Transcript The End of the War in the Pacific

The End of the War in the
Pacific
Mr. Homburg
American Studies
Japanese Fighting
• Japanese fighting men did not surrender,
even in the face of impossible odds.
• Although some Japanese were taken
prisoner, most fought until they were killed
or committed suicide
• American troops saw mothers clutching
their babies hurling themselves over the
cliffs rather than be taken prisoner
• The other enduring image of total sacrifice is that
of the kamikaze pilot, ploughing his plane
packed with high explosives into an enemy
warship. Even today, the word 'kamikaze'
evokes among Japan's former enemies visions
of crazed, mindless destruction.
• What in some cases inspired - and in others,
coerced - Japanese men in the prime of their
youth to act in such a way was a complex
mixture of the times they lived in, Japan's
ancient warrior tradition, societal pressure,
economic necessity, and sheer desperation.
• Nearly 5,000 Kamikaze pilots died
• the strategy behind the kamikaze was
born purely out of desperation.
Quote
• I am pleased to have the honor of having
been chosen as a member of a Special
Attack Force that is on its way into battle,
but I cannot help crying when I think of
you, Mum. When I reflect on the hopes
you had for my future ... I feel so sad that I
am going to die without doing anything to
bring you joy.
• the supreme sacrifice of life itself was
regarded as the purest of
accomplishments.
• a major factor, often overlooked in seeking
to explain why Japanese soldiers did not
surrender, is that countless thousands of
Japanese perished because they saw no
alternative.
• John Dower argues that the attack on Pearl
Harbor provoked a rage bordering on the
genocidal among Americans. Not only did
Admiral William Halsey, Commander of the
South Pacific Force, adopt the slogan 'Kill Japs,
kill Japs, kill more Japs', public opinion polls in
the United States consistently showed 10 to 13
per cent of all Americans supported the
'annihilation' or 'extermination' of the Japanese
as a people.
Seppuku
• is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by
disembowelment.
• A kaishakunin is an appointed second
whose duty is to behead one who has
committed seppuku, Japanese ritual
suicide, at the moment of agony.
• The use of a kaishakunin is normally
reserved for one who is performing the
deed out of honor, rather than in disgrace
Timeline
• 1943-Tehran Conference: Soviet Union
agrees to invade Japan after Germany is
defeated
• February 4, 1945-Yalta Conference: Soviet
Union agrees to invade Japan within 3
months of German surrender.
• August 6, 1945-First Atomic Bomb, Little
Boy dropped on Hiroshima from a B-29
Superfortress named Enola Gay
• August 8, 1945 - The Soviet Union
declares war on Japan then invades
Manchuria.
• August 9, 1945 - Second (larger) Atomic
Bomb, Fat Man, is dropped on Nagasaki,
also from a B-29, (named Bockscar)
• August 14, 1945 - Emperor Hirohito's
decree to surrender announced over radio.
The Atomic Bomb
• August 6, 1945 U.S. drops atomic bomb
on Hiroshima ( 70,000 dead). Three days
later Nagasaki is hit by Atomic bomb
• U.S. desired to end the war quickly and
save American lives
Little Boy
Fat Man
Before
After