Monday- NO SCHOOL
Tuesday - Continued with PowerPoint
D-Day Facts
- June 6, 1944
- The D in D-Day stands for “day” since the final invasion date was unknown and weather dependent
- 156,000 Allied troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Free France and Norway
- The Allied code names for the beaches along the 50-mile stretch of Normandy coast targeted for landing were Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
- Omaha was the costliest beach in terms of Allied casualties.
- 5,000 ships and landing craft
50,000 vehicles
11,000 planes - Major Generals:
- United States – Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley
- The United Kingdom – Bernard Law Montgomery
- Germany – Erwin Rommel
- Casualties:
- United States – 6,603 (1,465 killed)
- United Kingdom – 2,700
- Canada – 1,074 (359 fatal)
- Germany – Estimated between 4,000 – 9,000
- By June 11, with the beachheads firmly secured
- More than 326,000 troops had crossed with more than 100,000 tons of military equipment
- Paris was liberated on August 25
- Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.
- But not before……..
Battle of the Bulge
BATTLE FACTS
∙ The coldest, snowiest weather “in memory” in the Ardennes Forest on the German/Belgium border
∙ Over a million men fought, 500,000 Germans, 600,000 Americans and 55,000 British
∙ 100,000 German casualties, killed, wounded or captured.
∙ 81,000 American casualties, including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed
∙ The Battle of the Bulge was the worst battle- in terms of losses - to the American Forces in WWII
Yalta Conference-February, 1945
- Before the end of the World War II, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met at Yalta, USSR to plan what should happen when the war ended.
- They agreed on the following:
- The establishment of the United Nations.
- Germany to be divided into four zones.
- Free elections allowed in the states of eastern Europe.
- USSR promised to join the war against Japan.
FDR Dies, Harry Truman is sworn in-April 12, 1945
Wednesday - Continued PowerPoint
OPA and Rationing
- The Office of Price Administration was established in 1941 to control prices of goods
- Food rationing included restrictions on sugar and meat; clothing rationing restricted silk and nylon
- Gasoline rationing began in May 1942--five gallons per week
- Gas rationing was about saving rubber, not gas
- A black market developed in stolen/counterfeit stickers that were used in up to 30% of gasoline sales
- By 1945, there were 32,500 motorists arrested for using such false stickers, 1300 convictions, 4000 gas stations closed
- The "A" sticker was the most common of the WW2 gas ration stickers
- Issued to the general public
- 3 gallons of gasoline per week
- The "B" sticker was issued primarily to business owners
- 8 gallons per week
- T - Issued to truck drivers
- The "X" sticker was issued in special instances for high mileage type jobs such as travelling salesmen
War Finance Committee and War Bonds
- Over the course of the war 85 million Americans purchased bonds totaling approximately $185 billion
- Helped pay for the war
- It was an investment for US citizens
- As low as $18.75 per bond
- Ten years later gov’t paid out $25
Causes of WWII
- In Europe:
- Treaty of Versailles
- The Great Depression
- Hitler’s actions in the 1930’s
- Mussolini’s actions in the 1930’s
- Failure of the League of Nations
- Policy of Appeasement
- Hitler’s invasion of Poland
- Rise of nationalism
- In Asia
- The Great Depression
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931
- Japanese invasion of China in 1937
- For the United States
- Quit trading supplies(oil) with Japan in the summer of 1941
- Tough policies towards Japan in Fall 1941
- Pearl Harbor attack
Effects of WWII on US
- Stimulated economy
- 17 million new jobs created
- Average wages increased 30%
- Middle class greatly expanded
- Federal power during the war increased
- Shifted from state laws to federal laws- important during civil rights era and Vietnam war
- More women involved in the workforce
- More rights for African Americans- integrated troops
- German Nazi party was completely destroyed and Germany was broken up into 4 zones which became two countries
- Japanese cities were destroyed from bombing and Japan was placed under US military rule
- Most deaths ever in a war-See next slide
- United Nations starts
- Cold War-US vs USSR
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