End of WWIIAP U.S. History

Unit 14 Chapter 38 part 5

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord• After the invasion of D-Day and seven days of

fighting, the Allies held an 80-mile strip of France.

• Within a month of the invasion, the Allies had landed a million troops.

• Operation Overlord (June 6, 1944 – August 25, 1944) was the operation that oversaw the invasion of D-Day and the next steps to conquer Paris. – On August 23, General Patton and his Third Army

reached the Seine River at the south of Paris. – Two days later on August 25, 1944, American troops and

French resistance forces liberated Paris after four years of German occupation.

Operation Overlord

• By September 1944, the Allies had freed France, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

• This victory helped get FDR reelected for a fourth term with his new running mate – Harry S. Truman.

The Battle of the Bulge

• In October of 1944, the Allies occupied their first German town – Aachen. This caused Hitler to make a last-chance offensive.

• He ordered his troops to break a weak point on the Allied line and recapture the Belgian port of Antwerp. Hitler hoped to disrupt the Allied supply lines as well as splitting the American and British forces.

The Battle of the Bulge• On December 16, 1944, eight German tank

divisions broke through the American lines. • The tank divisions drove 60 miles into the Allied

territory, creating a bulge in the front line. Therefore, this was called the Battle of the Bulge.

• This battle raged on until January 25, 1945 when the line was pushed back until it was close to its original position. – During this time, some German soldiers massacred 120

American troops by mowing them down with machine guns and pistols in a large field. On another occasion, 11 African American troops were tortured and killed by German soldiers.

Battle of the Bulge

• The US 75th in the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge

• By the time the battle was over, the Germans had lost 120,000 troops (dead, wounded, or captured), 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1600 planes.

• This proved to be too much of a loss, and after this point the Nazis were on the retreat.

The Battle of the Bulge

• Battle of the Bulge Maps

Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph StalinStalin

The “Big Three”

Yalta - February 1945• There was an agreement that the priority would be the

unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. After the war Germany would be split into three occupied zones with a three-power occupation of Berlin, prior to unification of Germany.

• Stalin agreed that France might have a fourth occupation zone in Germany and Austria but it would have to be carved out of the British and American zones. France would also be granted a seat in the Allied Control Council.

• Germany would undergo demilitarization and de-nazification.

• German reparations were not in the form of forced labor.

Yalta - February 1945• Creation of an allied reparation council with its seat in

Moscow.• It was agreed to reorganize the communist

Provisionary Polish Government that had been set up by the Red Army through the inclusion of other groups such as the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity and to have democratic elections. This effectively excluded the Polish government-in-exile that had evacuated in 1939.

• The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive substantial territorial compensation in the west from Germany

• Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were to be handed over to their respective countries, regardless of their consent.

Yalta - February 1945• FDR obtained a commitment by Stalin to participate in

the UN once it was agreed that each of the five permanent members of the Security Council would have veto power. Churchill lobbied heavily to get France in the Security Council.

• Stalin requested that all of the 16 Soviet Socialist Republics would be granted United Nations membership, only 2 would.

• Stalin agreed to enter the fight against the Empire of Japan within 90 days after the defeat of Germany. The Soviet Union would receive the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kurile islands after the defeat of Japan.

Yalta - February 1945• A "Committee on

Dismemberment of Germany" was to be set up to decide whether Germany was to be divided into several nations, and if so, what borders and inter-relationships the new German states were to have

• The eventual partition of Germany into Allied Occupation Zones: British zone, French zone (two exclaves), American zone, Soviet zone, and Allied-administered Austria

Liberation of the Death Camps

• British and American forces were pushing into Germany from the West while the Soviets were making their way to Germany from the East.

• As the Soviets moved across Poland, they were the first to come upon the Nazi death camps in July 1944.

• The SS guards that ran the death camps worked feverishly to bury and burn all evidence of what happened there, but they were not fast enough.

Liberation of the Death Camps

• The Soviets entered Majdanek, a death camp in Poland, and found a thousand starving prisoners, the world’s largest crematorium, and a storehouse containing 800,000 shoes.

• A Soviet war correspondent reported that, “this is not a concentration camp, it is a gigantic murder plant.” American troops would later come across equally horrific camps in Germany.

Liberation of the Death Camps

• Selection of Jews for work or death

at Birkenau

Liberation of the Death Camps

• These death camps were a part of the Nazis’ “Final Solution” for those that they felt were not as good as the Aryans.

• This wide scale massacre of approximately 10 million people by the Nazis is known as the Holocaust.

• Some of the groups that were targeted were: homosexuals, those with disabilities, anti-Nazi clergy, the Roma (gypsies), and the Jews.

Mass Graves at Mass Graves at Bergen-BelsenBergen-Belsen

Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed

Slave Labor at Slave Labor at BuchenwaldBuchenwald

Victims of the Holocaust• An estimated 5 to 6 million Jews, including 3

million Polish Jews• Estimates place total number of Polish deaths

around 5.4mill. 1.8 – 1.9 million Christian Poles and other (non-Jewish) Poles

• 200,000 – 800,000 Roma & Sinti (Gypsies)• 200,000 – 300,000 people with disabilities• 80,000-200,000 European Freemasons• 100,000 communists• 10,000 – 25,000 homosexual men• 2,500 – 5,000 Jehovah's Witnesses

Liberation of the Death Camps• The anti-Semitism program of the Nazis began by

forcing Jewish people into ghettoes and then concentration camps.

• Some Jews (and the other groups that were captured) were forced to perform slave labor at work camps. Others had medical experiments performed on them.

• In 1942, the Germans began widespread execution of Jews and other victims at death camps. This killing did not end until the death camps were captured by Allied troops.

• Holocaust Timeline

The Fall of Berlin• The two sides of the Allied armies were closing

in on Germany by the spring of 1945.

• By April 25, 1945, the Soviet army had stormed Berlin. Approximately 10,000 German soldiers were left to defend the city.

• The Soviets captured the German Reichstag (Congress) on May 2, 1945.

Hitler’s Death• Hitler had made the Füherbunker, located in

Berlin, his primary base on January 16, 1945.

• By April 22, 1945 it seemed to those around him that Hitler had finally admitted defeat and realized that Germany would lose the war.

• Shortly after midnight on April 29, 1945, Hitler married his long time companion, Eva Braun. Earlier that day he had written his last will and testament.

Hitler’s Death

• At approximately 2:30 pm on April 30,1945, the Soviets raised their flag over the Reichstag and Hitler and Eva Braun went into their study.

• Approximately an hour later, a gunshot was heard. Hitler’s valet opened the door to the study and found Eva Braun and Hitler dead.

Hitler’s Death

• Braun had killed herself by ingesting a cyanide capsule. Hitler shot himself in the right temple at the same time that he had a cyanide capsule in his mouth.

• Following Hitler’s orders, members of Hitler’s SS bodyguards took the bodies outside, doused them with gasoline, and tried to cremate the corpses.

• This did not completely work, so the bodies were buried where they were later found and confiscated by the Soviets.

The FThe Füührer’s hrer’s BunkerBunker

Cyanide & PistolsCyanide & Pistols

Mr. & Mrs. HitlerMr. & Mrs. Hitler

Hitler Commits Suicide April 30, 1945

Hitler’s Death

• On the left, an American Military paper wrongly stated that Hitler fell in Battle

• Time magazine cover after Hitler’s death (eyes wrong color)

Hitler’s Death

• Many believe that the public and disturbing execution of Mussolini and his mistress further encouraged Hitler to take his own life instead of being captured.

• Others in Hitler’s command, such as Goebbels, also killed themselves and their families.

The Fall of Berlin

• Russian Katyusha rocket launchers fire on Berlin

The Fall of Berlin

• The Red Army flew the Soviet flag from the top of the Reichstag

• Soviet troops signed their names on the side of the Reichstag

V-E Day: May 8, 1945

• Small pockets of resistance continued until the official surrender on May 8, 1945. This was known as V-E Day – Victory in Europe Day – when the war in Europe was finally over.

The Death of FDR

• President Roosevelt did not live to see this victory, he died on April 12, 1945 at his home in Warm Springs, Georgia.

• Vice President Harry S. Truman became the 33rd president and guided America through the victory in Europe.

General Keitel General Keitel

V-E Day (May 8, 1945)

V-E Day (May 8, 1945)

American Heroes in Europe• Many groups of American troops distinguished

themselves in battle during the campaign in Europe. During WW2 the United States Army was still segregated, and many of these units were among the most decorated in the war. These include:

• The Tuskegee Airmen: An all-African American Squadron that helped take down the Luftwaffe in Italy and won two Distinguished unit Citations

American Heroes in Europe• The Buffaloes: Another all-African American

Division – the 92nd Infantry Division that won 7 Legion of Merit awards, 65 Silver Stars, and 162 Bronze Stars for courage under fire in only 6 months

• Company E of the 141st Regiment, 36th Division: An all-Chicano unit that became one of the most decorated of the war

• 442nd Regimental Combat Team: An all-Nisei regiment that became the most decorated unit in U.S. History

V-1 Rocket:V-1 Rocket:“Buzz Bomb” - first guided “Buzz Bomb” - first guided missile - used against Allies missile - used against Allies

since June 1944since June 1944

V-2 Rocket - supersoninc, first V-2 Rocket - supersoninc, first successfully fired on September successfully fired on September

8, 19448, 1944Werner von Werner von

BraunBraun

Hitler’s “Secret Weapons”:Too Little, Too Late!

Finishing the War in the Pacific

• After fulfilling the promise to destroy Germany first, America had to finish the war in the Pacific

Okinawa

• The last obstacle between the Allies and Japan was the island of Okinawa, which the Allies invaded in April 1945.

• During the invasion of Okinawa, the Japanese unleashed more than 1900 Kamikaze attacks on the Allies – 30 ships were sunk, 300 more were damaged, and 5,000 seamen were killed by the suicide pilots.

Okinawa• Fighting on Okinawa was also terrible. After the

largest amphibious attack in the Pacific, the Allied forces faced fierce opposition and an enemy that would rather fight to the death than surrender – two Japanese generals performed ritual suicide instead

of surrendering.

• By the end of the battle, June 21, 1945, over 10,000 Allied troops had been killed out of the invasion force of over 500,000.

• The Japanese had approximately 100,000 troops on the island and approximately 2/3 of them were killed along with approximately 140,000 civilians.

Okinawa

• Shooting a Japanese Sniper Corsair Firing on the Japanese

• FDR dead, Churchill out of office as FDR dead, Churchill out of office as Prime Minister during conference.Prime Minister during conference.

• Stalin only original.Stalin only original.• The United States The United States

has the A-bomb. has the A-bomb.• Allies agree Germany Allies agree Germany

is to be divided into is to be divided into occupation zones occupation zones

• Poland moved Poland moved around to suit around to suit the Soviets.the Soviets.

P.M. Clement President P.M. Clement President JosephJoseph Atlee Truman Stalin Atlee Truman Stalin

Potsdam Conference:July, 1945

Potsdam Declaration• "We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim

now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.”

• "...The might that now converges on Japan is immeasurably greater than that which, when applied to the resisting Nazis, necessarily laid waste to the lands, the industry and the method of life of the whole German people. The full application of our military power, backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland..."

Potsdam Declaration• Militarism in Japan must end.• Japan would be occupied until the basic objectives set

out in this proclamation were met.• The terms of the Cairo Declaration would be carried

out and Japanese sovereignty would be limited to the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku, and such minor islands as the Allies determined.

• The Japanese army would be completely disarmed and allowed to return home.

• Those who had led Japan to war must be permanently and finally discredited, and abandoned.

Potsdam Declaration• War criminals would be punished including those who

had "visited cruelties upon our prisoners”. • Freedom of speech, of religion, and of thought, as well

as respect for the fundamental human rights shall be established.

• Japan should be permitted to maintain a viable industrial economy but not industries which would enable her to re-arm for war.

• The treaty was not intended to enslave the Japanese as a race or as a nation.

• Allied forces would be withdrawn from Japan as soon as these objectives have been accomplished

The Atomic Bomb

• The intensity of fighting at the Battle of Okinawa made the Allied commanders worry about how much worse the fighting would be once the Allies invaded Japan.

• Churchill predicted that the cost of invading Japan would be 1.5 million Allied lives.

• President Truman chose to use a newly developed weapon instead of invading Japan with troops. This new weapon was the Atomic Bomb.

The Atomic Bomb

• The best-kept secret of the war was the development of the Atomic Bomb through The Manhattan Project.

• Before America entered the war, Albert Einstein had written a letter to the President warning that Germany was trying to develop an atomic weapon.

• FDR chose J. Robert Oppenheimer to head up a project to build an atomic weapon for America.

The Atomic Bomb• Branches of the Manhattan Project were hidden

all over America with the original branch in Manhattan and one of the most famous branches in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

• At its peak, more than 600,000 Americans were involved in the project though few knew its actual purpose.

• On the morning of July 16, 1945 in the middle of the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the first test of the new bomb occurred.

Dr. Robert Dr. Robert OppenheimerOppenheimer

I am become death,

the shatterer of worlds!

I am become death,

the shatterer of worlds!

Major GeneralMajor GeneralLesley R. Lesley R. GrovesGroves

The Manhattan Project:Los Alamos,

NM

Little Boy Fat ManLittle Boy Fat Man

Enola GayEnola Gay CrewCrew

Tinian Island, 1945

Col. Paul Tibbets & the A-Bomb

Hiroshima and Nagasaki• Less than a month later, on August 6, 1945, a

bomber named the Enola Gay released the Atomic Bomb Little Boy over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

• Forty-three seconds later, almost every building had collapsed into dust from the force of the blast.

• Japan still did not surrender and a second bomb, Fat Man, was dropped three days later on Nagasaki.

• By the end of the year approximately 200,000 people had died as a result of injuries and radiation poisoning.

• 70,000 killed 70,000 killed immediately.immediately.

• 48,000 buildings. 48,000 buildings.

destroyed.destroyed.• 100,000s died of 100,000s died of

radiation radiation poisoning & poisoning & cancer later.cancer later.

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945

Hiroshima

• Model of Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima

• Aftermath of Hiroshima

Nagasaki

• Mushroom Cloud over Nagasaki ( L )• Nagasaki Before and After ( R )

• Burn victims• Map of Atomic Bomb Sites

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• 40,000 killed 40,000 killed immediately.immediately.

• 60,000 injured.60,000 injured.• 100,000s died of100,000s died of

radiation radiation poisoningpoisoning& cancer later.& cancer later.

Nagasaki – August 9, 1945

V-J Day

• Emperor Hirohito, who had not been running Japan’s military, was horrified by the destruction to his people and ordered the military leaders to end the war.

• The Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945, which was then celebrated as V-J Day (Victory over Japan).

• On September 2, 1945, formal surrender took place on the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Formal Signing of Treaty: September 2, 1945

V-J Day in Times Square, NYC