world war ii: the war front us history: spiconardi
TRANSCRIPT
World War II: The War FrontUS History: Spiconardi
The Belligerents
Allied Powers Axis Powers
• United States of America▫ Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Great Britain▫ Winston Churchill (Prime
Minister)• France
▫ Charles de Gaulle• Soviet Union (USSR)
▫ Joseph Stalin• 45 other countries
• Germany▫ Adolf Hitler
• Italy▫ Benito Mussolini
• Japan▫ Emperor Hirohito▫ Tojo Hideki (General &
Prime Minister)• Hungary, Romania,
Bulgaria
Fighting on several fronts
• The U.S. faced the difficulty of fighting on three continents▫ Europe, Africa, and Europe
• FDR & the Allies decided on a “Europe first” plan of attack▫ They would concentrate on
Japan later• U.S. with very little support
fought against the Japanese• US and Great Britain fought
in Northern Africa and attacked German controlled areas in Europe from the air
• Soviets fought a land war against Nazis in Eastern Europe
The Pacific
• Island Hopping▫ The US military
decided on establishing a line of military bases
▫ Attack Japanese weak points first, then go after strongholds
▫ The goal was to eventually invade Japan
The Pacific•Bataan Death March
▫In 1942, Japan invades the Philippines and takes American and Filipino prisoners of war POWs
65 mile march Insufficient rations Thousands shot,
clubbed, and starved to death
US would commit many of
the same atrocities
against the Japanese in battles. The racism and
hatred led to unspeakable actions in the
Pacific Theater.
The Pacific
The Pacific
The Pacific
Iwo Jima Okinawa
• 6,821 Americans dead▫ 19,217 wounded
• 19,000 Japanese dead▫ There were 21,000
Japanese soldiers on the island
• 12, 513 Americans killed▫ 38, 916 wounded
• 110,000 Japanese killed▫ Perhaps upwards of
150,000 Japanese civilians killed
Europe and North Africa• A second front?
▫ Stalin wanted Great Britain & the US to invade northern Europe in order to take pressure off the USSR By 1942, Hitler had advanced deep inside the Soviet
Union Soviets had already lost over 1 million lives
▫FDR promises Stalin an invasion of France by the end of 1942, but… Churchill convinces FDR to focus on
Mediterranean and Africa
Europe and North Africa• The Italian Campaign
▫ Allied forces invade Italy in July of 1943
▫ Two weeks later the King of Italy dismisses and arrests Mussolini Hitler later rescues Mussolini
▫ Italy surrenders, but German troops in Italy continue to fight
• Mussolini’s Death▫ In 1945, Italian communists find
Mussolini attempting to flee Italy▫ He and his mistress are shot and
their bodies are displayed in Milan
Europe and North Africa
•D-Day (June 6, 1944)▫ Under the command of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Allied
forces invade the beaches of Normandy to liberate France from Nazi occupation
▫ This allowed the Allies to take back Belgium and march towards Berlin, Germany
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
V-E Day (May 8, 1945)
• Hitler realizes the end is in sight as Soviet forces are advancing on Berlin in April of 1945▫ Hitler commits suicide on April
30, 1945▫ Germany surrenders on May 2,
1945▫ Sign instrument of surrender
on May 7, 1945