FIGHTING THE WAR: EUROPEAN THEATER

D-Day, June 6, 1944

• U.S. + British plan to attack Axis from west

• Dwight D. Eisenhower: Supreme Allied Commander in Europe; led invasion on D-Day

• Aug. 25, 1944: Paris liberated

• Allied victory over Europe, May 8, 1945

US Soldiers landing on Omaha Beach

Going over the top D-Day

V-E Day

• By 1945, Soviets surround Berlin

• Hitler commits suicide April 30, 1945

• Germany signs an unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945

• V-E Day—Victory in Europe—May 8, 1945

Liberating the Camps

• Disturbing Pictures to follow…

FIGHTING THE WAR: PACIFIC THEATER

Japanese empire• By early 1942, Japan

controlled– Hong Kong, French

Indochina (Vietnam), Malaya, Burma, Thailand, parts of China

– Formosa (Taiwan), Dutch East Indies, Guam, Wake Island, Solomon Islands, other islands

Japan Captures Philippines

• U.S. surrenders Philippines to Japan April 1942

• Bataan Death March: forced march of American and Filipino POWs to POW camp– Japanese war atrocities

• Douglas MacArthur: Supreme Allied Cmdr of Pacific theater; told Filipinos: “I shall return”

US/Allied Strategy

• Reclaim the Pacific• Island-Hopping: conquer one island, clear it,

use it as base of operations for next island• Why is this the best strategy for the Pacific?• What problems might arise?

Japanese Strategy

• War of attrition: Bleed the enemy dry• Dig into island, build underground bunker, use

heavy artillery + suicide attacks– Jap. use kamikaze (“divine wind”) suicide pilots

loaded with explosives• Where have you seen this strategy before?

Where will you see it again? Why do you think?

Kamikaze Aftermath

Key Battles

• Bombing Raid of Tokyo (April 1942)• Battle of Coral Sea (May 1942):

– Prevented Jap. advance to Australia• Battle of Midway (June 1942)

– Turning point: prevented Jap. advance to Hawaii, Jap. on defensive for rest of war

Key Battles

• Guadalcanal (Aug 1942-Feb. 1943): Jap. first defeat on land

• Leyte Gulf (Oct 1944): US reclaim Philippines; • Iwo Jima (Feb. –March 1945): Strategic air

access to Japan• Okinawa (April-June 1945): Last Jap.

defensive spot

MacArthur Returns to Philippines

Why is this such an iconic picture?

US marines raising the flag on Iwo-Jima

The End is in Sight…

• May 1945 Allied forces plan Operation Olympic, the invasion of Japan itself in Nov.

• US planners feared casualty estimates of one million!

• Japan was desperate but unwilling to surrender!

BTW…

• FDR dead• Truman sworn in

– Inherits difficult decision….

Manhattan Project

• Purpose: to build an atomic bomb• Scientists, military ppl and civilian

policymakers all had doubts on using bomb• Truman warned Japan: “prompt and utter

destruction” if it doesn’t surrender• Victory over Japan: Sept. 2, 1945

“Little Boy” and “Fat Man” Unleashed

• August 6, 1945- Hiroshima

• August 9, 1945 - Nagasaki• Killed approx.

110,000 Japanese • Injured 130,000• By 1950, another

230,000 Japanese had died from injuries or radiation

                                                                                                                    

VJ Day

• August 14, 1945 - Japan accepts unconditional surrender

• Celebration parties erupt throughout every allied country!

The End

• September 2, 1945 - Formal Japanese surrender ceremony on board the USS MISSOURI

Most Destructive War in Human History

• European infrastructure destroyed due to targeting civilians

• Millions of death, more than last 300 years of war combined

• US & USSR are WORLD Powers

AFTER THE WAR: REBUILDING THE WORLD

Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)

• Big Three: (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) to decide fate of post-war Ger.

• Estab. United Nations (international peacekeeping)

• Discussed strategy for Jap. defeat

Eleanor Roosevelt with Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Potsdam Conference (July-Aug. 1945)

• Demilitarized, disarmed Germany under four zones of Allied occupation

• Issues ultimatum to Jap. for unconditional surrender

• Revision of German-Soviet-Polish borders

Identify three changes in the map pre- and post-WWII.

New Opportunities

• Economy: Industry, farming and wages are all on the rise.

• Population: War jobs and military allowed people more social mobility.

Veterans Come Home

• Marriages skyrocket pre-war; divorces rise post-war.

• GI Bill of Rights: Education and training for veterans.

• Many women lose jobs.