Pearl Harbor and the beginning of War No Turning Back Pearl Harbor and the beginning of War
“A date which will live in infamy” December 7, 1941 Hideki Tojo: “The Razor”, Japanese PM who decides the attack on the US Navy in Hawaii About 2500 American servicemen dead and heavy damage to naval fleet Luckily many ships still at sea
USA Declares War Vote of 388-1 for war Jeanette Rankin Axis countries in war together, so Germany and Italy declare war on the USA
War Mobilization What needed to Change? Everything! Think about World War I mobilization efforts Create and train a fighting force Update/modernize all phases of the military Government involvement in industry to meet war needs
Booming Industry Lend-Lease Act first step War Production Board Office of War Mobilization Allocate scarce goods Regulate prod. of civilian goods Negotiate w/ unions Control Inflation
The End of the Great Depression Unemployment drops drastically Three-fold reason Heavy enlistment in military Women needed to fill jobs Increased production to supply the war effort Government spending ok now?
Military Strategies Allied Powers (USA, UK, USSR) Unified plans Roosevelt, Churchill, & Stalin see Germany as biggest threat. “Europe First” key in two-front war Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) No coordinated strategy Each country/leader had plans for domination
Stalingrad German three-pronged offensive Nazis have early success; eye Russian oil fields Brutal battle, but Hitler won’t let troops retreat Nazis turned back; Soviet Union goes on offensive Turning point of WWII in Europe
Midway Turning point for Americans in the Pacific Japanese attack Midway Island (best defense for Pearl Harbor and Hawaii), plan to take islands off Alaska Chester Nimitz and Navy crack Japanese codes and messages Huge American win
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Truman gives a warning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InTPC6oylK8&feature=related Truman prioritized the need to end war against the decision to bomb civilians Chief obligation was to save American lives Aug 6, 1945 Hiroshima Truman warns Japan again, Soviets declare war Aug 9, 1945 Nagasaki Aug 15, 1945 Japan surrenders