Transcript Latter Years of the War

Latter Years of the War
Turning Points
 By the beginning of 1943, battle begins to turn against
the Axis Powers
 Allies cross the Mediterranean and carry war onto Italy
-> Soft Underbelly
 Allies begin invasion of the mainland of Italy in
September
Euro Theater
 Sicily falls, Mussolini is arrested by King Victor
Emmanuel III
 Allies break through defenses and seize Rome on June
4, 1944
 War in Italy deemed “secondary” and wanted to open
second front in Europe
D- Day
 Allies had planned an invasion of France across
English Channel
 June 6, 1944 Allies land on beaches or Normandy
under Dwight D. Eisenhower
 Germany responds slowly
 Allies land 2 million in new front with new front
Allied Advancement
 Paris is liberated by 1944
 Germans look to launch counter offensive and regain
territory in Belgium
 Battle of the Bulge -> named for the “bulge” the
German attack causes in American lines
Why is the Normandy
Invasion considered to be a
turning point in the War?
The War in Europe Ends
 With the Soviets sweeping in from the East and South
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Allied forces also advance into Nazi Europe
Begin to liberate concentration camps and death
camps
Nazi effort to destroy evidence unsuccessful
Allies see them and serves as crimes against humanity
Hitler commits suicide on April 30 -> Germany
Surrenders May 7, 1945
The Asian Theater
 War in the Pacific continues
 U.S. Forces continue their island hopping campaign
 Beginning of 1945 -> Acquire Iwo Jima and Okinawa
 Each seizure essential for strategic importance
Pacific Casualties
 Casualties in the Pacific serve as a great cost
 President Henry S. Truman comes to office following
FDR’s passing
 Posed with difficult decision
 Manhattan Project -> top secret development of the
atomic bomb.
 Drop the bomb? Invade Japan and risk further
casualties
Atomic Bomb
 Truman makes executive decision to drop bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 Bombs are dropped three days apart
 Devastation leads emperor Hirohito to
unconditionally surrender to the Allies on Aug. 14, 1945
 WWII is finally over, estimated total casualties
-> 60 million
Peace and a New War
The Cold War
 Period of political tensions following the Allied
Victory of WWII
 Ideological conflict between the United States and the
Soviet Union
 The Cold War will dominate world affairs up until the
end of the 1980’s
The Big Three
 Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill leaders of the Grand
Alliance
 Meet at Yalta in 1945 when German defeat is assured
 Western Powers now face reality of Soviets taking
possession of Eastern and much of central Europe
Stalin
 Very suspicious of the western powers
 Wants a Soviet buffer to help protect from future
western aggression
 Establishes Pro-Soviet governments along the USSR’s
boarders.
 FDR supports self-determination in Europe ->
United Nations
 Establishment is a primary American Concern
 First meeting in San Francisco in 1945
 Big Three agrees to divide Germany into 4 zones ->
 Free elections in Poland ->
 The issue of free election causes serious split between
U.S. and U.S.S.R
Potsdam Conference
 July 1945 -> increases feelings of mistrust
 Truman demands free elections in Eastern Europe
 Stalin feels free elections would lead to anti-soviet
governments-> Cant Allow
 Stalin sought absolute security for the soviets
 Nothing short of western invasion would stop Stalin in
Eastern Europe