On this Ides of March, we still continued notes over WWII. Here they are:
US Money: FDR sent money for war to Australia, Great Britain, and other Allied Powers against the Axis Powers.
German Invasion of USSR: It is the largest operation in history for both manpower and casualties. Russia would retreat and destroy everything on the way back so that Germany couldn't take it and would get caught in the large country.
German Mistake: They stretch their army way too far and run out of supplies. They aren't equipped for winter, either. They run out of oil, food, and clothes. Germany came close to Moscow, but failed overall.
Atlantic Charter: FDR meets with Winston Churchill off the coast of Newfoundland. They met to set up the goals for US and Britain when they go to war.
Pearl Harbor
In July, 1941, Japan invaded French Indochina-Located near current-day Vietnam.
In response, the US stops trading with Japan-We stopped giving them oil.
Due to embargo, Japan felt it had three options:
1. abandon ambitions in South East Asia-Give up and pull out.
2. compromise with the US-What they tried.
3. attack Dutch and British possessions in the Pacific and US bases in the Pacific-What actually happened.
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-They knew they couldn't continue the war without oil. Yamamoto was educated in Harvard.
A surprise attack would give Japan at least six months to dominate SE Asia unopposed-Yamamoto was against it, but knew it was the only way.
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-A sort of war-monger, like the reverse of Churchill.
Tojo wanted war but Emperor Hirohito wanted one last peace attempt-Stopped Tojo from breaking war out.
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-Code name magic, not actual magic. They knew of an attack coming, but they didn't think they would attack us.
Magic Information
“November 29th is the deadline”
“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)-They had a much larger navy overall.
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-Also on December 7th.
3. attack Malay and Hong Kong-Also on December 7th.
4. attack Philippines, Dutch East Indies and Burma-Also on December 7th.
Japanese attack force consisted of:
1. Six aircraft carriers
2. 360 airplanes
-Kate High level bombers
-dive and torpedo bombers-One of the keys to a Japanese effective attack.
-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-If we had found them we would have prevented the attack.
“Backdoor to War” Conspiracy-A belief that we wanted to go to war, and the belief is that FDR would never have agreed with Japan and we forced them to attack us. This is not truth yet...nor is it false yet.
Results: FDR declared war on Japan and then Germany declared war on United States. Also Italy claimed war on us.
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