Transcript WWII Battles to Atomic Bomb

Battle of the Atlantic
• Despite declaring war first on Japan, the US concentrated on Europe
first.
o Key to winning the war was to control the Atlantic
o The Atlantic needed to be kept safe for shipping so that soldiers
and goods could be transported from the U.S. to the other Allied
nations.
• Germans used new tactics to increase U-boat effectiveness, such as
the wolf pack.
• American shipyards began producing new ships at an amazing rate.
• The new ships were used to form larger, better-equipped convoys
• Supply ships in the middle, armed ships on the edges, aircraft
above with radar
• cut down on the effectiveness of U-boat attacks.
U-boats hunted Allied supply ships
in groups and often attacked at
night
Battle of the Atlantic
• The Allies broke the German code system in 1941, which was
called the Enigma.
• This allowed the Allies to gain vital information about the
locations and plans of U-boat formations.
• With these things and better-equipped ships, the Allies
finally had an advantage over the Germans.
• 70% of Germans who served on submarines were
dead by the end of the war
• ***THE ALLIED FORCES TOOK THE ATLANTIC***
American Forces in North Africa
• North Africa was
important…why?
o By controlling North
Africa, the British could
protect shipping
(especially oil from the
Middle East) on the
Mediterranean Sea.
o Italy could not push the
British from North Africa
o Germany sent troops
under the command of
Erwin Rommel (“The
Desert Fox”)
• Nov. 1942 Operation Torch
o Americans invade North Africa under the command
of Dwight D Eisenhower
o After a back-and-forth battle for North Africa, the
Allied forces handed the Germans a major defeat at
the battle of El Alamein.
American Forces in Italy
• July 1943 Invasion of Sicily
o American troops led by General
George S. Patton
o Had to get through Sicily to get to
Italy
o Allies quickly took control of Sicily
(38 days) and turned sights to Italy
o Italian citizens turned on Mussolini
because Sicily was defeated so
easily. Mussolini was overthrown
and a new government was
established
• New government surrendered as the
Allied troops threatened Italy
WWII in the Soviet Union
•
Hitler broke his nonaggression pack with Stalin and invaded
the Soviet Union in 1941.
o
He claimed that Germany needed “lebensraum,” or living space, to the
east.
o
The Soviets then joined the Allies as enemies of the Axis Powers.
•
Initially, Soviets were unprepared; the German Luftwaffe had
control of the air and ground troops continued to move
further and further into the Soviet Union.
•
The Soviets turned to the “scorched earth” policy. They also
asked for aid from U.S. (Lend-Lease Act), but the U.S would
not aid the SU until 1942.
•
The Germans attacked Stalingrad in August 1942.
o
Stalingrad was a major industrial railroad center.
WWII in the Soviet Union
•
The Germans attacked Stalingrad in August 1942.
o
•
The cold Russian winter proved a great ally to the Soviets.
The Battle of Stalingrad
•
Turning point of the war in Europe
•
The Soviets refused to let Stalingrad fall, and Hitler suffered a
stunning defeat in early 1943.
•
Soviet forces pushed Germany out of Russia, but lost 12 million
soldiers and millions of civilians.
D-Day: The Invasion of
D-Day
• The land invasion would take place on
France
June 6, 1944
Operation Overlord
• 4600 craft and warships left England
• Britain agreed to a land invasion
• 1000 RAF bombers pounded German
of Europe in late 1943.
defenses at Normandy
• Plan to invade mainland Europe
at Normandy (northern France) • 23,000 soldiers parachuted behind
German lines to secure key sites
so the war would end quickly
• Ships offshore (in the English
• Allies began to assemble troops,
Channel) began to bomb the coast to
weapons, etc.; choose
destroy as much German defense as
Eisenhower as the commander,
possible
again
• Aircraft provided cover for coming
troops and continued bombings
• Spring of 1943: began bombing
Germany to “soften” it for the
land invasion
• Amphibious craft delivered equipment
and soldiers (150,000) along 60 miles
of the beaches at Normandy
D-Day
• Germans were slow to respond, feared a larger invasion
somewhere else
• Estimated 10,000 Allied casualties, including 6,600
Americans
• The Allies landed almost 1 million soldiers and 180,000
vehicles.
D-Day: The Invasion of France
Operation
Overlord
• Plan to invade
mainland Europe at
Normandy (northern
France) so the war
would end quickly
D-Day
• June 6, 1944
• Germans were slow to
respond
• Estimated 10,000 Allied
casualties, including
6,600 Americans
• The Allies landed almost
1 million soldiers and
180,000 vehicles.
Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive)
• Little went as planned, but the Germans were slow to
respond with their offensive (Hitler thought it was a
trick…that the Allies were using Normandy as a
distraction, and were going to attack somewhere else)
• Allies took Normandy and continued to move through
France
• Paris was freed from the Germans in August 1944 and the
Allies crossed the western border of Germany.
• Hitler began retreating from France, but began a
counterattack December 1944 in Belgium and Luxembourg
(this is what is known as the B of B/A.O.), overwhelming
the Allies and American troops
• Largest battle in Western Europe and the largest ever
fought by the U.S.
• Symbol of American strength and determination
• 600,000 GIs (80,000 killed, wounded, or captured)
• German losses totaled 100,000 and most Nazi leaders
recognized that heir efforts were losing
Winning the War in Europe
• After the Battle of the Bulge…
o In which Allied forces were successful
o Therefore, they were pushing further
and further into Germany; crossed the
Rhine River (a key barrier to the center
of Germany) and pushed towards
Berlin.
o The Soviet Union first reached Berlin.
• 13.6 million killed, + 3 million Germans =
2/3 of the total dead from WWII
• Later, Roosevelt would leave Berlin to the
SU.
o Germany had few soldiers left to defend
the homeland.
• Germany faced 4 million Allied troops on its
western border and millions more Soviet
troops to the east.
Winning the War in Europe
• U.S. troops finally met with Soviet Troops at the Elbe River.
• In April of 1945, Hitler realized that the war was lost. He had
vowed to never survive the defeat of his people, so he
committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.
• Germany finally surrendered on May 8, 1945
o Victory in Europe Day = VE Day
The Yalta Conference
•February 1943
•Allied leaders Franklin
Roosevelt,
•British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill,
• and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
(the so-called Big Three)
•Met at Yalta (SU) to discuss the
end of the war and the peace
that
wasGermany
to follow;into
whatfour
to do
• Divide
sectors
with1.Germany?
The Americans
2. Soviets
3. British
4. French
would each occupy one of these sectors. Berlin was also
divided into four sectors, on the same concept.
The Yalta Conference
•Another agreement had to do with the fate of Poland and
other Eastern European countries now occupied by the
Soviets
•Stalin agreed to hold free elections in these countries
after the war.
•Stalin also said that the Soviet Union would declare war
on Japan three months after Germany was defeated.
A Slow Start in the Pacific
• The attack on Pearl Harbor did significant damage to the U.S.
Pacific Fleet and it took months to overcome the attack.
• The Allies decided to focus their energy and resources on defeating
the Axis in Europe.
• The Japanese won a quick string of impressive victories following
Pearl Harbor.
o Drove American forces from Wake Island and Guam
o Captured the British stronghold at Hong Kong
o Took control of the Dutch East Indies (known as Indonesia
today) and British Borneo
o Damaged the Allied navies in the Battle of Java Sea
o Conquered British-controlled Burma
• The Japanese soldiers were highly skilled and well trained.
• The Japanese military had excellent equipment.
The
Philippines
Japan invaded the
American-controlled
islands of the Philippines
in December 1941.
General Douglas
MacArthur led the
defense of the islands.
MacArthur’s troops were no match for the Japanese and he
retreated to the Bataan Peninsula.
Although he called for reinforcements, war planners decided
sending ships was too risky.
• In April 1942, the
10,000 American and
60,000 Filipino troops
on Bataan surrendered
• Thousands of these
captured soldiers died
when the Japanese
forced them to march
through the steaming
forests of Bataan. This
became known as the
Bataan Death
March.
Allied Advances in the Pacific
James Doolittle
• Army Lieutenant Colonel
• Led a group of 16 American bombers on a daring air raid of
Tokyo and several other Japanese cities
• Doolittle’s raid did not do major damage to the Japanese targets,
but it did give the American people something to celebrate and
worried Japan’s leaders.
Fortunes Shift in the Pacific
• Victory in the Battle of Coral Sea
• Victory in the Battle of Midway
Fortunes Shift in the Pacific
Battle of Coral Sea
• Japan prepared to invade
New Guinea.
• U.S. Admiral Chester
Nimitz sent two aircraft
carriers to stop the attack.
Battle of Midway
• Japan tried to lure the
Americans into a large sea
battle around Midway Island.
• Naval officers had broken a
Japanese code and learned of
the plan.
• The Americans lost an
aircraft carrier in the battle • Nimitz devised a plan to
but stopped the Japanese
thwart the attack and placed
attack.
his 3 aircraft carriers
carefully.
• First time the Japanese
advance had been halted
• The Americans destroyed 3 of
the 4 Japanese carriers and
won a major victory.
Allied Progress in the Pacific
1. Gained control of territory in the Solomon Islands to
protect Australia
2. Used powerful combination of land, sea, and air forces
to capture key islands
3. Captured locations in the Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline,
and Mariana islands
4. Took advantage of American industrial power by
replacing ships and aircrafts, which Japan was unable
to do
5. European successes allowed more resources to be made
available in the Pacific.
6. Recaptured the Philippines
7. Captured strategic Japanese islands of Iwo Jima and
Okinawa
The Allies Make Progress
Guadalcanal
• Allies wanted to gain
control of the Solomon
Islands to protect
Australia.
• Key goal was the capture
of an island called
Guadalcanal
• American forces fought
for 6 months and finally
defeated the Japanese.
The Philippines
• First major battle was the
Battle of Leyte Gulf.
• The Allies destroyed most
of Japan’s fleet.
• Japanese began using the
kamikaze attack.
• After months of fighting,
the Allies gained control of
the Philippines.
The Atomic Bomb
Harry S Truman became president when Roosevelt died. He
had to decide whether the United States should use the
Manhattan Project’s atomic bomb.
After consulting with his advisors, Truman decided to drop the
bomb on a Japanese city. There would be no warning.
On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped its atomic bomb
on the city of Hiroshima.
Despite the horror caused by the bomb, the Japanese did not
surrender.
On August 9, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on
Nagasaki. Even this did not bring an end to the war.
Finally, on August 15 – known from then on as V-J Day—the
Japanese emperor Hirohito announced the end of the war.
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Iwo Jima
• In February 1945 American
forces set out to capture Iwo
Jima.
• The island would provide a
good base to launch raids
against major Japanese
cities.
• For the first time, Japanese
soldiers were fighting for
and on Japanese land.
Okinawa
• Allied troops invaded on
April 1, 1945.
• The island was to be the
launching pad for the final
invasion of Japan.
• It was a bloody battle;
more than 12,000
American died at the
Battle of Okinawa.
• The Japanese fought
ferociously and refused to
surrender.
• Like Iwo Jima, the
Japanese refused to
surrender and lost a
staggering 110,000 troops.
• The Allies eventually won.
• Allies gained control of the
island in June 1945.
Winning the War in the Pacific
• The cost of capturing Okinawa were high.
o High rates of battle-related psychological casualties
o Thousands suffered from battle fatigue and other disorders.
o Many dreaded the possibility of invading the major islands of
Japan.
• General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz developed plans for a
massive invasion of Japan.
• A new bombing tactic was used on Japanese cities, one designed to
produce tremendous firestorms in the bombed area.
• Some Japanese leaders began to see the need for peace and began
to contact the Soviet Union.
• President Harry S Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on
Japan.
• Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.
Challenges after the War
United Nations
• Representatives from
50 countries met to
form a new
organization, the
United Nations.
Potsdam Conference
Rebuilding
• Allied leaders met in • MacArthur led efforts
the German city of
to help Japan rebuild
Potsdam to discuss
its government and
the spread of
economy.
communism and
• Seven Japanese leaders
Soviet influence in
• The UN was meant to
were tried for war
the postwar world.
encourage cooperation
crimes.
among nations and to • Truman hoped to get • Rebuilding Europe
prevent wars.
Stalin to live up to his
caused tensions
promises from Yalta.
between the U.S and
• Stalin did not do this.
the Soviet Union.
Winning the War in the Pacific
• The cost of capturing Okinawa were high.
o High rates of battle-related psychological casualties
o Thousands suffered from battle fatigue and other disorders.
o Many dreaded the possibility of invading the major islands of
Japan.
• General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz developed plans for a massive
invasion of Japan.
• A new bombing tactic was used on Japanese cities, one designed to
produce tremendous firestorms in the bombed area.
• Some Japanese leaders began to see the need for peace and began to
contact the Soviet Union.
• President Harry S Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on
Japan.
• Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.
Challenges after the War
United Nations
Potsdam
Conference
• Representatives
from 50 countries • Allied leaders met in
met to form a new
the German city of
organization, the
Potsdam to discuss
United Nations. the spread of
communism and
• The UN was
Soviet influence in
meant to
the postwar world.
encourage
cooperation
among nations
and to prevent
wars.
Rebuilding
• MacArthur led
efforts to help
Japan rebuild its
government and
economy.
• Seven Japanese
leaders were tried
for war crimes.
• Truman hoped to get • Rebuilding Europe
Stalin to live up to his
caused tensions
promises from Yalta.
between the U.S
and the Soviet
• Stalin did not do this.
Union.
Actions of Hitler
Munich
Non-Aggression Pact
Poland
Maginot Line
Battle of Britain
Early Actions