Transcript The Defeat of Japan Ch. 12

The war in the Pacific intensified despite the firebombing of
Japan. With the Japanese refusing to surrender
unconditionally, commanders became convinced that only an
invasion of Japan would end the war. Truman who became
president after Roosevelt’s death decided to use a new
weapon - the Atomic Bomb. After the military dropped atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered. The
Allies formed a military tribunal to try German and Japanese
leaders for war crimes.
U.S. was trying to bomb
Japan - Problem: to far away
U.S. military leaders decided
to Invade Iwo Jima
Located 1/2 way between
Mariana island and Japan
U.S. had intentions of using
island as a base to launch B29’s
Terrain rugged, high cliffs,
caves, deep volcanic ash
Japanese built system of
bunkers connected by
tunnels
Feb. 19, 1945 - 60,000 U.S.
Marines landed on Iwo Jima
Troops faced heavy fire 6,800 men died
While Iwo Jima airfields were
being prepared:
Gen. Curtis LeMay - commander
of B-29 fleet changed bomb
strategy
Curtis Decided to load bombs with
napalm
Designed to: hit, explode, and
start fires
U.S decided to use in order to
stop Japans war production
Firebombs - Controversial:
kill innocent civilians
Gen. LeMay - Felt no other
way to stop Japan
March 9, 1945 B-29’s
Firebombed Tokyo -
Major firestorm - so hot, fire
sucked the oxygen out of
the air - asphyxiating ppl.
The fires were incredible, flames were leaping hundreds of
feet in the air..... many people were gasping for breath. With
every passing moment, the air became more foul.... the noise
was a continuing crashing roar....fire-wind’s filled with burning
particles rushed up and down the streets..... I watched people
running for their lives... flames raced after them like living
things, striking them down as they gasped for air. Where ever
I turned my eyes, I saw people.....seeking air to breath.
Charred Remains of
Japanese Civilians
Killed over 80,000
Destroyed 250,000 building
6 of Japan’s most important
cities had been firebombed
destroyed 1/2 of total urban
area
By wars end - 67 Japanese
cities were fire bombed
Despite firebombing, Japan
was not ready to quit
U.S. needed a base closer
to Japan to stockpile
munitions & troop build up
Okinawa only 350 mi away
American troops landed
April 1, 1945 - Japanese
didn’t defend beaches
Japanese dug into the
hillside on islands rugged
terrain
American troops had to
fight up hill / faced major
machine gun fire
over 12,000 soldiers died
June 22, 1945 - Captured
After Okinawa - The
Emperor of Japan wanted
his govt to end the war
Many Japanese leaders
willing to surrender = as
long as Emperor stays in
power
U.S. wanted Japan to
surrender / no conditions
German scientist
discovered splitting an atom
releases huge amounts of
energy
Albert Einstein - Warned
U.S. President - splitting
uranium would create an
extremely powerful bomb
Roosevelt set up a scientific
committee to do research
and build the bomb
Code Name “Manhattan
Project”
July 16, 1945 - scientist
detonated 1st atomic bomb
in Alamogordo, NM.
Secretary Henry Stimson
warned Japan to surrender
or face “Prompt and utter
destruction”
Japan did not reply
Truman ordered the military
to drop the bomb
Aug. 6, 1945 - “Enola Gay”
aircraft dropped the bomb Code name “Little Boy” on
Hiroshima
8:15 am - the bomb was
dropped - 43 sec. later it
exploded
Destroyed: 76,000
buildings, 63% of the city,
80,000 - 120,000 people
instantly
Thousands more later from
burns and radiation
“The center of the city was still burning bright red like live
charcoal. Roof tiles were popping, We passed numerous war
dead who had been carbonized... We found five or six half
burned roofless street cars, inside were piles of corpses
smoldering under white smoke.... a young mother lay face
down, her baby tucked under her breast. They looked like wax
dolls, not humans”
3 days later - Aug. 9 - U.S.
dropped another atomic
bomb “Fat Man”
Killing 35,000 - 80,000
people
The Japanese Emperor
ordered his govt to
surrender
Aug. 15, 1945 - Japan
surrendered - “V-J Day”
Video Clip
Putting the Enemy on
Trial
1945 - U.S., Britain, France,
Soviet Union created the
International Military Tribunal
Punish German and Japanese
leaders for their war crimes
Held in Nuremberg, Germany Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trial
Trials of lower ranking German
officials / military officers.
Rulings were:
over 24 German leaders were
executed
107 given prison sentences
Japanese Trial
Similar trials held in Tokyo
International Military Tribunal
charges the following:
25 leaders tried
18 sentenced to prison
7 sentenced to death
**Japanese Emperor NOT tried
for fear of civilian uprising
Nuremberg Opening
Statement
“The wrongs we seek to condemn and punish have
been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating,
that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored
because it cannot survive their being repeated”
- Robert Jackson, Chief Counsel for the United States
Discussion Question
• 1. Did the U.S. need to drop the bomb on Japan?
Discussion Question
• 2. Were there other alternatives to dropping the bomb?
Discussion Question
• 3. If you were the president, what would you have done?
Discussion Question
• 4. If you were the pilot of the Enola Gay, would you be able to
drop the bomb knowing what was going to happen?
Discussion Question
• 5. Could the U.S. have been tried for War Crimes? Why or why
not?