World History Mr. Reed
Question
Answer
Stalin
Communist dictator of Soviet Union during WWII
Mussolini
Fascist dictator of Italy during WWII
Hitler
Nazi dictator of Germany during WWII
Chiang Kai-Shek Nationalist leader of China during WWII
Churchill
Prime minister of England during WWII
DeGaulee
Led Free-French forces in WWII
F.D. Roosevelt
President of the U.S. during most of WWII; died in 1945
Tojo
Fascist dictator of Japan during WWII
Eisenhower
United States General; made Supreme Allied Commander in Europe
Truman
U.S. President after Roosevelt; decided to use atomic bombs against
Japan
Appeasement
policy of giving in to a nation's demands to avoid war
Non-aggression
pact
two countries agree not to attack one another
Axis Powers
Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII
Embargo
a stoppage of all trade with a country
Allied Powers
Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, China, and the U.S.
Gestapo
Hitler's secret police, mainly used to hunt and torture Jews
Holocaust
the Nazi policy of deliberately murdering Jews and other non-Aryans
Genocide
deliberate attempt to kill an entire people
Concentration
Camps
prison-like camps designed to "hold" Jews and others till they were
murdered
Blitzkrieg
"Lightning War" German tactic of using airplanes and tanks to
surprise the enemy
Vichy
part of France unoccupied by Germans, but controlled by proGerman French
Lend-Lease
(1941) United States policy of "loaning" war materials to Allied
countries
Island Hopping
United States strategy in the Pacific where the U.S. would by-pass
Japanese strongholds and attack smaller islands
Manhattan Project
secret code-name for the U.S. atomic weapons program developed
during WWII
United Nations
created after WWII by the victorious Allies; intended to prevent the
rise of dictatorships and future wars; still in existence today
Israel
Jewish "free" state created by the Allies after WWII in Palestinian
territory; became and independent nation in 1947
Nuremburg Trials
series of court hearing at the end of WWII to convict Nazi war
criminals
Radar
(GB) used to detect airplanes and later, ships
Sonar
(GB) underwater version of radar, used to detect submarines
Bazooka
shoulder-launched rocket designed to let an infantryman disable a
tank
Jet Aircraft
(Ger)advanced engine designs allowed fighters to fly MUCH faster
than propeller-driven aircraft
Aircraft Carrier
(US, Japan) large ship designed to carry airplanes; THE weapon in
the Pacific
LST
(US) large ship used to transport tanks and other large vehicles
directly onto a beach during an invasion
V-1 Rocket
(Ger) terror weapon, world's fist cruise missile
V-2 Rocket
(Ger) terror weapon, world's first ballistic missile
Atomic Bomb
(US) worked under Einstein's theory of splitting an atom; used on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki; forced Japan to surrender
Air-to-Surface
Rocket
(Ger) first "smart" weapon; TV-guided rocket fired from a bomber to
destroy naval targets
Long-Range
Bombers
(US, GB) large aircraft designed to destroy enemy cities and
industries
Magnetic Mines
(US, Ger) underwater mines designed to detonate whenever a ship
got close
Napalm
(US) Highly flammable jelly-like substance used in flame-throwers
and bombs
Acoustic
Torpedoes
(Ger) specialized submarine weapon that only had to be aimed near
its target
Rocket Artillery
(Ger, S.U.) rapid-firing artillery that was used as a terror weapon
against troops
Computer
(US) developed to rapidly calculate artillery aiming and trajectory
Assault Rifle
(Ger) fully automatic hand-weapon; gave each soldier the firepower
of a machine gun
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941 Japan sneak attack on United States Naval Forces;
U.S. enters war
Battle of
Stalingrad
August 1942; stopped German drive into Soviet Union, THE turning
point battle on the Eastern Front
Battle of El
August 1942; British defeat Italy and Germany, THE turning point
Alamein
of the battle in Africa
Battle of Midway
June 1942; THE turning point battle in the Pacific; U.S. stops Japan's
drive on Hawaii
Operation
Overlord
(D-Day) June 6, 1942; Allied invasion of Normandy, France;
establishes 2nd front in Europe; larges amphibious invasion in
history
Battle of the
Bulge
December 1944; last German offensive of WWII; Germans use up
their remaining military supplies and largest US battle of WWII
Battles of Iwo
Jima and
Okinawa
Spring and Summer 1945; US invades islands to secure bases to
invade Japan; costly victory here plays role in US decision to use
atomic bomb
Causes of WWII
*Germany blamed for WWI by Treaty of Versailles*League of
Nations too weak to stop aggression*Great Britain and France's
policy of appeasement toward Hitler*U.S. policy of isolationism
Aggression by totalitarian dictators
Axis Powers
Germany*Italy*Japan and "Others"
Allied Nations
Great Britain*France*Soviet Union*United States*China*"Other
Nations"
Turning Points
Battle of Britain*German Invasion of Soviet Union*Japan Attacks
Pearl Harbor*Battles on specific "Fronts"
Impact of WWII
Cold War begins*Nuremburg War Trials*Division of Germany and
Korea*Creation of United Nations*Establishment of Jewish free
state (Israel)*HUGE amounts of new technology