Unit 5 Lesson 2: Neutrality and Engagement

Question 1

What invasion did Hitler do on September 1, 1939,

Answer 1

On September 1, 1939, Hitler began his invasion of Poland

Question 2

What did France and Brtian do on September 3 1030 in response to Germanys actions

Answer 2

On September 3, 1939, they declared war on Germany.

Question 3

What was the invasion of poland like

Answer 3

a blitzkrieg, or “lightning war.” Using swift, surprise attacks combining infantry, tanks, and aircraft, Nazi troops quickly overwhelmed Polish forces.

Question 4

Who were the Allies

Answer 4

Just as in World War I, France, Britain, and other nations that stood against German aggression became known as the Allied powers, or the Allies

Question 5

What did the invasion of Poland telll France and Britsh leaders

Answer 5

By then, leaders in Britain and France had realized they could not trust (and should not have trusted) Hitler.

Question 6

In the spring of 1940 what did Germans attack

Answer 6

In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a fast, highly mobile invasion of the Low Countries and France

Question 7

In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a fast, highly mobile invasion of the Low Countries and France. What were the Low Coutires

Answer 7

The Low Countries—Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands

Question 8

The German onslaught continued. Officials in France had long thought a German invasion would come directly across the French-German border. Thus what did they do? What was the Maginot Line

Answer 8

In 1930, in anticipation of this, they created a 200-mile-long defensive barrier called the Maginot Line.

Question 9

What did German forces manage to do in Dunkirk, a seaport near the northern tip of France

Answer 9

German forces soon trapped more than 300,000 British, French, and Belgian troops in Dunkirk

Question 10

How did the low countires respond to Hitlers attack

Answer 10

The Low Countries—Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands—fell almost immediately.

Question 11

German forces soon trapped more than 300,000 British, French, and Belgian troops in Dunkirk. What happened to the trops

Answer 11

Before the Germans could completely close in, however, the troops were evacuated by Allied naval vessels, assisted by hundreds of small civilian boats that had sailed across the English Channel from Britain.

Question 12

The German onslaught continued. Officials in France had long thought a German invasion would come directly across the French-German border. In 1930, in anticipation of this, they created a 200-mile-long defensive barrier called the Maginot Line. What did German forces do in reposne to this?

Answer 12

German forces, however, simply went around the northern end of the line and then pushed toward Paris.

Question 13

What did France do in repsonse to the German invasion in their country

Answer 13

On June 22, just six weeks after the invasion began, France surrendered. Things looked grim for the Allies.

Question 14

Based on what you have read in this unit and the information on the map, why do you think the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east only weeks after Germany invaded from the west?

Answer 14

The Soviet Union had signed an agreement with Germany that the two nations would jointly invade Poland and split the land between them.

Question 15

What did the Soveits invade poland

Answer 15

September 19 1939

Question 16

Why do you think the Germans were so eager to take control of Dunkirk?

Answer 16

I can see on the map that Dunkirk is on the west coast of a very narrow section of the English Channel. Germany may have been eyeing the port as a staging area for an attack on Britain.

Question 17

How did most Americans feel about another war

Answer 17

During the 1920s and 1930s some Americans favored active engagement in Europe. But most Americans, including many politicians, were leery of getting too involved in European affairs. This attitude was in keeping the country’s long tradition of isolationism. Especially after World War I, the general mood in the United States was to avoid becoming involved in any crises that might lead the country into another global conflict.

Question 18

By the mid-1930s, rising militarism and tensions in Europe and East Asia made such a conflict more and more likely. what did U.S do in repsonse?

Answer 18

In response, Congress enacted a series of laws aimed at maintaining U.S. neutrality. The Neutrality Acts

Question 19

What were the Neutrality Acts

Answer 19

The Neutrality Acts were passed in 1935, 1937, and 1939. They included an expanding array of embargoes and restrictions on arms sales to other nations and ever-tightening travel restrictions on American citizens.

Question 20

Because of this isolationist stance and declared neutrality, U.S. leaders did not focus much on the military, even as other great powers undertook huge military buildups in the 1930s. What did the U.S army look like comapred to the other powers?

Answer 20

The U.S. Army, with roughly 125,000 troops, was far smaller than the armies of the other powers. This size, however, was deemed adequate to defend the United States and its territories.

Question 21

President Franklin D. Roosevelt want to alter the Neutrality Acts

Answer 21

Responding to the German invasion of Poland, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt worked with Congress to alter the Neutrality Acts to allow the sale of arms to Britain and France.

Question 22

Following the surrender of France, Hitler set his sites across the English Channel to Great Britain, and the Battle of Britain began. When did this start

Answer 22

Beginning in July 1940 and continuing into September

Question 23

U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt worked with Congress to alter the Neutrality Acts to allow the sale of arms to Britain and France. What were the conditions for selling arms?

Answer 23

The new legislation permitted countries at war to purchase military weapons and equipment from the United States if they could pay cash for them and transport them on their own ships.

Question 24

Battle of Britai fight was in the air what was the name of the Brtish airforce and the german air force

Answer 24

a pitched air battle raged over land and sea between Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German air force (Luftwaffe).

Question 25

Who won the air part of the **Battle of Britain**

Answer 25

The RAF successfully fought off the Luftwaffe, but then Hitler brought the war directly to British civilians.

Question 26

From early September 1940 to May 1941, what kind of attack did the Nazis do to Britain

Answer 26

From early September 1940 to May 1941, Nazi warplanes invaded the skies over London and other cities, bombing British homes, businesses, schools, and churches. At first, the planes struck in the daytime, but soon they shifted their raids to the dark of night.

Question 27

What was Hitler trying to do with all of those bomding in Britain

Answer 27

Hitler was attempting another blitzkrieg, although the British were not as quick as other nations to surrender.

Question 28

What did they called the sereis of nearly nightly attacks and how did the Brtish repsond to them

Answer 28

They called the series of nearly nightly attacks “the Blitz,” and they gathered in bomb shelters and subway stations to wait out the German raids.

Question 29

How did the Battle of Britain end?

Answer 29

The British stood their ground for months until Hitler turned his attention eastward toward Russia. But thousands of civilians died in the attacks.

Question 30

In January 1941, President Roosevelt delivered what is now known as the ? speech

Answer 30

**Four Freedoms**

Question 30

What was the “Four Freedoms” speech about

Answer 30

In it, he enumerated the four freedoms he believed Americans hold most dear, which were also the freedoms most threatened by the ambitions of the Axis

Question 31

in the “Four Freedoms” speech he enumerated the four freedoms he believed Americans hold most dear, which were also the freedoms most threatened by the ambitions of the Axis:

Answer 31

freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

Question 31

Aside the 4 freedoms what elese did Roesevelt talk about

Answer 31

He warned that the Axis powers posed a grave threat to the United States and to all “democratic existence.” Roosevelt also presented his vision for a world in which all people enjoyed these four freedoms.

Question 32

/in four freedoms what did he say poltically. What was the **lend-lease program**

Answer 32

He called for a fast and substantial increase in armament production and a **lend-lease program**. In this program, the United States would provide armaments to Britain and its allies without expecting any type of repayment until after the war.

Question 33

Two months later, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act. What did this end in the US

Answer 33

It ended the U.S. policy of nonintervention and brought America another step closer to involvement in the war.

Question 34

In August of that year (1941), Roosevelt and British prime minister **Winston Churchill** met for a four-day conference aboard warships anchored off the coast of Canada. Waht did they do there

Answer 34

There they drafted the **Atlantic Charter**

Question 35

What did the Atlantic Charter state and what was its purpsoe

Answer 35

There they drafted the **Atlantic Charter,** which spelled out the common wartime aims of the United States and Britain. Both leaders hoped the charter would convince Americans that the United States should join the Allies in fighting the war. It failed to do so.

Question 36

How are the aims of this charter different from those stated by the agreement the Axis powers signed in 1937?

Answer 36

The Axis powers targeted the Communist International as a scapegoat for their aggression, claiming to seek peace but threatening war at the same time. This charter lists ways all nations can seek a peaceful existence with one another, with only one warlike threat—the assumption that “Nazi tyranny” will be destroyed.

Question 37

What was Japan doing while Germany was attakcing France

Answer 37

Japan took advantage of France’s surrender to Germany in order to occupy French colonies in Southeast Asia, including the areas that are now Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

Question 38

What did US do in repsonse of Japan occyping FRance terrtires

Answer 38

In response, the United States began to block the export of various materials to Japan. These materials included aviation gasoline, machine tools, scrap iron, and steel.

Question 39

By the second half of 1941, Japan was feeling the pressure of the American embargo. What did Japan want to do in Indonesia but why was it a tough move to make?

Answer 39

The Japanese were determined to obtain a sufficient supply of oil by taking control of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). However, they realized that such an action might provoke American intervention, or involvement, because oil tankers would have to pass through the Philippines, a U.S. territory.

Question 40

The Japanese government, led by Prime Minister Tōjō Hideki, attempted to work out a diplomatic solution with the United States. What would ahppen if there was no peaceful solution

Answer 40

The Japanese decided that if no peaceful resolution could be reached by the end of November 1941, Japan would have to go to war with the United States.

Question 41

# 1. What was US side of the dela for Japan

Answer 41

The United States wanted Japan to completely withdraw from China and enter into nonaggression pacts with all the Pacific powers.

Question 42

The United States wanted Japan to completely withdraw from China and enter into nonaggression pacts with all the Pacific powers. How did Japn repsond

Answer 42

Japan found those conditions unacceptable. At 7:48 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor

Question 43

Where's **Pearl Harbor**

Answer 43

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, an inlet near Honolulu on the island of Oahu where a large portion of the U.S. Navy’s fleet of warships was stationed.

Question 44

Whatever reluctance to engage in conflict the American people had before December 7, 1941, quickly disappeared. Americans’ shock quickly turned to anger. The attack had taken place while Japanese diplomats in Washington were still negotiating a possible settlement. When ddi they declare war

Answer 44

President Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war, which it delivered to Japan on December 8. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States in keeping with their alliance with Japan. The United States had now become part of the European conflict and an important member of the Allied forces.

Question 45

What was the outcome of pearl harbor

Answer 45

Japan launched two waves of attacks from six aircraft carriers that had snuck into the central Pacific without being detected. The attacks brought approximately 353 fighters, bombers, and torpedo bombers down on the unprepared fleet. The Japanese hit all eight battleships in the harbor and sank four of them. They also damaged several cruisers and destroyers. On the ground, nearly 200 aircraft were destroyed, and more than 2,400 service members were killed. Japanese losses were minimal.

Question 46

What impact did isolationism and neutrality have on the United States’ readiness for war?

Answer 46

Isolationism and neutrality kept the United States from building its military strength and preparing for war.

Question 47

In his “Four Freedoms” speech, what actions did President Roosevelt call for to support the countries fighting Nazi Germany?

Answer 47

He called for the United States to greatly increase its production of armaments and to provide those armaments to the Allies on a lend-lease basis.

Question 48

What issue were Japanese and U.S. diplomats negotiating just before Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor?

Answer 48

The Japanese wanted permission for their oil tankers to pass through the Philippines, which were controlled by the United States.