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World War II

Terms in this set (22)

Blitzkrieg
"Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
A secret agreement between the Germans and the Russians that said that they would not attack each other
Japanese Aggression
Japan took Manchuria, parts of china and French Indochina.
Pearl Harbor
7:50-10:00 AM, December 7, 1941 - Surprise attack by the Japanese on the main U.S. Pacific Fleet harbored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii destroyed 18 U.S. ships and 200 aircraft. American losses were 3000, Japanese losses less than 100. In response, the U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany, entering World War II.
Appeasement
A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war. Associated with Neville Chamberlain's policy of making concessions to Adolf Hitler.
Invasion of Poland
Germany invaded, breaking their agreement, so Britain and France declared war, starting World War II
Munich Conference
1938 conference at which European leaders attempted to appease Hitler by turning over the Sudetenland to him in exchange for promise that Germany would not expand Germany's territory any further.
Maginot Line
A fortification built before World War II to protect France's eastern border
Battle of Okinawa
(1945) World War II victory for the Allied troops that resulted in the deaths of almost all of the 100,000 Japanese defenders; the battle claimed 12,000 American lives
Lend-Lease Act
allowed sales or loans of war materials to any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the U.S
Island Hopping
A military strategy used during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others
Adolf Hitler
Austrian born Dictator of Germany, implement Fascism and caused WWII and Holocoust.
Rise of Dictators
After World War I, political unrest and poor economic conditions lead many countries to develop a dictatorship as their government. Most dictatorships started in countries that did not have democracy such as Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan. Dictatorships held total power and ruled without regard to law. Anyone who opposed the dictatorships would be imprisoned or would be executed.
Failure of the League of Nations
no US or German involvement, Japan left the League of Nations and occupied Manchuria; China appealed to the League of Nation; Hitler rearmed Germany and created secret alliances
Great Depression
the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s
Weimar Republic (1919-1933)
Democratic government established in Germany after World War I. By the late 1920s, the Weimar Republic had almost entirely lost public support (rampant inflation contributes to this). German political groups on the left and the right targeted the Republic as an ineffective government Hitler and the Nazi contended that the German army had not lost World War I on the field, but on the home front. In 1932, Hitler lost his bid to be elected chancellor, but came to power a year later.
Operation Barbarossa
Codename for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II.
Operation Dynamo/The Miracle of Dunkirk
evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. Saved the Allied cause in Europe from total collapse, and was the biggest evacuation in military history.
Battle of the Bulge
December, 1944-January, 1945 - After recapturing France, the Allied advance became stalled along the German border. In the winter of 1944, Germany staged a massive counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg which pushed a 30 mile "bulge" into the Allied lines. The Allies stopped the German advance and threw them back across the Rhine with heavy losses.
Siege of Leningrad
German forces surrounded this Russian city, cutting off supplies. About one million people died of starvation and cold weather
Battle of Stalingrad
Unsuccessful German attack on the city of Stalingrad during World War II from 1942 to 1943, that was the furthest extent of German advance into the Soviet Union.
D-Day Invasion
Allied troops landed at Normandy Beach to start liberating France from German control
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