World War IIFrom Appeasement to Victory

Q.O.D. #13 2/4/10

Why did Japan see the United States as an enemy? Why did the United States end

its isolationist policy?

Yalta ConferenceStalin wanted control of Eastern Europe, Churchill and Roosevelt wanted self-determination

Needed Stalin to help win the war

Big Three agreed: USSR would enter the war against Japan after

Germany surrenderedUSSR would be given some territory in AsiaGermany would be divided into four zones to be

governed by the USSR, Britain, U.S. and FranceStalin agreed to hold free elections in Europe

War in Europe In December 1944, the Germans made one last attempt to

win a major victory in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle ever fought by U.S. Forces. Despite early German success, the Allies were victorious. During the Battle the 101st Airborne Division held the key town of Bastogne, despite being completely surrounded.

By early 1945 Nazi defeat was imminent

Nazis March 1945: Allies crossed the Rhine into western

Germany Soviets were closing in on Berlin. The Soviets captured Berlin at the cost of over 81,000

battle deaths, and thousands of other casualties.

Allied Generals

Georgy ZhukovCharles De GaulleBernard Law Montgomery

Dwight D. Eisenhower Omar N. BradleyGeorge S. Patton

Audie Murphy

Famous Army Division Patches

Elbe RiverIn late April 1945, Americans advancing from the west and Soviets coming from the east met at the Elbe River in Germany

War in EuropeItaly: Guerillas captured and killed Mussolini

Germany: As the Soviets closed in on Berlin, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker on April 30, 1945.

May 7: Germany surrendered.

May 8: V-E Day (Victory in Europe)

Many factors contributed to Nazi defeat:Nazis had to fight on several frontsHitler made bad decisionsUnderestimated the USSR (1 out of every 10 Wermacht

soldiers was killed by the Soviets).The productive capacity of the U.S.

Devastation in Berlin

Burned out City Dresden

War in AsiaJapan controlled much of Southeast Asia by mid-1942.

May 1942: Bataan Death MarchJapanese defeated the Allied troops at

Bataan, the Philippines and the American Maj. King surrendered (against the orders of Gen. MacArthur).

72,000 prisoners were forced to march 61 miles and endured random beatings and were denied food and water.

54,000 made it to Camp O’Donnell

War in AsiaCoral Sea

MidwayDecisive victory for U.S.Superior communications

Knew Japanese were coming and were readyCode Breakers

Guadalcanal: beginning of “island-hopping” campaignGoal to recapture some Japanese held islands

while skipping others.Served as stepping stones to the next objective

Famous Airplanes of WWII

F4F Wildcat F6F HellcatP-38 Lightning

P-40 Warhawk P-47 Thunderbolt P-51 Mustang

B-17 Flying Fortress B-29 Superfortress

Famous Navy Ships

U.S.S. Missouri

U.S.S. Intrepid

U.S.S. Essex

Pt 109

Island Hopping in the Pacific

U.S. forces in the Pacific, led by General Douglas MacArthur, moved north toward Japan

U.S. Navy, led by Admiral Chester Nimitz, was blockading Japan

British were fighting Japanese in Burma and Malaya

Key Battles in the Pacific

American and Australian soldiers re-captured much of New Guinea, the Aleutian Islands, and the Philippines.

American Marines were victorious at Tarawa, Saipan, Pelileu, Guam, Tinian, and Iwo Jima, enduring terrible casualties in each campaign.

Combined Marine and Army forces captured Okinawa, in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

Important Naval victories included Midway, Leyte Gulf, Philippines Sea, and many more.

In each battle the Japanese were extremely reluctant to surrender, often fighting to death.

To attack the U.S. Navy, the Japanese used Kamikaze pilots, men who intentionally flew their planes on suicide missions, crashing directly into American ships.

The Horrors of War

MacArthur Returns

Famous Marine Division Patches

Navy Commanders

Chester Nimitz

William “Bull” Halsey Raymond Spruance

Atomic BombJapanese would not surrender for any reason

In 1944 Japanese introduced kamikazes

Military planned invasion, but it would be costly

Group of scientists had been working on the Manhattan ProjectThey could create the most powerful explosion

ever known by splitting atoms

President Truman decided to use the bomb

Harry S. Truman

Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6, 1945: American plane dropped an atomic bomb

on city of Hiroshima Instantly killed more than 70,000 Japanese did not surrender

August 8: USSR declared war on Japan

August 9: Second bomb dropped on Nagasaki 40,000 killed

August 10: Japan surrendered, but it was not agreeable.

August 15: The terms of surrender were agreeable.

September 2, 1945: formal peace treaty signed on USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay