Transcript 3. WWII America Goes to War

America Goes to War
Stopping Germany
War on 6 fronts:
• North Africa
• Eastern Front
• North Atlantic
• China
• Southeast Asia
• Central Pacific
Stopping Germany
• U.S. pledged to defeat Germany first
• Eastern Front: German victories resulted in
heavy losses for the Soviet Union
• Battle of Stalingrad (Sept. 1942-Feb. 1943) –
German army of 330,000 soldiers was cut off
and defeated by the Soviet Red army (major
turning point of the war in eastern Europe)
Survival of Britain
• 1940-1941: German submarines destroy
hundreds of British merchant ships
• The Battle of the Atlantic forced the British to
reduce reliance on the Atlantic supply lines
• 1939-1944: planning & rationing cut Britain’s
need for imports in half protected convoys –
grouping merchant ships into convoys with
armed escorts allied aircraft with radar &
warships with sonar reduced the effectiveness of
U-Boats in 1943.
Survival of Britain
• Battle of El Alamein (Oct-Nov, 1942) – British
tank forces under Gen. Bernard Montgomery
defeated the German force under Field
Marshal Erwin Rommel who was attempting
to capture the Suez Canal and oil fields of the
Middle East. (major turning point in the
African theatre of war)
Retreat and Stabilization in the Pacific
• Japanese attacks in Southeast Asia
overwhelmed American, British, Dutch, and
Australian forces capturing control of the
South Pacific
• U.S. defeat in the Philippines – fortress of
Corregidor in Manila Bay was surrendered
• Bataan death march was a brutal forced
march of U.S. prisoners by Japanese to prison
camps hundreds of miles away.
Retreat and Stabilization in the Pacific
• Battle of the Coral Sea (May, 1942) – 1st all
aircraft naval battle where the U.S. halted the
Japanese advance toward Australia
• Battle of Midway (June, 1942) – Japanese attack
at Midway Island was an attempt to destroy the
U.S. carrier forces.
• U.S. dive bombers sank or crippled 4 Japanese
carriers ending Japanese efforts to expand in the
Pacific. (major turning point in the Pacific theatre
of war)