WWII Term Definitions

Invasion of Poland- Began world War II, and was a attack that was coordinated by both Russia and Germany. After the invasion, the U.K, New Zealand, and Australia entered the war. These countries really didn't help much, and caused Poland to be destroyed and broken up into different pieces.

Blitzkrieg- Means lightning strike in German. This is a full frontal tank attack on the enemy followed by the infantry. After the tanks break through the defenses, they keep going until they reach their destination. Very effective and used by Germany as a main tactics. They allies never knew when the Germans would attack.

Nazi-Soviet nonagression pact- Also called Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact after the foreign ministers of their respective countries. Held up until Germany executed Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union. Was a secret protocol causing all of europe to be seperated into spheres of influence of mainly Russia and Germany. This addition of land to Russia's sphere of influence allowed them to take over east european countries. They did this in exchange for attacking Poland with Germany.

Tripartite Pact- Officially founded the Axis powers of Japan, Germany, and Italy. Signed in Berlin and basically told U.S that they should stay out of the war, or face fighting a two front war against Japan and the European countries. Italy later surrendered to the Allies in 1943.

Anti Comintern Pact- The two countries involved, Japan and Germany, agreed that Communism was going to try and take over all other states by force and that these two countries would never form a treaty with the Commies.

Operation Barbarossa- Code name for Germany's invasion of Russia. This invasion failed, but Germany gained control of several key locations of economical importance. Namely the Ukraine. This is also the largest attack launched in all of history.

Winston Churchill- Prime minister of Great Britain and had great relations with Roosevelt. This relationship secured valuable trade including food, weapons, and other important wartime materials. Supposedly led a phony war that didn't really attack Germany on land, only the sea.

Atlantic Charter- Basically the Allied countries and US met in a secret meeting called the Atlantic Conference. The Atlantic Charter was a press release written by Sir Alexander Codagan. In this meeting, Churchill was pressing Roosevelt to declare war.

Pearl Harbor- Originally planned by the Japanese to prevent the US from influencing their Pacific front war. However, the plan backfired and caused US entrance into the war. It was also a surprise attack.

D-Day- First day of landing on Normandy Beach in Operation Neptune. The beach was seperated into Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword, and Juno. It was both Amphibious landing and air drops, and there were upwards of 10,000 casualties in one day of only Allied Forces!

Stalingrad- Location of a battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviets. The two bodies fought over the area and was an extremely bloody battle. 2 million people were killed and there were large amounts of POWs. The city was alongside the Volga and Stalin used this as a valuable transport route.

Midway- This battle was a naval one, and extremely important part of the Pacific Campaign. The US inflicted a devastating blow against the Imperial navy at the Midway Atoll and caused the Japanese to be driven backwards. The japanese tried to set up a trap, but the Americans unlocked their codes and set up a trap for them.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki- Harry Truman dropped two atomic bombs Little Boy (Hiroshima) and Fat Man (Nagasaki) on these two major Japanese cities. The population mainly being civilians, 220,000 people were killed and others later by leukemia and cancer. It caused the Japanese to surender to the US, and are the only war time atomic bomb droppings ever.

Robert Oppenheimer- Father of the Atomic Bomb, he created it for the US at the secret Los Alamos National Laboratory. Quoted the Bhagavad Gita after seeing the explosions.

Yalta Conference- Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met at this secret codenamed Argonaut meeting. This discussed post war Europe and how it would have to be governed and organized. Roosevelt wanted Soviet help in the Pacific Campaign, UK wanted help with Poland, and Soviet Union wanted a bigger sphere of influence.

F.D.R- This nickname is short for Franklin Delano Roosevelt the president of the United States during most of WWII as the 32 president. His office was taken over by Truman. FDR had a good relationship with Churchill.

Dwight D. Eisenhower- US general during the war that headed the invasion of germany and france. Later became president of the United States. First Supreme commander of NATO

NATO- Short for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is a military alliance between european states and the U.S. It is now headquartered in Brussels.

Warsaw Pact- The Soviet's response to NATO. Warsaw pact is the organization of communist states in europe. These two warring groups eventually cause the Cold War.