Download WWIi the Pacific

1942-1945
UNITED STATES AND THE
PACIFIC THEATER
Fall of the Philippines
• On Dec 8th 1941 the
Empire of Japan attacked
the Philippines
• Bombed our bases
• Took over the islands of
Guam, Wake Island and
Gilbert Island
Bataan Peninsula
• Part of the Japanese Initial invasion
• 20,000 Allied troops “hole up” on Manila
Peninsula for 3 months.
• Eventually will surrender to Japanese
troops
– Largest surrender of US troops since Harper’s
Ferry (Civil War)
– Would lead to the Bataan Death March
• Bataan Death March
– 85 miles of forced march of US and Filipino
GIs
– Tortured and would eventually die
Doolittle Raid
•
•
•
•
April 1942
Militarily insignificant
In retaliation for Pearl Harbor
Helped US moral
Battle of the Coral Sea
• May 1942
• Entire battle is fought with aircraft
• Fighting to protect against a Japanese
invasion of the island of New Guinea and
Australia
Battle of Midway
• June 4-7 1942
• Turning Point in
the Pacific war
• Allies break
Japanese code
• Japan lost 4 out
of their 10 aircraft
carriers
• 7-11 other ships
are destroyed
• Japan lost 250
planes
• No more threat of
Japan attack
mainland USA
• US uses native
speaking Navajos
to communicate
– Due to it being
another language
and hard to learn
the US code was
never broken
Island Hopping (1943)
Take one island at a time by land, sea or air…
Guadalcanal
• August 1942-Feb.
1943
• 1st land defeat of
Japan
• Took 6 long months
• Troops introduced to
the Jungle Fighting
that would last
throughout the war
• Helped protect against
a Japanese invasion of
Australia
Island Hopping (1943)
Take one island at a time by land, sea or air…
Iwo Jima
• February 19th 1945
• Main objective to win
the island so that Allie
aircraft could bomb
main land Japan
• Japanese built tunnels
throughout the island
• 21,000 Japanese
waited for US Marines
• 110,000 Marines storm
the beach
– 25,851 die in this
battle
– Bloodiest battle ever
for the Marines
More Island Hopping
Okinawa
• April1st – Mid June 1945
• Invasion of the island only
340(+/-)miles away from
mainland Japan
• Use for an air strip for Allie
Forces
• 50,000 American casualties
– Highest Causalities in WWII
Pacific
– Japan is said to have lost
77,000 + soldiers
• Fierce Fighting
• Heavy Air, Sea and land
attacks
Ending the War
FDR and Truman
• FDR runs for his 4th
term and wins
• April 12, 1945 FDR
passes away in
Warm Springs GA
• Harry S. Truman
becomes president
of the USA
Potsdam Conference
• Mid July-August 1945
• Allied forces meet
– Truman, Stalin,
Churchill and later
Attlee
– What to do about
Europe. ( V-E day was
2 months earlier)
• Threaten Japan that if
they don’t surrender
or “complete and
utter destruction
would occur”
Atomic Bombs and A Surrender
Hiroshima
• August 6th 1945
• 1st Atomic bomb
dropped
– Lil’ Boy
•
80,000 people killed
immediately
• 100,000 injured
• Countless victims
have radiation
poisoning
• Still no surrender
Nagasaki
• August 9th 1945
• 2nd Atomic bomb
dropped
– Fat man
• 60,000 killed
• August 14, 1945 Japan
surrendered
– V-J Day
• Signed papers on
September 2, 1945
– WWII is officially over
The Great Debate
Should we have dropped the bomb?
• Save American lives
• Iwo Jima and
Okinawa were just
the beginning of what
would happen to our
troops if we had
continued to invade
with our men
• Japan was preparing
women and children
to defend Japan
• Japan started the war
and we needed to
finish it
• Truman sought to
intimidate the Soviet
Union
• Didn’t know if the
bombs would work
• There were only the
two that we used in
Aug. 1945
• Navy blockade could
have worked
• Hiroshima was not a
crucial military target
• Nagasaki is not
justifiable
• Misleading and
incorrect information to
the public
WW II Aftermath
V-J Day: August 14, 1945
“Victory over Japan”
• 46-55 Million
dead;
• 35 million
wounded
• 3 million
missing
• 30 million
soldiers died
– 405,000 were
US soldiers
• 25 million
civilians
– 15 Million in
USSR alone
• 30 Million
Europeans lost
their homeland
and relocated
– 60% of them
Germans
Aftermath Continued
• Massive
destruction of
cities
– 4 million homes
in Britain
– 7 million
buildings in
Germany
– 1,700 towns in
USSR
– US mainland
barely a scratch
WWII and Diplomacy
1943
1943
• Casablanca
• Moscow
Conference FDR
Conference
and Churchill enforce
Secretary of State Hull
the idea do
gets Soviet Union to
unconditional
agree to enter the war
surrender agree that
against Japan after
Italy would be invaded
Germany’s campaign
first before opening
• Also will join the UN
the second front
after the war ends
WWII and Diplomacy
1943
• Tehran Nov- Dec
– Meeting of the Big 3
and agree on the
invasion to begin in
1944
1945
• Feb- Yalta ConferenceBig 3 Meet to discuss
plans after the war,
Stalin agrees to free
elections
– War crime trial plans
– Germany will be divided
into 2 different zones
– World organization is to
meet April in 1945
WWII and Diplomacy
1945
• Potsdam Conference
– Truman, Stalin, Attlee
and Churchill meet in
eastern Germany
– Disagreed on most
topics discussed
– Warn Japan
surrender or else
– Decide to drop the
bomb
Post War Politics
United Nations
• Was formed officially
and has been
running ever since
– General assembly
– 15 members of the
security council
– Can do things with
Military
– Fights against
hunger, diseases and
promotes education
Post War Politics
•
•
Nuremburg Trails
•
The prosecution entered
indictments against 24
major war criminals and
seven organizations
•
– the leadership of
the Nazi party,
– the Reich Cabinet,
– the Schutzstaffel (SS),
– Sicherheitsdienst (SD),
– the Gestapo,
– the Sturmabteilung (SA)
– the "General Staff and
High Command",
Comprising several
categories of senior military
officers. These organizations
were to be declared
"criminal" if found guilty.
The indictments were for:
– Participation in a common
plan or conspiracy for the
accomplishment of
a crime against peace
– Planning, initiating and
waging wars of
aggression and other
crimes against peace
– War crimes
– Crimes against humanity
Superpowers
The Start of the Cold War
• Although the US
and the USSR
were allies
tension by the
end of the war
was high
• East vs. West
• Power struggle
– Beginning of
the Cold War
• Germany split
into four parts
– Each part ran by
a different
country
– West Germany=
• Strong economy
– East Germany=
• Weak economy