Chapter 17 Study Guide

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____1.What stopped the German advance during the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941?

a. / the marshy land near Moscow / c. / the terrible winter of 1941-42
b. / the Soviet victory at Stalingrad / d. / superior Soviet weaponry

____2.What did the Soviet Union do during Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939?

a. / It formed an alliance with Britain and France.
b. / It attacked Poland from the east as part of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
c. / It seized part of Finland, Estonia, and Latvia.
d. / It filed a protest with the League of Nations.

____3.What U.S. action influenced the Japanese decision to attack the United States in 1941?

a. / The U.S. condemned German aggression in Europe.
b. / The U.S. banned the sale of iron, steel, and oil to Japan.
c. / The U.S. occupied the important island of Midway.
d. / The U.S. demanded that Japanese forces leave Manchuria.

____4.During World War II, “Rosie the Riveter” came to symbolize

a. / the women who worked in U.S. manufacturing plants.
b. / the importance of obeying rules for food and gas rationing.
c. / the women who worked in British manufacturing plants.
d. / the Allied nurses who cared for wounded troops on the front lines.

____5.What was usually the first stage of Hitler’s blitzkrieg strategy?

a. / Cities were shelled by modern battleships.
b. / Fast-moving tanks quickly rolled across enemy territory.
c. / The Luftwaffe attacked ground targets from the air.
d. / Fast-moving ground troops quickly overwhelmed the enemy.

____6.What happened at Dunkirk in the spring of 1940?

a. / British forces successfully retreated across the English Channel.
b. / The Germans launched their invasion of Britain.
c. / The British waited for Germans to attack in the “Phony War.”
d. / France signed German surrender documents.

____7.How did Churchill and Roosevelt give in to Stalin at the conference in Tehran in 1943?

a. / They opened a second front against Germany in Western Europe.
b. / They let the borders in the Nazi-Soviet Pact stand.
c. / They began a new naval campaign in the Mediterranean Sea.
d. / They sent troops to help Soviet forces on the Eastern Front.

____8.The U.S. strategy of “island-hopping” in the Pacific

a. / pushed Japanese forces into the jungles of Burma and Malaya.
b. / was a failure, forcing the U.S. to use atomic weapons.
c. / allowed the U.S. to gradually move north toward Japan.
d. / quickly weakened the resolve of Japanese soldiers.

____9.The German air force was almost grounded by the time of the D-Day invasion because

a. / so many German aircraft were in need of repair.
b. / the Germans had little fuel due to Allied bombing.
c. / so many German pilots had been killed in the war.
d. / the Germans feared their planes would be destroyed in the air.

____10.What did the British and French do at the Munich Conference in 1938 to avoid war?

a. / They persuaded the Soviet Union to allow Germany to occupy Poland.
b. / They persuaded the Czechs to surrender the Sudetenland.
c. / They persuaded Austria to give in to German occupation.
d. / They persuaded Belgium to allow the occupation of Luxembourg.

____11.Who were the kamikaze?

a. / the name of the Japanese carrier group at Midway
b. / the pro-war group within Japanese government
c. / the ruling class in Japanese society
d. / Japanese pilots who crashed into Allied warships

____12.The Truman Doctrine was rooted in the idea of

a. / containment. / c. / aggression.
b. / appeasement. / d. / pacifism.

____13.How did the Germans change their tactics in preparing for Operation Sea Lion?

a. / They enlisted the help of the Italians to invade Britain.
b. / They planned to launch their invasion of Britain from Denmark.
c. / They enlisted the help of the Vichy French to invade Britain.
d. / They began to bomb London and other cities.

____14.What was one reason why the Spanish Civil War was called a “dress rehearsal” for World War II?

a. / The Nazis used the war to test their new weapons.
b. / Supporters of the Spanish Loyalists supported the Axis powers.
c. / The forces of democracy defeated the forces of fascism.
d. / France, Britain, and the U.S. rallied to fight fascism.

____15.The League of Nations voted sanctions against which country for invading Ethiopia in 1935?

a. / Bulgaria / c. / Japan
b. / Germany / d. / Italy

____16.In which French city did German forces set up a “puppet state” capital after conquering France?

a. / Vichy / c. / Paris
b. / Nice / d. / Lyon

____17.What was the Manhattan Project?

a. / a code name for atomic bomb research
b. / the Allied plan for the invasion of Europe
c. / a code name for the invasion of Guadalcanal
d. / a plan to increase war production in U.S. industry

____18.What was important about the Battle of the Bulge?

a. / It caused the Germans to sue for peace.
b. / It caused the Allies to withdraw from Belgium.
c. / It delayed the Allied advance from the west.
d. / It delayed the Soviet advance from the east.

____19.What was the importance of the Battle of El Alamein in 1942?

a. / The German counterattack against the Allies failed in Belgium.
b. / The Allies successfully invaded Sicily.
c. / The British stopped the German advance in North Africa.
d. / The Soviets stopped the German advance near Stalingrad.

____20.What did the Nazi-Soviet Pact accomplish for Germany?

a. / It allowed the union of Germany and Hungary.
b. / It gave Germany a free hand in Poland.
c. / It gave Germany a free hand in the Sudentenland.
d. / It allowed the union of Austria and Germany.

____21.What was one of Stalin’s major goals in Eastern Europe after World War II?

a. / to create a protective buffer zone of friendly governments
b. / to lead Eastern Europe to economic prosperity
c. / to improve education and protect refugees
d. / to debate the proper course of socialism

____22.In 1942, what priority did Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin set in the war?

a. / to open a second front in Western Europe in 1943
b. / to destroy the German navy before invading Western Europe
c. / to achieve victory in Asia before trying to achieve it in Europe
d. / to achieve victory in Europe before trying to achieve it in Asia

____23.Through what action did Hitler violate the Versailles treaty in 1936?

a. / He invaded Poland. / c. / He sent troops into Czechoslovakia.
b. / He sent troops into the Rhineland. / d. / He annexed Austria.

____24.Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union because

a. / he wanted the Soviet Union’s vast natural resources.
b. / the Soviets had helped the British at Dunkirk.
c. / the Soviets had betrayed him by seizing the Baltic states.
d. / he wanted to protect the Germans living in Russia.

____25.What action did the Western Allies take after World War II that caused the Soviets to strengthen their hold on East Germany?

a. / They disputed the Soviet occupation of East Berlin.
b. / They encouraged rebellion in Soviet satellite states.
c. / They helped western Germany rebuild its economy.
d. / They fortified the border with East Germany.