1939-1945The U.S. in WWII

U.S. has isolationist policies since the end of WWI –people want to keep it that way

• Neutrality Acts were passed to keep U.S. out of future wars• 1935: No arms or ammunition sold to

belligerent nations• 1936: No potential war materials (oil, steel, etc)

sold to belligerent nations• 1937: No Americans could sail on belligerent

ships, no American ships in war zones

American Isolationism

September 1, 1939: invasion of Poland Half of Poland had been part of Germany

before WWISeptember 3, 1939: Britain and France

declare war on GermanyGermany’s military strategy known as

blitzkrieg (lightening war)Planes, tanks, infantry used to surprise the

enemy

Germany Sparks New War

The Soviets Make Their MoveSeptember: Soviets capture Lithuania,

Latvia, other half of Poland, and Finland

Germany Continues to ExpandApril 1940: Captures Denmark and NorwayMay 1940: Conquers Netherlands, Belgium,

and LuxembourgTHEN goes after France

June 22, 1940: France formally surrenders to Germany

1940: Germany plans invasion of Britain - begins with air attacks

British use air force, radar, code-breaking to resist Germany

Battle of Britain lasts 10 months

The Battle of Britain

Most Americans want to avoid WWIIFDR fears if Allies fall, U.S. would have to

fight• 1939: Congress passes “cash-and-carry”

• U.S. can trade with belligerent nations, but they must pay cash for goods and must transport the goods themselves

• Allowed for sale of arms and ammunition• Technically available to both sides, but really used

by Allies (just like WWI)

Maybe the U.S. should get involved…

• U.S. increases defense spending• First ever peacetime draft - Selective

Training and Service ActDraftees to serve for 1 year in Western

Hemisphere only

• FDR breaks two-term tradition, runs for reelection

• FDR reelected with 55% of votes

Building U.S. Defenses

• Late 1940: Britain has no more cash to buy U.S. arms

• 1941: Lend-Lease Act - U.S. to lend or lease supplies to any nation FDR thought was needed to protect democracy and the safety of the U.S. • Unused supplied would be returned or paid for after the war

• No limits placed on supplies or loans• Participating nations could us any U.S. ports, but U.S. ships couldn’t transport goods

FDR proposes extending the term of

draftees - passes House by 1 vote

A Growing Involvement

• August 1941: FDR & Churchill meet and issue Atlantic Charter

• Charter set goals and aims for war and post-war world

• Made it clear U.S. was supporting Britain

Atlantic Charter1. No territorial gains by any nation2. No territorial changes without questioning the people

concerned.3. Respected the right of the people to choose their own

form of government. 4. All nations should have equal rights to trade an raw

materials.5. Nations to cooperate in economic matters and to ensure

everyone a decent standard of living6. People everywhere should have the right to security and

freedom from want and fear.7. Freedom of the sea should be guaranteed8. Nations must abolish use of force and establish a system

of general security

1940: FDR cut off sale of oil and scrap metal to Japan

Japan plans series of attacks on U.S. and European bases

“Day of Infamy” – December 7, 1941Pearl Harbor, HawaiiWake IslandPhilippines Guam (Dec. 8)

December 8: U.S. declares war on Japan

Surprise Attack

• 5 million men volunteer for military service• 10 million more drafted • Army Chief of Staff calls for women’s corps in

noncombat positionsWomen’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)Thousands enlist; end up getting full

military benefits

Americans Joining the War Effort

Minorities in the War Effort

• 300,000 Mexican Americans join armed forces

• 1 million African Americans serve; live, work in segregated units

• 13,000 Chinese Americans and 33,000 Japanese Americans serve

• 25,000 Native Americans enlist

• Factories convert from civilian to war production

• Shipyards, defense plants expand, new ones built

• Produce ships, arms rapidlyuse prefabricated partspeople work at record speeds

• Nearly 18 million workers in war industries; 6 million are women

• Over 2 million minorities hired; face strong discrimination at firstFDR executive order forbids discrimination

A Production Miracle!

Higher taxes and war bonds help pay for the war

War Production Board (WPB) says which companies produce what allocates raw materialsorganizes collection of recyclable

materialsRationing—fixed allotments of

goods needed by military

Economic Controls

Hawaii governor forced to order internment (confinement) of Japanese

February 1942: FDR signs Executive Order 9066 War Dept. could “…prescribe military

areas … from which any or all persons may be excluded”

U.S. Army forces 117,000 Japanese Americans into prison camps

Internment of Japanese Americans

Churchill convinces FDR that Europe is the more important frontMade sense since Pacific Fleet had taken such

a drastic hit

The European Theatre

Hitler deploys U-Boats to attack supply convoys

Wolf packs – groups of up to 40 submarines – will patrol North Atlantic

FDR allows U.S. Navy to attack U-boats in self defenseEventually U-boat attacks will lead Senate to

repeal ban on arming merchant ships

Battle of the Atlantic

Germans had three major cities to capture in the USSR: Leningrad, Moscow, and

Stalingrad.Stalingrad is the only one left.

Stalin wants his allies to open a second European front immediately!

• Soviets encircle the Germans at Stalingrad; the Germans are cut off and slowly destroyed

• Germans lose 700,000, Russians lose 1.2 million

September: Germans get into Stalingrad; they take 9/10ths of the city

Bloodiest battle in human history

June 25: Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, arrives in the U.K. The British

wanted an English commander of all forces, but the US said:

“We are providing more troops, we are in charge.”

November 8, 1942: Operation Torch: US forces arrive to fight the

Germans in North Africa; US troops do not do well at first!

May 1943: Afrika Korps, led by Erwin Rommel, surrenders in May

1943

July 1943 - Allied Forces invade Sicily

(Italian island)

Troops meet some opposition, but by September 8th Italy

surrenders!

Hitler moves Nazi troops to occupy Northern Italy (above Rome)

June 6, 1944 - “Operation Overlord” Allied invasion of France

Largest amphibious (water) invasion in historyOver 160,000 troops landed on beaches195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy

personnel in over 5,000 ships used

The D-Day Invasion

Eisenhower directed Allied invasion during D-Day

General Omar Bradley helps create gap in enemy defense lineHas a tank named after him!

General George Patton leads Third Army to capture Paris by AugustAlso has a tank named after him!

FDR Re-elected to a 4th term with Harry S. Truman as his V.P.

Allies Gain Ground!

U.S. and British forces advance on Germany from west and Soviets advance from east

Battle of the Bulge: German counterattack (Dec 1944)

Germans gain early success but forced to retreatSuffer irreplaceable losses

of men and machinery

The Battle of the Bulge

In the WestFeb 1945:

The 'Big Three' (Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill) meet in

Yalta, USSR to decide who gets what when WWII is over

Known as the Yalta Conference

April 12, 1945 : FDR dies.

Harry S. Truman

becomes 33rd President.

In the East

April 16th, 1945: Battle of Berlin Begins

There is utter devastation as Soviets gain more control

Hitler marries his longtime Mistress Eva

Braun on April 29th, 1945

The next day, they commit joint

suicide in Hitler’s Bunker

VE (Victory in Europe) Day

On May 9, 1945, Germany officially surrenders, marking V-E Day!

General Douglas MacArthur leads Allied forces in the Philippines

March 1942: US and Filipino troops are trapped on Batann Peninsula MacArthur ordered by FDR to retreat Famously promises to return

April 1942: Lt. Col. James Doolittle leads an air raid on Tokyo “Doolittle Raid” does little damage, but shows

that Japan is vulnerable

Allies Enter the Fight

Battle of Coral Sea

May 1942: U.S. & Australian soldiers stop Japanese drive to

Australia

First time since Pearl Harbor Japanese invasion was turned

back

Battle of Midway

• June 4-7, 1942: Japan attempts to destroy what’s left of U.S. Pacific fleet

• Allies aided by having broken Japanese military code

• Japan loses 4 carriers and many aircraft• Considered turning point in the Pacific

Allied OffensiveOctober 1944: Allies converge on Leyte

Island in PhilippinesMacArthur returns!

MacArthur plans to “island-hop” past strongholds, attack weaker bases instead

Japanese Defense PlanKamikaze attacks –pilots crash bomb-laden

planes into U.S. shipsBattle of Leyte Gulf is a disaster for Japan

Imperial Navy severely damaged; plays minor role after this

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima critical as base from which planes can reach Japan.

Battle tactics however reach new extreme levels of violence.

23,000 US troops die taking island; of 20,700 Japanese, 200

survive.

The Battle for Okinawa

• April 1945: U.S. Marines invade Okinawa (last major island before Japan)

• 76,00o U.S. troops, 100,000 Japanese soldiers and 150,000 Japanese civilians die

• Allies fear invasion of Japan may mean 1.7 million Allied casualties

• Cooperative project between U.S., Great Britain, and Canada

• Project led by J. Robert Oppenheimer • Cost about $26 billion in today’s

money• Built two different types of atomic

bombs

The Manhattan Project

Invasion of Japan will cost many livesAlternative atomic bomb

The Manhattan Project: secret program to develop the atomic bomb

August 6, 1945: atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima 75,000 die instantly

August 8: USSR declared war on JapanAugust 9: Second/last atomic bomb ever used

in war dropped on Nagasaki70,000 people die instantly

September 2, 1945: Japan surrenders

The Japanese Surrender