Transcript Victory in Europe and the Pacificx

Victory in Europe and the Pacific
Why it Matters
• In 1942 and 1943 the Allies turned back Axis
advances
• In 1944 and 1945 they attacked Germany from
the west and east
• U.S. advanced across the Pacific and created a
new weapon that would change warfare and
global politics
Planning Germany’s Defeat
• Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin discussed
starting a second front in France
• In November 1943, they met at the Tehran
Conference in Tehran, Iran
• Agreed to a second front in France and
defeating Germany by Land, Sea, and Air
• Given the code name Operation Overlord
D-Day Invasion of Normandy
• Eisenhower served as supreme commander
and landed on Normandy Beach
• Allies created a fictional army at Calais, west
of Normandy, to deceive the Germans
– It worked, Hitler sent his top tank division to Calais
Beaches Code Named
Heroes Storm the Beaches
• June 6, 1944- D-Day- Allies hit Germany in
force
• Attempted to destroy Nazi transportation
and communication and soften beach
defenses
• Four of the beaches saw low casualties
• Omaha- an American assigned beach- had
tough opposition
Omaha
• The Germans dug trenches and structures to
fire heavy artillery
• The beach was covered with deadly guns and
mines
• Some soldiers were dropped too far from the
beach and drowned from heavy packs
• Others were met with a rainstorm of bullets,
shells, and death
• Allies were able to gain a toehold in France
Battle of the Bulge
• Hitler’s counter attack
• Hitler did take the Americans by surprise by
creating a bulge in the American line, but they
were able to hold on
• When the weather cleared, Allied forces were
able to attack back and began pushing the
Germans out of France
Victory in Europe
• Americans celebrated V-E day (Victory in Europe)
Advancing in the Pacific
• American strategy of island hopping
– Capturing some Japanese held islands and
ignoring others on a steady path toward Japan
• Kamikaze pilots deliberately crashed planes
into American ships
• The U.S. and MacArthur still pushed forward
Iwo Jima
• U.S. marines faced a determined
enemy
• 36 days of fighting left 23,000
marines dead
• But the U.S. was successful in taking
the island
Okinawa
• Even deadlier than Iwo Jima
• Contained a vital air base necessary for a
planned invasion of Japan
• Most complex and costly operation of
island hopping strategy
– 50,000 casualties
• Japan was low of fuel and ammunition
and virtually defenseless
Truman Makes His Decision
• Truman understood the ethical issues of using
the bomb
• Axis powers also had nuclear capabilities and
no way to tell how close they were to
developing a bomb
• Chief priority was to save American lives
– the current campaign could cost up to 1,000,000
lives
• The decision was not difficult for Truman
Victory in the Pacific
• On August 15, 1945 the Allies celebrate V-J
Day (Victory in Japan)
• Japan officially surrendered on September 2,
1945
• The most costly war in history was over
• As many as 60,000,000 people, mostly
civilians, had died in the conflict