AP®︎ US History: Topic 7.13 Flashcards

Germany, Italy, and Japan—the principal wartime coalition defeated by the Allies

Coalition led by the United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union, and China that defeated the Axis

Japan’s December 7, 1941 attack on Hawaii that killed over 2,400 Americans and brought the United States into World War II.

President during most of World War II who led U.S. entry and Allied cooperation and called Pearl Harbor a date of infamy

Authoritarian, intensely nationalistic ideology that suppresses opposition and subordinates individual rights to the state

Ideology emphasizing military authority, obedience to the emperor, and imperial expansion

Roosevelt, British prime minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, the principal Allied wartime leaders

British prime minister and Big Three leader who favored early Mediterranean operations before a cross-Channel invasion

Soviet dictator and Big Three leader who demanded a western second front while Soviet forces fought Germany in the east

Allied policy of prioritizing Germany’s defeat while containing and gradually rolling back Japan

1943 Roosevelt-Churchill meeting that continued Mediterranean operations and announced the demand for unconditional Axis surrender

1943 first Big Three meeting where the Western Allies committed to invading France and Stalin promised continued offensives

February 1945 Big Three meeting coordinating final operations, Soviet entry against Japan, German occupation zones, and the United Nations

July–August 1945 meeting where Truman, Stalin, and British leaders managed defeated Germany and addressed Japan’s surrender

Description of the United States as the immense producer and supplier of weapons, vehicles, food, and matériel for the Allies

1942–1943 Soviet victory that destroyed a major German army and began sustained Soviet advances westward

November 1942 Allied invasion of French North Africa that brought American ground forces into combat against the Axis

Long struggle in which convoys, escorts, aircraft, sonar, radar, and codebreaking protected Allied shipping from German U-boats

June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy that established a western front and began the liberation of France

American general who served as supreme commander of the multinational D-Day invasion force

Germany’s unsuccessful final major western counteroffensive in the Ardennes during December 1944 and January 1945

May 8, 1945, celebrated as Victory in Europe Day after Germany’s unconditional surrender

Nazi Germany’s systematic persecution and murder of about six million European Jews, alongside Roma, people with disabilities, and other targeted groups

Agency Roosevelt created in 1944 to assist rescue efforts for people threatened by Nazi persecution and murder

1937 mass killing and rape committed by Japanese forces after their capture of Nanjing, China

Forced 1942 march of surrendered American and Filipino prisoners during which thousands died from murder, abuse, disease, and exhaustion

American general who commanded the southwest Pacific advance and fulfilled his promise to return to the Philippines in 1944

June 1942 carrier battle in which American aircraft sank four Japanese carriers, halting expansion and shifting the strategic initiative

Strategy of capturing selected Pacific islands for bases and airfields while bypassing and isolating heavily fortified Japanese positions

American admiral who led the central Pacific island-hopping drive toward Japan

October 1944 naval battle that crippled much of Japan’s remaining fleet and aided the liberation of the Philippines

Japanese pilots who deliberately crashed explosive-laden aircraft into Allied ships as American forces approached Japan

Costly 1945 American capture of a fortified island near Japan, demonstrating the likely human cost of invading the home islands

Largest Pacific amphibious operation, whose heavy 1945 casualties secured a base near Japan and intensified fears about invasion

Technology using radio waves to detect aircraft and ships, improving Allied air and naval defense

Underwater detection technology used with antisubmarine weapons to locate and attack German U-boats

Decryption of Axis communications that aided victory at Midway and operations against Germany

Antibiotic used widely by Allied forces to reduce deaths from infected wounds

Secret American military-scientific program that developed the first atomic bombs during World War II.

Army general who directed the Manhattan Project’s military administration, construction, and production

Physicist who led the Manhattan Project’s atomic weapons laboratory at Los Alamos

First successful atomic-bomb test, conducted near Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945

President after Roosevelt’s death who authorized the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

July 26, 1945 Allied demand for Japan’s unconditional surrender, warning of prompt and utter destruction

August 15, 1945 celebration of Victory over Japan; formal surrender followed aboard the USS Missouri on September 2

Army organization in which women performed noncombat work such as communications, administration, mechanics, and technical service

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, the Navy organization employing women in military support and technical roles

Women pilots who ferried aircraft and performed other noncombat flight duties for the U.S. military

African American military pilots trained in Alabama who flew combat and bomber-escort missions in Europe

Segregated African American tank unit that fought with distinction in the European theater

Black Navy mess attendant who fired an antiaircraft gun at Pearl Harbor and received the Navy Cross

African American campaign demanding victory over fascism abroad and racism and segregation at home

Segregated Japanese American unit composed largely of Nisei soldiers that became one of the most highly decorated units for its size and length of service

Native American servicemen who used a specially developed Navajo-based code for secure, rapid Pacific battlefield communications

U.S. atomic attacks on Hiroshima (Little Boy, August 6) and Nagasaki (Fat Man, August 9) hastened Japan’s surrender and sparked enduring debate over mass civilian death

Allied campaign against Axis industry, transportation, military facilities, and cities that weakened production but inflicted extensive civilian casualties

Incendiary bombing of German and Japanese cities that caused massive fires, widespread destruction, and heavy civilian casualties

May 1942 carrier battle that checked Japan’s advance toward Port Moresby before the more decisive American victory at Midway

Allied invasions of Sicily and mainland Italy that toppled Mussolini and forced Italy’s surrender, though German resistance prolonged the fighting