 |
Home | Syllabus | Selected Lecture Outlines and Handouts| Web Readings | Film Series and Reviews | Examinations History 387: World War II |
 |
|
FIRST EXAMINATION STUDY
GUIDE
I. FORMAT: The first examination will consist of: 1) Twenty multiple-guess questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (20 exam points). 2) Ten true/false questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (10 exam points). 3) Ten matching questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (10 exam points). 4) Ten Geography Questions. Based upon the Map below. (10 exam points). PLEASE BRING A SCANTRON #882 AND A #2 PENCIL TO THE EXAMINATION II. GENERAL TOPICS FOR THE TEST QUESTIONS:
1. The Twenty Years Truce. 2. Hitler, A Biography. 3. Naziism in the 1920's and 1930's. 4. Diplomacy of Europe in the 1930's. 5. Blitzkrieg and Sitzkrieg. 6. The Fall of France. 7. The Battle of Britain. 8. Operation Barbarossa/Eastern Front.
III. SPECIFIC ITEMS FOR THE TEST QUESTIONS:
PEOPLE: Eduard Benes Herman Goering Benito Mussolini Franklin D. Roosevelt Neville Chamberlain Heinz Guderian Ignac Paderewski Kurt von Schuschnigg Winston Churchill Heinrich Heine Franz von Papen Eduard Smigly-Ridz Georges Clemenceau Rudolf Hesse Philip Petain Josif Stalin Edouard Daladier Paul von Hindenberg Joseph Pilsudski Mikhail Tukhachevski Engelbert Dolfuss Adolf Hitler Klara Plozl van der Lubbe Henri Foch Miklos Horthy Vidkun Quisling Woodrow Wilson Francisco Franco Erich von Ludendorf Joachim von Ribbentrop Giorgyi Zhukov Maurice Gamelin Erich von Manheim Ernst Roehm Josef Goebels Vyacheslav Molotov Erwin Rommel
PLACES: Ardennes Estonia Mers-el-Kebir Rhineland Sudetenland Austria Ethiopia Minsk Romania Sweden Balkan Finland Moscow Rotterdam Versailles Baltic Holland Munich Scandinavia Vichy Bulgaria Hungary Narvik Siberia Weimar Caucasus Latvia Norway Slovakia Yugoslavia Coventry Leningrad Oslo Smolensk Leningrad Czechoslovakia Lithuania Ploesti Spain Murmansk Denmark Maginot Line Polish corrider Stalingrad
MISCELANEOUS ITEMS: Anschluss Mein Kampf Siegfried Line Spitfire autobahn Luftwaffe Sitzkrieg V-1 Balkan Entente Schutzstaffel Strurmabteilung Ultra Beerhall Putsch Little Entente Operation Gelb T-34 Blitzkrieg Kristalnacht Operation Sea Lion Barbarossa Dawes Plan Lebensraum Operation Weiss Untermenschen Diktat Night of the Long Knives Messerschmidt ME-109 Ostarbeiter Drang Nach Osten Nuremberg Laws Radar Winter War Geheimstatspolizei International Brigade RAF Gleichschaltung Phony War Hurricane
Additional issues to think about for the first examination: The multiple causes of World War II: From the German perspective: 1. The failures of the Versailles Treaty. 2. The humilation of of being declared losers in WWI. 3. The need for living room (lebensraum) and looking for it in the east (drang nach Osten). 4. Reparations. From the Soviet perspective: 1. The need for the capitalistic societies to have a war periodically to retain their economic health. 2. The virulent anti-Communism of Hitler. From the American perspective: 1. The petty bickerings of European nations. 2. The arms race. 3. The appeasement of Hitler. From the European Allies' perspective: 1. American isolationism at a time that a power vacuum had been created in Europe after WWI. 2. The fact that Hitler was an aggressive monster. Justification for appeasement (a policy which has subsequently been castigated by historians): 1. "Blessed are the peace-makers." 2. A legitimate fear of another catastrophe such as World War I was to the Old Europe. 3. If you satisfy the brute (Hitler) he will back off. 4. If you just give the Nazis time, they will become respectable and domesticated. 5. There had indeed been some wrongs committed at Versailles. 6. The allied nations were more self-interested than they were interested in collective action. Study Questions: 1. Describe Hitler's early life, say to 1924. 2. What gave Adolf Hitler such a hold over other individuals? 3. What conditions in Germany, and what characteristics of the party, permitted the Nazis to come to power in 1932-1933? Could such a totalitarian group come to power in America today? 4. Why did Britain win the Battle of Britain , Aug. 1940-Apr. 1941? 5. Speculate on why Hitler did not take Dunkirk before the British evacuated. What besides Hitler's indecision, saved the B. E. F. at this critical juncture? 6. Why did Hitler turn on Russia before he had conquered Great Britain (Thus exposing himself to the dangers of a two-front war)? 7. Was appeasement by the Western allies towards Hitler a good or a bad policy? Why? 8. What factors caused World War II? Could this conflict have been avoided, even with Hitler as Fuhrer of Germany? 9. Describe Life in London at the height of the Blitz. 10. Why and how was the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union blunted and reversed? Study Map for the First Examination:
I. FORMAT: The Second examination will consist of: 1) Twenty multiple-guess questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (20 exam points). 2) Ten true/false questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (10 exam points). 3) Ten matching questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (10 exam points). 4) Ten Geography Questions. Based upon the Map handed out. (10 exam points). PLEASE BRING A SCANTRON #886 AND A #2 PENCIL TO THE EXAMINATION II. GENERAL TOPICS FOR THE TEST QUESTIONS: 1. Japan in the 1930's 2. Pearl Harbor 3. Japanese Expansion After Pearl Harbor. 4. Occupation and Resistance in Europe. 5. The Atlantic War. 6. The Russian Front, 1942-1943 7. The North African Campaign. 8. The Italian Campaign. 9. The Air War Over Europe. III. SPECIFIC ITEMS FOR THE SHORT-ANSWER TEST QUESTIONS:
Japan in the 1930's Pearl Harbor Japanese Expansion Manchuria Cordell Hull General Homma Luzon Shanghai Husband E. Kimmel Malaya Bataan Panay Incident Walter Short Dutch East Indies Corregidor Greater East Asian Isikoru Yamamoto Singapore Douglas MacArthur Co-prosperity Sphere Hickham Field Guam General Wainwright Sino-Japanese War Schofield Barracks Wake Burma Indo-China Battleship Row Philippines Aleutians Hideki Tojo Taranto Rabaul Java Sea Thailand Admiral Nomura Port Moresby Coral Sea Josef Goebels Saburo Kurusu Manila Midway
Occupation of Europe The Atlantic War The Russian Front Untermenshcen U-Boats Georgyi Zhukov German 6th Army Herrenvolk Destroyers Moscow Sevastopol Einsatzgruppen Depth Charges Leningrad Crimea Slave Labor Torpedoes Maikop von Paulus Maquis Carrier Escorts Grozny Osttruppen Chetniks Murmansk Run Baku Ostarbeiter Partisans Sonar Stalingrad Andrei Vlasov Home Army Convoys Urals Kolkhoz Pierre Laval Admiral Doenitz Lend Lease Caucasus Lidice Wolfpacks T-34 Reinhard Heydrich Submarine chasers KV-1
North Africa Italian Campaign Air War Over Europe Rudolfo Graziani Operation Husky Giulio Douhet Hamburg Sidi Barani Soft Underbelly of Europe Hugh Trenchard Dresden Erwin Rommel Benito Mussolini William Mitchell Halifaxes Bernard Montgomery Pietro Badoglio Strategic bombing Lancasters Afrika Corps Vittorio Emmanuel RAF Bomber Command B-17, 24, 25, 26 Eighth Army Albert Kesselring "Precision" bombing Carl Spaatz Tobruk Dwight Eisenhower Salerno "Area" bombing 8th Air Force El Alamein George Patton Anzio Arthur Harris Norden sight Operation Torch Mark Clark Gustav Line Kammhuber Line Ploesti Tunisia John Lucas Rapido River Night bombing Schweinfort Kasserine Pass Messina Monte Cassino Daylight bombing P-51 Valaise Pass Palermo Gothic Line Firestorm bombing V-1, V-2
IV. STUDY QUESTIONS FOR SECOND THE EXAMINATION: Japan in the 1930's.
How did Japan's historical development affect its policies toward the western imperial powers? What were the economic factors that led Japan to expand in East Asia? What were Japanese attitudes towards other Asians? Trace Japanese expansion in East Asia to 1940. How did the war in Europe affect Japanese expansion? Why was the United States considered the main antagonist of Japan in the Pacific?
Pearl Harbor.
Trace the drift of the United States and Japan into war in 1941, considering such questions as the conflicts in U.S.-Japanese relations, the course of negotiations in 1941, and Japan's decision for war. What accounts for the success of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor? How successful would you consider the Japanese attack? Explain your assessment.
Japanese Expansion After Pearl Harbor.
What was the strategy of Japanese expansion? How was it carried out? Why was it successful in the first half of 1942? What happened to change the tide of the conflict in the Pacific?
Occupation and Resistance in Europe.
To what extent were Axis policies in occupied lands were the normal policies of war, and to what extent were they unsually horrible? (differentiate between easter and western Europe.) Why did a fair percentage of Europeans in occupied lands collaborate with the Germans?
The Atlantic War.
What were the strategic implications of the naval war in the Atlantic? What was the nature of submarine warfare, both defensive and offensive? How did technology affect the course of the war in the Atlantic? What was the role of wolfpack and convoy organizations, as well as air power, in the Atlantic conflict?
The Russian Front, 1942-1943.
What was the German strategy on the Eastern Front in 1942? How did the Soviet government galvanize the state, society and economy for the war effort? Why did the Axis war effort in the East falter in 1942-1943. What brought about the Axis defeat at Stalingrad. What was the nature of unconventional war in the East. How did german occupation policies affect this unconventional conflict?
The North African Campaign.
Why did desert combat differ from combat in Europe? What was the general course of the war in North Africa? Why was operation torch so important in the outcome of the North Africa campaign?
The Italian Campaign.
Why was Churchill so anxious to attack the Axis powers in the Italy and the Mediterranean? What was the nature of Italy's capitulation in 1943? How did the Germans respond to the capitulation? Characterize Montgomery and then Patton. Why and how did Italy become such a hard fought campaign?
The Air War Over Europe.
Trace the development of strategic bombing of Germany by Britain's Bomber Command, considering such questions as precision bombing vs. area bombing, daylignt vs. nightttime bombing, military industrial vs. civilian targets. How well did bomber command succeed in achieving its objectives. Compare and contrast the approach of the U.S. 8th Air Force (and the 15th Air Force) to strategic bombing with that of RAF Bomber Command? Would you consider the joint U.S.-British Bomber offensive against Germany a success? Whether yes or no, explain your assessment.
Study Map for the Second Examination:
I. FORMAT: The Second examination will consist of: 1) Twenty multiple-guess questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (20 exam points). 2) Ten true/false questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (10 exam points). 3) Ten matching questions. Based upon the lectures, and readings in Calvocoressi. (10 exam points). 4) Ten Geography Questions. Based upon the Map handed out. (10 exam points). PLEASE BRING A SCANTRON #886 AND A #2 PENCIL TO THE EXAMINATION II. GENERAL TOPICS FOR THE TEST QUESTIONS: 1. The Invasion of Fortress Europe--D-Day. 2. The Recovery of France and the Battle of the Bulge. 3. The Eastern Front, 1943-1945. 4. The Fall of the Third Reich. 5. The Holocaust. 6. The Pacific Campaign. 7. The China-India-Burma Campaign. 8. The Air War on Japan. 9. Toward Nuclear War: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 10. The End of the Japanese Empire (Calvocoressi, pp. 1091-1096, 1107-1112, 1150-1165). 11. The Implication of the War: Nuremberg (Calvocoressi, pp. 571-592). III. SPECIFIC ITEMS FOR THE TEST QUESTIONS:
D-Day France/Bulge Eastern Front Fall of Third Reich Cherbourg Operation Anvil Kursk salient Hodges St. Lo Operation Market-Garden Leningrad Patton Normandy Redball Express Romania Eisenhower Rundstedt Battle of the Bulge Bulgaria Zhukov Rommel Malmedy Hungary Doenitz "Mulberries" Bastogne Warsaw Uprising Rheims Utah, Omah, Gold, Remagen Vistula Berlin Sword, Juno Siegfried Line Home Army Stauffenberg Caen "National Redoubt" Elbe Rommel Overlord Colmar pocket Oder-Neisse Eva Braun hedgerows
Holocaust The Pacific Campaign The CBI Campaign Air War on Japan Dachau Leyte Gulf Sea of Japan Chindits--Windgate incendiary bombs Treblinka Bismarck Sea Luzon Frank Merrill Tokyo Einsatzgruppen Guadalcanal "The Slot" Lord Mountbatten dehousing Auschwitz Okinawa Peleleu Burma Road Zero Theresienstadt Guam Tinian Kunming James Doolittle Chelmo Marianas Gilberts Chandra Bose Iwo Jima Babi Yar Tarawa Marshalls Nanking Saipan Kapos Truk Eniwetok Chungking Curtis LeMay Wanasee Protocal Rabaul Kwajelin Chiang Kai-Shek B-29 Superfortress Lidice Douglas MacArthur Mao Tse-Tung Reinhard Heydrich Chester Nimitz Joseph Stilwell
Atomic Bomb Assault on Japan Nuremberg Cold War Little Boy Hideki Tojo Goering Teheran Latvia Fat Man Iwo Jima Hess Yalta Lithuania Enola Gay Okinawa Von Papen Potsdam Estonia Manhattan Project Kwantung Army Von Ribbentrop Truman E. Prussia Plutonium Korea Schacht Stalin Poland Uranium Manchuria Fritsch Churchill Sakalin Hiroshima Hirohito Denazification Roosevelt Kuriles Nagasaki Mikado crimes against peace Morgenthau Plan Volkdeutsch Enrico Fermi Suribachi war crimes Allied Control Occupation Oppenheimer bushido crimes against humanity Commissions Zones Truman Kamikazi Hideki Tojo Decolonialization Indochina Henry Stimson "Unconditional Surrender" Yamashita Indochina Viet Minh James F. Byrnes Missouri collaborators Malaya Philipines
IV. MAP SECTION OF THE EXAMINATION: On a blank version of the map below, you will be called upon match the locations numbered 1-15 with the places named listed on questions numbers 51 to 65. These items will include: Countries/Regions: Japan French Indochina New Guinea China Philipines Manchuria Taiwan-Formosa Australia Siam-Thailand Malaya Korea Burma New Zealand Dutch East Indies Islands: Sumatra Midway Ryukyu Islands Borneo Wake Guadalcanal Java Guam Kurile Is. Saipan Caroline Is. Aleutian Is. Iwo Jima Marshall Is. Tarawa Luzon Mariana Is. Solomon Is. Gilbert Is. Palau Is. Naval battles: Coral Sea Midway Cities/bases: Singapore Tokyo Rabaul Kunming Pearl Harbor Truk Hong Kong Study Map for the Third Examination:
