Transcript War in the Pacific

The War in the Pacific
Valdner & Patten
Mepham High School
Global History II
War in the Pacific
• A major turning point took
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place in May and June
1942, when American
ships damaged two
Japanese fleets at the
battle of Coral Sea and
Midway Islands
After the Battle of
Midway, the United
States Marines, under the
command of General
Douglas McArthur, landed
at Guadalcanal.
• The goal was to recapture some of the
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Japanese held islands.
This island hopping campaign was successful
moving American forces closer to Japan itself.
The Americans built airbases on conquered
islands to help defeat Japan.
By 1944, American ships blockaded Japan,
while American airplanes bombed Japanese
cities and industries
The Nazis Defeated
• The last major action in
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Europe was the battle for
Berlin.
The Allies were marching
from the west, but German
fears focussed on the Red
Army to the east, which came
to avenge the years of havoc
wreaked by Nazi forces in the
Soviet Union.
After bitter fighting Soviet
troops entered the city on 21
April 1945. Germany was
facing defeat.
Battle of the Bulge
• After freeing France, the Allies advanced toward
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Germany
In December 1944, when the Allies entered
Belgium, Hitler launched once last offensive.
The Battle of the Bulge was a bloody battle
resulting in terrible loss for both sides.
The battle slowed the Allied advance, but it was
Hitler’s last success.
The Air War
• For two year, the
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Allies bombed the
Germans round-theclock.
By 1945, Germany
could no longer
defend itself in the air
On to Berlin
• By March, the Allies entered western Germany.
• In Italy, Mussolini was captured and executed.
• Hitler knew that he would be captured and
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committed suicide in his underground bunker.
On May 7, Germany surrendered.
The end of the war in Europe was called V-E
Day (Victory in Europe)
Defeat of Japan
• After winning the war in Europe, the Allies
focused on defeated on defeating Japan.
The road to victory would be long and
costly.
Invasion versus the Bomb
• Many Americans
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estimated that an
invasion of Japan would
result in one million or
more American
casualties.
The Japanese would
rather die than surrender.
Japanese pilots, known
as Kamikaze pilots, would
crash their planes loaded
with explosives into
American warships.
• Scientists had different plans. Since the
early 1900s, scientists were working on
creating the atomic bomb.
• In July 1945, at Alamogordo, New Mexico,
the Allies successfully tested the first
atomic bomb.
• The decision was made to drop the bomb
• President Truman
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issued a warning to
Japan at a meeting in
Potsdam, Germany.
The warning was
surrender of face utter
and complete
destruction
The Japanese
ignored the warning.
Hiroshima
• On August 6, 1945 an American plane dropped
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an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.
The bomb destroyed 4 square miles and
instantly killed more than 70,000 people.
In the months to follow, many more Japanese
died from radiation.
After Hiroshima, Truman warned the Japanese
again.
He said that if they did not surrender they could
expect a “Rain of ruin from the air like had never
been seen before.”
Nagasaki
• On August 8th, the Soviet Union declared war on
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Japan.
The Japanese did not respond, so the United
States dropped a second atomic bomb on
August 9th, the next day, on the city of
Nagasaki, killing more than 40,000 people.
Finally on August 10th, Emperor Hirohito agreed
to surrender.
The End of the War
• On September 2, 1945, the formal peace
treaty was signed on the American
battleship the Mussouri.
The War had Ended!!!!!
An ongoing controversy
• The dropping of the atomic bomb brought
a quick end to World War II.
• However, there is much controversy over
whether the United States should have
used the bomb or not.
Why did Truman use the bomb?
• He was convinced that Japan would not
surrender without an invasion that would
have cost an enormous amount of lives.
• Truman wanted to impress the Soviets
with American power.