Ch. 20 wwii

Ch. 20 WWIIThe Early Battles

The Fall of the PhilippinesHours after the bombing of Pearl

Harbor, the Japanese attacked the Philippines. As the Japanese advanced

toward the southern part of the Philippines, US forces commanded by Douglas MacArthur retreated to the

Bataan Peninsula.

• Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to evacuate to Australia when it was certain that he and his men would be captured.

• MacArthur’s promise : “I came through

and I shall return”

The defenders of Bataan surrendered

and all 78,000 of them became

Japanese P.O.W’s. Sick, exhausted, and starving they had to march to the prison camp—this became known as the Bataan

Death March

Bataan Death March

• http://youtu.be/OPlfhVEw-7U

The Doolittle Raids

• Roosevelt was searching for a way to raise the morale of the American people. He thought bombing Tokyo would do it. But there were no planes available that could reach to Tokyo without stopping. B-52 bombers were decided upon because they could take off from an air craft carrier but they could not land on one. They would land in China instead.

• The Doolittle raids were very successful—not that they did much damage, but it shocked the Japanese. The bombs could have killed the emperor.

• http://youtu.be/yHnwxRfzR2A

Midway

• The Commander of the Japanese naval forces was Admiral Yamamoto. He decided the planes came from Midway Island. So he decided to capture Midway Island.

• The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war.

• The Japanese would never advance after losing that battle –they were on the defense and now the Allies were on the offense.

Turning Back the German Army

Turning Back the German Army• Joseph Stalin wanted the US to send troops to the

Eastern front—to help him fight off the Germans. • Stalingrad: Hitler was convinced that the only way

to defeat the Soviet Union was to destroy the city of Stalingrad— SU’s important strategic city.

• Epic battle—both sides were ordered to fight to last man. In the end the Soviets were victorious in pushing back the Germans.

• The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the war—Germany on the Eastern front was now on the defense never to advance again.

Northern African and Southern Europe

• Roosevelt wanted to get the US forces into the war right away but Churchill was cautious. Instead he persuaded Roosevelt to send troops into the soft underbelly of Europe and North Africa. The Allied forces with the help of American soldiers had many victories—the Axis forces were now on the defense.

Strategic Bombing

• Both England and the US bombed important cities of Germany—destroying the railroad system and factories.

D-Day

• With the Germans retreating on the East and the South it was now time for the Allies to invade the North.

• To get the majority of the Allies forces on the continent of Europe the decision was made to enter thru France.

Turning Back the German Army

• Over 1.5 million American soldiers, 12,000 airplanes, and more than 5 million tones of equipment had been sent to England. Only one thing was left to do—pick the date.

D-Day

• Begin at night• Arrive at low tide• Low tide had to come at dawn• Weather had to be good• http://youtu.be/gZgKo46X8CI

• Liberation of Paris• http://youtu.be/skGQ0fVx75o

The Battle of the Bulge

• As the Allies closed in on Germany, Hitler decided to stage one last desperate offensive.

• The battle lasted over 3 weeks but finally the Germans began to withdraw, after having suffered more than 100,000 casualties.

V-E Day: The War Ends in Europe• As German defenses crumbled, American troops closed

in on the West, and the Soviets closed in on the East. • Adolf Hitler, knowing that the end was near, put a

pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Upon orders, his personal secretary carried his body outside, doused it in gasoline and set it on fire.

• On May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally • http://youtu.be/sHcJtU9dr6I-• discovery of camp• http://youtu.be/VcMk85ZsBh0• German’s speech

President Roosevelt dies• Roosevelt did not live to see the defeat of

Germany. He died April 12, 1945 after being President for an unprecedented 12 years.

• His vice president, Harry Truman, became president.

War in the Pacific—Island Hopping

• Iwo Jima—strategically an important island for the Allies—but with the formidable terrain—full of ash and rugged with rocky cliffs and dozens of caves where the Japanese were hiding for years.

• Marines took the Island in fierce fighting that took the life of over 6,800

Of the six men depicted in the picture, three (

Franklin Sousley, Harlon Block, and

Michael Strank) were killed during

the battle; the three survivors (

John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes) became

celebrities upon their identification

in the photo

Firebombing Japan

• As the Allies were Island hopping—taking over all the Islands that Japan had taken over-- on their way to Japan, the allies were fire bombing major cities in Japan killing over 80,000 civilians and 250,000 buildings.

• After massive fire bombing there were no signs of Japan surrendering.

The Invasion of Okinawa

• With still no signs of surrendering, the Allies felt that the Japanese would not surrender unless Japan was invaded. To prepare for the invasion, the island of Okinawa would need to be invaded first.

• http://youtu.be/86QB_WXYcqE• Code takers

The Manhattan Project• The American program to build an atomic

bomb was code-named the Manhattan Project.• In 1939, top physicist, Leo Szilard suggested

that splitting the atom might release enormous energy. He convinces Albert Einstein to help draft a letter to Roosevelt. Roosevelt responded by setting up a committee to study the issue.

• A secret laboratory was set up at Los Alamos, New Mexico under the direction of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

The debate on whether or not to drop the bomb.

Opposed Truman’s decision

modify the terms of surrenderWait for the shock of the Russian attack an economic blockadeConventional bombing

Defends Truman’s decision

avoid an invasion of Japan and save millions of lives on both sidesThe “agony of war” would end quickly

• On August 6,1945 the Enola Gay dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima

• 3 days later a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki

Destruction

• Hiroshima-important industrial city• 76,000 buildings destroyed –63% • 80,000-120,000 died instantly and more died

later from burns and radiation.• Bombing stunned Japan—3 days later Soviet

Union declared war on Japan and later that day a second bomb was dropped

V-J Day• The Japanese emperor ordered his

government to surrender. • In the end, the Allies did allow the Emperor to

remain in power—just superficially.