Transcript Battle of the Bulge

World War II
Battle of the Atlantic
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US countered German U-boat
attacks against shipping by
enforcing blackouts along the
East Coast (so U-boat
commanders couldn’t see
activity on the US coast) and
by using the convoy system
(ships traveling in large groups
with naval escort)
Also used new technologies
like sonar and depth charges
to combat the U-boat threat
As the war progressed, the
Germans began to lose more
U-boats than they could
replace and Allied shipping was
able to deliver more supplies
Operation Torch
November 1942
 US troops landed in Algeria
and Morocco in North Africa
 Landings were designed to
bring relief to British forces
in Egypt who had been
holding off Germany’s Afrika
Korps under the command
of the “Desert Fox,” Gen.
Erwin Rommel
 Despite the inexperience of
the US forces, Axis troops
were forced out of North
Africa by May of 1943
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Erwin Rommel
1891 – 1944
 Highly decorated hero from
WWI, became Germany’s
top officer during WWII
 Commanded German forces
in the invasion of France, in
North Africa, and against
the Allied invaders at
Normandy
 Implicated in an
assassination plot against
Hitler, Rommel quietly
committed suicide to spare
Germany and his family
from his public disgrace
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
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1890 – 1969
Master strategist who
helped devise the US
plans for winning the
war against both
Germany and Japan
Placed in charge of US
forces in North Africa
and, later, over all
Allied forces in Europe
Would go on to be
elected President of the
United States in 1952
George Patton
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1885 – 1945
Outlandish and outspoken
(but highly effective) US
general
Played a pivotal role in the
US invasions of North Africa
and Italy, but was removed
from command after slapping
a soldier for cowardice
Returned after the D-Day
invasion, helping with the
final push of Allied forces into
Germany
Killed in a car crash shortly
after the end of the war
Casablanca Conference
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Jan. 1943
FDR and Churchill met in
Morocco to determine the
next steps to take in the
war
Decided on an increased
bombing campaign in
Germany
Also decided to attack
mainland Europe through
Italy, rather than France
Invasion of Italy
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July – Aug. 1943:
Allied forces invaded
and captured Sicily
The Allies easy
conquest of Sicily
was disheartening to
the Italian army and
alarming to the King
of Italy
Mussolini overthrown
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July 25, 1943: Mussolini
was fired and ordered
arrested by Italian King
Victor Emmanuel III
Italian people had lost all
confidence in Mussolini
and rejoiced at his ouster
Italy broke its alliance
with Germany in
September and joined the
Allies in October 1943
Germans Defend Italy
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The German army seized
control of northern Italy,
freed Mussolini from
prison, and forced the
Allies to fight a long and
costly campaign in Italy
Particularly bloody battles
took place at Monte
Cassino (Jan. – May 1944)
and Anzio (Jan. – June
1944)
Took Allies until May 1945
to gain complete control of
Italy and cost them over
300,000 casualties
The Tehran Conference
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Nov. 1943
Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin
met in Tehran, Iran
US and Britain agreed to
invade France, providing relief
to the Soviets by dividing
Germany’s troops along
several fronts
Agreed to break up Germany
after the war to permanently
remove them as a threat to
peace
Stalin agreed to help fight
Japan once Germany was
beaten
Stalin agreed to the creation of
an international organization to
help keep world peace after
the war
The Normandy Invasion
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Operation Overlord
Allies created fake camps
along one section of the
British coast to trick
Germany into believing
that the Allied attack
would be farther north on
the French coast than was
actually planned
Allies then had to wait for
a perfect combination of
weather, tides, and
moonlight to launch the
real invasion, aimed at
Normandy
D-Day
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June 6, 1944
7000 ships moved over
100,000 troops across the
English Channel
23,000 paratroopers were
dropped behind the German
lines
Allied bombers hit critical
German defense and
communication sites
Naval warships began a
bombardment of German
fortifications along the
French coast
By the end of the day, the
Allies had established a
foothold in France
Allies Liberate France
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By July 25, Allied forces
had shattered the
German defensive
positions in Northern
France
August 25: Allies retook
Paris, to much celebration
by the French population
By mid-September, Allies
were at the German
border and ready to
begin an invasion of
Germany itself
Battle of the Bulge
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Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945
Germans made one last effort
to break the Allied lines and
cut their supplies by taking the
port of Antwerp, Belgium
The initial surge caused a
“bulge” in the Allied lines, but
the Germans could not
maintain the surge, especially
after Patton arrived with
reinforcements
The battle cost Germany over
100,000 casualties and used
up their remaining war
materials
Yalta Conference
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Feb. 1945
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin
met in the Soviet Union to
discuss postwar plans
Agreed to reestablish Poland
Issued the Declaration of
Liberated Europe: agreement to
let all the peoples of Europe to
choose their own forms of
government through free
elections
Agreed to strip Germany of its
industrial machinery as war
reparations
Agreed to divide Germany (and
its capital city of Berlin) into four
zones, one each for the US,
France, Britain, and USSR
Roosevelt Dies
After months of
noticeably declining
health, Roosevelt died
of a cerebral
hemorrhage on April
12, 1945
 He was replaced by
his Vice-President
Harry S. Truman
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Benito Mussolini Dies
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Mussolini was captured
by Italian communists on
April 28, 1945
He and his entourage
were shot
Bodies were then hung
from meat hooks, stoned
by an angry crowd, and
left to rot (Mussolini’s
corpse was later stolen by
loyalists and not
recovered until August!)
Adolf Hitler
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Committed suicide on
April 30, 1945
Took cyanide and shot
himself (along with his
newlywed wife Eva
Braun)
Body was then burned by
his secretary
No verifiable remains
have ever been
recovered; “Hitler lives”
theories circulated for
many years after the war
Germany Falls
Berlin captured by the
Soviets on May 5, 1945
 May 7, 1945: Germany
formally surrendered to
the Allies; their surrender
was unconditional,
meaning that they had to
accept whatever terms
the Allies offered to end
the war
 May 8: celebrated as “V-E
Day” (Victory in Europe)
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“Island-hopping”
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US forces elected to
focus on capturing
only certain strategic
islands in the Pacific –
ones that would allow
US bombers to get
within striking range
of Japan and create a
safe route for troop
and supply movement
Pacific Battles
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Tarawa (Nov. 1943)
Kwajalein (Feb. 1944)
Saipan, Tinian, & Guam
(Jun. – Aug. 1944)
US Marines took heavy
losses unseating
Japanese defenders, but
US B-29 bombers could
reach Japan once these
islands were secured
Battle of Guadalcanal
Aug. 1942 – Feb.
1943
 U.S. amphibious
attack on Japanese
fortifications
 Land, sea, & air battle
 Eventually 31,000 of
the 36,000 Japanese
on the island were
killed
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Douglas MacArthur
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1880 – 1964
Seasoned veteran of WWI,
highly decorated soldier who
had won the Medal of Honor
Had vowed to return to the
Philippines when forced to
evacuate in 1942
Led US effort to retake the
Philippines and proclaimed “I
have returned” when he
finally landed in Oct. 1944
Later was US commander of
occupied Japan after WWII
and led UN forces in the
Korean War
The Philippines
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US forces landed at Leyte in
Oct. 1944 to begin the
retaking of the Philippines, but
relied entirely on the US Navy
for air cover for protection
Japanese navy
counterattacked, drawing the
US Navy into a major naval
battle that left MacArthur’s
forces unprotected and nearly
led to disaster
US forces would not gain full
control of the Philippines until
July 1945, just weeks before
the war ended
Kamikaze Attacks
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The Battle of Leyte Gulf
marked the first
coordinated use of suicide
attacks by Japanese pilots
known as kamikaze
(“divine wind”)
Japanese high command
was now resorting to
desperate tactics as Japan
ran out of experienced
pilots and the industrial
capacity to continue
making new weaponry
Iwo Jima
Feb./Mar. 1945
 First Japanese “homeisland” captured by the US
 20,700 of the 22,000
Japanese soldiers on the
island were killed; about
6800 of the 60,000 US
Marines who landed on Iwo
Jima were killed
 Badly damaged Japanese
morale; placed Japan within
easy bombing range for US
bombers
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Firebombing of Japan
Gen. Curtis LeMay ordered the
use of napalm (jellied gasoline)
bombs on Japanese cities
because his bombers were
having trouble hitting their
targets
 The napalm was designed to
start massive fires, which would
ensure the destruction of the
desired military targets, but
would also lead to heavy losses
of civilian life
 Mar. 9, 1945: firebombing of
Tokyo killed over 80,000; by the
war’s end, 67 Japanese cities
had been destroyed using
napalm
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Battle of Okinawa
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Apr.-June 1945
Most brutal battle of the
Pacific war: about
125,000 Japanese killed
and 12,500 Americans
Nearly 700,000 men
fought in this battle
(550,000 Americans)
Okinawa was needed to
set up a base of
operations for an invasion
of Japan itself
The Manhattan Project
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US effort to build a new type
of weapon that would unleash
tremendous destructive energy
by splitting uranium atoms –
an “atomic bomb”
Led by Gen. Leslie Groves and
researcher J. Robert
Oppenheimer, the team
produced 3 bombs
1 bomb was tested in the New
Mexico desert, leaving just 2
bombs for military use
Bombs were code-named “Fat
Man” and “Little Boy”
Harry S. Truman
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1884 – 1972 (life)
1945 - 1953 (Pres.)
Became president upon FDR’s
death
Truman now had to decide
how to end the war – should
the US mount an invasion of
Japan, which would cost an
estimated 1 million American
lives or should it use the new
atomic bomb, which would kill
an unknown number of
Japanese civilians and whose
after-effects were still
unknown?
Hiroshima
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Japan was warned that unless
they surrendered immediately
and without conditions, they
faced “prompt and utter
destruction”
When the Japanese did not
reply, orders were given to
destroy the industrial city of
Hiroshima
August 6, 1945: The B-29
Enola Gay dropped “Little
Boy” on the city, destroying
76,000 buildings and killing
over 120,000 people
Nagasaki
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When the Japanese still
did not surrender, the B29 Bock’s Car dropped
“Fat Man” on the port of
Nagasaki, killing over
50,000 on August 9, 1945
On the same day, the
Soviets declared war on
Japan and began to
prepare to enter the war
in the Pacific
Japan Surrenders
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Faced with destruction on an
unforeseen scale (and
unaware that the US had no
more atomic bombs to use),
Emperor Hirohito ordered his
government to surrender
unconditionally
Fighting stopped August 15,
1945 (“V-J Day”)
Formal surrender took place
on September 2, 1945
As part of the terms of
surrender, Japan was occupied
by U.S. forces until Apr. 1952