Describe the battlefield successes of the Axis powers from 1939-42.
2. Why are the battles of Britain and of Stalingrad considered turning points in the war? What was the overall strategy for the Allied powers (including Russia) in the war against Germany and Italy, especially from 1942-5?
3. How well did the Allies cooperate in their planning and implementation of strategy against the Axis powers? How successful were the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and in France? Also, the Russian Front?
4. What was Japan’s plan of creating an Asian empire? How did the attack upon Pearl Harbor fit into the strategy? Why was America considered the main Japanese enemy in the Pacific war?
5. What was “unconditional surrender?” Why was this concept the definition of victory for the Allied powers in World War II? What influence do you think the imperfect conclusion of the peace following World War I have upon the implementation of unconditional surrender in World War II? In other words: why did the rules change?
6. What was the allied strategic plan for defeating the Japanese? What was the significance of the battles of the Solomon Islands? Midway? The “island hopping” campaigns? Why did President Truman decide to drop atomic bombs on Japan?
