WW2 Final

Vichy France

"Puppet" government in southern France, basically run by the Nazis during the German occupation.

V-J Day

"Victory over Japan day" is the celebration of the Surrender of Japan, which was initially announced on August 15, 1945. The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan's formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.

101st Airborne Division

("Screaming Eagles") a specialized modular light infantry division of the US Army trained for air assault operations. Renowned for its role in Operation Overlord (the D-Day landings and airborne landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France), Operation Market Garden, the liberation of the Netherlands and its action during the Battle of the Bulge around the city of Bastogne, Belgium.

Battle of Stalingrad

(23 August 1942 - 2 February 1943) was the largest confrontation of World War II, turning point in the eastern front; Unsuccessful German attack on the city of Stalingrad from 1942 to 1943, that was the furthest extent of German advance into the Soviet Union. The Red Army surrounded the German 6th army and forced them to surrender outside the city.

Normandy Beaches

1. American: Utah and Omaha. (Omaha was heavily fortified by the Germans compared to Utah) 2. Canadian: Juno. 3. British: Sword and Gold.

3 phases of D-Day

1. Land paratroopers behind enemy lines in order to provide tactical support for infantry divisions on the beaches. 2. Drop bombs on the beaches to take out German defensives and create cover for incoming troops. (the bombing was not very accurate due to the direction in which the planes flew and bomber crews were worried they would bomb the paratroopers.) 3. Ground Forces storm the beaches from landing craft.

Battle of Hürtgen Forest

A series of fierce battles fought from 19 September to 16 December 1944 between American and German forces on the Western Front during World War II in the Hürtgen Forest, (54 sq mi) area about (3.1 mi) east of the Belgian-German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II, and is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought. Cost the U.S. First Army at least 33,000 killed and wounded, including both combat and non-combat losses, with upper estimate at 55,000; German casualties were 28,000.

Daniel Inouye

Japanese American who lost an arm and received the Distinguished Service Cross; later U.S. Senator from Hawaii. In 1943, when the U.S. Army dropped its enlistment ban on Japanese Americans, Inouye curtailed his premedical studies at the University of Hawaii and enlisted in the Army. He volunteered to be part of the segregated all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This army formation was mostly made up of second-generation Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland. Known for his heroic actions breaking the gothic line in Italy and reliving he "Lost Battalion", a battalion of the 141st Infantry Regiment that was surrounded by German forces in the Vosges Mountains region of France.

Bataan Death March

Japanese forced about 60,000 of Americans and filipinos to march 100 miles from Saysain Point to Camp O'Donnell, with little food and water, most died or were killed on the way. The transfer began on April 9, 1942, after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines.

Kamikazes

Japanese pilots who loaded their aircraft with bombs and crashed them into enemy ships.

Bocage

After the battle of the beaches, what historians today commonly call the "hedge war" begins with reference to the particular nature of the terrain on which To evolve the belligerent forces. The hedge warfare, also known as the "bocage", began as early as the day after D-Day and ended at the end of August 1944, when the Allied troops ended up liberating most part of the present-day Basse-Normandie. If foot soldiers crossed over and in to the open field, they would be cut down by machine gun fire. If tanks attempted to go up-and-over the hedgerows, they would expose their lightly-armored undersides to German anti-tank weapons.

American strategy 1941-1942

Allies were at first on the defensive against the onslaught of the Japanese empire.

American strategy 1943-1945

Allies were on the offensive against Japan. Island hopping, was a military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against Japan and the Axis powers during World War II. The idea was to bypass heavily fortified Japanese positions and instead concentrate the limited Allied resources on strategically important islands that were not well defended but capable of supporting the drive to the main islands of Japan.

America First Committee

America First Committee (AFC) was organized in September 1940 to oppose America`s potential intervention in World War II.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

American General who began in North Africa and became the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe.

Omar Bradley

American General who commanded the United States ground forces in the liberation of France and the invasion of Germany in World War II.

George Patton

American General who led American forces in North Africa, and Italy. Criticized for his harsh attitudes towards American foot soldiers.

Bill Mauldin

American cartoonist whose World War II cartoons gave people at home a soldier's point of view regarding life in the army.

Douglas MacArthur

American general, who commanded allied troops in the Pacific during World War II.

Ernie Pyle

American journalist and war correspondent for Stars and Stripes. Reported on World War II in Europe and North Africa from the point of view of an ordinary soldier abroad.

Nisei

American-born children of Japanese immigrants; second generation Japanese Americans.

Battle of Anzio

An amphibious Allied landing that occurred on January 22, 1944. Attempted to draw German troops off the Gustav Line. An expeditionary force commanded by U.S. Major General John P. Lucas secured a beachhead near Anzio and Nettuno on Italy's west coast. German Field Marshall Albert Kesselring commanded a succession of attacks resulting in a stalemate for four months. The Allies finally broke out of the beachhead in late May.

Battle of Coral Sea

Fought on May 7-8 1942; Caused heavy losses on both sides; Japanese won a tactical victory because they sank US carrier Lexington; Americans claimed a strategic victory by stopping Japan's drive towards Australia. First action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other, as well as the first in which neither side's ships sighted nor fired directly upon the other.

Erwin Rommel

German General Nicknamed "Desert Fox" in North Africa, commanded German and Italian armies. Attacked British occupied Egypt and the Suez Canal for the second time. Was defeated at the Battle of El Alamein. Was then moved to France to oversee the defenses before D-Day.

Gustav Line

German army first defensive line established about one hundred miles south of Rome in January 1944.

Hermann Göring

German political and military leader as well as one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945 founded the Gestapo and mobilized Germany for war.

Phases of Combat Motivation

New replacement soilders that replaced fallen soldiers, had no real battle experience yet. Thus, their motivation and battle moral was high and many were Eager to see fighting. However, soldiers who have experienced the harsh realities of war for prolonged periods of time, became disenchanted with war and fighting, lowering their moral and combat motivation. Most Effective Phase: Phase 2.

Buffalo Soldiers

Nickname for the 92nd Infantry Division, was the only African American infantry division to see combat in Europe during World War II, as part of the U.S. Fifth Army, fighting in the Italian Campaign.

Battle of Kursk

Occurred in July 1943 around the Soviet city of Kursk in western Russia, as Germany launched Operation Citadel, Hitler's response to his devastating defeat by the Soviet Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad. The battle was Germany's last chance to regain dominance on the Eastern Front and would be their final blitzkrieg offensive. The Germans gambled on taking the offensive by making use of newly developed heavy tanks. German forces were soundly defeated by Soviets in what is known as the greatest tank battle of WWII. Germans lost eighteen of their best panzer divisions.

Woman Army Corps

U.S. Army unit created during World War II to enable women to serve in noncombat positions. Never before had women, with the exception of nurses, served within the ranks of the U.S. Army. With the establishment of the WACs, more than 150,000 did so.

Battle of Midway

U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers. It marked a turning point in World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to preempt and counter Japan's planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. Allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position.

Pearl Harbor

United States military base on Hawaii that was bombed by Japan on December 7th 1941, bringing the United States into World War II.

Big Red one D-Day

1st Infantry Division, comprised of battle experienced soldiers from Italy and North Africa. Participated in the first wave of troops that stormed the German defenses on Omaha Beach. Fought along side new troops who haven't experienced battle.

Harry Truman

33rd President of the United States. Became president after FDR died. Led the U.S. to victory in WWII making the ultimate decision to use atomic weapons for the first time. Shaped U.S. foreign policy regarding the Soviet Union after the war.

Buffalo Soldiers

92nd Infantry Division, The "Buffalo Soldiers" were an African American infantry division that fought in Italy near the end of the war that helped break through the Gothic Line. They reached their objective, captured or helped to capture nearly 24,000 prisoners and received more than 12,000 decorations and citations for their gallantry in combat. The soldiers of the 92nd Division had proved their worth through months of bitter combat in the Italian campaign.

Battle of Iwo Jima

A battle in February and March 1945 in which U.S. forces took Iwo Jima, a small but strategically important island off the Japanese coast. During the battle, an Associated Press photographer took a world-famous photograph of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on the summit of Mt. Suribachi. e United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army. Capture of the island provided a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. Fiercest and bloodiest fighting in the pacific.

Red Ball Express

A famed truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944 and in the months that followed as the Allies drove to the German border.

Apennines

A mountain range extending the length of the Italian peninsula, heavily fortified by German defensives.

Elbe Day

April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the Elbe River, in Germany, marking an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the East, and the Americans, advancing from the West, meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two.

Non aggression pact

August 23, 1939-shortly before World War II (1939-45) broke out in Europe-enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years.

442nd Infantry Regiment

Best known for its history as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (Nisei) who fought in World War II. Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in the European Theatre, in particular Italy, southern France, and Germany. most decorated unit in U.S. military history, awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations and twenty one Medals of honor.

Bernard Montgomery

British general who led an attack at El Alamein and was able to drive the Germans away from the Suez Canal. Disappointed because he was not labeled Supreme Allied Commander of the European theater.

Operation Overlord

Code name for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day. 160,000 Allied forces landed in Nazi-occupied France as part of the biggest air, land and sea invasion ever executed.

Operation Torch

Codename for allied invasion of North Africa. Began in Early November 1942. American forces invaded Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, territory nominally in the hands of the Vichy French government. As the British were advancing from Egypt, The allies were eventually able to carry out a pincer operation against Axis forces in North Africa. Axis forces surrendered in Tunisia in May 1943.

Chester W. Nimitz

Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. One of the navy's foremost administrators and strategists, he commanded all land and sea forces in the central Pacific area.

Mark Clark

Commander of the US Fifth Army and later the 15th Army Group, in the Italian campaign. He is known for leading the Fifth Army in its capture of Rome in June 1944. Was criticized for disobeying orders and allowing the German 10th army to slip away in oder to capture Rome, a strategically unimportant city.

Italian Campaign

Consisted of the Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Occurred form 10 July 1943 - 2 May 1945.

Omaha Beach

Deadliest beach landing on D-Day because of deep water, little to no cover, and bunkers with Germans and machine guns targeting soldiers as they got out of their landing craft.

Battle of the Bulge

December, 1944-January, 1945 - After recapturing France, the Allied advance became stalled along the German border. In the winter of 1944, Germany staged a massive counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg which pushed a 30 mile "bulge" into the Allied lines. The Allies stopped the German advance and threw them back across the Rhine with heavy losses.

Allied bombing of Germany

In World War II approximately 410,000 German civilians were killed by Allied air raids. U.S bombed during the day, and the RAF bombed during the night. Together they made up a round-the-clock bombing effort targeting both cites and high valued military targets. Occurred from June 1943 to April 1945.

The role of plans in naval battles

In many naval battles, enemy ships did not directly attack each other, rather it was an aerial battle, in which fighter jets saw more combat.

Alaska

In the Battle of the Aleutian Islands (June 1942-August 1943), U.S. troops fought to remove Japanese garrisons established on a pair of U.S.-owned islands west of Alaska. In June 1942, Japan had seized the remote, sparsely inhabited islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands. It was the only U.S. soil Japan would claim during the war in the Pacific.

North African Campaign

June 1940 to May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War) and in Morocco and Algeria (Operation Torch), as well as Tunisia (Tunisia Campaign). Included Battles at Oran, Casablanca, Algiers, and Tunis. American came from the west and the British came from the east. They formed a pincer movement and forced the Axis out of North Africa into Sicily then Italy.

Doolittle Raid

Known as the Tokyo Raid, on Saturday, April 18, 1942, was an air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on the island of Honshu during World War II, the first air operation to strike the Japanese Home Islands.

Battle of Okinawa

Last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. On April 1, 1945—Easter Sunday—the Navy's Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The 82-day battle lasted from April 1 until June 22, 1945.

Neutrality Acts

Laws passed in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 to limit U.S. involvement in future wars. They were based on the widespread disillusionment with World War I in the early 1930s and the belief that the United States had been drawn into the war through loans and trade with the Allies.

Battle of Corregidor

May 5-6, 1942. The culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. (FINAL SURRENDER OF US TROOPS). The U.S. Army recaptured the island in 1945.

VE Day

May 8, 1945; "Victory in Europe Day" when the Germans surrendered.

Atomic bombs

On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber called Enola Gay, dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb called little boy, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, on August 9, 1945 a second B-29 called bockscar, dropped another A-bomb called fat man on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his country's unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of "a new and most cruel bomb."

Operation Market Garden

Operation developed by General Field Marshall Montgomery—largest airborne operation; Allied operation in Netherlands and Germany that required the capture/control of several bridges along a predetermined route crossing the lower Rhine which would give a direct entrance for Allied forces into Germany. While a great idea, the last bridge was not captured resulting in the entire operation becoming a complete failure.

Operation Fortitude

Planned December 1943 - March 1944; code name for the deception leading up to the D-Day invasion in which the Allies tried to convince the Axis Powers of a false attack on another location (Palais).

Lend Lease

Proposed in late 1940 and passed in March 1941, the Lend-Lease Act was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. It authorized the president to transfer arms or any other defense materials for which Congress appropriated money to "the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States."

Cash and carry

Replaced the Neutrality Acts of 1937, by which belligerents could purchase only nonmilitary goods from the United States as long as the recipients paid immediately in cash and assumed all risk in transportation using their own ships. The "Cash and Carry" revision allowed the purchase of military arms to belligerents on the same cash-and-carry basis.

Gothic Line

Second defensive line established by German army in mid-1944 after the Gustav Line had been broken.

Tunisian Campaign

Series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African Campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces. 17 November 1942 - 13 May 1943, allied victory.

Paul Fussell

Served in the 103rd Infantry Division during World War II and was wounded in fighting in France. Best known for his writings about World War I and II, which explore what he felt was the gap between the romantic myth and reality of war. Received purple heart and bronze star.

Monte Cassino

Site of the oldest monastery in western Christianity in Italy monastery, destroyed during WWII by Allied bombers mistaking the building to be a German observation post.

Appeasement

The Munich Pact of 1938, negotiated between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler. Chamberlain, the prime minister of Britain, allowed Hitler to annex part of Czechoslovakia to Germany.

Siegfried Line

The defensive line in Germany opposite the Maginot that separated and protected Germany from France.

Operation Husky

The invasion of Sicily, began on July 10, 1943, with combined air and sea landings involving 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships and 4,000 aircraft, all directed at the southern shores of the island.

Battle of Guadalcanal

Was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan. Allied victory forced Japanese forces to abandon the island.

Battle of the Philippines

Was the invasion of the philippines by Japan from December 8, 1941- May 8, 1942. The defense of the islands was by Filipino and United States Forces. The conquest of the Philippines by Japan is often considered the worst military defeat in United States history. About 23,000 American military personnel were killed or captured, while Filipino soldiers killed or captured totaled around 100,000.