Dr. Carter's Courses
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • COURSES

world  war  ii--examination  2  review

Examination 2 Review:

This is the second of your three examinations.  It will cover chapters 6 to 10 in your textbook and my lectures up through the Italian Campaign.  

Section 1 will be short answer identification.  You will need to identify and state the historical significance of several terms.  I will provide a list below that might be on the exam.  I will not include any term on the exam that is not listed below.

Section 2 you will need to write an essay.  This essay will be worth 40 points.  I will give you two questions and you will choose one to answer.

Section 3 will be the same as Section 2.  You will write an essay worth 40 points.  As with section 2, I will give you two question and you choose one to answer.

TOPICS COVERED:

You need to be familiar with all the major events from Operation Barbarossa to the War in the Atlantic.  There are many things going on at once.  Be aware of the dates and remember that this is broken down by topic, not necessarily chronologically.  In this section we looked at the Invasion of the USSR in 1941, The “New Order” in Europe, the Holocaust, the Rise of Japan in the Pacific before 1941, American Neutrality up to 1941, the Bombing of Pearl Harbor and Japanese Expansion in the Pacific, the Turning Points of the War—i.e. Midway, Stalingrad, and El Alamein, the Italian Campaign and the War in the Atlantic.

Ø  Know what led to the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.  What were the German objectives?  Why was the USSR so unprepared for war?  Describe the primary military movements and engagements.  Also, be able to discuss how the Soviets were able to halt the advancing German military outside of Moscow.

Ø  Be able to explain what the New Order in Europe was and how Germany set up the New Order.  Also be able to describe the treatment of occupied countries by the Germans.  Be sure to know what led up to the Holocaust and why it happened.  Finally, know about the resistance movements in occupied Europe, including the German resistance.

Ø  What was the American approach to the growing world tensions during the 1930s?  Know what Roosevelt and the United States did regarding the Neutrality Laws.  Be able to trace the evolution of American foreign policy from strict neutrality in the mid-1930s to an “unneutral-neutral” by 1941.  Know what led to the deterioration of US-Japanese relations during the 1930s.  Also know what led to the attack on Pearl Harbor, how it was carried out, and its consequences.

Ø  From December 1941 until May 1942, Japan expanded out across the Pacific.  Know what Japan’s strategy for doing this was.  In addition to Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked and captured the American colony in the Philippines.  Be able to describe the fall of the Philippines and the Japanese atrocities committed there.

Ø  Beginning in May 1942, the situation in the Pacific began to turn in favor the Americans.  Be able to discuss the major battles of the second half of 1942 that illustrate the change in momentum—i.e. the Battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and the Solomon Islands.

Ø  As the tide was turning in the Pacific, the momentum of the war was also changing in the European theater as well.  Be able to discuss the two crucial turning points in Europe—Stalingrad and El Alamein.  Know why Hitler was involved in each and what he hoped to achieve.  Also, know how the various commanders reacted to the events.

Ø  Be able to discuss the diplomacy between the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union after America’s entry into the war.  Know each country’s war aims and strategy to achieve victory.  Why did the Allies have trouble coordinating their strategy?  Know what the issue with the “Second Front” was and why the US and USSR favored an early cross-channel landing in Europe while the British wanted to attack the Mediterranean regions of Europe.  Be able to discuss the Allied landing in North Africa, the pincer strategy to defeat Rommel and the Allied victory in North Africa.  Know why the US/GB decided on the North African campaign and did not pursue a cross-channel invasion at the time.

Ø  What was the strategy of the Allies when they attacked Sicily?  What was Churchill’s goals, Roosevelt’s goals?  Discuss the landings in Sicily and the Italian mainland.  Know the Allied advance up Italy and why it was halted at Monte Cassino.  Why were the landings at Anzio undertaken and what were the results?  Also know why the Italian campaign was controversial.


TERMS:

  1. Lebensraum
  2. General Timoshenko
  3. Vichy France
  4. Hitler's "New Order"
  5. The Holocaust
  6. The White Rose Group
  7. Lend-Lease Program
  8. Tri-Partite Pact
  9. Pearl Harbor
  10. Bataan Death March
  11. Battle of Midway
  12. Island Hopping 
  13. General Paulus
  14. Stalingrad
  15. General Rommel
  16. Tobruk
  17. Operation Sledgehammer
  18. Warsaw Uprising
  19. Operation Torch
  20. Second Battle of El Alamein
  21. Monte Cassino
  22. The Gothic Line
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.