World WarII

Introduction:

• Most devastating war in human history• 55 million dead

• 1 trillion dollars

• Began in 1939 as strictly a European Conflict

• Widened to include most of the world

How It Began:

• WWI leftovers• Defeated Germany had to pay the cost of war.

• Restrictions from the Treaty of Versailles prevents Germany from rebuilding their military

• Italy victorious but wanted more territory

• Japan victorious but wanted China

• Outside factors…

What Were These Outside Factors?

• Germany reduced size

• Organized League of Nations

• France and Britain unsure, scared of another war

• U.S. isolationist, also scared of another war

Rise of Hitler

• Nazi Party organized, 1920s• Nazi party largest in Germany, 1932

• Hitler voted as chancellor, 1933

• New parliament created• 450, 000 members

• Larger than German army

Hitler Gets Busy

• Gestapo Created -- April, 1933

• Jewish Boycott – April, 1933

• Jewish Books Banned & Burned – May, 1933

• 27,000 People in Camps – July, 1933

• 60,000 People in Camps – 1938

• Illegal to Leave Germany – October, 1941

German Territorial Gains

• Austria – March, 1938

• Border of Czechoslovakia – Sept., 1938

• All of Czechoslovakia – March, 1939

• Poland – Sept., 1939

• By Summer of 1940, Germany Controlled Most of Europe

• World shocked as France falls to Germans

Making Friends With Hitler

• Stalin and the Soviet Union, 1939

• Betrayed by 1941

• Mussolini and Italy, 1939

• Until Italian overthrow of Mussolini in 1943

Japan• Japan is also in

economic crisis• Japan was “China

Hungry”• Japanese angry over

U.S. support of China• Officially allied itself

with Germany in 1940

Pearl HarborDec. 7, 1941

Damages

U. S. Involved In War

• “A date which will live in infamy,”

• Congress declares war Dec. 8, 1941 – hours after Roosevelt speaks

• Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S. Dec. 11

Allies United:U.S.S.R, England and The U.S.

Invasion of NormandyD-Day, June 6, 1944

“There were bodies bobbing in the water, even out three or four miles.”

--Lieutenant Robert Edlin

D-DayLanding on Normandy Beach

D-Day Invasion, June 6, 1944

• Allied troops landed at Omaha Beach.

• Allies suffered over 2,000 casualties.

• Within one week, ½ million men came ashore.

• By late July, Allies had over 2 million troops in France

Liberating France

• Ground gained at Normandy

• General Patton pushes through northern France

• Uprising started by the French Resistance frees Paris

War in Europe Ends

• In March 1945 Allied bombers increase strikes of German cities

• Soviet forces advance from the east

• April 25, 1945 – Soviet forces meet up with American forces

• Hitler commits suicide in an underground bunker in Berlin on April 30, 1945

V-E Day

• V-E (Victory in Europe Day)

• May 8, 1945, Germany surrenders

• Celebration is quickly quelled by the discovery of The Holocaust

War in the Pacific

• Attack on Pearl Harbor just the beginning…

• Hours after Pearl Harbor, Japanese warplanes bombed Clark Field, an American air base in the Philippines.

• Japanese attack American bases on Wake Island on Dec. 8

• Bases in Guam are attacked Dec. 10

WHY???

• Attacks were designed to gain control of the Western Pacific.

• Hoped to shatter American forces

• Hoped for American withdrawal from the area.

The Philippines Fall

• Over 11,000 Americans and Filipinos surrender to invading Japanese on May 6.

• 76,000 Filipinos and Americans in total were captured and held as prisoners of war.

• Japanese split these POWs into groups of 500-1,000 to be moved into an army camp.

Bataan Death March• POWs were forced to march many miles.• During the march they were denied water

and rest. • Those who could not keep up were beaten,

tortured, and often shot.• At least 10,000 POWs died during the 6-12

day march.• Those who survived were sent to prison

camps where an additional 15,000 died.

China Enters the War

• Officially joins Allies on Dec. 9, 1941

• Chinese armies were poorly trained and quickly lost control of the Burma Road to the Japanese.

Doolittle Raid• In April 1942, American B-25 bombers

took off, lead by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle.

• The planes flew 650 miles to Japan to carry out a counterattack.

• Dropped bombs on Tokyo and other cities before crash landing in China.

• Little damage but boosted morale.

Battle of Midway• Began June 4, 1942.• Key island about 1,100 miles northwest of

Hawaii.• Fought entirely from the air. • Americans sank 4 Japanese carriers and

downed 250 planes killing most of Japan’s most skilled naval pilots.

• American victory was due to break of Japanese code JN-25.

Battle of Guadalcanal

• Allies finally have offensive in the Pacific.

• First goal is to take Guadalcanal where Japanese were building an airfield.

• More than 11,000 marines landed on the island in August 1942.

• The 2,200 Japanese who were defending the island fled into the jungle.

“Jungle Warfare”

• Americans were forced to fight in the jungle.

• Marines were easy targets for snipers.

• Both sides landed thousands of reinforcements.

• After 5 months of fighting, Japan’s forces left the island in Feb. 1943.

Island-Hopping

• Americans selectively attacked key islands, cutting off other islands.

• This helped Americans move closer to their ultimate goal…

• JAPAN!!

Iwo Jima

• One of the bloodiest battles of the war.

• Tiny island, 700 miles from Japan.

• Steep, rocky slopes were covered with caves and tunnels controlled by the Japanese.

• For 74 days, American planes poured nearly 7,000 tons of bombs on the island.

Iwo Jima

• Americans stormed the beaches in Feb. 1945 encountering fierce resistance.

• After 3 days of combat, Americans had advanced only about 700 yards inland.

• Eventually nearly 110,000 Americans were on the island fighting only 25,000 Japanese.

• After 1 month, Americans secured the island. Only 216 Japanese were captured.

Casualties of Iwo Jima• Americans suffered an

estimated 25,000 casualties.

• 27 Medals of Honor were awarded.

• This photo came to symbolize the struggles and sacrifices of American troops.

Battle of Okinawa

• Small island, 350 miles from Japan

• Fought from April to June of 1945

• Final obstacle to a Japanese invasion.

• Over 100,000 defenders pledged to fight to the death

• Allies send 1,300 warships and over 180,000 troops to invade the island.

• Effort is second only to D-Day.

• Japanese flew nearly 2,000 kamikaze attacks.

• Defenders used banzai charges to keep U.S. out.

Casualties of Okinawa

• Japanese surrender after 3 months.

• 7,200 Japanese remained to surrender.

• Nearly 50,000 Americans died.

• Deadliest battle of the Pacific war.

“We would attack during the day, dig in for the night – not for sleep but for safety… And then, at night, they would come a screaming banzai or a single shadow.”

-An American GI at Okinawa

The Invasion of Japan?

• After grueling battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, Americans are aware of how costly an invasion would be.

• Japanese had proven their willingness to die for their cause.

The Manhattan Project• In August 1939, Einstein

sends a letter to Roosevelt warning of a new bomb Germans could build.

• Roosevelt creates a team of scientists to build the atomic bomb first.

• Called the Manhattan Project.

The Atomic Bomb

• July 16, 1945, scientists field test the first atomic bomb in New Mexico.

“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu holy book

(Recalled by J. Robert Oppenheimer)

Possible Scenarios to End the War

1. Massive invasion of Japan, expected to cost millions in Allied casualties.

2. Naval blockade to starve Japan, along with conventional bombing.

1. Demonstration of the new weapon on a deserted island to pressure Japan to surrender.

2. Softening of Allied demands for an unconditional surrender.

What To Do???

• Roosevelt dies suddenly in April 1945, making Harry S. Truman President.

• An advisory group of scientists, military leaders, and government officials met to debate the options.

• The final decision, however, rested with President Truman.

Truman Decides

• Easy decision for Truman• Bomb is a military weapon,

made to be used.

“You should do your weeping at Pearl Harbor.”

Truman to his critics, 1963

August 6, 1945The Enola Gay dropped a single bomb on

Hiroshima, a city in southern Japan and the site of a large army base.

August 9, 1945A second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki.

Japan Surrenders

• August 14, 1945, the government of Japan accepts American terms for surrender.

• The next day, Americans celebrated V-J Day

• Formal surrender was signed September 2, 1945.

World War II Ends

After 6 years of fighting, the second World War finally comes to an end.

And the world lived happily ever after…or did it?