US Enters WWII

American Moving Toward

War…

• March 1941 – Lend-Lease to Allies

• Summer 1941 – US escorting British ships carrying arms

• Hitler orders the sinking of all merchant vessels (including

US ships)

• US ordered to shoot U-Boats on sight

• ATLANTIC CHARTER – meeting between FDR and

Churchill to discuss what to do with post-Nazi Europe

• Self-determination

• Conduct trade

Churchill & FDR at the signing of the

Atlantic Charter

Hitler and the US

• Thought the USA

was fat and weak,

not motivated for

war

• Did not want war

with US until the

Nazis controlled all

of Europe

Japan on the Move

• Oct 1940 – US cracks Japanese

codes

• Watch Japan conquers China, then

Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in

July of 1941

• US response

• Cut oil exports to Japan

• Summer 1941 – tries to negotiate

lasting peace with US

The Dagger at the Throat of Japan

• US in Philippines

could attack at any

time to flank of

Japanese assault on

Asia

• Unacceptable risk…

Japanese on the

Offensive

• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

planned attack at Pearl

Harbor to take US out of war

on first day

• Sleeping Giant

• Attack plan:

• Aircraft carriers

• Other ships

• Oil Tanks

7 December 1941

• 2,300 dead

• 1,100 hurt

• 19 ships

sunk or

badly

damaged

US Declares

War!

Greater Assault

• Japanese also take Hong

Kong, Guam, Wake,

Thailand, Dutch East Indies,

Burma

• India is threatened

• January 1942 – took the

Philippines

• Bataan Death March

• 16,000 of 70,000 die

• 9 April 1942 – forced

transfer of Filipino and

American POWs

Japanese Empire - 1942

“Tokyo Rose”

• Nickname of any 12 radio women

broadcasting propaganda from Japan

to weaken American morale

• Would name units and soldiers to freak

out the GI’s

The Doolittle Raid

• April 1942

• 16 B-25

bombers under

Jimmie

Doolittle

• Morale boosting

raid on Japan

Stopping the

Unstoppable

• May 1942 - Battle of the Coral Sea

• First battle using solely aircraft carriers in history

• Allies lose many ships but stop the Japanese advance

• Prevented invasion of Australia

Turning the Tide

• June 1942 – Midway Island

• Code breakers told US that

Japan was heading toward the

island

• First Japanese naval defeat since

1863

• In hours, 332 planes are downed,

4 aircraft carriers sunk

• Turning point in the Pacific

theater

• Crippled the Japanese fleet

Battle of Midway

Importance

• Gave US advantage

in aircraft carriers

• Superior US

production ensured

gradual rollback of

Japanese from here