Battle in the East and America Enters the War
Overview
Statewide Dual Credit Modern World History: Unit 14, Lesson 6
A discussion of the Battle in the East covers Hitler's invasion of Russia and the United States' response, including the Lend-Lease Act. Also details about Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to America's entry into the war
Battle In The East
After knocking France out of the war and having failed to conquer Britain, Hitler turned to his plans for creating lebensraum, or “living room,” for German settlers in Eastern Europe. Viewing the Soviet Union as the primary block to his plans, Hitler ordered an invasion of Russia on June 22, 1941. Dubbed Operation Barbarossa, the charge saw three million Axis soldiers launching attacks toward Leningrad, Moscow and Ukraine. Taken by surprise, inexperienced Russian troops initially retreated before the German blitzkrieg. Minsk, Smolensk and Kyiv quickly fell to German forces. Long tired of Russian domination, some Ukrainians initially welcomed the Germans as liberators.
Worried about these developments, the United States, which had remained neutral to this point, began taking steps to support the British and Chinese war efforts. Although limited by Neutrality Acts which sought to maintain American neutrality, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) secured passage of the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941, which allowed the President to exchange or lease military items, food, fuel, or any item deemed necessary for the defense and security of the United States to its allies.”
Spotlight On | THE ATLANTIC CHARTER OF FREEDOM
In August, Roosevelt met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard the HMS Prince of Wales off the coast of the Dominion of Newfoundland, to issue the Atlantic Charter of Freedom. Although not a formal treaty, the charter represented a statement of common goals both nations pledged to work toward. The charter consisted of eight points, including a pledge to seek no territorial expansion, no territorial changes except those freely agreed upon, the right of all people to choose the government under which they lived, free trade, labor and economic rights, freedom from fear and want, freedom of the seas, and the creation of a system of worldwide general security.
America Enters the War
While strengthening its ties to Britain, America also took steps to contain Japanese expansionism. In July 1940, the U.S. banned all oil exports to Japan. The following year Congress ordered American banks to freeze all Japanese accounts. In September 1941, U.S. officials stopped all iron and steel sales designed to aid the Japanese war industry. American and Japanese diplomats spent much of 1941 unsuccessfully negotiating a compromise. But when the U.S. repeatedly demanded that Japan remove its forces from China, the Japanese imperial government, under the control of Prime Minister Hideki Togo (1884-1948), decided upon a preemptive strike. In late November 1941, a Japanese fleet of six aircraft carriers, two battleships, six destroyers, 28 submarines and a variety of supporting craft under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884- 1943) began to steam toward the Hawaiian Islands. On December 7, 1941, Yamamoto ordered his troops to attack the American Pacific fleet stationed at a large naval base known as Pearl Harbor. Attacking at dawn, Japanese Aichi and Nakajima dive bombers sank four American battleships and damaged four others. By day’s end, over 2,300 American servicemen had been killed. The following day U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 7 “a day that would live in infamy” and asked Congress to declare war against Japan. Germany responded by declaring war on the United States. America had now entered the fray.