Second World War Dbq Essay

According to source D, the Second World War was arguably the most significant period of the 20th century. It brought major leaps in technology and laid the groundwork that permitted post-war social changes including the end of European colonialism. The primary combatants were the Axis nations and the Allied nations, led by the Britain, the USSR and the USA. Also according to my knowledge of understanding this topic the attacks were unbelievable, destroying innocent citizens and leaving the citizens truly bruised. The turning point in the pacific war came with the American navel victory in the Battle of Midway in June 1942 (Source B) ‘They did: Japan won every major battle until Midway in June 1942’. That time it occupied territory from Manchuria

Had Japan focused beyond the fleet and targeted the crucial shore facilities and oil reserves, it could have inflicted far greater and more lasting damage. Japan gave America the chance to rebuild its fleet and re-enter the fight with the brand new kit. Rather than crushing Americans morale as planned, the attack united the country behind Roosevelt and behind war. Americans were incensed by Japan's failure to declare war until later that day: the sneak attack fueled Americans determination to fight on, even in the face of setbacks of early 1942. According to source C, the plan to cripple the U.S fleet failed - although a number of battleships and other vessels and facilities were severely damaged. Source B differs to Source C when it says the attack on Pearl Harbor was that mechanism; merely it means to an end. By destroying its Pacific Fleet, Japan expected to remove America from the Pacific equation for long enough to allow is secure the resources it needed so desperately and hoped to crush American morale sufficiently to prompt Roosevelt to sue for peace. Source F claims that the Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. In that way the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japans armed forces spread across the South

Roosevelt had already strained the sinews of neutrality by supplying Britain with money and arms under the ‘lend –lease’ agreement. The Tripartite Pact meant that supplies to Japan would indirectly be helping Italy and Germany; further embargoes followed. Japan intensified the search for a permanent alternative. The most obvious target was South-east Asia, rich in minerals and oil. Japan’s military planners hoped to cripple the U.S fleet in order to buy time to capture and fortify the region they sought to control, then negotiate an armistice from a positions of strength. War had not been declared between the two nations before the attack; the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C , took too long decoding the 5000-word message from their homeland; however, the plan was to deliver it just 30 minutes before the bombs were to start falling anyway ( Source C)