World War II

1. World War II By Chris Anderson

2. Italy’s Early Military Attempts • 1935: Benito Mussolini wanted to test his powers • He “flexed his muscles” by invading Ethiopia (Africa) • Ethiopian soldiers had no chance against Mussolini’s mechanized military • Ethiopians were fighting on horseback with outdated weapons • By the Spring of 1936, Italy had control over Ethiopia

3. Japan—Prime Minister Hideki Tojo • Japan’s government shifted from a civilian controlled government to a military controlled government after the world wide depression struck in the 1920s and 1930s • The military government was looking to create an empire for Japan • Japan’s growing population placed heavy strains on the nation’s resources • Japan needed to find new places to get the resources it needed—especially land and raw materials

5. Japan was also tired of being dependent on other nations for much of the resources they needed • A Pacific Empire would make Japan more self-sufficient and less reliant on other nations • Japan started their quest for an empire even before their involvement in World War I

6. 1895: Japan had gained the island of Taiwan • 1904-1905: Japan had gained land in Korea and parts of Manchuria • Japan wanted the rest of Manchuria • 1931: Japan invaded Manchuria to get its iron and coal • Japan also wanted the land in Manchuria so that Japan could colonize the land to produce agricultural and industrial goods • By 1932, Japan had control over Manchuria • Japan installed a “puppet government” in Manchuria

7. The League of Nations looked down on Japan for Japan’s taking of Manchuria • Japan withdrew from the League of Nations • 1937: Japan moved its forces into Northern China • Japan executed over 200,000 Chinese citizens in their capture of the Chinese capital—called the “China Incident” • 1940: Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany—creating the Axis Powers • Each nation pledged to help one another if the U. S. attacked either Japan, Germany, or Italy

8. By the fall of 1941, Hideki Tojo had become Prime Minister of Japan • The U. S. had become very upset at Japan’s attacks on China • FDR cut off all fuel and metal shipments to Japan

9. America’s Early Reactions • The U. S. was witnessing everything going on in the world • The U. S. wanted to ensure its non-involvement if war was to break out again • Congress passed the Neutrality Acts • The acts prohibited the sale of American weapons to nations at war • American citizens were advised not to travel on ships of warring nations • Countries at war had to pay cash for non-military goods purchased from the U. S. • FDR asked Congress for more $ to spend on the development of tanks, planes, guns, etc.—in case the U. S. had to go to war

10. Rise of Germany and Appeasement • 1938: Hitler marched into Austria and proclaimed Austria part of Germany • Hitler faced NO opposition in gaining Austria • 6 months later, Hitler’s troops marched into the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia • This region had a large German population • No one in Europe was willing to stand up to Hitler and challenge his taking over of Europe

11. France and Great Britain took on a policy of appeasement toward Hitler • France and Great Britain were trying to avoid war with Hitler • They would give into Hitler’s demands in an attempt to keep peace

12. September 1938: a conference was held in Munich • British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier agreed NOT to oppose Hitler’s advance into the Sudetenland • The 3 nations signed the Munich Pact—this allowed Hitler’s conquest of the Sudetenland to stand • Chamberlain believed war had been averted by the Munich Pact—”We have secured peace in our time.”

14. Non-Aggression Pact and the Soviet Union • 5 months after the signing of the Munich Pact, Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia • August 29, 1939: Hitler signed the Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin and the USSR • The Pact stated that neither nation would attack the other • Hitler, could then, avoid a 2-front war—he could concentrate his efforts on the West and France

16. Invasion of Poland • Hitler and Stalin had divided Poland between them in the Non-aggression Pact • With Stalin’s approval, Hitler’s mobile army moved into Poland on September 1, 1939 • Hitler’s Luftwaffe (air force) bombed Polish cities • His Panzer tank divisions stormed into Poland • This swift attack style is called Blitzkrieg (lightening) warfare • September 3, 1939: France and Great Britain declared war on Germany—World War II had begun

18. Invasion and Fall of France • France had prepared for a German invasion • Nearly 1-million French soldiers stood along the French/German border in an attempt to protect France • England had also sent supplies and troops to help aid the French in a possible German attack

19. May 1940: German tanks stormed across the French border from Belgium • The Germans went north and swept in behind the French troops defending the border • The fortified guns of the Maginot Line were never fired • The failure of the Maginot Line to defend France sucked the life out of many in France • The massive tank attacks and constant bombardment by the Luftwaffe caused the French and British to retreat

20. By the end of the month, many French soldiers had given up the fight • The British had retreated all the way to Dunkirk—a port on the English Channel • The British were saved by boarding private ships that took them back to England

21. The evacuation of the British left the French to fight alone • June 3: Paris was bombed • One week later, Italy declared war on France and attacked Southern France • June 14: Germans marched into Paris • June 22: France surrendered to Hitler • Hitler could now focus on Great Britain

22. Battle of Britain • Hitler now set out to conquer Great Britain • Great Britain was now led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill • Hitler attempted to use his Luftwaffe to bomb the British • The British conquered with their Royal Air Force • The RAF had better planes and pilots • The RAF shot down hundreds of German planes

24. Hitler put a ban on the daytime bombing of Great Britain • Hitler started attacked Great Britain at night from Sept. 1940 until May 1941 • Hitler also started using his V-2 rockets to bomb Great Britain • Churchill pleaded for the Americans to give the British some aid against the Germans

26. America’s Response • Many in the U. S. felt that the nation should have stayed out of WWI and were in favor of the Neutrality Acts • These people were isolationists • Others believed in interventionism and believed the U. S. should give all possible support to Great Britain—except a full scale declaration of war

27. FDR remained cautious as not to offend any groups within the United States • After the French fell to Germany in 1940, FDR began sending aid to the British • September 1940: FDR sent 50 American destroyers to Britain in return for the right to establish U. S. naval bases on British held lands • FDR also singed into law the Selective Training and Service Act—the 1st peacetime draft in history • All men between the ages of 21 and 35 were eligible • Over 1 million men served 1-year terms, but they only served in the Western Hemisphere • FDR was trying to build an American military in case the U.S. got involved in the war

28. In 1941, after his re-election—FDR created the Lend-Lease Bill • This was open support for the Allies • The president had the right to sell, lend, or lease military supplies to any nations deemed vital to the defense of the U. S. • Most Americans supported the Lend-Lease Bill • The U. S. was not physically at war with Germany, but was in an economic war with Germany

29. March 1941: Congress approved the Lend-Lease bill • Summer 1941: German subs sank many American and British ships carrying supplies to Great Britain • FDR ordered the US navy to help track German subs • The Navy was ordered to escort British ships and destroy any subs trying to sink the ships

30. Fall 1941: a German sub sank an American destroyer • FDR ordered the navy to shoot Axis ships on sight • October 1941: German subs sank 2 American destroyers killing 100 American sailors • Congress responded by repealing the Neutrality Acts

31. FDR and Churchill met to talk about what would happen in the world when and if the war ended • The 2 created the Atlantic Charter—becomes the basis for the United Nations

32. German Invasion of the Soviet Union • 1939: Germany and the USSR signed the Non-aggression Pact • Stalin still did not fully trust Hitler • June 22, 1941: Germany invaded the Soviet Union • The invasion took Stalin and the Soviets by surprise • German troops used Blitzkrieg warfare to take Leningrad and the Crimean Peninsula

33. By November 1941, Germany had the capital of Moscow surrounded • The harsh Soviet winter helped the Soviet military push the Germans back • Spring 1942: Germans attacked Soviet oil fields in SW Russia • September 1942: 300,000 German soldiers were attacking Stalingrad • the Battle of Stalingrad lasted 5 months until the Germans surrendered in 1943 • The surrender stopped the German’s advance eastward • Stalin never forgave the Allies for failing to support the Soviet’s defense—one reason for the Cold War

35. United States Enters the War • Although the US had gone a long ways to help Great Britain, the US had not officially entered the war • Japan had started taking steps that made FDR upset • FDR placed further embargoes on Japan after Japan made an alliance with Germany and Italy—Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis

36. The US continued to use negotiation to deal with the Japanese instead of taking hostile action • The US would only reopen trade with Japan if Japan pulled out of China and Indochina • By November 1941: war with Japan was just about inevitable—everyone knew it • Japan decided it was time to act • Most Americans believed the attack would come in Malaysia or the Philippines • The Japanese planned to attack the Americans at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

37. December 7, 1941: the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor destroying many American ships and killing thousands of American sailors • The attack only lasted 3 hours • 19 ships were destroyed • 188 planes were destroyed • 2400 men were killed • December 8, 1941: FDR asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan • A few days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States • The US had officially entered WWII

40. The US had to prepare for war on 2 fronts • One in Europe • One in the Pacific • As soon as war was declared, the draft was increased in the United States • Thousands of men and women voluntarily enlisted in the military • By 1945, the US had 12 million people in the military

41. About 1 million soldiers were African-Americans • The military was segregated into black and white units • Most black units were commanded by whites • Many black soldiers were put into cooking or laboring jobs • Racial discrimination existed on most military bases • Some African-Americans did get to see some battle action

43. Hispanic-Americans and Japanese-Americans also fought for the US in WWII • Japanese-Americans were the most decorated war heroes in World War II

44. The War @ Home in the United States: • Conflict between the different races was going on in the US while the US was fighting in WWII • Segregation was the norm in the southern states

45. 1.) African Americans: • Segregation was legal in the 1940s • The war gave many civil rights groups a reason to protest against segregation • A. Philip Randolph led the movement for black equality • Randolph was upset that minorities were excluded from the high paying industrial jobs in many wartime plants • Randolph organized the March on Washington Movement (MOWM) • “We loyal American citizens demand the right to work and fight for our country.”—A. Philip Randolph

46. A. Philip Randolph

47. 1943: riots broke out in Detroit • Blacks attacked white workers • The next day, a mob of whites roamed the streets looking for any blacks they could find • 25 blacks and 6 whites were killed

48. 2.) Mexican-Americans: • Thousands of farm workers form Mexico illegally entered the US to work—American Southwest • Many of these workers had children in the US • Those born in American were called Chicanos • The Chicanos began getting jobs in industry—willing to work for less than poor whites and blacks • In Los Angeles, the discrimination against the Chicanos and Hispanic-Americans turned into hatred

49. Many Hispanic teenagers wore “Zoot Suits”—a long jacket with padded shoulders and pleated pants • The Zoot Suiters and white sailors squard off in LA • The sailors blamed Zoot Suiters for stabbing and robbing a group of white sailors • The sailors roamed the Hispanic neighborhoods, beating up any one in a zoot suit • The police arrested the zoot suiters, NOT the sailors