World War II: War in the Pacific

1.

Japan Strikes!

Pearl Harbor only the beginning of Japanese plansTurn to pg 448 in your text book Guam and Wake Islands in the Pacific Launch an attack on the PhilippinesBritish Hong Kong, Malaya, and SingaporeDutch East Indies (Indonesia) Burma

Japanese Brutality

War for the Philippines ends with a Japanese Victory 75,000 American and Filipino troops surrender to the Japanese Japan now outnumbered by their prisoners

Bataan Death march Force these captives to walk approximately 100 miles

to a prisoner of war camp Randomly beat POWs Tortured to death for falling behind 10,000 soldiers died on the March

Japanese Tactics

Heavily fortify the HUNDREDS of small islands all through the Pacific

Claim to come as liberators “Asia for the Asians”Treat the newly conquered populations

with severe brutality

Allies on the Offensive

1942 send 16 B-52 bombers to bomb Tokyo Sending the message YOU ARE NOT

INVINCIBLE

Allied forces rally to the cause and new hope is in sight

Battle of Coral Sea

NEW KIND OF SEA BATTLEFought entirely between the aircraft from the two fleets (Japanese and American/ Australian forces) No definitive winner Japanese sink more shipsAllies stop the Japanese advancement for

the first time

The Battle of Midway Largest fleet ever assembled Japanese have over 150 ships included the largest

battleship ever built

Allies crack a Japanese code that gives advanced warning and begin to plan an ambush Out numbered by ships and airplanes

Allow Japan to attack the island first and sent the Allied planes out to attack the unsuspecting ships

Allies destroy 352 planes and all 4 aircraft carriers

TURNING POINT OF THE PACIFIC THEATRE

Allied Strategy in the Pacific

Too many islands to take back one by one “Island Hopping”Strategically take islands throughout the

Pacific while ignoring othersTake Islands not as well defended and

closer to Japan Hopefully the strongholds would be cut off

and eventually weaken

Battle of Guadalcanal

Huge Japanese airbase being builtWant to destroy the base before it is a stronghold Attack with 19,000 marines Japanese overwhelmed but pledge to fight till the

death

After 6 months of fighting the Allies finally force the Japanese off the island 23,000 allied casualties 36,000 Japanese Casualties

Japanese Propaganda

As the Allies island hopped something was amiss… Why were the civilian populations killing

themselves before the allies were in control?

Japanese had spread rumors about US marines Kept caged gorillas they would watch tear apart

prisoners Bayonet babies Etc

Beginning of the End in the Pacific

Firebombing of Tokyo and other major cities Development of the B-29 had a 1500 mile

range Bombed major cities with firebombs nightly Flew at higher altitudes to avoid anti-

aircraft Less precision, bombed wherever the

munitions fell

Manhattan Project

Albert Einstein escapes from Germany before the rise of Hitler

Discussions of the uses of Atomic energy begin but many feel an A-bomb is an impossibility

Concerned scientists realized that the Nazi would definitely find a way to develop one if this was a possibility (which Fermi and Oppenhiemer believed it was)

Manhattan Project

Einstein’s Letter to FDR (1939)1942 the project gets is official start Facilities at Los Alamos, New Mexico and Oak Ridge, Tennessee Complete Secrecy Manage to develop 3 bombs 1 test Fat Man Little Boy

Back to Hitler and the European Theatre

In groups of 2-3, read pgs 455-459 up to Victory in the Pacific As you read… complete the story of Allied

Victory sheet

You have 20 minutes to complete this task!

Meanwhile, back in the Pacific

Japan had tried to destroy the entire American Fleet in the battle of Leyte Gulf Destroy the fleet and cut off the troops Backfired and lost their entire fleet instead

US forces land on the Philippines and General Macarthur declares his return

Marines begin the difficult battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa

Iwo Jima

Small volcanic Island with airfield and several well defended tunnel systems by the Japanese

American Forces storm the island and through intense battle manage to take the island after decimating the Japanese forces (only 1500 of the original 22,000 survived) and sustaining heavy casualties of over 6,000

Iwo Jima

Us Marines raising a flag on top of the Volcanic cone on the island

“Captured the soul of a nation”

Okinawa

350 miles from the coast of Japan

Bloodiest land battle of the war

Japan lost 110,000 troops

Americans lost 12,500

Bitter battle that ends with an American victory

Difficult Decision

Truman must now decide whether to risk a costly invasion of Japan or use the most deadly weapon ever created by man

Risk loosing 500,000 American soldiers or indiscriminately kill whole Japanese cities

The Scenario

Japan, sensing defeat sends an envoy to the Soviet Union in the hopes of negotiating peace… there is no progress

US sends a warning to the Japanese threatening to rain terror from the sky if they do not unconditionally surrender… Japanese send no reply

The Scenario

Truman decides to drop the bombsTargets are selected Little Boy is dropped on Hiroshima

Hiroshima Casualties Ground Distance (km)

Killed Injured Population

0-1.0 86% 10% 31,200

1.0-2.5 27% 37% 144,800

2.5-5.0 2% 25% 80,300

Total 27% 30% 256,300

The Warning

Truman warns Japan that we will destroy a city every three days if they do not surrenderPartly a bluffWe only had one more bomb

Japan does not surrender after Hiroshima

Nagasaki

Fat man is dropped on Nagasaki

Another city is decimated

Population of the city 164,00039,000 killed25,000 injured

60% of all deaths from burns

Atomic Bomb Conditions

Ground Temperature of 7,000 Degrees F

Winds of 980 mph

Energy released equal to 20,000 tons of TNT

210,000 total deaths related to the Atomic Bomb

Discussion

Did Truman make the right decision? Why or why not? Take 3 minutes and collect your thoughts. Write 2-3 sentences explaining your stance.