty ships were hard to sink because they
were welded rather than riveted.
The War Production Board
As American companies
converted to war
production, many business
leaders were frustrated with
the mobilization process.
Supplies, contracts, and
whose orders had the
highest priority were the
issues.
President Roosevelt tried to
improve the system by
creating the War Production
Board (WPB) which
immediately clashed with
the military who continued
to sign contracts without
consulting the WPB.
Roosevelt then created the
Office of War Mobilization
(OWM) to settle arguments
between the two agencies.
Building an Army
Within days of Germany’s attack on
Poland, President Roosevelt
expanded the army to 227,000
soldiers.
In June, 1940, Congress, after
France’s surrender, introduced the
Selective Service and Training Act,
a plan for the first peacetime draft
in American history. (approved in
September)
New recruits overwhelmed the
army’s training facilities.
Sticks for guns, rocks for grenades,
trucks for tanks.
The clothing bore the label “G.I.”
meaning “Government Issue,”
which is why American soldiers are
called “GIs.”
Training created a “special sense of
kinship,” (“The reason you storm
the beaches is not patriotism or
bravery. It’s that sense of not
wanting to fail your buddies.”)
Pushing for “Double V”
Although basic training promoted
unity, white recruits and African
Americans did not train together, in
fact they had separate barracks,
latrines, mess halls, and recreation
areas.
Most military leaders also wanted to
keep African Americans out of
combat and assigned them to
construction and supply units.
Some African Americans did not
want to support the war saying
that, “The Army Jim Crows us….
Employers and labor unions shut us
out, lynchings continue, and we are
disfranchised meaning African
Americans were often denied the
right to vote.
The National Urban League and the
Pittsburg Courier championed the
“Double V” campaign, which meant
victory over Hitler’s racism abroad
and victory over racism at home.
African Americans in Combat
President Roosevelt, knowing the
African American vote played an
important role in his elections,
ordered the army air force, navy
and marines to begin recruiting
African Americans and directed the
army to put them into combat.
In response the army air force
created the 99th Pursuit Squadron,
which trained in Tuskegee, Alabama
and would become known as the
Tuskegee Airmen.
The success of the African American
soldiers, (like the Tuskegee Airmen,
the 761st Tank Battalion
commended for service at the
Battle of the Bulge, the 614th Tank
Destroyer Battalion-8 Silver Stars,
28 Bronze Stars, and 79 Purple
Hearts,) paved the way for
President Truman’s decision to fully
integrate the military in 1948.
Women Join the Armed Forces
In World War II, women
were recruited into the
military release men for
combat.
Congress first allowed
women in the military in
1942, when it established
the Women’s Army Auxiliary
Cops (WAAC) which was not
part of the regular army.
A little over a year later the
army replaced the WAAC
with the Women’s Army
Corps (WAC).
The Coast Guard, navy, and
the marines soon followed
with women’s units.
Section 2: The Early Battles
Objectives:
Analyze how the Allies
were able were able to
fight a war on two
fronts and turn the war
against the Axis in the
Pacific, Russia, and
North Atlantic.
Explain why Stalingrad
is considered a major
turning point of World
War II.
Review from Previous Lessons
• ________a government contract to pay a manufacturer the cost to
produce an item plus a guaranteed percentage of profit based on
amount produced and speed of production.
• _________ Roosevelt used this government agency to help
businesses convert from consumer production to military to meet the
needs of the war effort
• _________ Stated the warring nations wishing to trade with the U.S.
would have to pay cash and transport the goods away in their own
ships.
• __________Authorized the president to transfer, or allow to borrow
any article of defense equipment ot any government whose defense
was deemed vital to the defense of the U.S. Allowed the U.S. to send
supplies and ammunition to the Allies without technically becoming a
co-belligerent.
• __________ December 7, 1941 - Surprise attack by the Japanese on
the main U.S. Pacific Fleet harbored in Hawaii
Holding the Line Against Japan
Although the Japanese had
badly damaged the
American fleet at Pearl
Harbor, Dec.7, 1941, they
had missed the
American aircraft
carriers, which were at
sea on a mission.
Admiral Chester Nimitz,
the commander of the U.S.
fleet in the Pacific was
determined to use the
carriers but could do little
to stop the Japanese
advance in Southeast Asia
in the days after Pearl
Harbor.
The Fall of the Philippines
A few hours after they attacked
Pearl Harbor, the Japanese
attacked American airfields on
the Philippines.
Two days later the Japanese
landed on the islands and
overwhelmed the American and
Filipino troops commanded by
Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who
decided to retreat to the Bataan
Peninsula.
MacAthur would retreat to
Australia leaving behind 78,000
troops who were suffering from
various diseases, like scurvy,
malaria, and dysentery.
These 78,000 soldiers, sick and
staving, were led on a forced on
a 65 mile march to the
Japanese prison camp.
Thousands died and the forced
mach became known as the
Bataan Death March.
The Doolittle Raid
In an effort to raise American
morale, Roosevelt decided he
wanted to bomb Tokyo.
In order for this mission to be a
success the aircraft carrier,
Hornet, would have to carry B52 long rang bombers instead
of the regular short range
bombers it usually carried.
The bigger plain could not land
on the deck of the carrier so
the planes would make their
bomb run and then fly to China
to land.
President Roosevelt put
Lieutenant Colonel James
Doolittle in command of the
mission and on April 18,
American bombs fell on Japan
for the first time.
The Doolittle Raid was a great
success.
Turning Point: The Battle of Midway
Back at Pearl Harbor the code
breaking team learned of a planned
Japanese attack at Midway.
Admiral Nimitz had been waiting for
the opportunity to ambush the
Japanese fleet and immediately
ordered carriers to take up positions
near Midway.
On June 4, 1942 the Japanese
launched their attack on Midway, the
island was ready and shot down 38 of
the Japanese planes.
As the Japanese were preparing for a
second wave aircraft form the U.S.
carriers Hornet, Yorktown, and
Enterprise launched a counter attack.
With bombs, fuel, and planes exposed
on their flight decks, the Japanese
fleet was left in shambles, if not dead.
The Japanese lost four of its largest
carriers, the heart of it fleet, and over
3,000 soldiers.
The Battle of Midway was the tuning
point of the war in the Pacific.
Turning Back the German Army
Almost from the moment the
U.S. entered the war,
Joseph Stalin urged
President Roosevelt to open
the a second front because
the Soviets were still doing
most of the fighting.
Roosevelt wanted to put
troops into battle in Europe
but British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill didn’t
believe U.S and British
troops were ready.
Churchill wanted to attack
the periphery, or edges, of
the German empire.
Roosevelt agreed and in July
1942 ordered the invasion of
Morocco and Algeria. (Africa)
The Struggle for North Africa
Roosevelt decided to
invade Morocco and Algeria
for two reasons.
1.
The invasion would give
the army experience
without requiring a lot of
troops.
2. More importantly, it would
put American troops in
Africa where they would be
able to help the British
fight the Germans in
Egypt.
(Egypt was important to the
British because of the Suez
Canal-supplies from India,
Singapore, Hong Kong,
etc….)
The Struggle for North Africa (cont.)
The German forces in the area were
commanded by General Erwin
Rommel, a brilliant leader known as
the “Desert Fox.”
The British had forced Rommel to
retreat at the Battle of El Alamein, but
they remained a serious threat.
On November 8, 1942, the invasion of
North Africa began under the
command of General Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
The American forces in Morocco, led
by General George Patton, quickly
captured Casablanca and in Algeria
the cities of Oran and Algiers.
The American forces headed east
while the British moved west hopping
to trap the Germans.
After the American were outfought at
the Battle of Kasserine Pass,
Eisenhower fire the General in
charged and put Patton in charge.
Finally the American and British
troops push the Germans back and on
May 13, 1943 the Germans
surrendered North Africa.
The Battle of the Atlantic
As the war in Africa, the war
against German submarines
in the Atlantic intensified.
After Germany declared war
on the U.S., their subs
began entering coastal
waters where they found
cargo ships as easy targets.
The loss of so many ships
convinced the Navy to set
up a convoy system, in
which cargo ships would
travel in groups escorted by
navy warships.
The Battle in the Atlantic
eventually turn to the Allies
after advances in shipping,
production, and antisubmarine warfare.
Turning point: Stalingrad
In the Spring of 1942, before the Battle of the Atlantic turned against Germany, Hitler
was very confident he would win the war.
Rommel’s troops were pushing the British back in Egypt, German submarines were
sinking American ships right and left, and the German army was ready to launch a
offensive to knock the Soviets out of the war.
Hitler was convinced that the only way to defeat the Soviet Union was to destroy its
economy.
In May 1942 Hitler attacked, capturing oil fields, industry, and farmlands.
The city of Stalingrad Volga River and was the Soviet’s key supply junction and when
the Germans entered the city Stalin ordered his troops to hold the city at all cost,
causing the Germans to fight house to house.
On November 23rd Soviet reinforcements arrived and surrounded the city and the
Germans were forced to surrender just 3 months later.
Stalingrad was the turning point of the war in Europe because the Germans were on
the defensive from that point on.
Observation? Message?
Section 3: Life on the Home Front
Objectives:
Describe how the wartime economy created
opportunities for women and minorities.
Discuss how Americans coped with shortages and
rapidly rising prices.
Women and Minorities Gain Ground
As American troops fought their first battles against German and Japanese,
the war began to dramatically change American society at home.
While Europe and Asia was devastated, America actually benefited socially.
At the outbreak of the war, defense factories want white, male workers but
there were not enough so the factories began hiring women and minorities.
Although the government hired 4 million women for clerical jobs, it was the
women in the factories that captured the imagination, fueled by the “Rosie the
Riveter,” campaign. (2.5 million women working in shipyards, aircraft factories,
and other manufacturing plants.
Although most women left the factories after the war, their success
permanently changed American attitudes about women in the workplace.
Women and Minorities Gain Ground
(cont.)
African Americans Demand War Work
Although factories were hiring women, they resisted hiring African Americans.
A. Philip Randolph was a leader in the African-American civil-rights movement, the
American labor movement and socialist political parties. He organized and led the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly black labor union He
informed President Roosevelt that he was organizing “10 to 50 thousand to march
on Washington.”
In response, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which declared “there shall be
no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or
government because of race, creed, color, or national origin.”
To enforce the order, the president created the Fair Employment Practices
Commission.
Mexicans become farm workers
With help or workers needed in many areas, the government, to help the farmers of
the Southwest, introduced the Bracero Program in 1942.
Under this program, the federal government arranged for over 200,000 Mexicans to
come to the United States to help harvest fruit and vegetables in the Southwest.
(Migrant workers would become an important part of the Southwest’s agriculture.
A Nation on the Move
The wartime economy created millions of new jobs, but the Americans
who wanted these jobs did not always live nearby.
To get the jobs, 15,000,000 Americans moved during the war.
Together, the growth of southern California and the Deep South created a
new industrial region- the Sunbelt.
The most difficult task facing cities with war industries was deciding
where to put the thousands of new workers.
The federal government, to help solve the housing crisis, allocated 1.2
billion dollars to build public housing, schools, and community centers
during the war.
Japanese American Relocation
When the Japanese attacked Pearl
Harbor, many West Coast
Americans turned their anger
against Japanese Americans.
Mobs attacked their homes and
businesses, banks wouldn’t cash
their checks, and grocers wouldn’t
sell them food.
Americans didn’t believe they
would stay loyal to the US and
wanted them removed from the
West Coast.
On February 19, 1942, President
Roosevelt gave in to pressure and
signed an order allowing the War
Department to declare any part of
the United States to be a military
zone and to remove anybody they
wanted from that zone.
Secretary of War Henry Stimson
declared most of the West Coast a
military zone and ordered all people
of Japanese ancestry to evacuate to
10 internment camps.
Section 4: Pushing the Axis Back
Objectives:
• Describe the goals
of the two major
offensives the Allies
launched in Europe
in 1943.
• Explain the
American strategy
for pushing the
Japanese back in
the Pacific.
Striking Back at the Third Reich
• Launching an invasion
from the sea is very
risky but the Allies had
no choice.
• To win the war they
had to land troops in
Europe and on islands
in the Pacific.
• At the Casablanca
Conference, Roosevelt
and Churchill agreed to
step up the bombing of
Germany and to attack
the Axis on the island
of Sicily.
Strategic Bombing & Striking the Soft
Underbelly
The Allies had been bombing
Germany, before Casablanca, to the
tune of around 2,500 tons of
explosives a month.
After the conference they stepped
up the bombing to around 53, 000
tons a month.
The bombing did not destroy
Germany’s economy or their
morale but it did cause severe oil
shortages and railroad damage, and
gave the Allies total control of the
air.
The invasion of Sicily began on July
10,1943 and despite bad weather
the Allied troops made it ashore
with few casualties.
By May 1944, the Allies had pushed
the Germans out of Italy in what
was one of the bloodiest campaigns
of the war, causing the Allies more
that 300,000 casualties.
The Big Three
• Roosevelt met Stalin in
Tehran, Iran to reach
agreements on the
invasion of France, the
break-up of Germany
after the war, and
Soviet help to defeat
Japan after Germany’s
defeat.
• Only one thing
remained, who would
lead Operation
Overlord.
• Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
Planning Operation Overlord
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Although the defenses were
formidable, the Allies did have one
advantage, the element of surprise.
The Germans believed the Allies
would invade Pas-de-Calais, but the
real target was Normandy.
By the spring of 1944, everything
was ready.
Over 1.5 million American soldiers,
12,000 aircraft, and 5 million tons
of equipment were sent to England.
The only thing left was to pick a
date.
At midnight June 6th 1944,
Eisenhower gave the final order,
“OK, we’ll go.”
7,000 ships carried 100,000
soldiers-23,000 paratroopers,
bomber flew up and down the coast
hitting bridges, bunkers, and radar
sites.
“Utah,” “Omaha,” “Gold,” “Sword,”
and “Juno.”
Driving the Japanese Back
Island-Hopping in the Pacific
Tarawa was the first of the Pacific islands.
The amphtrac was the only vehicle able to deliver troops to shore.
MacArthur returns to the Philippines.
As Admiral Nimitz hopped across the central Pacific, MacArthur’s troops began
their own campaign across the southwest Pacific.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines) was the biggest naval battle in history.
It was also the first time the Japanese used Kamikaze attacks.
The Japanese retreated believing that more American ships were coming.
Section 5: The War Ends
Objectives
Explain the tactics
used to invade
Germany and to
defeat Japan.
Outline the reasons
why the Allies
created the United
Nations and held
war crimes trials.
The Battle of the Bulge
As the Allies closed in on Germany, Hitler
decides to make one last desperate
offensive.
The attack began, catching the American
defenders by surprise, on December 16,
1944.
As the German troops raced west, their
lines bulged outward.
The Germans wanted to capture the
town of Bastogne, where they
surrounded the American troops.
Patton was sent into rescue the
American troops.
Once the Battle for Bastogne was won
the Battle of the Bulge was won even
though fighting continued for a few
weeks.
V-E Day (victory in Europe)
As the Battle of the Bulge ended, Soviet
troops were pushing the German troops
west back toward Germany as the
American were pushing east.
Deep in his Berlin bunker, Hitler new the
end was near and on April 30, 1945 he
put his pistol in his mouth and pulled the
trigger.
Japan is Defeated
Unfortunately Roosevelt did not live to see
the defeat of Germany or Japan. (died, April
12, 1945)
Vice President Harry S. Truman became
president.
While the war with Germany was won within
a few weeks, the war wit Japan intensified.
Nov. 24, 1944 bombs fell on Tokyo, 1st time
since Doolittle, but were ineffective really.
Needed island closer- Iwo Jima.
60,000 US Marines landed on Iwo Jima and
more than 6,800 were killed before the
island was captured.
April 1, 1945 with 12,000 killed before the
island was captured.
Japan ready to surrender if emperor could
stay in power-America says NO.
The decision to drop the bomb was much
debated in Washington.
On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named
the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb
code name “Little Boy,” on Hiroshima.
Somewhere between 80,000 and 120,000
died instantly and thousands died later of
burns and radiation sickness.
Japan, after another atomic bomb is
dropped, surrenders unconditionally.