World War 2: Europe and Asia

The United Nations.

An international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. The UN was founded after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue and diplomacy.

Battle of Stalingrad (Aug. 1942-Feb. 1943).

Aug 1942-Feb 1943. 2 million casualties. Bloodiest battle ever. Arose during German summer campaign to capture oil supplies in Caucasus Mts. German forces were bogged down in the city. This allowed Soviets to surround them and defeat Italian, Hungarian, Romanian forces. Hitler promoted German Paulus to field marshal to tell him to fight to death/commit suicide because no German field marshal was captured. Paulus surrendered.

The Bretton Woods Conference (1944).

Meeting of Western allies to establish a postwar international economic order to avoid crises like the one that spawned World War II. Led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, designed to regulate currency levels and provide aid to underdeveloped countries. (923)

The Eastern Front.

Name given to the fighting on the German-Russian, Austro-Russian and Austro-Romanian fronts.

Operation Barbarossa (June 1941-).

the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, commencing on 22 June 1941. Over the course of the operation, about four million soldiers of the Axis powers invaded Soviet Russia along a 2,900 km (1,800 mi) front, making it the largest invasion in the history of warfare. In addition to troops, the Germans employed some 600,000 motor vehicles and 625,000 horses. The ambitious operation was driven by Adolf Hitler's persistent desire to conquer the Soviet territories as outlined in Mein Kampf. It marked the beginning of the pivotal phase in deciding the victors of the war.

Internment.

the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. We did it to Japanese-Americans in WWII because we thought they might be spies or something.

Braceros.

(temporary workers), US govt negotiated an agreement with Mexico in July 1942 to import braceros to relieve labor shortages in agriculture caused by conscription and the monement of rural workers to city factories; they were classified as foreign laborers rather than as immigrants. Part of war-first attitude.

Rosie the Riveter.

A model dressed in overalls who became the cover girl for the intense publicity campaign that was launched by the government to draw women into traditional male jobs

Battle of Kursk (July-Aug. 1943)

July-Aug 1943. Largest tank battle ever. 6,000 tanks. Spies helped Soviets know German plans and constructed defense fortifications.

The Battle of Midway (June 1942).

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the United States Navy decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attack against Midway Atoll, inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet. Military historian John Keegan has called it "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare." The Japanese operation, like the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor, sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The Japanese hoped that another demoralizing defeat would force the U.S. to capitulate in the Pacific War. The Japanese plan was to lure the United States' aircraft carriers into a trap. The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway Atoll as part of an overall plan to extend their defensive perimeter in response to the Doolittle Raid. This operation was also considered preparatory for further attacks against Fiji and Samoa. The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction and poor initial dispositions. Most significantly, American codebreakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to set up an ambush of its own. Four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser were sunk for a cost of one American aircraft carrier and a destroyer. After Midway, and the exhausting attrition of the Solomon Islands campaign, Japan's shipbuilding and pilot training programs were unable to keep pace in replacing their losses while the U.S. steadily increased its output in both areas.

El Alamein (Nov. 1942).

The First Battle of El Alamein (1-27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought between Axis forces (Germany and Italy) of the Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) commanded by Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Erwin Rommel, and Allied (specifically, British Imperial) forces (Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) of the British Eighth Army commanded by General Claude Auchinleck. The battle halted the second (and final) advance by the Axis forces into Egypt, El Alamein being only 66 mi (106 km) from Alexandria. The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 13 days from 23 October - 4 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Eighth Army from General Claude Auchinleck in August 1942. The Allied victory turned the tide in the North African Campaign. It ended Axis hopes of occupying Egypt, taking control of the Suez Canal, and gaining access to the Middle Eastern oil fields.

Operation Overlord (June 1944).

The plan to attack five beaches in german controlled territory of France.June 6, 1944. Operation Overlord. Largest amphibious assault ever. Allied forces, Eisenhower attacked German Atlantic Wall at Normandy, France. Rommel was absent because of wife's b-day. USA-Utah, Omaha beaches. Great Britain-Gold, Sword. Canada-Juno.

The Holocaust.

The systematic mass slaughter of Jews and other groups judged inferior by the Nazis

Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

he first on August 6, 1945 and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only active deployments of nuclear weapons in war to date. For six months, the United States had made use of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities. US clued for surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945. The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum. By executive order of President Harry S. Truman, the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki on August 9.