Transcript War in the Pacific

War in the Pacific
Just a Review:
• Rape of Nanking, China
1937
• Dec. 7, 1941-Pearl Harbor
• What problem did the
U.S. have fighting the
war in the Pacific-(look at
the map)????
-Had to fight on two frontsEurope & Pacific so focus
on Europe first
-Harder to fight because it is
a series of islands
Our Strategy & Did It Work:
• Get back North Africa & go through
weaker underbelly of Italy then liberate
France & move through to Germany
• Were we successful?
End of the War Timeline:
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FDR dies April 12, 1945-Truman takes over
Mussolini killed April 28, 1945
Hitler commits suicide April 30, 1945
V-E Day May 8, 1945 (Victory in Europe)
US Strategy in Pacific
• Island Hopping- go
from island to island
and focus on smaller
less fortified ones first
Navajo Code Talkers
• The Navajo language has no
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written alphabet so difficult to
break.
Code designed from original 29
men recruited and expanded
throughout the war
Was never broken by Japanese
Fought in every major battle in
Pacific
Returned home to
discrimination
Received Congressional Medal
in 2001
Bataan Death March 1942
• Philippines (owned by
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U.S.)
General MacArthur vows
“I Will Return”-sent to
another battle area
Troops continue fighting
& run low on supplies
70,000 U.S. & Filipino
troops surrender
Put on death march-no
food, extremely hot
10,000 die on march
Coral Sea 1942
• U.S. breaks Japanese
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code
*Significance-first halt
in Japanese
advancement
Save Australia
Midway 1942
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Break Japanese code
U.S. losing at first
4 U.S. planes get lost
Japanese stop to refuel
4 U.S. planes find Midway
& bomb as Japanese is
refueling
• U.S. wins
• *Last Japanese offensive
Guadalcanal 1942-43
• *1st U.S. offensive
• Successfully cut off
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Japanese supply lines
There was a Japanese
airfield there
Peleliu (Palau)
• Most causalities in a
single battle in Pacific
(6,800)
• Wanted an airfield
• Little strategic value
in the end
• Controversial battle of
WWII
• Sept 1944-Nov 1944
Leyete Gulf 1944
• Philippines
• MacArthur returns
• First time get
kamikazes-Japanese
suicide bombers
means “divine wind”
Kamikazes
Iwo Jima 1945
• Mount Suribachi
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heavily fortified by
Japanese (inactive
volcano)
Famous raising of the
flag
7,000 Americans KIA
12,000 Japanese KIA
*closer to Japan
Okinawa 1945
• Now only 350 miles
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from Japan
12,000 Americans KIA
110,000 Japanese KIA
Manhattan Project
• New Mexico 1939-
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secret development of
the atomic bomb
Robert Oppenheimer
is the scientist with
Einstein
Feared Germany was
developing because
they had uranium
Harry Truman
• Gave Japan chance to surrender July 26th
• Why did he decide to drop the bomb?
-To save millions of American lives
-Not for revenge of Pearl Harbor
Hiroshima
• Why?
-Industrial city and port
for army depot
• August 6, 1945
-Bomb called “Little
Boy”
-Transported by Enola
Gay
Hiroshima
• 1 mile radius-gone
• 3 mile radius-heavy
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damage
12 mile radius-lighter
damage
Damage
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80,000 killed
Up to 140,000 after radiation
35,000 wounded
2/3 city destroyed
Nagasaki
• Drop warning leaflets
Aug. 8
• Why?
-Largest seaport and
industrial city
• Drop “Fat Man”
August 9, 1945
Damage
• 40,000 dead
• Should we have
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dropped the atomic
bomb?
Should we have
dropped a second?
V-J Day
• August 15, 1945 (surrender date)
• War ends Sept. 2, 1945 (V-J Day)