New Conflagrations: World War II and the Cold War Chapter 36 Notes Origins of World War II Japan's war in China Global Conflict Begins • Japanese invasion of Manchuria begins in 1931 • League of Nations condemned action – Japan simply withdrew from league • In 1937 Japan launched full-scale invasion of China The Rape of Nanjing • Japanese invasion characterized war waged against civilians • Aerial bombing of Shanghai • Widespread atrocities in Nanjing – 400,000 Chinese used for bayonet practice or massacred – 7,000 women raped Chinese Resistance Movement • Japanese aggression spurs “United Front” policy between Chinese Communists and Nationalists – Guerilla warfare ties down half of the Japanese army • Continued clashes between Communists and Nationalists – Communists gain popular support, upper hand by end of the war Japanese Alliances • Triple Pact with Germany and Italy signed in 1940 • Neutrality pact with Soviet Union in 1941 – Gave Japan a free hand East Asia Italian and German Aggression Italy after the Great War • Italians felt slighted at the Paris Peace Conference • Italian losses high in World War I – Economy never recovered • Mussolini promised national glory, empire – Annexed Libya – Invaded Ethiopia (1935-1936) • League of Nations made some weak attempts to impose sanctions but few powerful countries cooperated • Killed 250,000 Ethiopians Germany after the Great War • Deep resentment at Treaty of Versailles – Harsh terms: reparations, economic restrictions • Former Allies inclined not to object when Hitler violated terms of the treaty • Hitler blamed Jews, communists, liberals for losing the war and accepting the treaty Germany After 1933 • Hitler moved to ignore terms of peace settlement • Withdrew from League of Nations in 1933 • Rebuilt military, air force and reinstated draft • Took back the Rhineland in 1936 • Annexed Austria in 1938 • At each step, France and Britain did nothing to stop him Munich Conference • Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany meet • In 1938, Germany takes Sudetenland – 3 million Germans lived there – Allies follow policy of appeasement • Giving in to the demands of an aggressor to avoid conflict • Britain and France desperate to avoid war • British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940) promises “peace for our time” • Hitler promises to halt expansionist efforts • 1939, violating Munich agreement, Hitler seized most of Czechoslovakia Russian-German Treaty of Non-Aggression- 1939 • Stalin gave Hitler a free hand in Poland – Assured him that Germany would not have to fight a 2 front war • Soviets now had time to build up strength while the rest of Europe was weakened by war • Both leaders put aside their political differences and used realpolotik Total War: The World Under Fire Blitzkrieg: Germany conquers Europe The Attack on Poland September, 1939 • Hitler used the blitzkrieg strategy to quickly defeat Poland – Planes bombed Polish cities and military zones – Massive numbers of tanks and troops quickly destroyed any resistance left over • 3 weeks after Hitler invaded west Poland, Stalin occupied east Poland The Fall of France- June, 1940 • As soon as Hitler attacked Poland, France and Britain declared war on Germany – For 7 months neither side fought • In May, Nazi forces snuck by France’s Maginot Line and quickly defeated the allies – 300,000 allies escaped at Dunkirk to England – Hitler forces French to sign armistice agreement in same railroad car used for the armistice imposed on Germany in 1918 • By 1940 Germany occupies Denmark, Norway, Belgium, France The Battle of Britain Summer, 1940 • Hitler began Operation Sea Lion – Plan was for the Luftwaffe to destroy the Royal Air Force and land 250,000 Nazi troops in England • Germans' strategy to defeat Britain solely through air attacks – Aerial bombing killed forty thousand British civilians – Royal Air Force prevented defeat • England had 2 secret weapons – Radar helped them see how many planes were coming – A Nazi code machine (Enigma) was smuggled into England to help crack Nazi codes • England resisted air raids for almost a year – England’s Prime minister, Winston Churchill kept British moral high US Isolationism • After WW I, the US wanted nothing to do with European affairs • Began policy of isolationism – Completely stayed out of world affairs • Except for economic affairs • When WWII broke out, most Americans wanted to let Europe deal with their own problems – FDR knew that the US could not be an island of democracy in a sea of tyranny • Supported Britain’s struggle against the Nazis Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa • By May of 1941, Hitler controlled almost all of Western and Central Europe – Nazis wanted Lebensraum (“living space”) • Eastern land on which to resettle Germans • In June of 1941, Hitler began Operation Barbarossa – Millions of Nazi troops invaded the Soviet Union on an 1800 mile long battlefront – Stalin caught off-guard, rapid advance – Captured Russian heartland; Leningrad under siege; troops outside Moscow Blitzkrieg Less Effective in Russia • Soviets drew on tremendous reserves: 360 Soviet divisions against 150 German • Hitler underestimated Soviet industrial capacity • Stalin quickly moved Soviet industry east to the Ural Mountain • Russian winter caught German troops ill- prepared High Tide of Axis Expansion in Europe Battles in Asia and the Pacific U.S. Support Allies Before Pearl Harbor • Roosevelt sold and then "loaned" arms and war material to the British – “lend-lease” program: US lends war goods to Allies, leases naval bases in return • Later supplied the Soviets and the Chinese – US gave 11 billion in aid to the USSR despite hating Communism Japanese Expansion • Continued into southeast Asia – Indochina, 1940-1941 • US freezes Japanese assets in US – The US refused to sell materials to Japan because of its Chinese atrocities and expansion in SE Asia – US places embargo on oil shipments to Japan • Japanese Defense Minister Tojo Hideki (1884-1948) plans for war with US Pearl Harbor- December 7, 1941 • FDR: “A date which will live in infamy” • Destroyed US Navy in the Pacific • Hitler, Mussolini declare war on the US on December 11 • US joins Great Britain and the USSR Japanese Victories • Japan advanced swiftly in the Pacific and southeast Asia • Conquered Philippines, Dutch East Indies, Indochina, Burma, Singapore • Slogan "Asia for Asians" masked Japanese imperialism against fellow Asians • Establishes “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” Defeat of the Axis Powers Impact of USSR and U.S. entry in 1941 • Brought vital personnel and industry to Allies • US joining the war turned the tide – Shipbuilding, automotive production especially important – German subs sank 2,452 merchants ships, but U.S. shipyards built more • The US stopped Japanese expansion at the Battle of Midway Soviet Turning Point • Poor treatment of conquered Russians led to massive Russian resistance – Nazis treated Russians as untermenschen • Subhuman – This policy made Stalin a hero to the Russian resistance • Hitler’s desire to take the city of Stalingrad was a bad mistake – Was the turning point for the Soviets Allied Victories Came After 1943 • Russians defeated the Germans at Stalingrad, pushed them back • British, US forces attack in North Africa, Italy • D-Day: June 6, 1944, British and US forces land in France • Round-the-clock strategic bombing by United States and Britain leveled German cities – Dresden, February 1945: 135,000 Germans killed in shelters • 30 April 1945 Hitler commits suicide, 8 May Germany surrenders US Propaganda • Meant to keep moral up • Used to make the enemy look bad • Used to make allies look good Turning the Tide in the Pacific • US code breaking operation Magic discovers Japanese plans – Battle of Midway (4 June 1942) • US takes the offensive, engages in island- hopping strategy • Iwo Jima and Okinawa – Japanese kamikaze suicide bombers – Savage two-month battle for Okinawa Japanese Surrender • US firebombs Tokyo, March 1945 – 100,000 killed – 25% of buildings destroyed • Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 1945 • Emperor Hirohito (1901- 1989) surrenders unconditionally September 2, 1945 The Atomic Bomb What started it? • In 1938, German scientists discover fission • Many German scientists (especially Jewish) fled Nazi Germany to America – These scientists, led by Albert Einstein wanted America to develop an atomic bomb first The Manhattan Project • In 1942 the military began the top secret project to create a nuclear bomb – The head scientist was Robert Oppenheimer • Chicago, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos were the main sites of the project – Produced plutonium and Uranium • Lewiston got to store the really toxic stuff Operation Trinity Is A Success • In July 1944, 230 miles south of Los Alamos, the first atomic bomb was tested • It had the explosive power of 24 million pounds of TNT • After the successful test, Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagavad Gita – I am become death, the destroyer of worlds Truman Make the Decision • After the success of operation Trinity, Truman had to decide whether to use it on Japan (Germany had already surrendered) – The scientists did not want him to use it • They said it would open up a Pandora’s Box leading to a nuclear holocaust – The military wanted to bomb Japan • They said it was the only way to quickly end the war • After warning Japan of a terrible destruction that would befall them if they did not surrender, he decided to use it (twice) Hiroshima and Nagasaki • On August 6th, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic