Thursday March 15th

axis- germany, italy, japan

allied- us, france, britain, russia, china, canada, austrailia, and most if not all latin american countries

France's Maginot Line- Defense system to protect from germany

Miricle of Dunkirk- Where hitler told troops to wait and let 100,000's of troops flee to Great Britian

Vichy Government German control in france- Led by Marshal Henri Petain

Free French underground- Led by Charles de Gaulle... army used to get france their land back

Nazi Goals-

1. Destroy Royal Air Force (British)

2. Attack and destroy British Navy 

3. Attack British troops

4 invade GB

Germany never achieved #1

GB was aided heavily by use of radar and Ultra

Luftwafte- German Airforce

Bases for Destroyers pact- sept. 1940

  • we gave britian desroyers and britain gave us navel bases

1940 FDR vs. Wendell Wilkie

FDR signs lend lease act

  • Lent supplies to counrties that needed it- allied powers

German invasion of ussr

  • operation Barbarossa
  • largest military operation in history
  • Lenangrad, Moskow, and Stalligrad

Scorched earth policy

  • ordered russian's to destroy anything germany could use as it pushed russian's back
  1. They eventually became low on supplies
  2. the cold in russia got to them

The atlantic charter between us and britian

  • agreed on some war beliefs even though we weren't in the war yet

 

 

 

Pearl Harbor

 

In July, 1941, Japan invaded French Indochina

 

In response, the US stops trading with Japan

 

Due to embargo, Japan felt it had three options:

  1. 1.     abandon ambitions in South East Asia
  2. 2.     compromise with the US
  3. 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”

          “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. 1.     destroy three aircraft carriers, eight battleships, seven cruisers and other small ships
  2. 2.     attack Wake Island and Guam
  3. 3.     attack Malay and Hong Kong
  4. 4.     attack Philippines, Dutch East Indies and Burma

 

Japanese attack force consisted of:

  1. 1.     Six aircraft carriers
  2. 2.     360 airplanes

-Kate High level bombers

-dive and torpedo bombers

-Zero fighters

  1. 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

 

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