I. For FIVE (5) of the following ten (10) terms, give a concise (two to four paragraph-300 - 600 words) description of its significance for the history of the Second World War. (8 pts each) Note: do not write on all terms. Number your answers according to the number of the terms below.
the Munich Peace Conference (Sept. 1938).
German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, Aug., 1939
The Atlantic Charter.
Operation Dynamo; evacuation from Dunkirk, May-Jun 1940
The "Battle of Britain" July-Sept 1940.
Battle of Midway, June, 1942
Stalingrad.
Battle for Guadalcanal Aug 42 - Feb 43.
Battle of El Alamein
Operation Typhoon.
II. Write on TWO (2) of the following questions. Your answer to each question should be about 1000-1500 words (roughly 2 - 4 pages).
Consider the following statements.
--"The War that began in Europe in 1939 was caused by Hitler's unbridled ambition, power lust, and twisted ideology."
--"The War that began in Europe in 1939 was caused by the injustices, misguided ambitions, and unrealistic political and territorial changes imposed by the treaties forced upon Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey following the First World War."
--"The War that began in Europe in 1939 was caused by the timidity, confusion, weak leadership, and short-sightedness of the victorious powers of 1918-especially France, Great Britain, and the United States."
--"The War that began in Europe in 1939 was caused by mistakes and miscalculations by all parties."
1. "The War that began in Europe in 1939 was caused by ... "
Complete this sentence and justify your conclusions.
2. Hindsight is 20/20, so they say. If you were charged with supreme direction of the German armed forces and Reich on or about 1 October, 1940 (and assuming you had the interests of the Greater German Reich at heart, whatever you conceive them to be) what military and/or diplomatic actions would you plan and carry out? Compare your decisions with those taken by Hitler in the same circumstances.
3. Answer Question 1 again, replacing the words "in Europe in 1939" with "in Asia and the Pacific in 1941" (and other changes as appropriate).
4. Answer Question 2 again, replacing the words "German" with "Imperial Japanese" and the date "1 October, 1940" with "1 January, 1942" (and other changes as appropriate).
5. If you were a military attache at the U.S. Embassy in London at the beginning of July, 1940, charged with submitting a short estimation of the situation and probable actions of the opposing forces (and their likely outcomes) in the impending Battle of Britain, what would you write?
6. A standard exercise in Business Schools is the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). Do a SWOT analysis for one of the major powers (Germany, Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, Japan, or the United States) at some date of your choice between 1938 and 1941.