CHAPTER 36 – AMERICA IN WORLD WAR II
I. The Start of the War
A. War is declared
1. On Dec. 8 , 1941 the U.S. declared war on Japan
2. On Dec. 11, 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the United States
3. The U.S. adopted the strategy of “getting Germany first” then allied forces could be concentrated on Japan
B. The U.S. prepares for war
1. There was almost no witch-hunting of minority groups – the exception to this was 110,000 Japanese-Americans on the Pacific Coast who were herded into concentration camps for fear they might act as spies for Japan in case of invasion
2. The lingering Great Depression was brought to an end with massive military orders carried out by the War Production Board
3. The draft left the nation’s farms and factories short of personnel- Mexicans were brought in by the thousands to harvest crops in the west – called “braceros”
4. Millions of women went to work in the factories and the armed services enlisted about 216,000 women – the role of women in American society would change as a result of this
5. Many blacks left the South to seek jobs in the war plants of the West and North
6. Some 25,000 Native Americans served in the armed forces- Comanches in Europe and Navajos in the Pacific made valuable contributions as “code talkers”
II. War in the Pacific
A. The Rising Sun in the Pacific
1. Simultaneously with the assault on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched attacks on many Far Eastern strongholds, including the American outposts of Guam, Wake, and the Philippines
2. On the Philippines, American forces, led by General Douglas MacArthur held out for 5 months
3. They surrendered on April 9, 1942 – this was followed by the 80-mile Bataan Death March to prisoner-of-war camps
4. The island fortress of Corregidor surrendered on May 6, 1942
B. Japan’s High Tide is halted
1. In May of 1942 a crucial naval battle was fought in the Coral Sea – an American carrier task force, with Australian support, engaged in the first battle in which all fighting was done by carrier-based aircraft- Japan suffered heavy losses
2. On June 3-6, 1942 a naval battle was fought near Midway
a. Admiral Nimitz directed a smaller but skillfully maneuvered carrier force
b. The Japanese retreated after losing 4 carriers
c. Midway was the turning point in the Pacific
C. American leapfrogging toward Tokyo
1. In August 1942, American forces gained control of Guadalcanal Island in the Solomons – to protect Australia
2. After several desperate sea battles, the Japanese evacuated in February 1943
3. The U.S. then began “leapfrogging” the Japanese-held islands in the Pacific – this new strategy called for bypassing some of the most heavily fortified Japanese posts
4. The major islands of the Marianas fell in July and August 1944 (included Guam) – from here the U.S. could send the new B-29 super bombers on raids on Japan’s home islands.
III. The Allied Halting of Hitler
A. Events of 1942
1. The turning point of the land-air war against Hitler came in 1942 when British forces under Gen. Montgomery defeated German forces at El Alamein (Egypt) and drove German General Rommel back to Tunisia
2. In September of 1942, the Soviets repelled Hitler’s attack on Stalingrad, capturing thousands of German soldiers
3. The U.S launched an assault on North Africa in November of 1942 – this was led by General Eisenhower
B. Events of 1943
1. In January of 1943 Roosevelt and Churchill met at Casablanca in North Africa – they adopted the policy of “unconditional surrender”
2. Allied forces captured Sicily in August 1943
3. In September 1943, Italy surrendered and Mussolini was overthrown
4. From November 28th to December 1st Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in Tehran, Iran to coordinate a second front in France.
C. Events of 1944
1. Rome was finally taken on June 4th, 1944
2. On June 6th,1944, the D-Day invasion of Normandy in France began – the Allied Commander was Eisenhower
3. Paris was liberated in August of 1944
4. December, 1944 – Battle of the Bulge – last German offensive – was halted after 10 days when the 101st Airborne division held firm
IV. The election of 1944
A. Candidates
1. The Democrats nominated FDR for a fourth term and Senator Harry Truman was chosen for the vice presidency
2. The Republicans nominated New York Governor Thomas Dewey
B. Results-FDR won a sweeping majority of the votes in the Electoral College and was reelected
1. Many voters concluded that FDR’s experience was needed for making a future organization for world peace
2. In Feb. 1945 he attended the Yalta Conference in Russia with Churchill and Stalin who promised to enter the war against Japan but wanted control of the government of Poland.
V. The End of the War
A. The Last Days of Hitler
1. In April of 1945, U.S. troops reached the Elbe River, finding the concentration camps
2. The Soviets captured Berlin in April of 1945
3. President Roosevelt died on April 12 and Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945
4. The German government surrendered unconditionally on May 7 and May 8 , 1945 was officially named VE Day
B. Japan Dies Hard
1. MacArthur officially landed on the main Philippine island in January, 1945 and captured Manila in March of 1945
2. The islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were then taken by June of 1945 with extreme loss of life
3. The American navy also suffered heavy damage from the “kamikaze” Japanese pilots.
4. The Potsdam conference near Berlin in July of 1945 sounded the death knell of the Japanese – Truman ,Stalin, Atlee – issued an ultimatum to Japan – surrender or be destroyed
5. The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and on Nagasaki on August 9
6. On August 10 Japan surrendered under the condition that Hirohito be allowed to remain emperor
7. The Allies accepted this condition on August 14, 1945 and the war formally came to an end on September 2, 1945 ( VJ Day).
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