War for Europe and North Africa - Part II

6. What was D-Day?
D-Day was when 3 million british american and canadian soldiers gathered together to attack the beaches of Normandy. This was the first day of the invasion, And at night soldiers parachuted down into German lines and thousands of soldiers were carried onto the shore. The Germans were waiting for them though, and had set up fortifications. Many were slaughtered because they were sitting ducks once they got off of the boats. Many also died because the boats dropped them off too early and so the water was too deep and they were weighed down by their equipment, and so they sunk to the bottom and drowned.

7. What happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
When America captured the first German town, Hitler retaliated by sending his troops to try and break through the Allies Lines and recapture Antwerp. This was the battle of the bulge, and the German tank divisions broke through the American defenses because they were weak. The tanks kept going into the Allied territory, which created a sort of bulge which is where the name comes from.

8. What did Allied troops find in Germany?
The allied troops found the death camps that were in Germany.

9. What happened to Hitler? What happened to F.D. Roosevelt? Who became U.S. President?
After the death camps were found, Hitler committed suicide because he did not want to be tortured. FDR had a stroke and died after, and Truman was elected as president.

War for Europe & North Africa

1. To what did Roosevelt and Churchill agree early in the war?
They agreed that the U.S would focus on Hitler before the Pacific, because Churchill believed Hitler was more important.

2. Why was winning the Battle of the Atlantic so crucial to the fortunes of the Allies?
Winning the Battle of the Atlantic was so crucial to the fortunes of the Allies because it made ships able to carry troops and supplies safely across the Atlantic Ocean. It also gave them the oppurtunity to focus their naval forces and supplies in other places.

3. Why was the Battle of Stalingrad so important?
The battle of Stalingrad was so important because it was a major turning point on the Eastern Front. Hitler lost an entire army in the battle and this crushed any hope of him ever defeating the Soviet Union. Furthermore it opened another front that Germany had to defend.

4. What happened in the war in North Africa?
In the war in North Africa the allies went to help the British that were already stationed their defend against Rommel as well as continue the attack from the western side. This allowed the Allies to make another front to try and take away some of the pressure that was being put on the Soviet Union, as well as make a base from which they could attack Sicily and then Italy and then in the end Germany in the south side, but they did not succeed.

5. What happened after the Allies invaded Italy?
After the Allies invaded Italy Moussolini was overthrown by the Italian people, and so the Italians thought that this had withdrawn them from the war. This was not true though, and the Germans remained in Italy trying to fight off the Allied Forces until the end of the war.

"Isolationism" and FDR (1935 - 1941)

1. What were the goals of the isolationists? Why is "isolationism" a misleading term?

Isolationists thought that they shouldnt join any more wars because the rest of the world did not share any of their interests. Isolationism is a misleading term because it makes it seem like the US wants to isolate itself away from the rest of the world, which wasnt the case at all because it just had to do with wars.

2. What did some isolationists feel that there was no need for Americans to feel threatened by developments in Europe and Asia?

They felt like they did not need to feel threatened because we are seperated from them by oceans and we had friendly alliances with them so there was nothing to be feared.

3. What were the purposes of the Nye Committee hearings?

The NYE committee hearings were to investigate why the US joined WWI, and if they were found to share them with the american people to stop any troubles abroad.

4. List two impressions that the Nye Committee hearings created.
The NYE Committee Hearings created the impressions that Men had died in the war because companies wanted profits because war boosts some business and industry because of the need for supplies, and that the banks also had a stake in things.

5. What were the purposes of the Neutrality Acts?
The purpose of the Neutrality Acts were to keep Americans more neutral by stopping trade that could aid one side over the other in war.

6. List two reasons that some Americans considered Roosevelt's leadership radical and dangerous.
He wanted intrusive government a lot and also because he held a lot of power over the people.

7. What was "Cash and Carry"?
Crash and Carry said that it was okay for people to trade with belligerents but they had to get the goods themselves because of the US's lack of being able to ship to them.

8. Why did President Roosevelt freeze Japanese assets in the United States?
He thought that us not getting involved with Japan would stop the Japanese from moving forward.

9. What was the purpose of the America First Committee?
The purpose of the America First Committee was to keep america out of war and look after our own interests.