US ENTERS WWII EARLY US INVOLVEMENT n Neutrality

US ENTERS WWII

EARLY US INVOLVEMENT n Neutrality Act of 1939—FDR allowed British & French to buy US war supplies ¡ n Destroyers-for-Bases– trade US destroyers for naval bases in N & S America ¡ n Used cash & carry principle (pay cash for supplies, transport them yourself—US doesn’t get involved) US expands all over world Lend-Lease Act—Congress loaned Britain war supplies ¡ US tied to Britain by $

EARLY US INVOLVEMENT § Atlantic Charter—signed by FDR & Churchill in 1941 § Right of all nations to self-determination (deciding their future for themselves) § US & Britain wouldn’t try to gain territories from war § Disarmament—removal of weapons from aggressors (Italy, Germany) § “Permanent system of general security” in future § Beginnings of UN

ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR • US opposed Japanese invasion of China (Manchuria) • Japanese believed that if US entered war, they would be against Japanese invasion of Indonesia • December 7, 1941—Japanese kamikaze pilots attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii • Sank 19 ships, destroyed 150 planes, killed 2335 soldiers & sailors • US declared war on Japan • Germany & Italy declared war on US

TAKING SIDES Allies Britain, France, US, Russia (eventually) n Axis Germany, Italy, Japan n

US MOBILIZATION n “Arsenal of Democracy”—US was only country that could produce goods for Allies n n Make war goods, not consumer goods Military enlistment men 21 -35 required to register for selective service in 1940 1945— 12. 5 million men & women serving in armed forces n African Americans placed in segregated units n

MOBILIZATION AT HOME n Women returned to workforce ¡ n Worked in support services in combat (not in active military) Gov’t financing US citizens bought war bonds to help pay for war ¡ Celebrities served in military or organized trips to entertain troops (USO)

MOBILIZATION AT HOME n Rationing factories changed production from consumer to military goods n Consumer goods limited (clothing, sugar, meat, rubber, gasoline) n Coupon book told people when they could buy certain things and what they could buy

WWII in North Africa • WHY? – Suez Canal – Shipping in Mediterranean Sea • Operation Torch – Nov. 1942 – Push Axis off N. Africa • Erwin Rommel

WWII in Italy n July 1943 n n n George Patton attacks Sicily Mussolini arrested No surrender from German troops n n Very bloody fighting 1945 Italy surrenders

The USSR Ø June 1941—Hitler broke Nazi-Soviet Non -Aggression Pact & invaded USSR l l Ø USSR entered war on side of Allies US provided support to USSR through Lend. Lease Battle of Stalingrad l Hitler defeated by Russian winter

EUROPEAN THEATER US helped Allies defeat Germany & Italy before going after Japan Ø Stalingrad—Germans defeated in S. Russia (August 1942 -January 1943) Ø l l Ø Russian winter caught Germans off guard Convinced Hitler that Germany could not advance East El Alamein—British defeated Germans in N. Africa (Oct. 1942) l l German general Erwin Rommel pushed out of Egypt into Tunisia Removed threat of German attack from South

D-Day Ø Tehran Conference—Dec. 1943 l l BIG THREE Attack on France • “Operation Overlord” • Dwight D. Eisenhower Ø D-Day June 6, 1944 l l Normandy Paris freed August 25, 1944

Battle of the Bulge Ø German attempt to divide Allies

Victory in Europe Ø Yalta Conference—Feb. 1945 l l BIG THREE What happens after the war? • Soviet Union: l l Declare war on Japan Free elections in E. Europe Keeps Poland temporarily ½ of all war reparations from Germany • Germany l l Divided into 4 pieces (US, France, GB, USSR) Establish UN

V-E Day Ø FDR dies—Apr. 12, 1945 Ø Hitler’s suicide—Apr. 30, 1945 l Unconditional surrender of Germany Ø V-E DAY—May 8, 1945 l Victory in Europe

PACIFIC THEATER • US forced to fight on 2 fronts – Free Europe – Keep Japanese from expanding • Japan controlled most of Asia & S. Pacific islands

MAJOR TURNING POINTS ¢ ¢ ¢ Battle of Coral Sea—first defeat of Japanese navy (May 1942) Battle of Midway—US defeated Japan & kept them from moving East (June 1942) Guadalcanal—first US offensive in Pacific (Aug. 1942 -Feb. 1943) Iwo Jima—used as stopping point for raids on Japan (Feb. -Mar. 1945) Okinawa—one of worst battles in Pacific (June-July 1945) l Used as base for planned invasion of Japan

ATOMIC BOMB n Albert Einstein (German Jew) fled Holocaust to work for US ¨ Manhattan Project—code name for project that created atomic bomb before Germany n Truman used bomb to achieve final, quick victory over Japan ¨ Dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki n Led to surrender of Japan