The U.S. Turns the Tide
The Japanese military government underestimated the manufacturing might of the U.S.
Aircraft production in 1943
U.S. – 85,898 (we are fighting and supplying both war fronts)
Japan – 16,693
Key Battles
• Battle of Iwo Jima• February 19 – March 26, 1945• Strategic Airfields
U.S. Strength 70,000 6,822 Dead, 19,217 wounded
Japanese Strength 18,591 18,375 Dead, 216 captured
Key Battles
• Battle of Okinawa• April 1, 1945 – June 22, 1945
Japanese Strength 117,000 110,000 killed, 7,400–10,755 captured
U.S. Strength 183,00012,513 killed 38,916 wounded
The Atomic Bombings
• Hiroshima• 70,000–80,000
people killed• 70,000 injured
• Nagasaki•80,000 people killed•Injured Unknown
The Surrender of Japan
• “Moreover, the enemy now possesses a new and terrible weapon with the power to destroy many innocent lives and do incalculable damage. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers.” –Hirohito, Japanese Emperor
The Surrender of Japan
• The Japanese military completely disarmed
• Removed government in power
• End of Japanese imperialism
The Cost
• Nearly 36,000,000 fatalities, roughly half the total military/civilian deaths during WW2
• End of European colonialism, though France would not go willingly
• Overthrow of governments• Economic and social upheaval• Japanese power ended and the rise of U.S. in
Asia as a superpower• Beginning of the Cold War following WW2
Information Sources
• http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/wwiipaccauses.htm
• http://www.Wikipedia .com • The ghosts of Iwo Jima By Robert S. Burrell• Appleman, Roy E.; James M. Burns; Russell A.
Gugeler; John Stevens (2000). Okinawa: the last battle. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. p. 36.
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