Transcript WORLD WAR II - Loudoun County Public Schools / Overview

Pearl Harbor and Pacific Campaigns
Let’s Review!
Germany started the war by
invading Poland.
 France fell leaving Britain as the only
ally until Germany invades the Soviet
Union
 Why was Japan spreading its
empire? What did they need?
 Where did they take over?
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Japan Seeks a Pacific Empire
The U.S. was aware of
Japan’s plans for S.E. Asia
 They were in desperate
need of oil – WHY??????
 Admiral Yamamoto
regarded the U.S. fleet at
Pearl Harbor as a “dagger
pointed at our throat”
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Pearl Harbor
“a date that will live in infamy” – FDR
 December 7, 1941 – Japan attacked
the naval base and took the entire
nation by surprise
 18 ships sunk/damaged – including 8
battleships!
 Demolished the U.S. Pacific fleet
 ≈ 2,400 Americans killed
 >1,000 Americans wounded
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Japanese Internment
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Wave of prejudice against 127,000
Japanese-Americans following Pearl Harbor
Fear encouraged by government – viewed
as the “enemy”
February 19, 1942 – internment camps
March – rounding up Japanese-Americans
and relocated them
2/3 of those interned were native-born
American citizens
1941-1946 ≈ 31,000 were imprisoned
Tide of Japanese Victories
Next, the Japanese focused on
expanding their empire
 Acquired Hong Kong, Dutch East
Indies, Burma
 Bataan Death March – Japanese
subjected prisoners to terrible
cruelties

 American solider witnessed six Scouts
buried alive
The Allies Strike Back
U.S. quickly declared war on Japan
 Began campaigns in the Pacific
 May 1942 - Battle of the Coral Sea –
new kind of naval warfare
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 No shots fired
 Airplanes that took off from huge aircraft
carriers did all the fighting
 Japan claimed victory since the Allies
lost more ships
 Significance – Allies stopped Japanese
expansion for the first time
Pacific Campaigns
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Battle of Midway – June 1942
 After intercepting a code, U.S. able to plan a
strategy to attack the Japanese
 Japanese fleet = largest naval force
assembled
 Americans outnumbered 4:1 in ships/planes
 Allowed Japanese to strike first then Americans
attacked Japanese ships
○ 332 planes destroyed as well as 4 aircraft carriers
 Significance – turning point
Pacific Campaigns

Douglas MacArthur
 General - commander of
the Allied land forces in
the Pacific
 “island-hop” – seize lands
closer to Japan that
were not well defended
 Battle of Guadalcanal –
August 1943
○ American victory
Pacific Campaigns (End of War)
Okinawa (April-July
1945)
 Iwo Jima (FebruaryMarch 1945)
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Bloodiest land battles
Japanese – 110,000 killed
Americans – 12,500 killed
Significance – impact
Truman’s decision to drop
bombs on Hiroshima &
Nagasaki