American History Unit II- U.S. Foreign Affairs

American HistoryUnit II- U.S. Foreign Affairs World War II Chapter 26- Clouds of War Section 2- The Battlefield is everywhere

Phoney War • Germans on one side, • The French behind the Maginot line • The British moving into France. • “Phoney War”. • Only thing happening was the Soviet attack on Finland, Finns fought bravely but lost.

The New Warfare • Blitzkrieg- Lightening war. Strike with lightening speed- planes, tanks, trucks, even motorcycles. Quickly overwhelm the enemy. • Airpower made it all possible- striking at the very heart of defenseless nations, transformed warfare • April 9, 1940 Hitler ends “phony war” and invades Denmark and Norway. • One month later her rushes into Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, thus bypassing the Maginot line. • June 14, 1940 German soldiers march into Paris and France surrenders.

Billy Mitchell advertises air power • Few took air power seriously, it was too new. • Military ballooning- sport mainly. • Mitchell had been impressed what the airplane could do in WWI. • Mitchell wanted a entirely new military unit devoted to the airplane. • Airpower shifts the targets from enemy armies to “Vital Centers”- industry, supply, and the centers of the enemies will to resist. Rapid strike. • Public scared of the idea of destruction from above. • Mitchell wrote speeches and articles to alert people. • Mitchell gives a demonstration- He arranged to have a German battleship, unmanned or the coast of Virgina (60 miles) sunk by a flight of Mitchell’s bombers. 20 min. to sink the unsinkable ship. • But Admirals and Generals still refused to grasp the meaning. • Mitchell went to the newspapers and denounced his superiors. Branded almost a traitor, he was court martialed- suspended for five years..

Building the airpower • May 21, 1927- Lindbergh makes his historic flight to Paris.. • 1935- B-17 long range bomber, with Norden bombsight went into the air. • William Moffett, pilot and aviation entusiast. Head of the Navy’s branch of airforce.- developed aircraft carriers and using catapult to launch planes from battleships and carriers.

The United States prepares for war • U.S. needs to rearm- 50,000 planes in 1941, and every year till Nazi’s are defeated. • Billions were asked for to build a two ocean navy. • Isolationists still hoped the Neutrality Acts of 1939 would keep us out of war.

Battle of Britain- Hitler called it “Sea Lion” (his plan to invade England) • France had fallen so Great Britain was standing alone against the Nazi, Winston Churchill called “their finest hour”. • Hitler sent bombers to bomb British cites during the summer and fall of 1939- the idea was to force the British to surrender. • Factors in the British favor • Ultra- intercepted and decoded Germany secret messages. • RADAR- Radio, detecting, and ranging- They knew when the Germans are coming and where they would be. They could move the small RAF around and intercept the German bombers. • British still had horrible losses. Even with Ultra- Conventry was bombed and many died. • Germans forced to postponed the invasion.

World affairs and the presidential campaign of 1940 • Wilkie vs. FDR • Wilkie opposed the New Deal, but also wanted to help Great Britain and the draft. • Wilkie became reckless in his attacks and FDR reckless in his responces about sending the boys to war. • FDR won easily but not as large as before.- but 1st president to be elected to three terms.

Destroyers for Bases Deal • To get around the laws on helping beligerents, FDR approved the selling of American military equipment to private companies the were buying for the British. • Churchill wanted U.S. destroyers to protect ships at sea and supplies. • President devised the “Destroyers for bases deal”- we transferred 50 old but useful destroyers to Great Britain in exchange for the use of 8 British naval bases in the Atlantic. Britain was to never surrender this fleet to Hitler.

Helping the British • England out of cash for Cash and Carry. With Neutrality law in place FDR could not help the English and they would surely lose the war. • Lend-Lease- clever plan- we would offer to lease (lend) to countries whose defense was considered vital to the defense of the U.S. • British would not need cash to get the supplies.

Four Freedoms Speech • freedom of speech • freedom of religion • freedom from want • freedom from fear

Atlantic Charter Meeting of Churchill and FDR off Newfoundland. Up-to-date version of Wilson’s 14 points.

American History Unit II- U.S. Foreign Affairs