April 2nd 2012

[5Ashley]

US Homefront:

1. Selective Training and Service Act- 1940

• It was the first peacetime draft in US History
• Used until 1973 to fill military needs
• After 1973, US military depended on volunteers to fill needs

2. Women's role in WWII

• Women began to work as waitresses, farmers, and factory workers, filling in for the men's jobs
• 6 million took war time jobs in factories
• 3 million women volunteered for the Red Cross
• Basically did the work that the men used to do
• Worked as nurses, taking care of injured soldiers
• Worked as war secretaries
• Farmers, typists, sales people, waitresses, teachers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, messengers, laundresses, conductors, elevator operators, map making (cartographers)
• Every branch of the military had a spot for women to do small business work like typing and stuff. But women did not work on the front lines of warfare.

3. African-American's role in WWII

• Tuskegee Airmen were the first African Americans that really stepped up and helped out US working as pilots
• Most worked as remedial jobs like cooks
• Segregated forces

4. Asian's role in WWII 

• Served as translators in the Pacific Front
• Had to wear badges to show that they were not part of the Japanese military and that they were Japanese Americans

5. Hollywood's role in WWII

• Hollywood started making a lot of movies about what the Nazis were doing to the Jews to get Americans angry about the US not being in the war yet.
• Bob Hope was a great American comedian, actor, etc. He worked with the United Service Organization and worked to help the troops.
• USO was a nonprofit organization that provides entertainment for troops

6. Office of Price Administration 1921

• Put set limits on prices of certain goods
• Dealt a lot with rationing (gas, food, clothing)
• Gas stickers were used to ration gas.. A,B,C stickers A gets least, C stickers get most

7. War Production Board

• A government agency that made sure that enough was produced as far as war materials in factories.
• Encouraged people to work hard and produce as many materials as they could, no slacking.

8. National War Labor Board 

• Government agency that helped to keep workers happy to avoid workers striking.
• Encouraged bosses to cooperate with their workers to get the job done
• Regulated transportation and communication as well

9. Why the Homefront helped win the war

• Produced lots of war supplies
• Rationing, cutting back
• Women took over men's jobs
• Hollywood kept the war positive with propaganda

10. How US/Allies fought back against U-boats 

• Germany sank thousands of Allied submarines
• We fought back by building faster ships that would outrun them, Ultra, Hf/Df (Underwater Radar), Radar, Convoy System (Travel in large numbers)
• Germany fought back by using "Wolfpacks" and traveling in large numbers

11. Intelligence gathering--Ultra/Magic

• Ultra- British code name for deciphering German military code
• Magic-cryptanalyst project that the Allies had to crack the Japanese code

12. Operation Barborossa(USSR vs Germany) 

• Operation Barborossa was Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union using Blitzkreig attacks
• Hitler invaded Soviet Union because he wanted Lebensraum, living space for Germans
• Hitler didn't trust Josef Stalin, German propaganda showed that Stalin was planning to attack Germany
• The defeat of the USSR would further isolate the Allies
• Stalingrad, Leningrad, Moscow were the 3 main places that the Germans attacked
• German Wehrmacht (Army) was the army that took over the three cities above
• Siege- blockade and surround a city and bombarding it

13. Battle in Africa and Italy

• Invasion of Africa- was called Operation Torch
• Erwin Rommel was named the Desert Fox because he was so sly and cunning as a German General
• General George Patton was the great generals of WWII. He fought at North Africa for the US
• Italy surrendered after the US invaded them, Italy was an easy victory in terms of getting the government to surrender, but difficult to free them from Germany

14. US Generals-Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur, Nimitz, Bradley

• George Marshall- chief of staff of the US Military during WWII
• Dwight Eisenhower- Supreme Allied Commander of Allied Forces during WWII, he later became president
• General George Patton was a major general in WWII, he fought in the North African campaign
• MacArthur was a US general in the army against Japan.
• Nimmets was an admiral for the navy. He was the chief of navigation.
• Omar Bradley was another famous WWII General, he worked with Patton in North Africa and he was also involved in the D-Day Invasion

15. D-Day-Operation Overlord- June 6, 1944

• Allied invasion of Nazi controlled Francee
• The assault was conducted in two phases
• Paratroupers were dropped shortly after midnight
• That day, Allied infantry and armored divisions on the coast of France starting at 6:30 AM
• There were many decoy operations to distract the German forces from the real landing areas
• The largest amphibious invasion in world history with over 160,000 troops
• Roughly 10,000 Allied casualties

16. Battle of the Bulge 

• December 16, 1944. It was Hitler's final attempt to break the Allies and his last offensive attack
• Hitler had a 3 part plan for this battle, but was not successful in his plan
• For Germany, it was a huge offensive attack.
• It took place on the German/Belguim border
• It was the coldest, snowiest weather on the Germany/Belguim border
• The Malmedy Massacre where 86 American soldiers were murdered by German Soldiers, was the worst atrocity committed against US troops during the course of the war in Europe
• This battle was the worst battle in terms of losses to the American Forces in WWII

17. FDR Dies-Truman takes over

• FDR died of cerebral hemorage, otherwise known as a stroke.
• Truman took over and was reelected for a 2nd term
• Truman became one of the most unpopular presidents when he left office

18. VE Day 

• Victory in Europe Day
• May 8, 1945
• The war wasn't over yet
• The famous nurse kissing the sailor picture

19. Battle in the Pacific-Island Hopping, Philippines, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa,

• Island Hopping- Military strategy against Japan, where US strategically invaded more important islands and hopped over less important islands. It was used to save time and lives.
• Philippines- December 7, 1941. Also the same day as Pearl Harbor. Japanese attacked the Philippines. Filipinos broke bridges and took them apart so that the Japanese couldn't use them. American and Filipino POWs were forced to march from POW camp to POW camp, known as the Bataan Death March in May 1942. Bataan Death March was characterized by physical abuse and murder. Japanese ambassador to the United States officially apologized on behalf of the Japanese Government in 2009.
• Battle of Coral Sea- May 4-8 1942. A major naval battle between the Jap. Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the US and Australia. Was the first time where Japan didn't win, so it was seen as an Allied victory even though it was really a stalemate. Coral Sea was near Australia.
• Battle of Midway- June 4-7, 1942. A major turning point in the war because it was the first battle that the US won. It took place at Midway, which was midway between Japan and US. It was very close to Hawaii. Air crafts were mainly used in battle. Magic played a vital role in the Allied victory. Japanese navy suffered heavy losses and never really was the same.
• Guadalcanal- August 7, 1942-February 9, 1943. It marked the offensive war for the US because it was the first time that the US attacked the Japanese. Japan started using Kamacazis.
• Iwo Jima- US invaded Iwo Jima, Japan in February of 1945. The US raised the American flag on Mt. Suribachi after we defeated the Japanese. We used it as a base of operations to attack Japan.
• Okinawa- US invaded Okinawa, Japan.

20. Navajo Code Talkers

• Navajo indians used their native language to make code names for things on the US side of things.
• They weren't given any recognition until 1980 something when Ronald Regan gave them recognition. They were given medals in 2001.
• US knew what Japanese were doing through Magic, but Japanese couldn't figure out Navajo code.

21. Doolittle's Raid- April 18th, 1942

• The most daring operation so far in the war.
• US Mission to bomb Tokyo after Pearl Harbor
• It was about hurting the Japanese morale, and boosting the Americans morale

22. Manhattan Project 

• Secret military project using code to produce the first US Nuclear Bomb
• This project was based in Manhattan, New York.
• General Leslie Groves was put in charge of scientists, led by scientist J Robert Oppenheimer
• Alamogordo, New Mexico is where the atomic bomb was developed and tested.
• Trinity was the codename for the first nuclear bomb that was dropped and tested in the US in a desert.

23. Hiroshima bombing

24. Nagasaki bombing 

25. VJ Day

26. Yalta Conference 

27. Nuremburg Trials

28. Japanese Internment Camps in US