Transcript Omaha

The Beginnings of
World War II
US Begins the Pacific Theatre,
The Battle for Normandy,
and V-E Day
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I. Early War Difficulties
A. Strengths and Weaknesses
1. Axis: Secured power in areas they had invaded / Better Prepared for War
2. Allies: Soviet Army (size) / U.S. Military production ability
B. Mobilizing for War
1. Production Boom of the 1940’s
a. Employment: ‘40= 22K Factory Workers / ’44 = 486K Factory Workers
b. Wartime Economy: No Cars Made No Strikes, Food Production is Raised
C. War in the Pacific (The Pacific Theatre)
1. Military Strength
a. Japan outnumbers the US
b. US Caught off guard / Japs take Manila, Philippines, Taiwan
c. Forces US to retreat to Australia [ Mac: “I shall return”]
2. Battle of the Coral Sea [Defense]
a. Major Allie victory / Stops Japs advance to Australia
3. Battle of Midway [Defense]
a. “Object A” in Japs code language / Broke their code
b. Navy of Jap significantly reduced
c. Biggest turning point in the war / Morale had been low
4. Guadalcanal [1st US Pacific Offensive]
After Midway, the US begins to dominate the Pacific
D. War in Europe (European Theatre)
1. 1941: Axis control much of Europe / France falls in Dec. ’41
a. Soviet Union—Stalingrad
i. German troops have pushed to the edge of Moscow
ii. FDR Promises Stalin to begin a 2nd front in W. Europe
I. America and the Home front
A. Promoting the War (Domestic Propaganda)
1. Movies, Plays, Radio, Media
B. Life in Wartime America
1. Every thought, idea and action was focused on wining the war
2. Massive nationalism efforts
3. Conservation
a. Rubber, iron, metal, aluminum was recycled
b. Daylight Savings Time began as a way to increase productivity time
in summer and conserve oil in the winter.
C. Japanese Relocation Camps
1. Internment Camps
a Camps set up for Japanese-Americans to live for “their safety”
b. Primarily for West Coast Japanese citizens
*More on this Thursday…
2. Hawaii: Placed under Marshall Law for duration of war
II. Allies Begin to Push Into Europe
A. Europe-Early 1943
1. North Africa
a. Take control of Axis strongholds in Morocco and Algeria
b. Prevent Axis control of Suez Canal
2. Italy – Operation Torch
a. Need a launch pad for Italian mainland / Take Sicily
i. Allows for B-24 air raids in to N. Italy and S. Germany
b. Months of fighting and bombing…eventually take Rome
i. Rome is the 1st Axis Capital to fall to the Allied Powers
Stalin and Churchill want FDR to start a Western Front in France
III. FDR Starts the European Theatre
The Allies knew they had to attack in secret…but how do you invade a
continent w/o the enemy knowing about it?
A. Mock invasion
1. Massive “fake” buildup about 100 miles north of actual invasion
i. Causes the Germans to send almost all of their forces there
B. Actual Invasion Point: Normandy, France
*Operation Overlord
1. 5 Beaches: Utah, Omaha, Juno, Sword, Gold
2. 150-200 K Troops (Casualty rate = 30%)
3. Success / Hitler’s Mistake
Germany now has a two front war (Stalin in East, Allies in West)
The view of the channel from Point du hoc
Point du hoc
Omaha Beach
Utah Beach at low tide
“Our landings in the
Cherbourg-Havre area have
failed to gain a satisfactory
foothold and I have
withdrawn the troops. My
decision to attack at this
time and place was based
on the best information
available. The troops, the
air and the Navy did all that
bravery and devotion to
duty could do. If any blame
or fault attaches to the
attempt, it is mine, and mine
alone.”
In his haste to write his resignation
letter, he mistakenly dated it July 5th
instead of June 5th.
“To these we owe the high resolve,
that the cause for which they died shall live”
C. Hitler viewed the Holocaust as the “Final solution to the Jewish question”
1. Genocide
a. Death Camps
i. Auschwitz
ii. Treblinka
All Located in Poland .. Why?
iii. Majdanek
2.Big Three @ Yalta
a. FDR, Churchill, Stalin
i. Discussion as to what to do with Germany after the war
b. Stalin promises to help America with Japan in Pacific
D. Final Assault on Berlin
1. Fire Bombing of Dresden, Germany
a. B-24’s bombed city for 13 days using “fire bombs”
b. US is trying to break the “will” of the Germans
c. Estimated that 35-75K civilians were killed
2. Berlin surrounded in early May 1945
a. Knowing he had lost, Hitler kills himself
3. V-E Day: May 8, 1945
Remember, even though the war in Europe is over, the war in the Pacific continues…
FDR is counting on Stalin to begin a Western Front against Japan…Remember, we
helped you, now it is your turn to help us!