THE PATH TO WWII

The Rise of Dictators

Post War Attitudes

As Lenin died, Josef Stalin rose to take control of Russia He had a new vision, one of collectivization and state control People were forced into new occupations, those who resisted were placed in labor camps or executed The Soviet people suffered greatly at first but throughout the 1930s the nation rose dramatically So great was Russias ascension that many praised communism as a savior from the depression

Post War Attitudes

Behind the backdrop of Russias amazing transformation, Stalin consolidated all power to himself From 1934 to 1939 Stalin began to great purge to eliminate all opposition from within Of the 149 members of the communist committee, 98 were shot dead 260 of the 300 party officials in Georgia were executed Trotsky and Bukharin were hunted down and eliminated

SOVIET PHOTO EDITING

Post War Attitudes

Mass paranoia erupted across the country as everyone suspected conspirators against Stalin Fingers were pointed and blame cast everywhere if quotas were not maintained At least 750,000 people were eliminated during the great purge The purge was widely popular as it took down the wealthy and powerful Through the restructure of the economy, success of the new industry the great purge and ever present propaganda, Stalin ruled Russia alone

Post War Attitudes

Fascism originated in Italy In 1915, Italy entered the War in behalf of the allies They figured the rewards would be great and it would serve to unify and strengthen the new nation Benito Mussolini, a socialist journalist shared these views Because the socialist party in Italy opposed the war, he broke with them and joined the army

Post War Attitudes

He fought until he was wounded in 1917 When the war ended he sought to join the realm of politics and translate the military camaraderie and exhilaration of violent action he had experienced on the front The result was a new political ideology called fascism In March of 1919, Mussolini and about 100 WWI veterans gathered in Milan and declared themselves the fascist movement

Post War Attitudes

The Arditi uniform or blackshirt became the fascist badge of identity Mussolini became a powerful figure in Italy and worked to control the nation Italy, like Germany and many other nations in Europe experience a great deal of political turmoil following WWI From 1919-20 over 1 million workers went on strike, factories were seized and land was taken Communists were wrenching control

Post War Attitudes

In fear of a communist revolution like that in Russia, the Italian people turned to Mussolini and his fascists to stop it In 1922, Mussolini entered negotiations with King Victor Immanuel III to make him prime minister The purpose was to create an alliance against communism In a carefully orchestrated display of power, Mussolini symbolically marched on Rome

Post War Attitudes

All fascists and anti-communist were expected to join the march in an act of unification Over the next four years Mussolini used legal and illegal methods to root out and execute political opponents and make Italy a one party state By 1926 he had succeeded Victor Immanuel remained the head state official but all power resided in Mussolinis hands

Post War Attitudes

Fascism was Mussolinis belief that the nation was the dominant social reality With a unifying force, the Italian people could accomplish anything Everything one did surrounded a type of worship of the state By 1939 people were holding mass gatherings, cultural outings all to celebrate Italian culture and Il Duce They were taught not to question but to believe that Mussolini was always right

Post War Attitudes

Following WWI, Germany struggled to switch to a democratic form of government The new Weimar Republic was weak and divided Acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles brought a strong element of criticism against the new Republic Many were upset with the loss in the War and the stipulations it had agreed to

Post War Attitudes

The Weimar Republic accepted the blame for the war, loss of territories and agreement to reparations Its constitution guaranteed universal suffrage, direct elections of parliament [Reichstag] and a president It provided proportional representation and gave voice to radical groups It also adopted a clause that in time of emergency a temporary dictator could run the nation alone

Post War Attitudes

Following the end of WWI, Germany struggled to obtain political stability The government was criticized From 1918-19 a small communist revolution took place and gave power to the less radical Democratic Socialist Party They bickered with the Kaisers old aristocracy for control which was still supported by many The SPD [English] and old aristocrats unified under the cause to root out communists

Post War Attitudes

Both sides supported a group of radical military thugs called the Free Corps They attacked the communist soviet in Munich, killing over 600 people By creating this alliance to root out communists however they undermined the Weimar Republic The aristocrats were given voice and constantly opposed anything the democrats did The Free Corps was at the heart of the problem

Post War Attitudes

They like the aristocrats opposed democracy in favor of a constitutional monarchy In 1920, the Free Corps was disbanded as Germanys military restrictions were put into effect Angry ex-corps men joined right wing politician Wolfgang Kapp and WWI hero Erich Ludendorf in effort to overthrow the Republic The Kapp Putsch uprising failed but the free corps members just went underground

Post War Attitudes

In 1923, members of the Kapp Putsch tried once again to overthrow the government, this time led by a former army corporal named Adolf Hitler This second attempt, The Beer Hall Putsch also failed The sentence however was laughably light showing that many in the German Republic were not happy with the government Hitler, while in jail penned Mein Kampf Following the attempts, German sentiment continued to reach a boiling point again the Republic

Post War Attitudes

Many ex soldiers criticized the Republic for giving up on the war The Weimar Republic continued to deteriorate in 1923 In that year the German mark collapsed completely and money became worthless In protest of the monetary repayment by the Treaty of Versailles the Republic refused to pay This refusal was answered when the French invaded and seized the Rurh Valley

Post War Attitudes

German workers refused to work for the French and went on strike The Republic then began to print more and more money to pay the striking workers Inflation rates skyrocketed from 4:1 to the US dollar to 22,400:1 and then months later to 440,000,000:1 Germans could scarcely afford to buy a loaf of bread In reaction, France pulled out in 1924 and the German economy stabilized In the end though, it damaged further the Weimar government

THE PATH TO WWII

The Rise of Dictators

Post War Attitudes

Italy, Germany, Russia all became authoritarian states Spain in 1931 voted to end its monarchy in favor of a democratically elected republican government In 1936 a Popular Front movement comprising of socialists and communists took office In July, a right wing movement of military officers led a full out rebellion against it The coup turned into an international issue

Post War Attitudes

Italy and Germany both supported the coup led by right wing Francisco Franco The Socialist Republican government asked democracies throughout the world for help but only the USSR answered Soviet tanks and planes attempted to protect the capital city of Madrid against Franco but divisions within the Republican government over Russia led to its demise The major democratic nations remained neutral

Post War Attitudes

The War lasted until 1939 when Francos forces won Over 400,000 men and women died in the war and an additional 200,000 in the years after Franco purged the nation of socialists and began an era of authoritarian rule To many it proved just how fragile democracy was and how easy it could be toppled

Post War Attitudes

Nothing however was more disturbing and threatening that what began to occur in Germany Adolf Hitlers rise as dictator came swiftly and his power was complete He was born in Austria and made a meager living as a painter He was absorbed in the nations antiSemitic nationalism that abounded prior to the outbreak of WWI As the War broke out, he was eager to join the German cause and served as a German solider until blinded by a poison gas attack in 1918

Post War Attitudes

The NAZI party began as a small fringe group which Hitler quickly climbed the ranks Nazi is shorthand for National Socialist Workers Party Its title however was a lie, it had nothing to do with socialism or worker rights Race, not class, was what in constituted

Post War Attitudes

To Hitler, history was the study of racial struggle and Jews were always the enemy Jewishness was a biological enemy, a toxic infection that could spread and needed to be controlled if not eradicated Stopping it was of the utmost importance to keep the Aryan race pure Hitler also exalted the nation above all else, just like his counterpart Mussolini in Italy

Post War Attitudes

Just a important as stopping Jews was stopping the plague of communism In fact he linked communism and Judaism together as a plot of world domination Nazism appealed to people like Hitler It gave them voice, a simple explanation of history, a promise of a better future and a scapegoat for personal and national problems By the time of the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, membership only stood at 55,000

Post War Attitudes

While the Beer Hall Putsch was a failure it gained for Hitler a national audience No one forgot the trial or his speeches His book was read across the country After emerging from jail he focused on gaining power through political means The Nazis made goals to infiltrate all levels of society. Union groups, universities, parliament The party held rallies every year and emblazoned propaganda

Post War Attitudes

Despite the Nazi voice which echoed everywhere in Germany by 1928 they received on 2.6% of the national vote A year later though everything changed when the stock market fell Germany had no answer for the depression. Parliament only met for 13 days in all of 1932 German chancellor Heinrich Bruning began to turn to the Nazis as a stopgap for the crisis He first called in the presidential decree that put WWI hero Paul Hindenburg in total control

Post War Attitudes

Hindenburg was now in his 80s and was easily manipulated By 1932, with parliament in disarray the Nazis controlled the majority That same year they won 37% of the national vote Communism at the same time was on the rise in Germany Terrified at the resurgence of the communist threat, Hindenburg began to use the Nazis to stop them He offered Hitler the position of Chancellor in 1933

Post War Attitudes

Hindenburg believed that Hitler could be easily controlled and used to stop communism Hitler reacted quickly to eradicate all communists He seized all communists presses and buildings He took power to imprison without warrant or trial It was at this time that Reichstag caught fire and communists were wrongly blamed

Post War Attitudes

By March of 1933, German politicians in fear of imprisonment by Hitler gave him the right to pass legislation without parliamentary majority By 1933, German democracy was dead Presented as a means to end German shame from WWI and to restore the German economy, the nation turned to Nazism Hitler pattered his propaganda machine after the Fascists and made it clear to everyone that there was one man in charge, the Fuhrer

Post War Attitudes

During the 1930, Jews, communists and socialists were rooted out and declared enemies of the state He began to restore the German economy through deficit spending He built up the Autobahn and invested heavily in public works Unemployment went from 44% in 1932 to 14% in 1934 Even though many conditions were worse, such as food and consumer goods, Germans believed life was better

Post War Attitudes

Social Welfare programs provided workers cheap vacations, theater and concert tickets and weekend outings Hitler had emerged as an economic savior and the people of Germany were willing to listen to anything he said Due to the Great Depression, repayment for WWI was suspended and Hitler never resumed paying it Instead he began to rebuild the German military Through the use of mass military demonstrations he reestablished German national pride

Post War Attitudes

The early party rallies that helped bring the Nazis to power by 1938 were swelling masses No one in Germany wanted to miss out on the party rallies In order to secure power Hitler had to root out the impure and all political opponents The Nazis persecuted religious groups on their presumed resistance to the Nazi state Roman Catholics faced constant harassment and over 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were sent to labor camps

Post War Attitudes

They also waged war on who they viewed biologically inferior Gypsies were sterilized as were the mentally and physically handicapped and mixed raced children, mainly Africans By 1939 over 370,000 women had been sterilized Jews however, less than 1% of the German population, bore the brunt of the attacks In 1935 the Nuremberg Laws started to rid Germany of all jews Everything would reach a boiling point in 1938

The Second World War

~WWII Begins~

The Coming of War

In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia Mussolini wanted to restore Italian pride and avenge their defeat in 1896 The League of Nations were willing to avert their eyes if Italy allowed Ethiopian Independence When the war broke out western nations were enraged It was a clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles

The Coming of War

Due to popular opinion, the League of Nations enacted an embargo It was weak and the British allowed the Italians to use the Suez They also failed to cut off Italys oil Mussolini felt betrayed and after the event sought an alliance with Germany

The Coming of War

While this event transpired, Japan invaded China China was embroiled in a Civil War and could do little The US protested the invasion but did little else The worst was the Rape of Nanking The city was ruthlessly slaughtered and 20,000 bodies of women and children were left to rot in the streets Babies were killed, women were gang raped and it was just the begining

The Coming of War

In Germany, Adolf Hitler had brilliantly worked his way to become dictator In 1933 he backed out of the League of Nations He began to restore Germanys ailing economy by massive public works projects Then, in clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles, started to rearm Germany

The Coming of War

In 1936, Germany and Italy formed the Rome/Berlin Axis This was also a violation of the treaty Later that same year, German armies poured into the neutral Rhineland and seized it Europeans stood idly by, their attention on the Great Depression They adopted a policy of Appeasement

The Coming of War

In 1938, Germany once again broke the Treaty by annexing Austria [Anschluss] Hitler then demanded that the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia be relinquished Since it was comprised of Germans it too was seized This time it appeared Hitler had gone too far as France and the USSR vowed to protect Czechoslovakia

The Coming of War

In urgency, Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain boarded a plane and ew to Germany to negotiate Hitler signed a treaty [Munich Agreement] saying he was happy and would advance no further Chamberlain was proclaimed a hero across the world as he had avoided war Six months later Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia

The Coming of War

At the same time, Hitler and Stalin entered into the NonAggression Pact It plead the two powers would not attack one another and secretly planed a division of Poland and promised the USSR Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania On September 1,1939 Germany invaded Poland Two days later, France and Britain declared War

The Second World War

The rst world war stalemated rather quickly Between wars, Germany studied what had gone wrong in the rst world war They speculated that the use of airplanes and tanks followed by a large foot army could avoid a similar stalemate When the German army poured into Poland, that new tactic went into effect

The Second World War

Moving like a great st, over 1300 German planes [Luftwaffe] stormed into Poland They quickly destroyed the inferior Polish Air force, most before they even got off the ground They bombed vital supply lines and communications Quickly following came a massive ground assault with armored cars and tanks

The Second World War

The Polish army still relied on foot soldiers and horses Utilizing this new tactic Germany quickly took Poland in just 10 days Western newspaper reporters dubbed Germanys new tactic blitzkrieg or lightning war Europeans were about to experience blitzkrieg rsthand

The Second World War

In the Spring of 1940 Germany, using the same tactic, invaded Denmark and Norway The Netherlands fell in 4 days In May, they stormed into Belgium and with Allied support resisted for two weeks After the conquest of Belgium, the Germans moved around the Maginot Line and into France

The Second World War

The British along with several French divisions found themselves trapped on the French coast at Dunkirk Their total destruction seemed inevitable The British RAF found them and held off the Luftwaffe as a otilla of shing boats raced to save the trapped soldiers On June 4, 1940, 110,000 French and 240,000 British soldiers were evacuated

The Second World War

In Britain crowds cheered the success of the miracle Churchill however said, wars are not won by evacuations For the next two weeks the German army continued its March into France On June 14th, Paris fell The French assembly disbanded and handed control to Marshal Philippe Petain

The Second World War

The Vichy Regime, after the fall of Paris, Petain chose a new capital and signed an armistice with Germany It also gave France full cooperation with Nazi Germany Theoretically Petain was the voice of France but it was Hitler who made all decisions 1 million French soldiers became prisoners of war After only one year, Hitler had seized all of mainland Europe

The Second World War

~The Battle for Britain~

The Second World War

After the fall of France, Hitler hoped that Britain would negotiate peace and allow German dominance of the mainland Britain refused In Britain, party politics were suspended and they turned to a one party delegation headed by Churchill Chamberlain and his weak policy of appeasement were shown the door

The Second World War

Churchill promised Victory at all costs! With Britains refusal to negotiate, Germany prepared a land invasion Hitler realized that ships crossing the Channel under re from the RAF was a bad idea As a precondition for the invasion, Hitler determined to destroy the RAF

The Second World War

On July 10, 1940 German planes began bombing British cities beginning the Battle for Britain Britain constructed a shield of planes, anti-aircraft guns and radar towers Radar continually gave the British an edge, that and the amazing production of planes which produced double the amount Germany could

The Second World War

After months of ghting high above southern England, the British began to falter Hitler grew impatient with the long strategy of bombing runways and the RAF He turned his strategy to attack cities, mainly London This gave the RAF time to rebuild and rest

The Second World War

Soon the RAF was back in the skies as strong as when the battle started Hitler once again grew impatient and the window to cross the Channel closed On September 17, 1940 he announced the invasion of Britain was postponed Britain, for the time being, was safe

The Second World War

Britain was never truly part of Hitlers goal The Soviet Union however was Hitler believed the German people needed the rich agricultural lands and raw materials Russia could provide As early as July of 1940 he had begun planning an invasion of the Soviet Union He hated both Jew and Russian alike

The Second World War

Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union was to commence in April of 1941 Italy however would thwart those designs Italy lacked the money, military and industrial base to ght a large scale war Yet in 1940 they attacked British holdings in North Africa In October they attempted to invade Greece

The Second World War

This Italy did because of the mistreatment by Hitler By the Spring of 1941, erce British and Greek resistance had stopped the Italians Hitler feared a British presence in Greece. Thought the RAF could attack Nazi holdings German control of the Balkans provided food, livestock, aluminum and tin More importantly, most oil in Germany came from Romania

The Second World War

This caused Germany to delay the invasion of Russia First came the German invasion of Yugoslavia German soldiers then parachuted into Greece and later tank support arrived Greece fell in the early Spring Rommel assisted and defeated the British in North Africa in the 1st phase of the war in Africa

The Second World War

While a success, these actions postponed the invasion of the Soviet Union The invasion planed in April did not begin until June While they enjoyed success early in the invasion, it would led to their demise The Nazis would not secure the Soviet Union before the brutal Russian winter

The Second World War

Operation Barbarossa was the Nazi codename for the invasion of Russia Stalin was surprised, he had not been prepared for a German invasion The Nazi forces were brutal and cruel to the Russian people They stripped from Russia all its agriculture, grain and livestock They created a vast human made famine

The Second World War

The atrocities strengthened the Russian will to resist Just like the storm troopers in WWI, the Germans actually had moved too fast Soon they were outpacing their supply and communication lines Those that remained were frequently attacked by saboteurs In October the weather worsened

The Second World War

An early snow fell which then melted causing tanks and artillery to sink Weeks later the ground froze making many roads impassible German soldiers came dressed in Spring clothing and the early winter caught many freezing to death By the end of the winter more than 30% of the East German Army had died

The Second World War

The Germans encountered erce Russian resistance in the cities of Leningrad and Stalingrad Caught by the Russian winter and the urban combat the Blitzkrieg grew to a halt The Russians became increasingly more motivated by the day

The Second World War

As the German advance slowed, factories and industries were stripped down and sent out of German reach Many of the factories were reconstructed in Siberia With the stalemate in Stalingrad the Russians were allowed time to rebuild their army Factories far out of German reach began rebuilding tanks, plans and weapons

The Second World War

By 1943, the Soviet Union was outproducing Germany 24,000 tanks to 17,000 130,000 artillery pieces to 27,000 35,000 planes to 25,000 In total war, victory occurs just as much in a nations factory as it does on the battleeld The Russians were wining

The Second World War

With Russia taking the brunt of the German attack, Britain began to rebuild Wars were fought at sea as the German submarines attempted to blockade Britain Britain continued however to receive a lot of aid, mainly from the US US Congress passed the LendLease Act which gave Britain free military supplies until wars end

The Second World War

~Japanese Aggression/US Entry~

The Japanese Empire

Japan had resisted western ways of life for centuries In 1856, the US kicked down the door of Japan and forced them to trade Japan realized how far behind the west they were and rushed to modernize Japan had been ruled by the Shogun, a military leader In 1867, the Emperor returned to power [Meiji Restoration]

The Japanese Empire

Under the emperor, Japan developed a new government and military based on Germany In 1894-95 they fought against China over the control of Korea In 1904-05 they fought Russia and defeated them at sea entering the world stage Japan stationed soldiers in Manchuria [China] and Korea During WWI the Japanese attacked German holdings in China

The Japanese Empire

No major western nation gave Japan much thought Their navy and army continued to grow in power During the 1920s Japans industry grew and modernized Their government changed to a two party parliamentary system Many companies formed huge monopolies When the economy crashed, the government was blamed

The Japanese Empire

Many political assassinations took place and the army gained increasing power Japan, as an island nation, needed raw materials as industrialization used up their own In 1932, the military seized Northern Chinas Manchuria region for resources and living space The military pried a great deal of power away from the government

The Japanese Empire

In 1937, the Japanese turned a minor clash with China at the Marco Polo Bridge into full scale war Japanese warplanes ruthlessly bombed Chinese cities The Rape of Nanjing saw 100,000 people mercilessly killed The US supported China by sending supplies along the Burma Road The US sent the Flying Tigers to protect Japanese civilians

The Japanese Empire

Japan also began expanding into the Pacic When WWII started, Japan and Hitler formed an alliance Japan seized French Indo-China The US responded by ceasing to trade iron and steel to Japan Then Roosevelt ceased sending oil to Japan Japan had to either listen to the US or stop expanding

The Japanese Empire

The military, under new Prime Minster Hideki Tojo, advocated War Japan and the US were in peace negotiations when the Japanese eet set sail The US scrambled intelligence to locate their destination A Japanese eet of 6 aircraft carriers and 20 cruisers where on their way to Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor
US had moved its Navy to Pearl in anticipation of problems Pearl seen as a safe harbor, the water was too shallow for torpedoes The US still did not know where the Japanese navy was Sunday, December 7, 1941, while sailors slumbered, over 350 Japanese planes struck They caught the US completely o guard

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Soldiers were not warned or prepared Most soldiers were sleeping in after a Saturday night Ammo lockers were locked Radar warning mistaken as US bombers Ships were packed tightly together, the Japanese had new torpedoes It was a recipe for destruction

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The worst destruction was sustained by the USS Arizona High range bomber hit a luck shot, piercing the ammo deck Almost 1,200 sailors were killed in the blast USS Oklahoma also suered a devastating blow A high torpedo caused it to capsize, many drowned within

Attack on Pearl Harbor

When smoke cleared, 2,400 American lives were lost 5 battleships and 2 destroyers sunk 188 planes destroyed Japanese losses were minimal Attack was heralded as a success but it did have its share of problems

Mistakes
There was supposed to be a 3rd strike It was called o and could have delivered a death blow No aircraft carriers were in the harbor Most were raised, xed and sent back into action Japan did not realize how quickly the US would revoce With the attack US entered WWII and declared war on Japan and Germany

The Second World War

~War in the Pacic~

Niihau Incident
Something else occurred during the Pearl Harbor Attack It is a lesser known story but very important A Japanese pilot, Shigenori Nishikaichi crash landed on the island of Niihau The remote Hawaiian Island was to be used as a refuge for damaged Japanese planes It was though to be uninhabited but was home to over 130 Hawaiians A sub was to pick up survivors

Niihau Incident
The Japanese pilot was quickly taken captive by a native by Hawila Kaleohano That night a faction occurred as Japanese Hawaiians sprung the pilot in the night The incident ended in bloodshed and was later reported to President Roosevelt FDR feared other possible uprisings amongst Japanese Americas Therefor he issued Executive Order 9066, internment of all Japanese Americans

Niihau Incident
During the course of the war, over 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned They created 10 camps where Japanese Americans were forced to live and work Those who lived in them felt betrayed by their country, others sought to prove themselves in war Most camps were in the midwest including: Utah Topaz Idaho Minidoka Wyoming Heart Mountain

Japanese Offensive
The Attack on Pearl Harbor was only one part of a coordinated attack on the US On the same day, and for days afterward, the Japanese attacked various islands in South East Asia Most important to the US was the Philippines a US territory Soldiers were caught o guard, but fought and prolonged full Japanese victory until April of 1942

Japanese Offensive
By that same month of that year, Japan had captured nearly every island in the Pacic They were even making plans to invade and capture Australia The US soldiers who were captured during this assault were heavily mistreated by Japanese soldiers Many were worked to death US Navy Hero Douglas MacArthur was forced to leave the Philippines where he was stationed

Japanese Offensive
MacArthur knew his soldiers were ghting a losing battle but FDR did not want him captured He was rescued and own out, but MacArthur replied to his men, Whence I came, I shall return After his departure, the Japanese captured the Bataan Peninsula Over 1000 US and 5000 Philippine soldiers died as they were marched over 90 miles without water

Japanese Offensive
The situation in April of 1942 for the US in the Pacic was bleak They had lost a good deal of their eet at Pearl Harbor They had lost many islands of the Pacic including the Philippines Japan was quickly making moves to attack and capture Australia The US however was about to rebound

The Second World War

In May, 1942, the Japanese had amassed a formidable force intent on capturing Australia The US learned of the plans and sent its navy and 2 aircraft carriers, Lexington and Yorktown The subsequent ght was called the Battle of the Coral Sea and was fought off the Solomon Islands Both sides heavily attacked with aircraft The US lost the Lexington and almost the Yorktown A tactical victory went to Japan, but the US did successfully stop the invasion of Australia due to the amount of fuel used by Japan

The Second World War

The Japanese had hoped to draw the US Navy into battle They wanted to destroy the aircraft carriers they missed at Pearl To lure the Americans, they attacked a small aireld at Midway The American planes were out of date and ill equipped to deal with the Japanese Navy which had not lost in over 300 years

The Second World War

As planned, the US Navy did send into action its aircraft carriers against Midway The Japanese had counted on only on two carriers but the USS Yorktown, thought sunk at Guadalcanal, joined the Hornet and Enterprise In addition, the US had broken the Japanese naval codes and learned of their positions

The Second World War

Despite this knowledge, the US still faced a daunting battle The Japanese had far better airplanes The worlds best torpedoes The US ships by comparison were clunky and slow Its planes at this point in the war were incapable of piercing the decks and hulls of the Japanese ships

The Second World War

As the American carriers arrived, they found Midway under heavy attack The Japanese were having no problems destroying the aireld and imsy US airplanes Once in range all three US carriers put all planes into the air It was a frantic search to nd the Japanese before they learned of the American arrival

The Second World War

15 TBD Devastator bombers left in search of the Japanese aircraft carriers They were so slow that the ghter squadron assigned to protect them quickly outpaced them Undeterred, they ew on and were the rst to nd a Japanese aircraft carriers For Japanese ghter planes, it was like shooting sh in a barrel

The Second World War

All 15 Devastators were destroyed, only one pilot survived This amazing sacrice of American pilots would however win the battle The Japanese were surprised by the American arrival They all thought they had come from Midway

The Second World War

It was such a heyday that it attracted the attention of all Japanese ghter planes The rest were on deck, being refueled for another run on Midway High above, US Dauntless bombers appeared and began bombing the wooden decks of the Japanese ships

The Second World War

The Dauntless bomber was an inferior plane as well Its bombs were so weak they could not even pierce the wooden Japanese decks This worked to their advantage however On deck, ghter planes were amidst a rearming All weapons were above deck, as was the fuel for the planes

The Second World War

It was a perfect situation for the less than ideal US bombers With the ghters absorbed in destroying the Devastators the Dauntless divers had nothing to fear Within 5 minutes, 3 of Japans best aircraft carriers and ghters were at the bottom of the ocean The forth was found later and also sunk

The Second World War

The US had the industrial might to rebuild aircraft carriers and planes Japan did not, and in one amazing strike the war in the Pacic had turned Japan for the rest of the Pacic campaign would be on the defensive They would also know that they were not invincible

The Second World War

~Internment and Mobilization~

Niihau Incident
Something else occurred during the Pearl Harbor Attack It is a lesser known story but very important A Japanese pilot, Shigenori Nishikaichi crash landed on the island of Niihau The remote Hawaiian Island was to be used as a refuge for damaged Japanese planes It was though to be uninhabited but was home to over 130 Hawaiians A sub was to pick up survivors

Niihau Incident
The Japanese pilot was quickly taken captive by a native by Hawila Kaleohano That night a faction occurred as Japanese Hawaiians sprung the pilot in the night The incident ended in bloodshed and was later reported to President Roosevelt FDR feared other possible uprisings amongst Japanese Americas Therefor he issued Executive Order 9066, internment of all Japanese Americans

Niihau Incident
During the course of the war, over 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned They created 10 camps where Japanese Americans were forced to live and work Those who lived in them felt betrayed by their country, others sought to prove themselves in war Most camps were in the midwest including: Utah Topaz Idaho Minidoka Wyoming Heart Mountain

Internment Camps
In 1941, Japanese Americans only numbered 127,000 2/3rds had been born in the US Most lived on the west coast Movement into internment camps was harsh Most did not have time to secure their property and possessions before they left Most lost their homes, businesses and their land

Internment Camps
All of the camps were in remote and desolate regions They were crammed into small wooden barracks Rooms had cheap beds, leaky roofs and a single lightbulb People had to share community toilets, showers, and dinning facilities Barbed wire and guards surrounded the camps They appeared eerily similar to concentration camps

Internment Camps
In 1943, many men in the camps pressed to serve in the military They were eager to prove they were Americans and wanted to serve their nation 17,000 Japanese Americans served in the War Most were Nisei, sons of parents who were born in Japan The 442nd all Japanese regiment won more medals for bravery in WWII than other in US history

Internment Camps
During the War, several court hearings took place The US government defended the right as a means of national security In 1945, all Japanese citizens were released In 1988 the US government apologized and paid each family 20,000 dollars It still remains a black mark on American History

Mobilization
When WWII started, the US had a lot of work to do to catch up The US military was out of date To complicate matters, supplies were low due to nations being occupied by Axis powers In January of 1942, Roosevelt set up the War Production Board Its purpose was to change peacetime industries into war industries Instead of producing cars, they would produce tanks and bombs

Mobilization
Ford Motor Company built a huge new factory to make B-24 Liberators Mass production and assembly line techniques transformed the shipping industry One type of ship for the navy went from taking 200 days to 40 To motivate businesses the government gave out military contracts The military paid production costs and gave industries a bonus pay

Mobilization
Workers earned their regular salary but were added a bonus military salary Each year the US set production goals and each year they met them In 1944, the US outproduced alone all Axis nations combined It produced 300,000 airplanes, 80,000 landing crafts, 100,000 tanks, 5,600 ships, 6 million ries and machine guns The US was quick becoming the arsenal of democracy

Mobilization
Union memberships rose but also the will to work Unions agreed they would not strike during time of war However, in 1943 strikes did occur on a limited scale The War boosted the economy People had jobs and received good pay The US vowed to spend whatever it took to win the War

Mobilization
In 1939 the US spent $8.9 billion. In 1945 it had spent $95.2 billion Overall the US spent $321 billion on WWII more than 10x what it spent on WWI Money came from higher taxes, borrowing and War Bonds War Bonds alone brought in $186 Billon It greatly boosted the national debt It went from $43 billion to $259

The Second World War

~Invasion of North Africa~

The Second World War

As the Germans were getting bogged down in Russia, Britain put pressure on the US to open a western front The idea was to divide the German army Britain wanted the US to assist in North Africa, not France The US agreed though they thought it was a mistake Operation Torch was the allied invasion of North Africa US forces landed on the beaches of Casablanca, Algiers and Oran

The Second World War

The Germans had been in Africa for sometime They took the region to control the ow of oil The Suez Canal gave the Allies access to the Middle East and oil Germany sought to cripple the Allies by taking the Suez and with it the Middle East and control of the Mediterranean

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Thus far, the Allies had not faired well in North Africa Erwin Rommel the desert fox was one of Germanys best generals Under Rommel, the Germans had pushed the British into Egypt A pivotal battle was fought at El Alamein, a small unremarkable town 150 miles west of Cairo The mountain pass served as a bottleneck and prevented the Germans from attacking from all sides, especially the rear

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In preparation for the German offensive, the British switched commanders Bernard Montgomery was chosen to stop Rommel The British, like the Americans at Midway, broke the German code [Bletchley Park] They knew where Rommel was going to attack

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Montgomery severed the German supply lines and forced them to met him head on Rommel, starving of supplies and short on oil decided to attack Montgomery had prepared the pass by laying 1000s of mines German tanks were assaulted from the skies, which could not be replaced At the height of the battle, Britain was aided by US troops and supplies

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Later, 300 hundred Sherman Tanks were added to bolster Montgomerys defense In all, Germany was down to 110,000 men and 500 tanks Britain and US forces numbered 200,000 men and 1100 tanks Rommel fought as hard as he could but realized the attack was failing

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US forces landed in Morocco and Algeria as Rommel was retreating The British pushed Rommel west and the US sought to crush them from the east Hitler sent an additional 20,000 men to aide Rommel in Tunisia The US force was defeated at Kasserine Pass The US learned from their mistakes and won under General Patton at Guettar

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The Allies continued to push forward ultimately trapping Rommel 240,000 Germans surrendered to Allied forces in Tunisia Rommel to this day is praised by westerners His Afrika Corps never committed atrocities He treated POWs with respect and fairness He refused to kill civilians and Jews

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Following defeat in Africa, Rommel ed back to Germany Rommel was accused as one of the ofcers in the the Operation Valkyrie assassination attempt Hitler made a deal with Rommel to preserve his family in return for his death Rommel accepted and committed suicide