60 - The Second World War, 1942-1945 (comprehensive)
Order No. 227
1942 order by Stalin of "Not a step back!"; placed NKVD officers in the rear of Soviet forces to shoot "panic-mongers and cowards" who attempted to retreat without orders; a desperate measure to halt the German advance into the Soviet Union
Declaration of the United Nations
1942 treaty between the U.S., Britain, USSR, and China creating the Grand Alliance against the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Powers; signed by 47 national governments by 1945
battle of Guadalcanal
1942-1943 battle in the South Pacific Solomon Islands; first major land offensive by Allied forces against Japan; allowed Allies to shift from defensive operations to offensive campaigns in the Pacific
Burma Campaign
1942-1945 major fighting in Southeast Asia between Allied British, British Indian, and Chinese forces supported by the U.S. against invading Japanese and Thai forces
denazification
Allied initiative to rid Germany and Austria of National Socialism; purged Nazis from political office and brought many to trial for war crimes; when the program ended in 1951 many former Nazis returned to government posts in West Germany
Rosie the Riveter
American cultural icon used in U.S. propaganda; a symbol of women who worked in factories and shipyards producing munitions and war supplies
Douglas MacArthur
American general who commanded Allied troops in the Pacific; forced to flee Philippines in 1942 vowing "I shall return" which he did in 1944; accepted Japanese surrender and oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951; led United Nations forces early in the Korean War but was fired for recommending the use of 26 atomic bombs against communist targets
Dwight D. Eisenhower
American general who was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe; led the Allied invasions of North Africa and France and fighting on the Western Front; U.S. president during the Cold War (1953-1961)
George Patton
American general; led armored divisions in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany; a colorful personality nicknamed "Old Blood and Guts"
island hopping
American military leapfrogging strategy of capturing some Japanese-held islands and bypassing others during the Allied advance toward Japan
Harry S. Truman
American president (1945-1953), Democratic; directed the end of World War II upon the death of FDR on April 12, 1945; oversaw postwar development of the Cold War
Bataan Death March
April 1942 65-mile march suffered by American and Filipino prisoners of the Japanese in the Philippines; thousands of POWs died en route from abuse and executions
Doolittle's Raid
April 1942 daring long-range U.S. bombing of Tokyo; first air strike against Japan; 16 light bombers launched from an aircraft carrier inflicted only minor damage but boosted American morale
battle of Okinawa
April-June 1945 largest and deadliest battle in the Pacific; gave the U.S. a base for the planned invasion of the Japanese main islands
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
April-May 1943 mass revolt within Jewish confines in occupied Poland; Jews fought back rather than be sent passively to death camps; largest act of Jewish resistance during the war
battle of Berlin
April-May 1945 last major battle in Europe; Soviets captured the German capital; Hitler committed suicide on April 30; last German units surrendered May 8
V-J Day
August 15, 1945 announcement of Japanese surrender; Japan's formal surrender was signed on September 2
battle of Stalingrad
August 1942-February 1943 battle in which the German invasion of the Soviet Union was stopped; the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought involving 2.2 million combatants; the turning point of the war in Europe
liberation of Paris
August 1944 German surrender of the French capital to Allied forces; Charles de Gaulle assumed control of the city as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic
Warsaw Uprising
August 1944 failed revolt against German occupation forces by the Polish underground resistance; 85% of Poland's capital was destroyed and 700,00 civilians were expelled from the city
Bernard Montgomery
British general in the North African campaign and Allied invasion of Italy; led all Allied ground forces on D-Day; liberated the Netherlands and captured northwest Germany; Britain's most capable commander
Battle of the Bulge
December 1944-January 1945 battle in Belgium which stopped the final German offensive on the Western Front; Allied forces crossed the Rhine into Germany by March
battle of Singapore
February 1942 Japanese conquest of the most important British military base in Southeast Asia; 130,000 British, Indian, and Australian troops were captured in the largest surrender in British history
Yalta Conference
February 1945 Allied leadership strategy meeting where FDR, Churchill, and Stalin agreed that democratic states in postwar Europe would be established through free elections; Stalin later reneged on this promise, a leading cause of the Cold War's development
firebombing of Dresden
February 1945 British and American controversial destruction of a German city that was culturally significant but not important to wartime production; 25,000 civilians killed; symbolic of the Allied "terror bombing" campaign against Germany
battle of Iwo Jima
February-March 1945 battle in which U.S. forces captured a minor Japanese home island; U.S. Marines were photographed raising the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi after a fierce fight in which almost every Japanese defender fought to the death
Afrika Korps
German divisions sent to reinforce Italian armies in North Africa; led by Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
German field marshal who led Axis armored divisions in North Africa; a brilliant military tactician known as the "Desert Fox"; Germany's most capable commander
Wannsee Conference
January 1942 meeting of senior Nazi officials to plan the Final Solution to the Jewish Question, the premeditated murder of 11 million people
Casablanca Conference
January 1943 meeting of FDR, Churchill, and de Gaulle; issued statement that the Allies would fight a war of total annihilation to produce an "unconditional surrender" of Germany, Italy, and Japan; meant to keep the Soviets fighting on the Eastern Front by preventing Stalin from negotiating a separate peace
Hiroshima
Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945; an estimated 140,000 people died in from the blast, heat, or radiation
Nagasaki
Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb on August 9, 1945; an estimated 70,000 people died in from the blast, heat, or radiation
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Japanese imperial organization promoting pan-Asian cultural and economic unity; some saw it offering freedom from Western colonial oppression while most saw it as a tool to entrench Japan's dominance over Asia
kamikazes
Japanese suicide pilots who crashed planes into American ships in the closing stages of World War II; first used at Leyte Gulf
Allied invasion of Sicily
July 1943 American and British landing in southern Italy following the complete withdrawal of Axis forces from North Africa; led the king to order Mussolini's arrest; Mussolini was rescued by the Germans and installed as a Nazi puppet ruler in northern Italy until the war's end
Operation Valkyrie
July 1944 failed coup attempt by German army commanders who tried to assassinate Hitler, take control of German cities, disarm the SS, and arrest the Nazi leadership
Potsdam Conference
July 1945 Allied leadership strategy meeting where American President Truman, British Prime Minister Atlee, and Soviet Premier Stalin agreed to the division, demilitarization, denazification, and democratization of Germany; also called for Japan to surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction"
battle of Kursk
July-August 1943 final German offensive on the Eastern Front; stopped by the Soviets who then counterattacked and held the offensive initiative for the rest of the war steadily driving west; largest tank battle in history
battle of Midway
June 1942 naval battle near Hawaii in which American planes sank four Japanese aircraft carriers; decisive U.S. victory; the turning point of the war in the Pacific
Operation Overlord (D-Day)
June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of German-occupied Normandy, France led by Eisenhower; opened up a second front to relieve pressure on the Soviets
firebombing of Tokyo
March 1945 American destruction of 16 square miles of the Japanese capital; killed 130,000 and left 1 million homeless in history's single most destructive bombing raid
battle of the Coral Sea
May 1942 naval battle that halted Japanese expansion near Australia
V-E Day
May 8, 1945 unconditional surrender of Germany; Victory in Europe Day
Operation Torch
November 1942 American-British invasion of Morocco and Algeria in French North Africa; led by Dwight D. Eisenhower; first mass involvement of U.S. troops in the European-North African theater
Tehran Conference
November 1943 Allied leadership strategy meeting where FDR, Churchill, and Stalin planned a 1944 invasion of France and a postwar division of Germany into zones of occupation
battle of Leyte Gulf
October 1944 largest naval battle of World War II; decisive Allied victory; allowed U.S. to recapture the Philippines and cut Japan off from vital oil supplies in their occupied territories thereby neutralizing the remaining Japanese navy
battle of El Alamein
October-November 1942 British battle that stopped the Axis invasion of Egypt; prevented German capture of the Suez Canal and Middle East oil fields; the turning point in North African campaign
Georgy Zhukov
Russian general; organized the Soviet defenses of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad and led the Red Army offensives into Germany and capture of Berlin; the USSR's most capable commander
Manchurian Operation
Soviet entry into the war against Japan on August 9, 1945 three months after V-E Day as agreed upon at Tehran Conference; 1.5 million Soviet troops overwhelmed Japanese forces in Manchuria, Mongolia, and Korea; a significant factor in Japan's unconditional surrender
comfort women
around 400,000 female sex slaves from Korea, China, the Philippines, and other occupied territories forced to service soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army
Manhattan Project
code name for the Allied research and development of an atomic bomb; successfully tested the first nuclear device in a New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945
Japanese-American internment
forced relocation and incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the U.S. Pacific Coast to concentration camps in the interior American west; due more to racism than security risks
United Nations Charter
foundational treaty of the United Nations signed by 50 states in June 1945; expresses 'universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion' and a commitment to achieving 'higher standards of living' by addressing 'economic, social, health, and related problems'
strategic bombing
military strategy of total war using high-altitude heavy bombardment to destroy enemy morale and the economic ability to produce and transport war materials; killed millions of civilians
Elbe Day
symbolic first contact between American advancing from the west and Soviets advancing from the east on April 25, 1945; met along the Elbe River in eastern Germany
WACS
women's branch of the United States Army; served as switchboard operators, mechanics, bakers, postal clerks, drivers, stenographers, and typists; first women allowed to serve other than nurses
WAVES
women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II; performed shore duties to release men for sea duty
