Ch 20, Sec 1: Mobilizing for Warand Ch 20, Sec 2: Early Battles

American Success

• U.S. fought on two fronts and won because of:– 1. Patriotism– 2. War Production of supplies/weapons– 3. Desire to beat the Germans

U.S. Mobilizes for War• 1940: U.S. gov’t started preparing for war– Had 50,000 planes built per year– Allowed businesses to make a profit by building

more goods faster (cost-plus contracts)– Paid businesses to convert factories to make

wartime goods (200,000 companies by 1942)

Building Military Supplies• Car Companies:– Started building tanks (85,000) and planes– Also made guns, ammo, helmets, etc

• Liberty Ships:– Cargo ships for supplies– Cheap, hard to sink, and easy to build– Lasted longer than normal ships

Rebuilding the Military

• Military was down sized after WWI• Germany’s success in Europe frightened the

U.S.• FDR ordered the army to add 227,000 men• Created the Selective Service and Training Act– (otherwise known as the draft)

Welcome to the Army

• Soldiers were called GIs• Not enough weapons for training/places to

sleep• Given shots to protect the men from

European, Asian, and African diseases• Trained for 8 weeks and then sent to war• Not well trained but proved effective once the

fighting started

African Americans in WWII• At the start of the war:– Fought in segregated units– Ran by white officers– Were not allowed to fight– Given construction and supply

jobs

“Double V” Campaign

• A strategy for African-Americans to get equality in the U.S.

• Encouraged African Americans to join the war effort to get a double Victory:– End Hitler’s racism– Stop racism within the U.S.

African Americans in Combat• Middle/End of the war:– FDR allowed segregated units to fight– Pushed for recruiting of minorities

• Tuskegee Airmen– All black fighter pilots in Italy– Had the lowest loss ratio of any unit

• 614th Tank Battalion– Fought in Europe/Battle of the Bulge– Awarded 8 Silver Stars, 28 Bronze Starts, and 79

Purple Hearts• Helped break the racial divide

Women in the Army• Used in non-combat roles• Allowed the men to leave jobs to join the

fighting• WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps)-non-

military• WAC (Women’s Army Corps)-military• 68,000 joined as nurses

AlliancesAllies Axis

England (Churchill)France (de Gaulle)U.S. (FDR)Russia (Stalin)

Australia NetherlandsBelgium New ZealandBolivia NorwayBrazil PolandCanada South AfricaChina YugoslaviaDenmark MexicoGreece

Germany (Hitler)Italy (Mussolini)Japan (Hirohito)

FinlandBulgariaHungaryRomania

Japan takes the Philippines

• Attacked the same day as the Pearl Harbor attack

• Gen. MacArthur retreated to the Bataan Peninsula

• U.S. troops lasted for 3 months before surrendering– Gen. MacArthur was moved to Australia before

his troops surrendered

Bataan Death March

• April 9, 1942-U.S. troops surrendered the Philippines

• 78,000 troops were marched to a Japanese prison camp– 1,000s died on the way

Doolittle Raid• FDR’s plan to regain U.S. morale after losing

the Philippines• Sent B-25 bombers to bomb Tokyo, Japan• Revenge for Pearl Harbor• First time U.S. bombs would attack Japan• 71 of 80 men survived

Battle of the Coral Sea: March 1942

• Japan planned to attack New Guinea to cut American supply lines

• U.S. Code breakers intercepted the message• U.S. sent 2 aircraft carriers to ambush the

Japanese fleet• U.S. won but both aircraft carriers were

destroyed/damaged

Battle of Midway: June 4, 1942

• U.S. intercepted another Japanese order to attack the island of Midway

• Japanese fleet ambushed again– 4 of their aircraft carriers were attacked and sunk– Retreated

Results of the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway

• Japanese forced to turn away• Japan lost a large portion of it’s navy• Japan could no longer be on the offensive• Turning point in the war in the Pacific

U.S. in Europe

• Russia (Stalin) begged for the U.S. to attack Germany’s western boundaries

• Britain (Churchill) and U.S. (FDR) decided to attack Germany’s edges in North Africa

U.S. in North Africa• Invaded Morocco and Algeria Nov 8, 1942• Reasons for Africa:– U.S. troops will gain experience in combat– Help British troops fighting German troops in Egypt

(British needed the Suez Canal for resupplying their colonies)

Plan for North Africa

• Gen. Patton would attack with his tank battalion in Morocco and Algeria

• U.S. would push the Germans east to Tunisia• British units would push west from Libya• Germany won at first (killed ld push 7,000

men/200 tanks)• Allies finally defeated the Germans on May

13, 1943

Americans help fight at home• German u-boats attacked cargo ships at sea– Caused an oil shortage

• American cities used “black outs” to protect the boats– Dimmed city lights– Drove with no head lights

• Convoy system created to protect the boats• Radar depth charges, sonar used to sink u-boats

Battle of Stalingrad

• Germany attacked Stalingrad, Russia in the spring of 1942• Key city for industry/trade for Russia• After 6 months, the Germans took the city but

the Russians refused to retreat• Nov 1942-Feb 1943-Russia surrounded the

city and defeated the Germans• Last German offensive of the war