Module 27

World War II
Essential Question
How did World War II impact the lives of Americans and the nation’s role in the world?

About the Photo: The D-Day invasion at In this module you will read about U.S. involvement in World War II. You
Normandy, France, was one of the most will also learn about how this involvement changed the society and
successful Allied invasions of the war. ­economy of the United States.

What You Will Learn …

Explore ONLINE! Lesson 1: The War Begins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
The Big Idea The rise of aggressive totalitarian governments led to
VIDEOS, including... the start of World War II.
• D-Day Invasion of Europe Lesson 2: The Home Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837
• Winston Churchill The Big Idea American involvement in World War II helped the U.S.
economy and changed the lives of many Americans.
• U.S. Victory at the Battle of
Midway Lesson 3: War in Europe and North Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843
The Big Idea After fierce fighting in North Africa and Europe, the
Allies stopped the German advance and slowly began driving back
German forces.
Lesson 4: War in the Pacific. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849
Document-Based Investigations The Big Idea Allied forces reversed Japan’s expansion in the Pacific
and battled toward the main Japanese islands.
Graphic Organizers Lesson 5: Victory and Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855
Interactive Games The Big Idea The Allies won World War II, the most devastating war in
world history.
Interactive Map: World War II in
Europe, 1942–1945
Interactive Map: War in the Pacific,
1942–1945
Image with Hotspots: Navaho Code
Talkers

826 Module 27
Timeline of Events 1935–1950 Explore ONLINE!

United States World

1935

1938 Orson Welles broadcasts

“War of the Worlds.”

1940 Alan Turing devises a way to

break the code of the German Enigma
machine.

1941 On December 7, the Japanese

attack the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

1942 German submarines begin

attacking the United States.

1943 Mussolini is
overthrown and
executed in Italy.

1944 U.S. forces participate 1944 The Allies enter Paris.

in the D-Day invasion.

1945 The United States drops 1945 Hideki Tojo, prime

atomic bombs on Hiroshima minister of Japan, attempts
and Nagasaki, Japan. suicide after atomic bombs
are dropped on Japan.

1950

World War II 827

Reading Social Studies
THEME FOCUS:
Geography, Society and Culture
In this module you will read about the causes and consequences of World
War II. You will learn about how geography played an important role in the
fighting of the war. You will also read about how society and culture reacted to
the Second World War.

READING FOCUS:
Categorize
Have you ever read a schoolbook and been overwhelmed by the amount of
information it contained? Categorizing events, people, and ideas can help you
make sense of the facts you learn in this book.
Understand Categorizing Ideas, people, events, and things can all be categorized
in many different ways. For the study of history, some of the most useful ways
are by time period and by similarity between events. Categorizing events
by the people involved can also be helpful. Within a category, you can make
subcategories to further organize the information.

People Involved in WWII Events of WWII

• Winston Churchill • Key battles
• Franklin D. Roosevelt • Treaties
• Adolf Hitler • Invasions
• Benito Mussolini
• Hideki Tojo
• Soldiers
Invasions
• Civilians
• China
• Rhineland
• Czechoslovakia
• Poland
• Dunkirk
• French Indochina
• D-Day

828 Module 27
You Try It! Key Terms and People
Lesson 1
totalitarianism
The following passage is from the module you are getting Benito Mussolini
ready to read. As you read the passage, look for ways to fascism
Adolf Hitler
organize the information.
Nazis
Joseph Stalin
Axis Powers
Japan Advances American and Filipino forces appeasement
under the command of American general Winston Churchill
Douglas MacArthur could not stop Japan’s advance Allied Powers
in the Philippines. MacArthur left the islands in Lend-Lease Act
March 1942, vowing to return. More than 70,000 Pearl Harbor
American and Filipino soldiers surrendered to the Lesson 2
War Production Board
Japanese. The atrocities that followed were clear A. Philip Randolph
violations of human rights. The exhausted soldiers Tuskegee Airmen
were forced to march 63 miles up the Bataan Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
Peninsula to prison camps. Many prisoners were zoot-suit riots
internment
starved and beaten by Japanese soldiers. More than
600 Americans and about 10,000 Filipinos died in Lesson 3
Battle of El Alamein
the Bataan Death March. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Battle of Stalingrad
D-Day
After you read the passage, answer the following Lesson 4
Douglas MacArthur
questions.
Bataan Death March
1. What are two categories you could use to organize Chester Nimitz
the information in this passage? Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of Midway
2. How many different kinds of people are mentioned
island hopping
in this passage? Battle of Leyte Gulf
3. What different places are mentioned in this passage? kamikaze
4. Complete the chart below using the information Lesson 5
Battle of the Bulge
from the passage above.
Harry S. Truman
Holocaust
People Countries Places genocide
involved involved mentioned Manhattan Project
atomic bomb

As you read Module 27, remember to look for catego-

ries that can help you organize the information you
read.

World War II 829

 Lesson 1

The War Begins

If YOU were there . . .

The Big Idea The year is 1933, and your family is struggling through
The rise of aggressive totalitarian
the Great Depression along with millions of others.
governments led to the start of Sometimes your parents wonder if they should have left
World War II. Italy to come to the United States. But conditions in Italy
are far from ideal. A dictator rules the country, and the
Main Ideas
people have little personal freedom.
■■ During the 1930s, totalitarian
governments rose to power in What would you say
Europe and Japan. to your parents?
■■ German expansion led to the
start of World War II in Europe
in 1939.
The Rise of Totalitarianism
Desperate to end the hard times, many people were willing
■■ The United States joined the
to give up their individual rights to leaders who promised
war after Japan attacked Pearl
Harbor in 1941.
to deliver prosperity and national glory. As a result, in the
1920s and 1930s, several European countries moved toward
Key Terms and People totalitarianism, a political system in which the government
totalitarianism controls every aspect of citizens’ lives. These governments were
Benito Mussolini inspired by militant nationalism to expand their territory and
fascism power.
Adolf Hitler
Nazis Italy In the years after World War I, the people of Italy
Joseph Stalin suffered through economic depression, unemployment,
Axis Powers strikes, and riots. Many Italians looked for a strong leader
appeasement
who could bring stability to the country. They found such a
Winston Churchill
Allied Powers
leader in Benito Mussolini, who gained complete control of
Lend-Lease Act Italy in 1922. Mussolini’s rule was based on fascism, a ­political
Pearl Harbor system in which the “state”—or government—is seen as more
important than individuals. Fascist systems are typically
militaristic and headed by a strong leader.
Mussolini restored order to Italy and improved the
economy through public works projects. But the fascist
government violently crushed all opposition, destroying
basic individual rights such as freedom of speech. In 1935
Mussolini tried to expand Italy’s territory by attacking the
nation of Ethiopia, making it a colony. Haile Selassie, Ethiopia’s
overthrown emperor, warned the world, “It is us today. It will
be you tomorrow.”

830 Module 27
 Germany Germany was also suffering the effects of the global depression.
In addition, many Germans were furious about the Treaty of Versailles,
which forced Germany to make crippling reparation payments for its role
in World War I. Politician, World War I veteran, and militant nationalist
Adolf Hitler took advantage of public anger to gain power. A fiery speaker,
he inspired huge audiences by vowing to restore Germany to prosperity
and a position of international power.
Hitler also offered Germans a scapegoat, or someone to blame for their
problems. He accused intellectuals, Communists, and especially Jews of
causing Germany’s defeat in World War I and its economic problems after
the war. Only by ridding itself of Jews, Hitler declared, would Germany
again rise to greatness. Hitler’s National Socialist Party, or Nazis, gained
a large following. Hitler became chancellor in 1933 and quickly seized all
government power.
The Soviet Union Hitler spoke with fury of his hatred of communism.
But he had something in common with the Communist ruler of the
Soviet Union—both ruled as ruthless dictators. By 1928 Joseph Stalin
had become dictator of the Soviet Union. In the 1930s Stalin terrorized
those he saw as political enemies, killing or imprisoning millions of Soviet
citizens. As one Soviet artist put it, “There isn’t a single thinking adult in
this country who hasn’t thought that he might get shot.”

The Third Reich

Hitler gained much of his power through the use of propaganda. Films and photographs like the
one shown here showed Hitler and the Nazi Party as the best leaders for Germany. The propaganda
often ignored or lied about aspects Hitler wanted hidden from the public.

How did propaganda help Hitler rise to power?

World War II 831

 Japan Though Japan never had one single dictator, a group of nationalist
military leaders slowly gained complete control over the government
during the early 1900s. By the early 1930s this group had more influence
than the Japanese emperor. The military leaders wanted to build a large
Japanese empire in East Asia. In 1931 Japan invaded and conquered
a region in northern China and called it Manchukuo. China’s capital,
Nanjing, was the site of massacres that claimed up to 300,000 Chinese
Reading Check
Compare and victims. (Between 1937 and 1945 Japan’s invasion of China would cost
Contrast some 20 million lives.) The United States protested the invasion. Fearful of
What did the another world war, however, most Americans opposed using force to help
leaders of totalitarian
governments have in China. The League of Nations also condemned Japan for the attack but
common? was unable to take forceful action.

Germany Expands
Hitler dreamed of avenging Germany’s defeat in World War I. “The
lost land will never be won back by solemn appeals to God,” he told
Germans, “nor by hopes in any League of Nations, but only by force of
arms.” Hitler wanted to build an empire, uniting all German-speaking
people in Europe. He also wanted “living space” for the growing German
population.
In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler began to rebuild the
German military. In 1936 Nazi troops invaded the Rhineland, a former
German territory lost during World War I. That year he also signed an
alliance with Mussolini, forming the Axis Powers. Japan later joined
this pact. In 1938 Hitler forced Austria to unite with Germany. Then he
demanded control of the Sudetenland, a region in Czechoslovakia where
many Germans lived. When the Czechs refused, Hitler threatened war.
Appeasement Fails Czech leaders looked to their allies in France and
Great Britain for help. But neither country wanted to be pulled into an
armed conflict. British prime minister Neville Chamberlain organized
a meeting with Hitler to work out a peaceful solution. At the 1938
Munich Conference, Germany was given control over the Sudetenland
in return for a promise not to demand more land. This approach was
known as appeasement—a policy of avoiding war with an aggressive
nation by giving in to its demands. British admiral Winston Churchill
was ­convinced that this strategy would not stop Hitler. “The government
had to choose between shame and war,” Churchill warned. “They have
chosen shame. They will get war.”
Churchill was right. In March 1939 German troops seized the rest of
Czechoslovakia and began demanding territory from Poland. Great Britain
and France pledged to defend Poland if Hitler attacked. To keep the Soviets
out of the conflict, Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with Joseph Stalin
in August 1939. In addition to promising not to attack each other, the two
countries secretly agreed to divide Poland between them.
On September 1, 1939, Hitler’s troops and tanks rushed into Poland.
This was the start of World War II. Two days later, Britain and France,
known as the Allied Powers, declared war on Germany. Neville

832 Module 27
 Explore ONLINE!
World War II in Europe, 1939–1941

Axis Powers
Axis control
Allied Powers
Allied control
HRW American History Ful Vol
FINLAND Neutral countries
ah07fs_c26loc004ba.ai
60 °N Leningrad Area of the
NORWAY Battle of Britain
WWII in Europe World locator
10°W 0° 20°E ESTONIA Farthest Soviet
advance, 1940

S ea
10°E
1st proof: 04/08/05
SWEDEN
LATVIA
Moscow Axis advances
Maginot Line

c
April 1940

lti
North DENMARK
Ba LITHUANIA

A p r il 1 9 4 0
Sea POLISH 0 150 300 Miles
IRELAND CORRIDOR
EAST
41
e 19
PRUSSIA 0 150 300 Kilometers
NETHERLANDS
GREAT
Danzig Jun
50°N BRITAIN

939
Berlin SOVIET

p t. 1
London Warsaw UNION

Se
GERMANY
Channel
Dunkirk May 1940 POL AND
English BELGIUM
BELGIUM
LUXEMBOURG
BOHEMIA AND

Paris Sedan MORAVIA

SLOVAKIA
N

W
Munich AUSTRIA
E
FRANCE HUNGARY
S
SWITZERLAND
Vichy Ap ROMANIA

941
r il
Black Sea
1

ITALY
YUGOSLAVIA BULGARIA
40°N
PORTUGAL SPAIN Corsica
ALBANIA TURKEY

Oct.
Interpret Maps
194

Sardinia
0

1. Place Which countries shown on the map

Sicily GREECE
remained neutral during World War II?

ALGERIA TUNISIA 2. Human-Environment Interaction What major

MOROCCO (FR.)
(FR.)
(FR.)
British city was affected by the Battle of Britain?

Chamberlain spoke bitterly of the failure of appeasement, saying,

“Everything that I believed in during my public life has crashed into ruins.”
Hitler Moves West The Allied Powers had little time to organize their
forces to protect Poland. Using a strategy called blitzkrieg, or “lightning
HMH—Middle School U.S. History
war,” German tanks and airplanes broke through Polish defenses. As
MS_SNLESE454149_4
German forces drove into Poland from the west, the Soviets attacked WWII in Europe, 193
from
2nd proof 0
the east. Within a month, the two powers had taken control of Poland.
With Poland secure, Hitler turned toward western Europe. In the spring
of 1940, Germany quickly conquered the countries of Denmark, Norway,
Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. German troops then invaded
France, trapping hundreds of thousands of Belgian, British, and French
HRW American History Full Volume
ah07fs_c26leg004aa soldiers in the French port city of Dunkirk. British ships and boats of all
kinds raced to Dunkirk and carried the soldiers across the English Channel
WWII in Europe, 1939-1941
1st pass 4/12/05 to safety in Britain.
2nd proof 5/18/05
German forces, meanwhile, continued their march through France. As
3rd proof 6/16/05
Final 7/14/05 the Germans approached the French capital of Paris, Italy declared war
Final Final : 8/24/2015 on the Allied Powers. France surrendered to Germany on June 22, 1940.

World War II 833

 Nazi planes bombed London from September
1940 to May 1941. During that time, residents
of London sought shelter wherever they
could, including subway stations. Here,
a merchant is open for business after a
bombing raid.

Many of the French soldiers who had escaped at Dunkirk, however,

continued to resist Germany’s occupation of France. In London, French
general Charles de Gaulle organized a “Free French” army to fight alongside
the Allies. “France has lost a battle,” de Gaulle declared, “but France has not
lost the war!”
The Battle of Britain Britain now stood alone against Hitler’s war
machine. “The final German victory over England is now only a question
of time,” said German general Alfred Jodl. Hitler prepared to invade
Britain. To move troops and equipment across the English Channel,
Germany first had to defeat the British Royal Air Force (RAF). In
July 1940 the Luftwaffe, or German air force, began attacking British
planes and airfields in what became known as the Battle of Britain.
In August Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to begin bombing British cities
in the hope of crushing British morale. But Winston Churchill, the new
prime minister, refused to give in. “We shall fight on the beaches,” he
vowed. “We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall never
Reading Check
Sequence What
surrender.” Using the new technology of radar, the RAF was able to detect
event sparked and destroy some 2,300 of the Luftwaffe’s aircraft. Hitler canceled the
World War II? invasion of Britain.

The United States Joins the War

Most Americans opposed Hitler’s actions, but they did not want to join the
war. When President Franklin Roosevelt ran for re-election in 1940, he
told voters that “your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.”
Privately, however, Roosevelt was convinced that the United States would
soon be at war.
Helping the Allies In 1941 Roosevelt proposed new programs to assist the
Allies. “We must be the great arsenal [arms supply] of democracy,” he told
Congress. In March 1941 Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act, allowing
the president to aid any nation believed vital to U.S. defense. Under Lend-
Lease, the United States sent billions of dollars’ worth of aid in the form
of weapons, tanks, airplanes, and food to Britain, the Nationalists in

834 Module 27
 China, and other Allied countries. In June 1941 Hitler violated his
nonaggression pact with Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviets
then joined the Allies in the fight against Germany. In November the United
States extended the Lend-Lease program to the Soviet Union, though many
Americans worried about giving aid to a Communist country.
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor Like Germany and Italy, Japan was quickly
building an empire. After conquering much of China in the 1930s,
Japanese forces moved into Southeast Asia. Japan’s leaders wanted control
of oil and other resources there.
When Japanese forces captured French Indochina in July 1941,
Roosevelt protested. He demanded that Japan withdraw. Then the United
States froze Japanese funds in its banks and cut off exports to Japan.
Japanese military leaders had already begun planning a large-scale
attack to destroy the U.S. naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii.
This would give Japan time to secure control of East Asia before the U.S.
military could respond.

Explore ONLINE!
Pearl Harbor, 1941

Japanese territory
Route of Japanese
aircraft carriers
0 500 1,000 Miles

0 500 1,000 Kilometers

Bering ALASKA
International

Sea of Sea ds
Date LIne

Okhotsk lan N
n Is
Aleutia W
s

E
nd

a
Isl
ril
S
MANCHUKUO Ku PAC I F I C O C E A N UNITED
2,900 miles
November 26 Japanese STATES
December 3
Sea of submarines
Japan
miles deployed on
JAPAN San Francisco
80

KOREA 3,300
0m

December 6.
ile

Tokyo December 16
s

HRW American History full vol

1,000

December 6
ah07fs_c26loc005ba.ai30°N
miles

Midway
700 miles

Pearl Harbor World locator--version

December 3 mil
es Islands
23 00 December 7
1st proof: 4/12/05 v1 Tropic of Cancer 2,4
Oahu
2nd proof: 5/09/05 v2 HAWAII
December 8 Pearl Harbor
3rd proof: 5/10/05 v3 Mariana
Islands
Wake Island
Final: 7/05/05 Philippine
150°E 180° 150°W
Sea
The first Japanese aircraft
take off at 6 a.m. on
Interpret Maps
December 7.
1. Place How many miles is it from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo?
2. Movement From where did the Japanese fleet leave on
November 26?

World War II 835

 Japanese forces bombarded the
American naval fleet for several
hours in the attack on Pearl
Harbor. Eighteen ships were hit,
and more than 2,400 Americans
were killed.

At 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes dove

from the sky and attacked Pearl Harbor. In just a few hours, the Japanese
sank or damaged all of the battleships anchored at Pearl Harbor. More
than 2,400 Americans were killed. Almost 200 airplanes were destroyed.
Reading Check Speaking to Congress the next day, President Roosevelt called ­December 7,
Identify Cause 1941, “a date which will live in infamy [disgrace].” Congress voted to
and Effect
declare war on Japan. Germany then declared war on the United States.
What did Japan hope
to gain by attacking Less than 25 years after entering World War I, the United States joined the
Pearl Harbor? Allies in another global war. This one would be even more devastating.
Summary and Preview Military aggression in Europe and Asia drew
the United States into war. In the next lesson you will learn how the war
affected the home front.

Lesson 1 Assessment
Review Ideas, Terms, and People 3. a. Describe How did the Lend-Lease Act help the
Allies?
1. a. Identify What types of leaders came to power in
Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union before World b. Explain What event brought the United States into
War II? World War II?
b. Explain Why did some Europeans have faith in Critical Thinking
these leaders?
2. a. Recall Which countries formed the Axis Powers and 4. Identify Cause and Effect In this lesson you learned
the Allied Powers? about totalitarian countries and their leaders prior to
World War II. Create a graphic organizer similar to the
b. Summarize What did Adolf Hitler promise the
one below and use it to give details on the causes of
German people, and how did he act on this promise?
World War II.
c. Elaborate Do you think Winston Churchill was a
good choice for Britain’s prime minister? Explain your
answer. Causes of
WWII

836 Module 27
 Lesson 2

The Home Front

If YOU were there . . .

The Big Idea Shopping for food has become a whole new
American involvement in World
experience since the United States entered World War II.
War II helped the U.S. economy When your mother sends you to the grocery store these
and changed the lives of many days, she gives you government-issued ration stamps.
Americans. These stamps limit the amount of sugar, butter, and
Main Ideas meat each family can buy. The sacrifice is difficult, but
you know it will help the soldiers fighting overseas.
■■ Businesses, soldiers, and
citizens worked to prepare the In what other ways can you
United States for war. help the war effort?
■■ The war brought new
opportunities for many women
and minorities.
Preparing for War
The United States was still experiencing the effects of the
■■ Japanese Americans faced
internment during the war. Great Depression when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
in December 1941. The enormous effort of mobilizing for
Key Terms and People war finally brought the Depression to an end. The economy
War Production Board was converted to war production. Factories ran 24 hours a
A. Philip Randolph day, producing ships, tanks, jeeps, guns, and ammunition.
Tuskegee Airmen Americans turned their knowledge of mass production toward
Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
the production of war supplies. One remarkable example was
zoot-suit riots
internment
the building of Liberty ships—transport ­vessels for troops and
supplies. Workers could build an entire 441-foot-long Liberty
ship in as little as four days.
American workers were soon doubling the war production of
Germany, Japan, and all other Axis Power countries combined.
Unemployment fell to 1 percent in 1944. Agricultural production
increased as well, as farmers sent food overseas to feed Allied
soldiers. On the home front, one could buy only limited amounts
of many foods, from coffee to canned goods. To organize the
war effort, the government created the War Production Board
(WPB) to oversee the conversion of factories to war production.
In 1942, for example, the WPB banned the production of cars
so that auto plants could produce military equipment. Essential
resources, such as rubber for tires and gasoline, were rationed to
ensure adequate supplies for military use.

World War II 837

 The United States also needed millions of soldiers. Congress had
begun to prepare for war by passing the Selective Training and Ser­
vice Act in 1940. This was the first peacetime draft in the country’s
history. Men from the ages of 21 to 35 (later 18 to 38) were required
to register for the draft. More than 16 million Americans served dur­
ing the war.
In addition to metal, Americans
collected old tires and recycled the To finance the war effort, the government increased taxes and sold
rubber to make gas masks, lifeboats, war bonds. War bonds were essentially loans that people made to
and wheels for military vehicles. the government. People who bought war bonds in 1942, for example,
would get their money back ten years later, with interest.
Americans also contributed to the war effort by collecting scrap metal
Reading Check that could be used in weapons factories. People learned to adjust to
Identify Cause and govern­ment rations limiting the supply of gasoline, rubber, shoes, and some
Effect How did the
war affect the U.S. foods. Posters urged Americans to “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do
economy? without.”

Wartime Opportunities
You read that wartime production during World War I created new oppor­
tunities for many women and minorities. The same thing happened on an
even larger scale during World War II.
New Roles for Women With so many men leaving home to fight in World
War II, factories badly needed new workers. The government urged women
to fill these positions. Women found themselves doing work that had
­traditionally been considered “unladylike.” One female riveter (a person who
fastens parts on a machine) recalled her experiences building airplanes:

“[I] learned to use an electric drill . . . and I soon became an

outstanding riveter. . . . The war really created opportunities for
women. It was the first time we got a chance to show that we could
do a lot of things that only men had done before.”
—Winona Espinosa, quoted in “Rosie the Riveter Remembers”
American Heritage, February/March 1984

Women also filled new roles in military service. About 300,000 women
served in the armed forces through special divisions such as the Women’s
Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and Women’s Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP). WASP pilots flew test flights and ferried planes between factories
and air bases. Army and navy nurses served in combat areas.
African Americans The Great Migration continued as African Americans
moved to northern cities to find factory jobs. In most cases, however,
black workers received lower pay than did white workers. They also were
restricted in what kinds of jobs they were hired to perform.
To protest this unfair treatment, African American labor leader A.
Philip Randolph began to organize a march to Washington, DC, in 1941.
“If freedom and equality are not [granted for] the peoples of color, the war
for democracy will not be won,” he argued. Randolph canceled the march,
however, after President Roosevelt issued an order prohibiting racial dis­
crimination in the government and in companies producing war goods.

838 Module 27
Historical Sources

Supporting the War

Posters like these encouraged
Americans to support their
troops in a variety of ways.
Building weaponry, growing
food, saving scrap metal, and
rationing all helped the war effort
and allowed soldiers to have
necessary supplies.

“Rosie the Riveter” became a

symbol of women’s work to
support the war.

Analyze Historical Sources Victory gardens planted at home allowed

How did posters like these aim to help more commercially produced food to be
troops overseas? sent from farms to troops overseas.

About 1 million African Americans served in the armed forces during

the war, mostly in segregated units. In the Navy, African Americans were
assigned only to support positions and denied the right to participate in
combat. Despite this, many black soldiers became national heroes during
the war. One was Doris “Dorie” Miller, who displayed great courage during
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Leaving his post as ship’s cook, Miller manned
a machine gun on the deck of the USS West Virginia until he was ordered to
abandon the ship because it was sinking.
The Tuskegee Airmen were African American pilots who trained at the
Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., who later
became the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force, led the
group. Davis and his pilots had to overcome prejudice in the military as
well as the hazards of war. He later described the pilots as “outstanding
Americans who served their country unselfishly. Despite treatment that
would have demoralized men of lesser strength and character, they per-
sisted through humiliations and dangers to earn the respect of their fel-
lows.” The Tuskegee Airmen flew thousands of successful combat
missions in North Africa and Italy.
Mexican Americans About 300,000 Mexican Americans served in the
military during the war. Many Mexican Americans also found wartime
jobs on the West Coast and in the Midwest. Because of a shortage of farm
workers, the federal government asked Mexico to provide agricultural
workers. The workers, called braceros, were guaranteed a minimum wage,
food, shelter, and clean living conditions. About 200,000 Mexicans worked
in the bracero program.

World War II 839

 DOCUMENTBASED INVESTIGATION Historical Sources

Tuskegee Airmen
“While no AAF [American Air Force]
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was a unit had gone into combat better
graduate of West Point who trained or better equipped than the
became the first African American 99th Fighter Squadron, we lacked
Air Force officer to achieve the rank
actual combat experience. So as we
of general. During World War II he
led the first African American flying
approached our first missions, my
unit, the 99th Fighter Squadron. own inexperience and that of my
These men had been trained at the flight commanders was a major
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. source of concern. On the other
hand, we had averaged about 250
hours per man in a P-40 (quite
a lot for pilots who had not yet
flown their first missions), and we
possessed an unusually strong sense of
purpose and solidarity.”
Analyze Historical Sources
—Benjamin O. Davis, Benjamin O. Davis,
What advantages did the American: An Autobiography
Tuskegee Airmen bring to battle?

Young Mexican Americans of the time created their own culture by

Reading Check blending different music styles and clothing styles. Some men wore zoot
Analyze
Information suits—fancy, loose-fitting outfits with oversized hats. Despite their aiding
How did the of the war effort, many faced discrimination. In Los Angeles in June 1943,
war create both groups of sailors attacked Mexican Americans wearing zoot suits, begin-
opportunities
and challenges ning the zoot-suit riots. During the ten-day period, white mobs attacked
for minorities? many Mexican Americans.

Struggles at Home
Although members of every race participated in the war as
American soldiers, life for minorities at home changed very little.
African Americans were still subject to segregation, and Mexican
Americans continued to have very little economic opportunity.

840 Module 27
 Japanese American Internment
Japanese Americans faced a different form of prejudice during World War
II. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, some Americans began
to look at Americans of Japanese descent with fear and suspicion. Most
Japanese Americans lived on the West Coast at this time. It was feared
that they would serve as secret agents for Japan and help Japan prepare an
invasion of the West Coast or try to sabotage U.S. war efforts.
The U.S. government had no evidence to support these fears. In spite
of this fact, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. This order
allowed the government to begin the process of internment, or forced
relocation and imprisonment, of Japanese Americans. About 115,000
Japanese Americans were evacuated from their homes and held in
isolated internment camps. Half of those held in the camps were children.
A smaller number of Americans of German and Italian ancestry were also
held in internment camps during the war.
Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American citizen, refused to go to the
camps and was arrested as a result. Saying that the internment order was
unlawful and racist, Korematsu took his case all the way to the Supreme
Court. In Korematsu v. United States (1944), the Supreme Court ruled
against him, arguing that the unusual demands of wartime security
justified the order.
At this time, some Japanese Americans were Issei, or immigrants born
in Japan. But most were Nisei, American citizens born in the United States
to Japanese immigrant parents. Whether they were U.S. citizens or not,
Japanese Americans lost their jobs, homes, and belongings when they were
Japanese Americans
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were removed from their
communities and ordered into internment camps far away from the West Coast.

Japanese American
Internment
Not interned
6% American
Japanese citizens of
citizens Japanese
37% 57%
living in descent
America interned
interned

World War II 841

 forced to move to internment camps. A farm owner named Yuri Tateishi
spoke of feeling betrayed by his government. “You hurt,” he said. “You give
up everything that you worked for that far, and I think everybody was at
the point of just having gotten out of the Depression and was just get-
ting on his feet. And then all that happens! You have to throw everything
away.” After the Pearl Harbor attack, the government banned young
Japanese American men from serving in the military. But Roosevelt
reversed this policy in 1943. Daniel Inouye remembered the excitement
he and his fellow Japanese Americans in Hawaii felt when they heard that
the government was going to form an all-Nisei combat team. An army
recruiter had prepared a pep talk for the young Japanese Americans, but
this proved to be unnecessary:

“As soon as he said that we were now eligible to volunteer, that room
exploded into a fury of yells and motion. We went bursting out of
there and ran—ran!—the three miles to the draft board . . . jostling
for position, like a bunch of marathoners gone berserk.”
—Daniel Inouye, from Journey to Washington
by Daniel Inouye and Lawrence Elliott

Inouye was one of about 33,000 Nisei who served in World War II. The
Reading Check Japanese American 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team received more
Analyze than 18,000 decorations for bravery—more than any other unit of its size
Information
Why were Japanese in U.S. military history. Many of the soldiers of the 100th/442nd served
Americans interned? while their families were held in internment camps back home.
Summary and Preview The war effort changed life on the home front.
In the next lesson you will learn about the fighting in Europe and
North Africa.

Lesson 2 Assessment
Review Ideas, Terms, and People Critical Thinking
1. a. Describe How did people on the home front 4. Categorize In this lesson you learned about the
support the war effort? challenges and opportunities for different groups
b. Identify What government agency oversaw of people in America during World War II. Create a
factory production during the war? graphic organizer similar to the one below and use it
2. a. Recall What were the WAAC and the WASP? to list opportunities that women, African Americans,
and Mexican Americans found during the war.
b. Explain Why did A. Philip Randolph organize a
march on Washington and then cancel it? Wartime Opportunities

c. Elaborate How did the bracero program Women

African Mexican
benefit both Mexicans and Americans? Americans Americans

3. a. Define What was the internment program?

b. Contrast How did the U.S. government change
its policy toward Japanese Americans serving in
the military? How did many respond?

842 Module 27
 Lesson 3

War in Europe and North Africa

If YOU were there . . .

The Big Idea The year is 1943, and you are a senior in high school. You
After fierce fighting in North
know that you will be drafted into the armed forces as
Africa and Europe, the Allies soon as you graduate. Every day after school you listen
stopped the German advance to radio reports about the battles being fought around
and slowly began driving back the world. Your future, and the future of the whole
German forces. world, seem so uncertain.
Main Ideas How do you feel about
■■ The Allies fought back against fighting in this war?
the Axis Powers in North Africa
and Europe.
■■ Key Allied victories halted the
The Allies Fight Back
German advance. In December 1941, soon after the United States entered the
war, President Roosevelt met with British prime minister
■■ In the D-Day invasion, Allied
forces attacked German-
Winston Churchill to work out a plan to defeat the Axis Powers.
controlled France. Roosevelt agreed that the United States would place “Europe
first” in its plans to defeat the Axis, while still aiding China in
Key Terms and People the fight against Japan in the Pacific. In addition, Roosevelt
Battle of El Alamein and Churchill agreed on two initial strategies: a buildup of
Dwight D. Eisenhower troops in Britain to be used to invade France, and an assault on
Battle of Stalingrad
German forces in North Africa.
D-Day
Meanwhile, the Soviets had been demanding Allied help
on the eastern front, where they had borne the brunt of the
European war for months after Hitler’s invasion. Stalin wanted
the Allies to attack in Europe immediately, to take some of
the pressure off of the Soviet forces in the east. In July 1942,
however, the Allies decided to put a European invasion on hold
and launch an initial offensive in North Africa. Stalin was
angry. The Soviets would have to continue to fight the war
on the eastern front without a western European assault to
distract the Germans.
As they prepared their battle plans, the Allies faced many
obstacles. One major threat the Allies had to combat was
U-boat attacks. In 1942 alone German U-boats sank more
than 6 million tons of Allied materials. To prevent further
damage, the Allies used the convoy system of multiple ships
traveling at once, along with new sonar technology. Sonar,

World War II 843

The Allies began using sonar to destroy German U-boats, shown here in a German harbor.

Reading Check which uses sound waves to detect objects underwater, helped Allied ships
Sequence What find and destroy German U-boats. In addition, new long-range Allied planes
battle plan did the protected the convoys from the air. Long-range planes could also fly into
Allies agree to pursue
after U.S. entry into German territory to drop bombs on factories, railroads, and cities, inflicting
the war? tremendous damage on German targets.

Halting the German Advance

Churchill predicted that the road to victory would be long and difficult.
By winning several key battles, however, Allied forces finally stopped the
German advance.
North Africa and Italy As you have read, a main focus for the Allies when
the United States entered the war was North Africa. The Germans and
British were battling for control there because Axis leaders wanted to
grab control of the Suez Canal, a crucial supply route in Egypt. Germany’s
Afrika Korps was led by General Erwin Rommel, nicknamed the Desert
Fox for his bold, surprise attacks.
In the summer of 1942, Rommel began an offensive to take Egypt.
General Bernard Montgomery led the British forces to stop the Germans.
The British stopped the Afrika Korps in July at the Battle of El Alamein.
At the same time, U.S. and British troops, led by American general Dwight
D. Eisenhower, came ashore in Morocco and Algeria, west of Egypt. Caught
between two Allied forces, the Afrika Korps surrendered in May 1943.
With North Africa under their control, the Allies prepared to attack the
Axis Powers in Europe. Churchill identified Italy as the “soft underbelly” of
the Axis. Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and moved
from there to the Italian mainland. Italian leaders overthrew Mussolini
and surrendered to the Allies. But Hitler refused to recognize the Axis
defeat. He sent German troops to Italy to block the Allied advance.

844 Module 27
Quick Facts

Major Allied Leaders in Europe

Winston Churchill Prime Franklin Roosevelt President Joseph Stalin Premier of the
Minister of Great Britain of the United States Soviet Union

Major Axis Leaders in Europe

In January 1944, Allied forces
tried to get behind the Germans
with a surprise attack at Anzio,
on the western coast of Italy.
American and ­British troops
landed at Anzio but were pinned
down on the beach for several
months. The “soft underbelly”
proved to be much tougher than
expected. Finally, the Allied
forces in southern Italy battled
north to Anzio. The combined
Adolf Hitler Chancellor Benito Mussolini Prime forces captured Rome, the
of Germany Minister of Italy capital of Italy, in June 1944.
Early in 1945, German forces
were driven out of Italy. Italian ­f reedom fighters executed Mussolini.
The Battle of Stalingrad Meanwhile, massive German and Soviet armies
were battling on the eastern front. By the middle of 1942, Axis armies
had driven deep into Soviet territory. Millions of Soviet soldiers had been
killed or captured.
German forces then advanced to the key industrial city of Stalingrad,
now called Volgograd. German firebombs set much of the city on fire.
But Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was determined to hold on to Stalingrad
at all costs. At one point in the fighting, the Soviet forces occupied only a
small strip of land along the Volga River. Savage street fighting dragged
on for months. The city’s remaining buildings were destroyed. Soviet
snipers used the ruined buildings to their advantage, firing at German
soldiers from behind piles of stone and brick.
German supplies began to run desperately low as the harsh Russian
winter began. Hitler remained obsessed with capturing Stalingrad,

World War II 845

Tanks thundered across Europe, destroying
much of what lay in their paths.

Airplanes dropped millions of bombs on

opposing forces. They were also used for
moving troops and for spying on the enemy.

however. He ordered his troops to keep fighting, though he did not send
enough new supplies or soldiers. Thousands of Germans froze or starved
to death. In late January 1943 the German commander at Stalingrad
defied Hitler and surrendered to save his remaining troops. The Battle
of Stalingrad thus became a key turning point of the war.
The Soviet victory came at an enormous cost—more than 1 million
Reading Check Soviet soldiers died at Stalingrad. About 800,000 Axis soldiers were
Sequence What killed. After Stalingrad, the Soviets won another victory in the city of
events led to Kursk, in the biggest tank battle ever fought. The Axis Powers now began
the Allied victories
in Italy and the to retreat from the Soviet Union. The tide of the war in the east had
Soviet Union? turned.

The D-Day Invasion

After hard-fought victories in North Africa and Italy, the Allies were
ready for an even tougher task—the invasion of German-occupied
France. This was the first step toward the goal of liberating Europe and
forcing Hitler to surrender.
Dwight Eisenhower was in charge of planning what would be the
largest sea-to-land invasion ever attempted. Eisenhower knew that
German forces were expecting an invasion of France. The Germans had
planted mines and stretched barbed wire along the French coastline.
Heavily armed German soldiers waited on the beaches in bombproof
bunkers. Eisenhower warned his troops of the danger but expressed
confidence in their ability to succeed. “The hopes and prayers of liberty-
loving people everywhere march with you,” he told them.
American, British, and Canadian troops invaded France on June 6,
1944—known as D-Day, or “designated day.” They crossed the choppy
waters of the English Channel and landed on five beaches in Normandy.
More than 6,000 ships, 11,000 planes, and 156,000 men were part of
the invasion. Soldiers jumped from boats and waded ashore, often under
heavy fire.

846 Module 27
 Explore ONLINE!
World War II in Europe, 1942–1945

Axis controlled, June 1944

Allied controlled, June 1944
Neutral country
60°
N
Farthest Axis advance, 1942
HRW American History Ful Vol
Allied advance
ah07fs_c26loc013ba.ai
Major battle WWII in Europe, 1942-45 World locator
FINLAND
Allied air attack Leningrad
0 150 300 Miles 1st proof: 04/12/05
NORWAY

0 150 300 Kilometers N

20°E
10°E
W
E

Sea
S
SWEDEN
DENMARK

tic
0°

al
B
North Sea
IRELAND
Stalingrad
NETHERLANDS
GREAT Nov. 1942-
Feb. 1943
BRITAIN
50° Elb Berlin
N e Apr.–May 1945 SOVIET
R UNION

Vi iver
Antwerp Od
London Ri

st
ver er

ul a
Ri
English BELGIUM

ve
Channel Battle of the Bulge

r
Dec. 1944

D-Day GERMANY
June 1944 Paris Da SLOVAKIA
Riv e

n
Riv ube
er
n
Rhi

FRANCE er HUNGARY
ATLANTIC
OCEAN SWITZERLAND AUSTRIA

VICHY ROMANIA
FRANCE Black Sea
30°E 40°E
PORTUGAL CROATIA SERBIA
AUG

Ad
.1

ri

tic
94

ITALY
4

Se BULGARIA
a
Rome MONTENEGRO ALBANIA
SPAIN Corsica Anzio TURKEY
Jan. 1944
40°N
Aegean
Sardinia GREECE Sea
43

GIBRALTAR
. 19

(BR)
PT
SE

NOV NOV. 1942 Sicily

NOV. 1

. 19
42

Mediterranean
942

SPANISH
MOROCCO Malta Sea Crete

JULY 1943
MOROCCO ALGERIA

TUNISIA
Interpret Maps
Location In which country shown on the map did most of the El Alamein
LIBYA Oct.-Nov. 1942
major battles take place? EGYPT

American soldiers landed on the beaches

of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.

HRW American History Full Volume

ah07fs_c26leg013aa
WWII in Europe, 1942-1945
1st pass 4/12/05
2nd proof 5/19/05
3rd proof 6/16/05
Updated 4/19/16
World War II 847
Timeline: World War II in Europe, 1942–1945

1942 1945

November 1942 February 1943 May 1943 July 1943 June 5, 1944 June 6, 1944
Allies win the Battle of Final German Axis forces in Allies begin Allies capture Allied forces
El Alamein. troops surrender at North Africa an invasion of Rome. invade France on
Stalingrad. surrender. Sicily. D-Day.

Analyze Timelines
Which event was a key turning point of the war on the eastern front?

The Americans landed on two beaches, codenamed Utah and Omaha.

Fighting was especially fierce on Omaha Beach, where almost 3,000 men
were killed or wounded. “The entire beach was strewn with mines,” wrote
one U.S. soldier to his wife. “With a stream of lead coming towards us, we
Reading Check were at the mercy of the Germans.”
Summarize
What was the goal of By the end of D-Day, all five beaches were secured. The Allies then began
the D-Day invasion? driving east through French villages and countryside toward Germany.
Summary and Preview Allied victories led to the D-Day invasion. In the
next lesson you will read about the Pacific war.

Lesson 3 Assessment
Review Ideas, Terms, and People Critical Thinking
1. a. Describe What new strategies did the Allies use in 4. Categorize In this lesson you learned about the major
the fight in Europe and North Africa? World War II battles and campaigns in different areas
b. Draw Conclusions Why was it important for no of the world. Create a graphic organizer similar to the
individual Allied Power to make peace with the Axis one below and use it to explain the significance of
countries? each event shown.
2. a. Recall What role did Dwight D. Eisenhower play in
the North Africa campaign? Event Significance
b. Analyze Why did the Allies decide to invade North Battle of El Alamein
Africa and Italy? Capture of Rome
c. Evaluate Why is the Battle of Stalingrad often called Battle of Stalingrad
a turning point in the war?
D-Day invasion
3. a. Identify What was D-Day?
b. Elaborate What did Eisenhower mean when he
said, “The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people
everywhere march with you”?

848 Module 27
 Lesson 4

War in the Pacific

If YOU were there . . .

The Big Idea It is spring of 1945, and your older brother is fighting the
Allied forces reversed Japan’s
Japanese in the Pacific. You’ve been following the news
expansion in the Pacific and reports closely, and you know that fighting in the Pacific
battled toward the main is terribly fierce. You hear that the Japanese soldiers
Japanese islands. often refuse to surrender, fighting to the death instead.
Main Ideas Your brother reveals in his letters that he is lonely and
suffering many hardships. Now you are writing to him.
■■ The Japanese continued
advancing across the Pacific What would you say to encourage him?
in 1942.
■■ The Allies stopped Japan’s
advance with key victories over
Japan Advances
the Japanese navy. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor left the U.S. Pacific Fleet so
■■ The Allies began battling
weakened that it could not immediately respond to the
toward Japan. Japanese advance. In addition, President Roosevelt had agreed
to concentrate U.S. resources in Europe first. So, while the
Key Terms and People United States recovered from Pearl Harbor, Japan conquered
Douglas MacArthur Thailand, Burma, the British colonies of Hong Kong and Sin-
Bataan Death March gapore, and the U.S. territories of Guam and Wake Island. The
Chester Nimitz
same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded Hong
Battle of the Coral Sea
Kong. British, Canadian, and Indian forces attempting to stop
Battle of Midway
island hopping the invasion were outnumbered. Japan attacked the American-
Battle of Leyte Gulf controlled Philippines the same day.
kamikaze American and Filipino forces under the command of
American general Douglas MacArthur could not stop
Japan’s advance in the Philippines. MacArthur left the
islands in March 1942, vowing to return. More than 70,000
American and Filipino soldiers surrendered to the Japanese.
The atrocities that followed were clear violations of human
Reading Check rights. The exhausted soldiers were forced to march 63
Identify Cause and miles up the Bataan Peninsula to prison camps. Many pris-
Effect Why could the oners were starved and beaten by Japanese soldiers. More
U.S. Pacific Fleet not
immediately stop the than 600 Americans and about 10,000 Filipinos died in the
Japanese advance? Bataan Death March.

World War II 849

 Key Allied Victories
The Allies feared the Japanese might next attack India, Australia, or even
the United States mainland. Admiral Chester Nimitz led the U.S. Pacific
Fleet. Nimitz was determined to stop the Japanese advance, and he had an
important advantage—the ability to crack secret Japanese codes.
American code breakers helped the Allies in two key naval battles in the
Pacific. Nimitz learned that the Japanese were planning an attack on Port
Moresby, New Guinea, an island just north of Australia. If the Japanese
took New Guinea, they would have a base from which to invade Australia.
In May 1942 Nimitz sent Allied forces to stop the Japanese fleet. American
and Japanese aircraft carriers and fighter planes clashed in the Battle of
the Coral Sea. In this battle both sides used a new kind of strategy. The
opposing ships did not fire a single shot. In fact, they often were not in
view of each other. Instead, airplanes taking off from the huge aircraft
carriers attacked the ships. Although each side suffered heavy losses,
neither won a clear victory. Still, the Japanese assault on Port Moresby was
stopped.
Allied leaders then learned that the Japanese planned a surprise attack
on the Midway Islands. Nimitz was prepared. The Battle of Midway began

Code Talkers
More than 40,000 Native
Americans served in the U.S.
armed forces during the war.
About 400 Navajo Native
Americans served as “code
talkers,” relaying coded messages
based on the complex Navajo
language. Japan’s expert code
breakers were never able to crack
the Navajo code.

Why might the Japanese have been

unable to break the Navajo code?

850 Module 27
 on June 4, 1942, when Japan started bombing the islands. American air-
craft carriers launched their planes, catching the Japanese aircraft carriers
while many of their planes were refueling on deck. American dive bombers
destroyed four of Japan’s aircraft carriers, severely weakening Japanese
naval power. “Pearl Harbor has now been partially avenged,” said Nimitz.
The Allies then began the enormous and difficult task of recapturing
territory from Japan. In August 1942 American marines invaded Guadal-
canal, one of the Solomon Islands northeast of Australia. Intense fighting
raged for nearly six months. Marine Louis Ortega remembered that enemy
Reading Check bombs and bullets were only part of the danger in the hot, rainy jungles of
Draw Conclusions Guadalcanal. Soldiers also suffered from diseases, such as malaria, and from
How did the Allied hunger due to lack of supplies. “I had gone to Guadalcanal weighing about
victory at Midway
change the course of 150,” Ortega said. “I left weighing about 110.” American forces finally took
the war in the Pacific? control of the island in February 1943.

Battling toward Japan

Allied victories at Midway and Guadalcanal helped change the course
of the war in the Pacific. The Allies now saw their chance to go on the
offensive, with the goal of reaching Japan itself.
Island Hopping To fight their way toward Japan, Allied war planners
developed a strategy called island hopping, where Allied forces took only
the most strategically important islands, instead of each Japanese-held
island. They could use each captured island as a base for the next attack,
while isolating the Japanese forces on the bypassed islands.
Island hopping proved to be a successful strategy, though very costly to
Academic execute. Japanese forces fortified key islands and fought fiercely to hold
Vocabulary on to them. In November 1943, U.S. Marines leapt off their boats and
execute perform,
carry out
waded toward Tarawa, one of the Gilbert Islands. They advanced into
ferocious fire from Japanese machine guns. “The water seemed never clear
of . . . men,” one marine said. “They kept falling, falling, falling.” Both
sides sustained heavy casualties at Tarawa, but the marines captured the
island. The Allies won similar victories in the Marshall, Mariana, Volcano,
and Bonin islands.
In October 1944 General MacArthur led a mission to retake the
Philippines. The Japanese navy confronted the Allies at the Battle of
Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. The Allies crushed the
Japanese fleet, crippling Japan’s naval power for the remainder of the
war. It also gave the Allies a base from which to attack the main shipping
routes that supplied Japan. After splashing ashore on Leyte, MacArthur
proudly declared: “People of the Philippines: I have returned.” Securing the
Philippines took many more months of fighting. Allied forces and Filipino
guerrillas finally drove out or captured all of the Japanese defenders by
the summer of 1945.
Final Battles With key islands close to Japan secured, Allied planes
began bombing targets in Japan in November 1944. A recently developed
airplane, the B-29, played a major role in the effort. These planes, which

World War II 851

 Explore ONLINE!
War in the Pacific, 1941–1945

Japan (Axis Power) Major battle

Controlled by Japan, Allied advance
July 1942
Allied Allied air attack
Allied control Atomic bombing
0 500 1,000 Miles
ALASKA
0 500 1,000 Kilometers
60°N

SOVIET UNION
Bering Sea

19 ds
45 Aleutian Islan
3
194

HRW American
MONGOLIA History full vol
ah07fs_c26loc015ba MANCHUKUO 45°N
War in the Pacific World locator

first proof: 4/14/05

Beijing Hiroshima
N

2nd proof: new base 05/12/05

KOREA Aug. 6, W E

5 1945 JAPAN
194 PAC IFIC S
Tokyo
CHINA OC EA N
1944 Nagasaki
1944–

Aug. 9, Midway
Chengdu 1945 Volcano June 1942 30°N
1945

Okinawa Islands Midway 1943

April- Islands
Iwo Jima (Iwo To)
194

June,
Feb.–Mar. 1945 Ha
5

1945 wai
Taiwan ian I
sland
19

Hong s
194
45

BURMA
Kong
5

Mariana Japanese attack

BATAAN Islands Pearl Harbor
1945

PENINSULA Dec. 7, 1941

Tinian 15°N
PHILIPPINE NIMI Marshall
FRENCH TZ
ISLANDS Guam 1944 Islands
INDOCHINA Philippine Sea
June 1944
THAILAND
Leyte Gulf
Oct. 1944 194
MALAYA 4
M

Gilbert 0° Equator
AC

TH Bismarck Sea Islands

AR

U 1943
R March 1943 Guadalcanal
Solomon Aug. 1942-
D U T C H E AST I N D I E S Islands Feb. 1943
194
2–1
943
Port Moresby
Coral Sea
May 1942
15°S

INDIAN 150°E
OCEAN
Interpret Maps
1. Location Did the area controlled by
Japan by July 1942 include the Hawaiian
AUSTRALIA Islands? How can you tell?
2. Human-Environment Interaction
Which major battles occurred south of
165°E 180° 165°W
the equator?
105°E 120°E 135°E

852 Module 27
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
Six marines are shown raising the American
flag atop Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo
Jima after an important battle there. They were
instructed to raise the flag on the highest point of
the island so that all the men still fighting could
see it.

could carry 20,000 pounds of explosives each, led bombing raids on more
than 60 major Japanese cities. A March 1945 raid set Japan’s capital city of
Tokyo on fire, leaving 1 million people homeless. Japanese factories were
destroyed, and food became so scarce that many people neared starvation.
Even with the widespread loss of life and damage to the environment,
Japan refused to surrender.
Two of the war’s fiercest battles occurred on Japan’s outer islands early
in 1945. In February U.S. Marines stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima, now
known as Iwo To. Japanese defenders were dug into caves, with orders to
fight to the death. “On Iwo, we hardly ever saw the enemy,” recalled one
marine. After the marines raised the American flag on Iwo Jima, a month
of bloody fighting followed. Of more than 20,000 Japanese defenders on
Iwo Jima, about a thousand were taken prisoner—the rest were killed or
wounded in battle. About 6,800 Americans had died.
Beginning in April an even deadlier battle was fought for the island of
Okinawa. There were an estimated 100,000 Japanese soldiers on the island
when U.S. forces began their attack. One U.S. Marine officer described the
hard fighting at the Battle of Okinawa:

“We poured a tremendous amount of metal in on those positions. . . .

It seemed nothing could possibly be living in that churning
mass where the shells were falling and roaring but when we next
advanced, [Japanese troops] would still be there and madder than
ever.”
—Colonel Wilburt S. Brown, quoted in The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa by Colonel
Joseph H. Alexander

World War II 853

 In the waters near the island, Jap-
anese planes struck U.S. ships with
the tactic of kamikaze—purposely
crashing piloted planes into enemy
ships. In wave after wave, kamikaze
pilots flew planes loaded with explo-
sives straight down onto the decks
of Allied ships. An American sailor
who was on the deck of an aircraft
carrier when a kamikaze attacked
the ship described the scene. The
plane “cartwheeled the length of the
carrier and plowed into the planes
we had on the [flight deck]. We were
burning bow to stern . . . All the
guys manning the guns were dead.
Kamikaze pilots, some as young as 17, flew their airplanes directly into enemy
targets, committing suicide to fulfill their duty. Standing up. Pointing their guns.
They never left their posts.”
More than 2,500 kamikaze missions were flown, killing more than
4,000 Allied sailors. The fighting on Okinawa lasted nearly three months
and led to terrible casualties. By the time the island was secure, some
12,000 Allied troops were dead and 36,000 wounded. The Japanese
Reading Check
losses were staggering—some 110,000 troops and 80,000 civilians had
Analyze been killed.
­Information How After their victories at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Allies were one step
did the Allied strategy
in the Pacific change closer to final victory. Allied leaders began to plan for an all-out assault on
starting in 1943? the main Japanese islands.
Summary and Preview The Allies made major gains in the Pacific war,
moving closer to Japan. In the next lesson you will learn how the Allies
achieved full victory.

Lesson 4 Assessment
Review Ideas, Terms, and People Critical Thinking
1. a. Identify Why were the Japanese able to advance in 4. Sequence In this lesson you learned about the main
the Pacific in 1942? events of the Pacific war. Create a graphic organizer
b. Explain Why did so many prisoners die on the similar to the one below and use it to put the main
Bataan Death March? events of the Pacific war in the correct sequence.
2. a. Recall What Allied victories halted Japan’s advance?
b. Analyze Why was the Battle of the Coral Sea 1942 1943 1944 1945
important?
c. Elaborate How do you think the war might have
been different if the Allies had lost the Battle of
Midway?
3. a. Identify What was island hopping?
b. Explain What event led to the retaking of the
Philippines?
c. Evaluate Why do you think someone would serve
as a kamikaze pilot?

854 Module 27
 Lesson 5

Victory and Consequences

If YOU were there . . .

The Big Idea It is August 1944. You are an American soldier in France.
The Allies won World War II, the
You have seen the horrors of battle up close, but today is
most devastating war in world a day to rejoice. You and other Allied soldiers are march-
history. ing through the streets of Paris, celebrating its liberation
from Nazi control. It seems as if the whole city has come
Main Ideas
out to greet the Americans. People rush up to shake your
■■ The Allies gained victory
hand. Children cheer and hand you flowers.
in Europe with Germany’s
surrender. How does it feel to be part of this
■■ Nazis murdered millions of
moment in history?
Jews and other people in the
Holocaust.
Germany Surrenders
■■ Victory in the Pacific came after
In the weeks after the successful D-Day invasion, hundreds of
the United States dropped
atomic bombs on Japan. thousands of Allied troops landed in France. Led by ­A merican
general Omar Bradley, Allied forces began fighting their way
Key Terms and People across France toward Germany. At the same time, the Soviets
Battle of the Bulge were closing in on Germany from the east. Although Germany’s
Harry S. Truman defeat seemed certain to the Allies, Hitler refused to surrender.
Holocaust
In July 1944 Allied tank forces led by American general
genocide
Manhattan Project George Patton broke through German lines on the western
atomic bomb front. While Patton drove forward, more Allied forces invaded
southern France. Both groups of Allied forces fought their way
toward Paris. Encouraged by the Allies’ success, the citizens of
Paris rebelled against the German-occupying forces. By the end
of August, General Bradley was leading Allied troops through
the streets of the freed city. “All Paris surged out to meet the
Allied columns and welcome their ­liberators,” remembered
one witness. After securing Paris, the Allies continued driving
through Belgium and ­Luxembourg, making their way toward
Germany. Hitler drafted every able-bodied German man from
the age of 16 to 60 and planned one last desperate attack.
Hitler’s goal was for German forces to drive through a
weak spot in the Allied lines and capture the city of Antwerp,

World War II 855

 Belgium. On December 16 the Germans seized a moment
when Allied planes were grounded due to bad weather.
In heavy snow some 25 ­German divisions attacked the
Ardennes (ahr-den), a densely forested region defended
by just a few American divisions. The Germans quickly
pushed the Allied forces back about 65 miles, creating
a huge bulge in the Allied lines. This gave the battle its
name—the Battle of the Bulge.
Allied forces recovered rapidly and stopped the German
advance. When the skies cleared in late December, Allied
planes began pounding German troops. In early January
1945 the Germans began to retreat. American losses were
In the Battle of the Bulge, American soldiers faced heavy—between 70,000 and 81,000 casualties. Germany’s
a strong German attack in snowy forests during the losses were even greater, and Hitler’s ability to wage offen-
coldest winter northern Europe had in 40 years.
sive war was now completely crushed.
In the final months of the war, Allied bombing raids devastated major
German cities such as Berlin and Hamburg. Both sides in World War II had
used these kinds of bombing raids against the enemy’s cities. German raids,
for example, killed about 30,000 civilians in the British capital of London.
In February 1945 Allied bombers attacked the German city of Dresden,
igniting a firestorm that destroyed the city and killed more than 35,000
civilians. “Dresden was an inferno,” recalled one U.S. soldier. “I have night-
mares, even today.”
As Allied forces surrounded Berlin, Hitler retreated to an underground
bunker in the heart of the ruined city. On April 30, as Soviet troops entered
Berlin, Hitler committed suicide. A week later, the Germans surrendered. The
war in Europe had finally come to an end. The Allies celebrated May 8, 1945,
as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day.
President Franklin Roosevelt, who had led the United States throughout
Reading Check World War II, did not live to see V-E Day. He died of a stroke on April 12.
Sequence What
events led to Harry S. Truman became president and immediately faced the challenge of
Germany’s surrender? winning the war in the Pacific.

Horrors of the Holocaust

When Allied forces liberated Europe, they uncovered evidence of ­horrifying
Nazi crimes against humanity. In a program of mass murder that became
known as the Holocaust, Hitler and the Nazis had attempted to exterminate
the entire Jewish population of Europe in the name of Aryan supremacy.
The Final Solution Soon after gaining power in Germany, Hitler began his
campaign of terror against the Jews. The Nazis stripped German Jews of
their citizenship and seized their property. On the “night of broken glass,” or
Kristallnacht, many Jewish homes and businesses were destroyed. Many Jews
who did not escape the country were imprisoned in concentration camps such
as Dachau (DAH-kow), near Munich.
When Germany conquered huge sections of Europe and the Soviet
Union early in World War II, nearly 10 million Jews came under Hitler’s

856 Module 27
control. The Nazis forced many Jews into urban centers called ghettos. Oth-
ers were sent to concentration camps and used as slave labor. Many died from
hunger or disease. The Nazis also formed special killing squads that rounded
up groups of Jews, shot them, and buried them in mass graves. When the
Germans invaded the Soviet Union, these squads murdered more than 33,000
Soviet Jews near Kiev in three days. By the end of 1941 the death squads had
executed nearly 1 million people.
The Death Camps In January 1942 senior Nazi officials met to plan what
they called “a final solution to the Jewish question.” Hitler’s “final solution”
was genocide, or the extermination of an entire group of people. The Nazi
plan was to kill the Jews in specially built death camps, mainly in German-
occupied Poland. The camps were equipped with gas chambers designed to
kill large numbers of people, and furnaces were used to ­cremate the bodies
of victims.
By mid-1942 the Nazis had begun to ship Jews from throughout German-
occupied Europe to the camps. Several hundred thousand Jews, for example,
were transported by train from the ghetto in the Polish capital of Warsaw to a
death camp called Treblinka. In April 1943 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto staged
a violent uprising, attacking the Germans with guns and homemade bombs.
It took German troops nearly a month to crush the revolt. Survivors were sent
to Treblinka.
At the death camps most children, the elderly, and the sick were immedi-
ately executed. Those strong enough to work were used as laborers. When
they became too weak to work, they too were sent to the gas ­chambers.
Moritz Vegh was 13 when his family was sent from ­Czechoslovakia to Aus-
chwitz, one of the most notorious of the death camps. He later described
what happened to his mother and sister.

Buchenwald
Jews, Roma (also known as Gypsies), and other victims
of Hitler and the Nazis were sent to concentration
camps. Many were killed immediately upon arrival at
the camps, while others were executed later. Families
were forced apart, and prisoners were poorly fed
and clothed. Some were used as subjects for medical
experiments. This photo shows survivors of the
Buchenwald ­concentration camp after their liberation.

How did Hitler use the concentration camps to fulfill part

of his goals for Germany?

World War II 857

 “When we got off the cattle truck, they ordered, ‘Men, right; women,
left.’ . . . I went with my father. My little sister, Esther, she went
with my mother. Esther was only eleven. She was holding my
mother’s hand. When they made a selection of the women, Esther
clung to my mother. My mother wouldn’t give her up. . . . They went
straight to the gas chamber.”
—Moritz Vegh, quoted in The Boys: The Untold Story of 732 Young Concentration Camp Survivors

Moritz survived the war, working as a laborer at Auschwitz.

The Allied soldiers who liberated the death camps were horrified by what
Reading Check they found. About 6 million Jews—some two-thirds of Europe’s pre-war
Summarize What Jewish population—had been killed in the Holocaust. The Nazis had also
was the purpose
of the Nazis’ Final murdered millions of others, including Roma (often known as Gypsies),
Solution? Slavs, political opponents, and people with physical or mental disabilities.

Victory in the Pacific

In the Pacific, Allied planners prepared to invade Japan. They estimated
that the invasion could result in more than 1 million Allied casualties.
The Allies had another option. Since 1942 Allied scientists had been
working on a secret program known as the Manhattan Project. The goal
was to develop an atomic bomb, a weapon that produces tremendous
power by splitting atoms. (Germany had started trying to develop atomic
weapons since before the war began. The Allies were determined to achieve
that goal before the Nazis.) On July 16, 1945, the Allies successfully tested
the first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. The massive explosion
melted the desert sand into glass for 800 yards in all directions.
When Japanese leaders refused the Allies’ demand for an unconditional
surrender, President Truman gave the order to use the atomic bomb. On
August 6, 1945, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb above
the city of Hiroshima. “When I saw a very strong light, a flash, I put my arms
over my face unconsciously,” said one Japanese survivor. “Almost instantly
I felt my face was inflating . . . I saw people looking for water and they died
soon after they drank it . . . The whole city was destroyed and burning. There
was no place to go.” The explosion killed almost 80,000 people instantly.
Thousands more died later from burns and radiation poisoning.

The atomic blast over

Hiroshima destroyed the
city. Almost 80,000 people
were killed instantly, and
thousands more died later
from the effects of radiation.

858 Module 27
 Japanese leaders still refused to surrender. On August 9 U.S. forces dropped
Reading Check a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki. About one-third of the city was
Draw Conclusions
Why did Japan destroyed, and approximately 22,000 people died immediately. The Japanese
surrender? announced their surrender on August 15, 1945.

After the War

After six years, World War II was finally over. More than 50 million people
had been killed—more than half of them civilians. National economies in
Europe and Asia were devastated, and millions of people were left without
food, water, or shelter. Since the war had been fought far from American soil,
the United States escaped this level of destruction. As the strongest power
left in the world, much of the responsibility for postwar rebuilding fell to the
United States, which sent billions of dollars to its European allies and even its
defeated enemies.
Japan was in ruins. Bombing raids had almost destroyed Tokyo, and the
atomic bombs had flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan had lost its
empire. A legitimate government had to be established. General Douglas
MacArthur took charge of rebuilding Japan. He disbanded the military
and brought war criminals to trial. MacArthur and his team drew up a new
constitution built on democratic principles, and it was quickly adopted.
Although reviving the country’s economy was not really part of his job,
Reading Check MacArthur also pushed through a plan for land reform. Other reforms gave
Summarize How workers the right to create labor unions. By the early 1950s Japan was well
did Japan go from
being an enemy to on the road to recovery. Once bitter enemies, the United States and Japan
being an ally? became allies.
Summary and Preview In this lesson you learned how World War II ended.
In the next module you will learn how the world recovered from the war and
worked to prevent such wars in the future.

Lesson 5 Assessment
Review Ideas, Terms, and People Critical Thinking
1. a. Identify What was the last major battle of the war 4. Identify Causes In this lesson you learned about the
in Europe? final days of the war in both Europe and the Pacific.
b. Evaluate What was the biggest task facing Harry S. Create a graphic organizer similar to the one below
Truman when he became president? and use it to show the short-term causes of Germany’s
2. a. Identify What was the Holocaust? and Japan’s surrenders.
b. Elaborate How did the oppression of Jews increase
during the war? Germany
surrenders
3. a. Recall What was the purpose of the Manhattan
Project, and how did it result in the end of the war Japan
against Japan? surrenders

b. Explain What was the status of the United States

after the war?
c. Predict How do you think the invention of the
atomic bomb changed people’s views of war?

World War II 859

Literature in History
Literature of the Holocaust

Word Help About the Reading Elie Wiesel was taken to

molten melted Auschwitz when he was age 15. Though he
phylacteries survived the camp, not all of his family did. Years
wooden prayer
boxes strapped to after the war, Wiesel wrote about his time spent
the forehead and imprisoned at Auschwitz.
arm
ghetto As You Read Look for ways that Wiesel
neighborhood set describes the trauma of being taken away.
aside for Jews
indiscriminately
without care From Night
surreptitiously by Elie Wiesel (1928–2016), translated by Marion Wiesel
secretly
convoy military By eight o’clock in the morning, weariness had settled into our veins,
escort our limbs, our brains, like molten lead. I was in the midst of prayer when
suddenly there was shouting in the streets. I quickly unwound my phylac-
➊ The Hungarian teries and ran to the window. Hungarian police had entered the ghetto and
police used physical
force to gather
were yelling in the street nearby:
people together. “All Jews, outside! Hurry!”
They were followed by Jewish police, who, their voices breaking, told us:
“The time has come . . . you must leave all this . . .”
The Hungarian police used their rifle butts, their clubs to indiscrimi-
nately strike old men and women, children and cripples. ➊
One by one, the houses emptied and the street filled with people car-
rying bundles. By ten o’clock, everyone was outside. The police were tak-
ing roll calls, once, twice, twenty times. The heat was oppressive. Sweat
streamed from people’s faces and bodies.
Children were crying for water.
Water! There was water close by in the houses, the backyards, but it was
forbidden to break rank.
“Water, Mother, I am thirsty!”
Some of the Jewish police surreptitiously went to fill a few jugs. My sis-
ters and I were still allowed to move about, as we were destined for the last
convoy, and so we helped as best we could.

Connect Literature to History

1. Analyze During the early years of World 2. D
 escribe Jews were treated with physi-
War II, European Jews faced oppression. cal violence by Nazi supporters. Give an
In time oppression changed to removal. example of violence against Jews found
How does Wiesel describe the removal of in this passage.
the Jews from his hometown?

860 Module 27
Social Studies Skills
Construct Timelines
Define the Skill The first step in actually constructing the
Timelines are a good way to organize historical timeline is to draw a straight line using a ruler.
information. Timelines clearly show a sequence The next step is to mark even intervals on the
of historical events over a certain period of time. timeline. Intervals are dates that divide the
Many timelines focus on a specific theme within timeline into smaller, equal time periods. For
a time period. example, a timeline of the 1940s might include
two-year intervals: 1940, 1942, 1944, and so on.
When you construct a timeline, it often Then add events in the correct places on the
makes the sequence of events easier to follow. timeline. The beginning and end of the timeline,
Timelines show events in the order they each interval, and each event should be labeled
happened and the amount of time between with dates. The finished timeline should include
events. Constructing a timeline can therefore at least six events. As a final touch, the timeline
help you better understand events’ context. For needs a title. The title tells what the entries in
example, organizing events on a timeline can the timeline are about and may include the
help you determine their causes and effects. dates the timeline covers.

Learn the Skill Practice the Skill

When you construct a timeline, you need to Follow these instructions to construct a
make some basic decisions. First, the timeline timeline.
needs a topic. This topic can be general or
specific. One example of a general topic is the 1. Using your textbook, choose a topic related
1940s. A more specific topic might be major to World War II for your timeline. Decide on
battles of World War II. The timeline should the dates your timeline will need to cover.
cover a time period that includes the main 2. Use your textbook to take notes on events to
events related to the topic. For example, it include in your timeline and their dates. Put
would make sense for a timeline on American the events in order.
battles in World War II to cover the period 1941 3. Following the steps described above, con-
to 1945. struct your timeline. The finished timeline
The next step in constructing a timeline is should include clearly labeled dates, at least
gathering information. This includes taking six events, and a title.
notes on events from the chosen time period
related to the topic. It is important to write down
the date when each event happened. Putting
the events in order before making the timeline
is often helpful. If there are too many events, it is
a good idea to include only the most important
ones.

World War II 861

Module 27 Assessment
Review Vocabulary, Terms, and People
Identify the term or person from the module that best fits each of the following
descriptions.

1. The first African American flying unit in the U.S. military

2. American general who retreated from and then retook the Philippines
3. The dictator of the Soviet Union
4. A weapon that produces a massive explosion by splitting atoms
5. Battle at which British troops stopped the German Afrika Korps
6. Policy of avoiding war with an aggressive nation by giving in to its demands
7. Extermination of an entire group of people

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Lesson 1 Lesson 4
8. a. Identify What is fascism? 11. a. Describe What did kamikaze pilots do?
b. Make Inferences Before Pearl Harbor, b. Explain How did cracking Japanese
what U.S. policies suggested that the codes help the Allies in the Pacific?
United States would join the Allies? c. Draw Conclusions Why do you think
c. Evaluate How well did the policy of Japan was determined to continue
appeasement work? Explain your answer. fighting?
Lesson 2 Lesson 5
9. a. Recall What happened during the 12. a. Recall What were the effects of the
zoot-suit riots? atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
b. Analyze Why was the War Production Nagasaki?
Board important to the war effort? b. Contrast How was the Holocaust differ-
c. Elaborate How do you think Japanese ent from other wartime tragedies?
Americans felt about internment? c. Evaluate Do you think the strategy of
Lesson 3 bombing civilian centers was fair? Why or
10. a. Identify What led the Axis Powers to why not?
retreat from the Soviet Union?
b. Summarize In which regions and coun-
tries did the Allies win major victories
against Germany?
c. Draw Conclusions Why do you think
D-Day succeeded?

862 Module 27
Module 27 Assessment, continued
Review Themes Social Studies Skills
13. Geography How did geography affect the Construct Timelines Use the Social Studies Skills
course of World War II? taught in this module to answer the question
14. Society and Culture What changes in soci- below.
ety did World War II bring about?
16. Make a timeline about the end of World
Reading Skills War II, covering the events of 1945.

Categorize Use the Reading Skills taught in this

module to answer the question from the reading
Focus on Writing
selection below. 17. Write Your Radio News Broadcast During
World War II, millions of Americans had
­relatives fighting overseas. They relied on
American, British, and Canadian troops invaded
radio broadcasts for up-to-date news from
France on June 6, 1944—known as D-Day,
the battlefronts around the world. Choose
or “designated day.” They crossed the choppy
one event or story from World War II as
waters of the English Channel and landed on five
the focus of your radio broadcast. You can
beaches in Normandy. More than 6,000 ships,
include quotes from soldiers or national
11,000 planes, and 156,000 men were part of the
leaders. Remember that people cannot
invasion. Soldiers jumped from boats and waded
see your broadcast, so use descriptive
ashore, often under heavy fire.
language. Be sure to answer the follow-
ing questions: Who? What? Where? When?
15. Which of the following general categories Why? and How?
could help you organize this information?
a. generals of the American forces
b. types of ammunition used
c. resources of invading forces
d. leaders of Allied nations

World War II 863

 MULTIMEDIA CONNECTIONS

Memories of
WORLD WAR II

A global conflict, World War II shaped the history these Americans left behind firsthand accounts of their
of both the United States and the world. Americans experiences during the war, both at home and abroad.
contributed to the war effort in numerous ways. Many Explore some of the personal stories and recollections of
enlisted in the military and served in Africa, Europe, and World War II online. You can find a wealth of information,
the Pacific. Others contributed by working in factories to video clips, primary sources, activities, and more through
produce the massive amounts of ships, planes, guns, and your online textbook.
other supplies necessary to win the war. In the process,

863 MC1 MULTIMEDIA CONNECTIONS

 Go online to view these and
other HISTORY® resources.

America Mobilizes for War

Watch the video to see how the United States
mobilized its citizens for war and how society
“I am allowed to write of my own personal combat changed as a result.
experiences and I can say that I have been fortunate
so far. War is like something you cannot imagine. I
had no idea what it was about and still don’t.”
— Erwin Blonder, U.S. soldier

A Soldier’s Letter Home

Air War Over Germany
Read the document to learn about one
Watch the video to see how the P-51 Mustang
soldier’s wartime experiences in southern
helped the Allies win the air war over Germany.
France.

The Pacific Islands

Watch the video to hear veterans describe their
experiences fighting in the Pacific theater.

MEMORIES OF WORLD WAR II 863 MC2

Copyright © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying
is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of
the work should be submitted through our Permissions website at https://customercare.hmhco.com/
permission/Permissions.html or mailed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn:
Intellectual Property Licensing, 9400 Southpark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819-8647.
Portions © 2010 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.
HISTORY® and the HISTORY® H Logo are trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights
reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination
copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any
portion of it, into electronic format.

ISBN 978-0-544-45414-9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 XXXX 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15
4500000000 CDEFG

ii