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Battle of the Atlantic
After Pearl Harbor, Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along America's east coast. The Germans' goal in this battle was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union. 7 months in 1942, German wolf packs destroyed 681 Allied ships. Allies made their ships into convoys, traveled in groups, airplanes w/ radar, destroyed U-boats. The tide was turned. The Allies won. September 3, 1939- May 8, 1945. -
War Productions Board
The government needed to ensure that the armed forces and war industries received the resources they needed to win the war. The War Productions Board assumed the responsibility. The WPA decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production, allocated raw materials to key industries, and organized nationwide drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. -
Lend-Lease Act
By late 1940, Britain had no more cash to spend in the arsenal of democracy, so Roosevelt suggested the Lend-Lease Policy. Under this plan, the president would lend/lease arms and other supplies to any country whose defense was vital to the United States. Isolations didn't like the plan, but most Americans favored it. Britain received aid, as did the Soviet Union when it was invaded by Hitler. -
Office of Price Administration
As war production increased, there were fewer consumer products available for purchase, and prices were likely to increase. Roosevelt responded to this threat by creating the Office of Price Administration (OPA). The OPA fought inflation by freezing wages, prices, and rents. They also rationed foods such as meat, butter, cheese, vegetables, sugar, and coffee. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
A Japanese dive bomber swooped over pearl harbor the morning of December 7, 1941. It was followed by 180 Japanese warplanes which were launched from 6 aircraft carriers. In less than 2 hours, the Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 others. They had also sunk/damaged 21 ships, 8 of which were battleships. President Roosevelt immediately declared war against Japan. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle lasted from 1942 to February 2, 1943. Hitler had been fighting the Soviet Union since 1941, but the cold had stopped them from entering Moscow and Leningrad. In the Summer of 1942, the Germans took the offensive, and wanted to capture Stalingrad. The Germans thought it would be easy, but the fighting and the cold was too much for the Germans. The German commander surrendered on January 31, 1943. Two days later, his starving troops also surrendered. -
Manhattan Project
In 1939, after German scientists succeeded in splitting uranium atoms, which released a lot of energy, Roosevelt created an Advisory Committee on Uranium to study the discovery. In 1941, the committee said it would take 3-5 years to build an atomic bomb. To shorten the time, the Office of Scientific Research and Development set up a program in 1942 to develop a bomb as fast as possible. Because a lot of early research was at Columbia Uni in Manhattan, the Manhattan Project became the code name. -
Internment
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, a lot of Americans became suspicious and distrusting of Japanese-Americans, and as a result of that, they relocated anyone of Japanese descent to internment camps. These camps lasted from February 19, 1942 to March 20, 1946. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
The Military's workforce needs were so great that Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall pushed for the formation of the WAAC. In this Bill female volunteers would serve in noncombat positions. The women would have an official status & salary but had few of the benefits male soldiers had. In July 1943, after thousands of women enlisted, the US army dropped the auxiliary status and granted them full benefits. WACs worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, electricians, pilots, & radio operators. -
Operation Torch
Churchill and Roosevelt launched Operation Torch, an invasion of Axis-Controlled North Africa, commanded by American general Dwight D. Eisenhower. Approximately 107,000 allied troops, mostly Americans, landed in Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers in North Africa. Then they sped east, chasing Afrika Corps led by General Erwin Rommel, the desert fox. After months of fighting, the last of the Afrika Corps surrendered in May 1943. -
U.S. Convoy System
The US responded to Germany's attack on their cargo ships by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. Convoys were groups of ships that traveled together for mutual protection. The Convoys were escorted across the atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting underwater submarines, and accompanied by airplanes using radar to spot U-boats on the surface. This system turned the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic. -
Unconditional Surrender
Before the battle in North Africa was won, Roosevelt, Churchill, and their commanders met in Casablanca. At this meeting, the leaders agreed to accept only unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers. Enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. -
Korematsu v. United States
This was a court case where Japanese Americans fought against internment. In 1944, the Supreme Court decided that evacuating Japanese Americans to camps was justified on the basis of "military necessity". -
Bloody Anzio
One of the hardest battles the Allies encountered in Europe was less than 40 miles from Rome. This battle, the "Bloody Anzio", lasted 4 months-until the end of May 1944-and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year of Anzio, German armies continued to resist. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse. -
D-Day
The Allied invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord. Midnight, 3 divisions parachuted behind German lines. By Morning, they were followed by thousands upon thousands of soldiers on ships; the largest land-sea-air operation in army history. Despite this, German retaliation was brutal. 7 days of fighting, Allies had 80 mile strip of France. In a month they landed a million troops, 567,000 tons of supplies, and 170,000 vehicles. By September 1944, the Allies had freed France, Belgium, & Luxembourg. -
The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler wanted to recapture the Belgian port of Antwerp. On December 16, 8 German Tank divisions broke through weak American defenses along an 80 mile front. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines, giving this last German offensive its name, the Battle of the Bulge. Germans captured 120 American GIs near Malmedy. The Battle lasted a month. The Germans retreated on January 25, 1945. -
Harry S. Truman
While posing for a portrait, President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation's 33rd president. -
Death of Hitler
By April 25, 1945, the Soviet Army had stormed Berlin. Hitler prepared for the end. On April 29, he married Eva Braun, his companion. The same day, he wrote his last address to the German people, blaming Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. He also stated that he & his wife are choosing to die in order to escape the disgrace of capitulation. April 30, Hitler shot himself in the head, Eva swallowed poison. With Hitler's orders, their bodies were soaked with gasoline & burned. -
V-E Day
A week after Hitler's death, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day, Victory in Europe day. This marked the end of the war.
