- China was to Japan as the Soviet Union was to Germany: China and Soviet Union both had resources, Japan and Germany both bit off more than they could chew.
Rape of Nanking 1937
- Many civilians killed by Japanese in China, many women and children raped
Quarantine Speech 1937
- By FDR
- Germnay, Japan, and Italy need to be isolated
Appeasement Policy
- A diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor
- GB and France used this throughout 1930's
- Gave Japan, Italy, and Germany confidence
Panay Incident 1937
- First incident between Japan and USA
- Japan sinks USA ship thinking it was Chinese
Anschluss with Austria 1938
- "Union" between Germany and Italy
Munich Conference
- Neville Chamberlain-Great Britain
- Adolf Hitler-Germany
- Benito Mussolini-Italy
- Edward Daladier-France
Hitler takes over Czechoslovakia in March 1939
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain starts taking over Nazi Germany and Hitler more seriously
Winston Churchill had warned about this happening (Hitler taking the rest of Czechoslovakia)
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact 1939
- Late August 1939
- Russia gave raw materials to Gemany in exchange for money and weapons
- Both agreed to stay neutral if the other entered the war
- Secretly agreed to invade and split Poland (Germany get western half, USSR eastern half)
- Russia would get Finland, Estonia, and Latvia
- Germany would get Lithuania
Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)
- Airforce attacks enemy frontline
- Tanks and troops invade from Germany
- Infantry attacks enemy flanks
- Mechanized groups do deep into enemy territory
- Main force links up with other units
- Goal: achieve victory as soon as possible
Sitzkrieg (The Phony War)
Allied Powers
- Great Britain, Soviet Union, USA, China, France , Canada, Australia (main powers)
- Many Latin America countries
- Some European countries
Germany Invasion of Denmark and Norway-April 1940
Maginot Line
- A line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, other defenses
- France constructed this along its borders with Germany and Italy after what happened in WWI
- Built from 1930-1940
- Failed when surrounded by Germans
Vichy Government
- Led by Marshal Henri Petain
Free French Underground
- Led by Charles de Gualle
- Goal was to Free France
Battle of Britain-started July 1940
Nazi Goals
- Destroy the Royal Air Force
- Attack and destroy British Navy
- Attach British troops
- Invasion if GB hadn't surrendered
- Germany never succeeded at #1
- GB was aided heavily by the radar and Ultra (code name for intercepting and deciphering enemy codes)
Luftwaffe- German Air Force
Bases for Destroyers- September 1940
- Great Britain gave us 99 year leases
- USA gives GB old destroyers
1940 Election
- FDR defeats Wendell Wilkie
FDR signs Lend-Lease Act
- USA would lend/lease supplies to China, France, GB as long as they were returned after the war
German Invasion of USSR June 1941
- Final plan for Operation Barbarossa (largest military operation in history in both manpower and casualties)
- Stalingrad, Moscow, Lenigrad
Scorched Earth Policy
- Stalin demanded this of Soviet troops as they retreated
- destroy/burn buildings, bridges, factories, food, anything
Atlantic Charter
- August 1941
- FDR/Churchill
- Set up war goals of USA and GB even though USA was not yet in the war
1. No territorial gain
2. No territorial changes without people's support from those countries
3. Free-trade
4. Destruction of the Nazis and set up a peaceful government in Germany
5. Freedom of the seas
6. Abandon the use of force, disarmament and a stronger League of Nations
Pearl Harbor
- In July, 1941, Japan invaded French Indochina (Tojo and hirohito)
- In response, the US stops trading with Japan
- Due to embargo, Japan felt it had three options:
1. abandon ambitions in South East Asia
2. compromise with the US
3. attack Dutch and British possessions in the Pacific and US bases in the Pacific
- Yamamoto felt that if Japan had any chance of winning a war against the US it must destroy the US Pacific fleet in a surprise attack
- A surprise attack would give Japan at least six months to dominate SE Asia unopposed
- Japan thought that the US then would face a long, bloody struggle and would settle for a negotiated peace that would allow Japan to do as it pleased in Asia
- Tojo replaces Konoye as Premier of Japan. Konoye wanted to negotiate with the US. Tojo didn’t and had a low regard of the US
- Tojo wanted war but Emperor Hirohito wanted on last peace attempt.
- Japan offered this:
1. Open door policy everywhere and Japan would withdraw from French Indochina
2. US would stop Lend-Lease Aid to China and start trading with Japan again
3. Japan would start peace talks with China
- US refused plan on November 29th
- US took a hard line stance with Japan now because we had deciphered their diplomatic code(Magic) and knew that they had some type of attack plan.
Magic Information
- “November 29th is the deadline”-we had to accept Japan's peace offer
- “things are automatically going to happen”
- Japan felt that the key to success in the Pacific was air and sea power-especially launching airplanes from aircraft carriers and submarines attacking enemy ships
- Japan had ten aircraft carriers to our three in the Pacific(based in Pearl Harbor)
Japanese Pearl Harbor Attack Plan
1. destroy three aircraft carriers, eight battleships, seven cruisers and other small ships at Pearl Harbor.
2. attack Wake Island and Guam
3. attack Malay and Hong Kong
4. attack Philippines, Dutch East Indies and Burma
- Japanese attack force consisted of:
1. Six aircraft carriers
2. 360 airplanes
- -Kate High level bombers
- -dive and torpedo bombers
- -Zero fighters
3. two battleships, three cruisers, eight destroyers
- Admiral Nagumo commanded the force
- To succeed, Japan had to travel 3,500 miles without being detected. That meant absolute radio silence and travelling through a vast, lonely expanse of the Pacific Ocean. This attack had to be a complete surprise.
“Backdoor to War” Conspiracy
- There is belief that we "forced" Japan to attack us somewhere so that USA could get into the war.
- Japan attacks USA, USA declares war on Japan, Germany/Italy declare war on USA
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