Transcript World War II Battles of 1945

By Olivia Napper & Kaitlyn Truelove
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Leaders:

• The British wanted to sink the U-
• British Lieutenant Jimmy Launders
• German Korvettenkapitän Ralf-
864 to prevent it from supplying
the Japanese
• The Germans wanted to send
advanced technology to the
Japanese to help them defeat the
Americans in the Pacific
Reimar Wolfram

Strategy:
• British chose to lay low & turn off
their sonar system in order to do a
sneak attack
• Germans employed a zig-zag
tactic to evade 3 of the 4 torpedoes
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Result/Effect:
• The British were successful in
intercepting the supplies and
sinking the U-864
• The Germans lost the submarine,
supplies, and men
• Only known account of a
submerged submarine sinking
another submerged sub
Technology:
• the U-864 submarine and the V-
Class submarine (participating in
battle)
• Me-262 jet fighter parts and V-2
missile guidance systems (being
sent transported)
• Enigma radio intercepts, ASDIC
sonar system, hydrophone,
periscope, torpedoes (used by
British)
Goal:
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Casualties:
• 73 men aboard the U-864 died
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Leaders:
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• British Air Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris
• British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
• American Lieutenant General James Doolittle
Strategy:
• To hinder one of the largest remaining centers for
industry in Germany, cutting off access to railway
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supply lines & artillery factories
• To attack at night in several waves, with
diversionary raids, in order to catch the Germans
unprepared
Technology:
• 1000 lb. target indicators (illuminated aiming
points for the raid)
• Lancasters (British heavy night bombing
airplanes)

• High explosives
• Incendiaries
• H2X Radar
• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses
Goal:
• To bomb German cities and
troops in the east
• To weaken German troops by
limiting their access to supplies
• To alleviate pressure on the
Eastern front faced by Russians
Result/Effect:
• Destruction to military hospitals,
factories, old buildings, and art
centers
• Raised questions about the
necessity of continuous area
bombing
• Controversial act of widespread
destruction when the Germans
were already close to defeat
Casualties:
• 22,700-25,000 civilians
• 12,000 historic buildings
• Several factories

Leaders:
Major General Harry Schmidt (Allies)
Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher (Allies)
Lieutenant General Tadamichi
Kuribayashi (Japanese)
• Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi
(Japanese)
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•
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• Allies: to invade the island so it would
act as a warning example of Allied
bombing raids and secure control of a
Japanese base to use for future bomber
landings
• Japanese: to inflict as many casualties
before losing control of the island and
dissuade the Allies from invading
Strategy:
• Allies: employed naval gunfire,
support from air attacks, and
armored units of Marines on the
ground to gradually gain control of
the island
• Japanese utilized tunnel network
and mountainous/ashy terrain to
their advantage
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Flamethrowers
M4A3R3 Sherman tanks
P-51 Mustangs
B-29 Superfortresses
Result/Effect:
• Lessons were learned that would be
helpful during the Okinawa campaign
• The island was used for American
bomber landings (2,251 landings in the
final months of the war)
• The only battle with more American
casualties than Japanese
Technology:
•
•
•
•
Goal:
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Casualties:
• 17,845-21,570 Japanese losses
• 6,821 American losses
• 19,217 Americans wounded
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Leaders:
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American General William Hodge
American Lieutenant Karl Timmerman
American Lieutenant Hugh Mott
American Sergeant Eugene Dorland
American Sergeant John Reynolds
American Sergeant Alexander A. Drabik
German Captain Willi Bratge
Adolf Hitler
•
Allies: stationed men overlooking the bridge
so that when the Americans advanced and the
Germans detonated explosives, the men
could provide cover as some men cut
remaining wires that were to demolish the
bridge
Germans: demolished all bridges across the
Rhine River and prepared to destroy the
Ludendorff Bridge before the Allies advanced
Technology:
•
•
•
•
30-foot crater
Tank dozers
Other fuses/explosives
V-2 rockets
Goal:
•
•
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Allies: to cross the remaining Ludendorff
Bridge into the town of Remagen to launch an
attack
Germans: to destroy all the bridges over the
Rhine river and cut off access to Germany for
the Allies
Result/Effect:
•
Strategy:
•
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
The Americans were successful in advancing
across the bridge and foiling German
attempts to destroy it
8,000 Americans crossed the bridge
immediately
The Germans launched counterattacks,
continued attempts to demolish the bridge
(unsuccessfully), and arrested/executed
officers in charge of destroying the bridge
Casualties:
• 28 Americans died, 93 American
engineers wounded when the
bridge finally collapsed (March 17th
)
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Leaders:
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•
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Allies: combined fighting on the island
with support from naval forces and air
forces
Japanese: drafting thousands of civilians to
add to the naval forces, creating a reserve
system in the north and south of the island
Technology:
•
•
•
British carriers
Japanese battleship, Yamato
Allied naval vessels & aircrafts
Goal:
•
•
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•
•
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Allies: to secure an island to use as a base
for air operations during the invasion of
the Home Islands after already securing
Iwo Jima
Japanese: defend the island of Okinawa
and attempt to maintain a foothold on
these island bases (prevent Allied control)
Result/Effect:
•
Strategy:
•

American Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz
American Admiral Raymond Spruance
American Lieutenant General Simon B.
Buckner, Jr.
American General Joseph Stilwell
British Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser
Japanese General Mitsuru Ushijima
Japanese Lieutenant General Isamu Cho
Japanese Vice Admiral Minoru Ota

Americans succeeded in capturing the
island
Okinawa become an asset for the Allies in
terms of place for airfields, anchoring
fleets, and staging troops
One of the longest and most expensive
battles in the Pacific
Casualties:
•
•
12,520 American deaths; 49,151
American casualties
110,071 Japanese deaths; 117,472
Japanese casualties
 Leaders:

• The goal of Ten-Go was for the
• Allies: Vice Admiral Marc
operation to remove the American
involvement from the army’s
attack on Okinawa.
Mitscher
• Japan: Vice Admiral Seiichi Ito
 Strategy:

and 12 bombs before sinking.
• The Yamato was hit by at least 8
torpedos and 15 bombs, then
ordered engine rooms to be
flooded to balance the ship.
• Ito ordered the operation to end
and told the crew to leave the
ship, right before it sank.
the battleship Yamato, the light
cruiser Yahagi, and eight
destroyers to defend Okinawa.
• Once at Okinawa, the ship
would be destroyed and the
crew would fight on foot.
• The battleship Yamato
• The light cruiser Yahagi
• Japanese destroyers
Result/Effect:
• The Yahagi was hit by 7 torpedos
• Operation Ten-Go called for
 Technology:
Goal:

Casualties:
3,700–4,250 Japanese died among the
Yamato,Yahagi, and four Japanese
destroyers
• 12 Americans and 10 aircraft died
•

Leaders:
Soviet: Marshal Georgy Zhukov
Soviet: Joseph Stalin
German:Colonel General Gotthard
Heinrici
• German: Lieutenant General Hasso von
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• The Soviet’s goal was to bombard
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•
•
•
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Manteuffel
German: Lieutenant General Theodor
Busse
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the German Defensive line.
• The German’s goal was to defend
their area and to try and stop the
Soviet’s bombardment.
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Technology:
•
•
•
Artillery
Katyusha rockets
2,655 tanks, 8,983 guns, and 1,401
rocket launchers- Constructed by
Zhukov
Result/Effect:
• The Soviets defeated the German’s
defense
• The Germans retreated from lack of
defensive line, heading west to
Berlin.
Strategy:
• Stalin supported Zhukov’s plan to
assault against the Seelow Heights from
the Soviet bridgehead over the Oder
River.
• The Germans strategy was to defend
the heights. Heinrici constructed three
defensive lines to defend the area.
Goal:
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Casualties:
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•
Over 30,000 Soviets killed
12,000 Germans killed
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Leaders:
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Soviets:
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Marshal Georgy Zhukov
Marshal Konstantin Rokossovky
Marshal Ivan Konev
General Vasily Chuikov
Germans:
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Strategy:
The Soviet’s strategy was not to defend
along the Oder River, but defend the
Seelow Heights east of Berlin.
• German’s strategy was to defend
against the Soviet’s
Technology:
•
•

General Gotthard Heinrici
General Kurt von Tippelskirch
Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner
Lieutenant General Hellmuth Reymann
General Helmuth Weidling
Major General Erich Bärenfänger
Adolf Hitler
•
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Artillery
Berlin S-Bahn railway

Goal:
• Soviet’s goal was to move westward
towards Berlin to be offensive against
the Germans.
• Germany’s goal was for the combined
forces to defend Berlin
Result/Effect:
• The Soviets take over and are more
offensive against Germany.
• Germans attempt to escape along
different routes, but only those that
passed through Tiergarten escaped the
Soviets.
• Hitler ends up killing himself, and
Germany surrenders.
Casualties:
• Soviets: lost 81,116 killed/missing and
280,251 wounded
• Germans: 458,080 killed and 479,298
captured
• Civilians: 125,000 killed

Leaders:
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• Germany’s primary goal is to
• Allies: Commander General Dwight
D. Eisenhower
• British: Prime Minister Winston
Churchill
• German: Reichskommissar Arthur
Seyss-Inquart (Governor of the
Netherlands)
• German: Adolf Hitler

weaken their opponent.
• The allies goal is to supply food to
the places that German cut off the
supply to and win the war.

with Great Britain, losing 3 US aircrafts.
• Germany surrendered on May 8th
• Operations Manna and Chowhound
delivered 6,680 and 4,000 tons of food.
• The Germans cut food shipments to

Technology:
• BBC and Radio Orange- used to
broadcast messages
• Lancaster Bombers
• American B-17s
Result/Effect:
• Countries formed an air relief truce
Strategy:
Dutch cities because of strikes, in
order to weaken their opponents.
• The Allies strategy was to use
aircrafts as a way to deliver food to
other countries.
Goal:

Casualties:
• No human casualties listed.
• Three aircrafts lost: 2 from a collision,
and 1 from an engine fire
 http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worl
dwarii/a/world-war-2-battles.htm