World War II Name ______________________________

Test Guide

History 7 2004

A. Describe Japan’s plans to create a “New Order in Asia.” Why did Japanese leaders feel that it was necessary to pursue this course?

B. Explain the following events that eventually led to World War II:

Manchuria

The Rhineland

Ethiopia

Anschluss

Munich Agreement

Danzig Crisis

C. Define appeasement. Explain why Britain and France adopted this policy toward Germany.

D. Explain why Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact in August 1939.

E. How did the blitzkrieg defeat the defensive tactics that dominated World War I?

F. What effect did the conquest of Poland have on the Holocaust? Describe the process of ghettoization.

G. Describe France’s strategy to protect against a German invasion. Why did this fail? Describe the Nazi conquests of 1940.

H. How did the Battle of Britain differ from other battles? Explain why the British were able to win the battle.

I. What was the initial result of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941? What factors halted the German invasion? What effect did the invasion of the Soviet Union have on the Holocaust?

J. Describe the actions taken by the U.S. to aid Britain and prepare for war between 1939-1942.

K. Explain why the Japanese decided to attack Pearl Harbor. Why did historian Barbara Tuchman believe that the Japanese attack was a mistake?

L. Describe the major conquests Japan achieved in the months following Pearl Harbor. What were the two main purposes of these conquests?

M. Describe the major economic effects that the war had on the U. S. How was the war funded?

N. Why was inflation a concern during the war? What steps were taken to combat this problem?

O. How did the fighting in the Pacific differ from previous naval combat?

P. Explain the importance of the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal.

Q. What factors gave Britain the advantage in the Battle of the Atlantic?

R. Describe the Battle of El Alamein. Why was it the decisive battle in North Africa?

S. What factors contributed to the German defeat at Stalingrad? Why was it the decisive battle of the German-Soviet War?

T. Explain the purpose of the Allied invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.

U. Why did the invasion of Italy prove to be a mistake?

V. Describe the strategy employed by the British in bombing Germany. How did this differ from the American strategy? What new technologies affected the air war?

W. Why was Normandy selected as the location for the invasion of France? What factors caused the invasion to ultimately succeed?

X. Analyze the most important factors in the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Key Terms:

1. Axis

2. Spanish Civil War

3. Neville Chamberlain

4. Winston Churchill

5. Neutrality Acts

6. Maginot Line

7. Charles DeGaulle

8. Erwin Rommel

9. Einsatzgrüppen

10. Auschwitz-Birkenau

11. Wannsee Conference

12. America First Committee

13. Lend-Lease

14. Hideki Tojo

15. Bataan Death March

16. Doolittle Raid

17. ULTRA

18. Bernard Montgomery

19. Siege of Leningrad

20. Second Front

21. Dwight D. Eisenhower

22. George Patton

23. Mulberries

24. Battle of the Bulge

25. Claus von Stauffenberg

26. Elbe River

27. Nuremberg Trials