Download The War in the Pacific

THE UNITED STATES
IN WORLD WAR II
In order to defeat
Japan and end the
war in the Pacific,
the United States
unleashes a terrible
new weapon, the
atomic bomb.
Learning Objectives:
The War in the Pacific
• 1. Identify key turning points in the war in
the Pacific.
• 2. Describe the Allied offensive against
the Japanese.
• 3. Explain both the development of the
atomic bomb and debates about its use.
• 4. Describe the challenges faced by the
Allies in building a just and lasting peace.
SECTION
3
The War in the Pacific
The Allies Stem the Japanese Tide
Japanese Advances
• In first 6 months after Pearl Harbor, Japan
conquers empire
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads Allied forces
in Philippines
• March 1942 U.S., Filipino troops trapped on
Bataan Peninsula
• FDR orders MacArthur to leave; thousands of
troops remain
Doolittle’s Raid
• April 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle leads raid
on Tokyo
Continued . . .
NEXT
SECTION 3: THE
WAR IN THE
PACIFIC
• The Americans did not
celebrate long, as
Japan was busy
conquering an empire
that dwarfed Hitler’s
Third Reich
• Japan had conquered
much of southeast
Asia including the
Dutch East Indies,
Guam, and most of
China
Chapter 17 Section 2 Section 3
MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS
• A – In what ways were the American
victory at Midway and the Japanese
triumph at Pearl Harbor alike?
– Both were surprise naval attacks that
resulted in substantial destruction of the
Japanese fleet.
SECTION
3
continued
The Allies Stem the Japanese Tide
Battle of the Coral Sea
• May 1942, U.S., Australian soldiers stop
Japanese drive to Australia
• For first time since Pearl Harbor, Japanese
invasion turned back
The Battle of Midway
• Admiral Chester Nimitz commands U.S. naval
forces in Pacific
• Allies break Japanese code, win Battle of
Midway, stop Japan again
• Allies advance island by island to Japan
NEXT
BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA
• The main Allied forces in the Pacific were
Americans and Australians
• In May 1942 they succeeded in stopping
the Japanese drive toward Australia in the
five-day Battle of the Coral Sea
• B – Why was the Battle of Leyte Gulf so
crucial to the Allies?
– The Battle was a disaster for the Japan.
From then on, the Imperial Navy played
only a minor role in the defense of Japan.
THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY
• Japan’s next thrust was
toward Midway Island –
a strategic Island
northwest of Hawaii
• Admiral Chester Nimitz,
the Commander of
American Naval forces
in the Pacific, moved to
defend the Island
• The Americans won a
decisive victory as their
planes destroyed 4
Japanese aircraft
carriers and 250 planes
SECTION
3
The Allies Go on the Offensive
The Allied Offensive
• Allied offensive begins August 1942 in Guadalcanal
• October 1944, Allies converge on Leyte Island in
Philippines
- return of MacArthur
The Japanese Defense
• Japan uses kamikaze attack—pilots crash
bomb-laden planes into ships
• Battle of Leyte Gulf is a disaster for Japan
- Imperial Navy severely damaged; plays minor
role after
Continued . . .
NEXT
•The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war –
soon the Allies were island hopping toward Japan
KAMIKAZE
PILOTS ATTACK
ALLIES • The Americans
In the Battle for the Philippines, 424
Kamikaze pilots sank 16 ships and
damaged 80 more
continued leapfrogging
across the Pacific
toward Japan
• Japanese countered by
employing a new tactic
– Kamikaze (divine
wind) attacks
• Pilots in small bombladen planes would
crash into Allied ships
The War in the Pacific
The War in the Pacific
Date and
Place
Leaders
Involved
What happened?
Bataan;
(Douglas)
MacArthur;
the Allies held out for four months against
invading Japanese forces before
abandoning the peninsula.
Midway;
(Chester W.)
Nimitz;
Americans turned back a Japanese invasion
force headed for Hawaii.
Guadalcanal:
MacArthur;
Americans dealt Japan its first defeat on land.
Leyte Gulf:
MacArthur;
Americans retook the Philippines and dealt a
devastating blow to the Japanese navy.
SECTION
3
continued
The Allies Go on the Offensive
Iwo Jima
• Iwo Jima critical as base from which planes can
reach Japan
• 6,000 marines die taking island; of 20,700
Japanese, 200 survive
The Battle for Okinawa
• April 1945 U.S. Marines invade Okinawa
• April–June: 7,600 U.S. troops, 110,000 Japanese die
• Allies fear invasion of Japan may mean 1.5 million
Allied casualties
NEXT
• General
MacArthur and
the Allies next
turned to the
Island of Iwo Jima
• The island was
critical to the
Allies as a base
for an attack on
Japan
• It was called the
most heavily
defended spot on
earth
• Allied and
Japanese forces
suffered heavy
casualties
IWO JIMA
American soldiers plant the flag on
the Island of Iwo Jima after their
victory
THE BATTLE FOR OKINAWA
• In April 1945, U.S.
marines invaded
Okinawa
• The Japanese
unleashed 1,900
Kamikaze attacks
sinking 30 ships and
killing 5,000 seamen
• Okinawa cost the
Americans 7,600
marines and the
Japanese 110,000
soldiers
INVADE JAPAN?
• After Okinawa,
MacArthur
predicted that a
Normandy type
amphibious
invasion of Japan
would result in
1,500,000 Allied
deaths
• President Truman
saw only one way
to avoid an
invasion of
Japan . . .
Okinawa
The loss of life at Iwo Jima and Okinawa
convinced Allied leaders that an invasion
of Japan was not the best idea
• C – Why was Okinawa a significant
island in the war in the Pacific?
– It was the last island that stood between
the Allies and a final assault on Japan.
– The battle itself was a foretaste of what
the Allies imagined the final invasion of
Japan would be.
The War in the Pacific
The War in the Pacific
Date and
Place
Leaders Involved
What happened?
Iwo Jima:
MacArthur;.
in a fierce battle, the Allies took the island
from Japan
Okinawa:
MacArthur;
the Allies took the island from Japan.
Tokyo Bay;
Hirohito,
MacArthur;
Japan formally surrendered.
SECTION
3
The Atomic Bomb Ends the War
The Manhattan Project
• J. Robert Oppenheimer is research director of
Manhattan Project
• July 1945, atomic bomb tested in New Mexico desert
• President Truman orders military to drop 2 atomic
bombs on Japan
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• August 6, Hiroshima, major military center,
destroyed by bomb
• 3 days later, bomb dropped on city of Nagasaki
• September 2, 1945 Japan surrenders
NEXT
ATOMIC BOMB
DEVELOPED
• Japan had a huge
army that would
defend every inch of
the Japanese
mainland
• So Truman decided to
use a powerful new
weapon developed by
scientists working on
the Manhattan Project
– the Atomic Bomb
U.S. DROPS TWO
ATOMIC BOMBS
ON JAPAN
• Truman warned
Japan in late July 1945
that without a immediate
Japanese surrender, it
faced “prompt and utter
destruction”
• On August 6
(Hiroshima) and August
9 (Nagasaki) a B-29
bomber dropped Atomic
Bombs on Japan
The plane and crew that dropped
an atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
Japan
August 6, 1945
HIROSHIMA
August 9,
1945
NAGASAKI
JAPAN SURRENDERS
• Japan surrendered
days after the second
atomic bomb was
dropped
• General MacArthur
said, “Today the guns
are silent. The skies
no longer rain death .
. .the entire world is
quietly at peace.”
At the White House, President Harry
Truman announces the Japanese
surrender, August 14, 1945
The War in the Pacific
The Science War
Date and Place
Los Alamos;
Leaders Involved
(J. Robert)
Oppenheimer;
Hiroshima and Truman;
Nagasaki:
What happened?
the first atomic bomb was built,
successfully completing Manhattan
Project.
first atomic bombs were dropped.
SECTION
3
Rebuilding Begins
The Yalta Conference
• February 1945, FDR, Churchill, Stalin meet in Yalta
- discuss post-war world
• FDR, Churchill concession: temporarily divide
Germany into 4 parts
• Stalin promises free elections in Eastern Europe;
will fight Japan
• FDR gets support for conference to establish United
Nations
Human Costs of the War
• WW II most destructive war in human history
Continued . . .
NEXT
• In February 1945,
as the Allies
pushed toward
victory in Europe,
an ailing FDR met
with Churchill and
Stalin at the Black
Sea resort of Yalta
in the USSR
• A series of
compromises
were worked out
concerning
postwar Europe
THE YALTA
CONFERENCE
(L to R) Churchill, FDR and Stalin
at Yalta
YALTA AGREEMENTS
• 1) They agreed to divide Germany into 4 occupied zones
after the war
• 2) Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe
• 3) Stalin agreed to help the U.S. in the war against Japan
and to join the United Nations
• E – What decisions did Roosevelt,
Churchill, and Stalin make at the Yalta
Conference?
– They agreed to a temporary division of
Germany into four zones;
– Stalin promised that the Soviet occupied
Eastern European countries would have
free elections;
– Stalin agreed to defeat Japan;
– Stalin agreed to establish the United
Nations.
SECTION
3
continued
Rebuilding Begins
The Nuremberg War Trials
• Nuremberg trials—24 Nazi leaders tried, sentenced
- charged with crimes against humanity, against the
peace, war crimes
• Establish principle that people responsible for own
actions in war
The Occupation of Japan
• MacArthur commands U.S. occupation forces in
Japan
• Over 1,100 Japanese tried, sentenced
• MacArthur reshapes Japan’s economy, government
NEXT
• D – Why was Roosevelt anxious to
make concessions to Stalin concerning
the fate of Postwar Germany?
– FDR wanted Soviet help in the war against
Japan;
– He also wanted soviet cooperation in
establishing the United Nations.
NUREMBERG WAR TRIALS
Herman Goering, Hitler's right-hand man and chief
architect of the German war effort, testifies at his trial.
He was found guilty of war crimes but avoided
execution by swallowing potassium cyanide.
•
•
•
The discovery of Hitler’s death camps led the Allies to put 24
surviving Nazi leaders on trial for crimes against humanity, crimes
against the peace, and war crimes
The trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany
“I was only following orders” was not an acceptable defense as 12
of the 24 were sentenced to death and the others to life in prison
THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN
• Japan was occupied by U.S. forces under the command of
General MacArthur
• During the seven- year occupation, MacArthur reshaped
Japan’s economy by introducing free-market practices that
led to a remarkable economic recovery
• Additionally, he introduced a liberal constitution that to this
day is called the MacArthur Constitution
The War in the Pacific
Planning and Rebuilding for Peace
Date and Place
Leaders Involved
What happened?
Yalta:
Roosevelt, Stalin,
Churchill;
at the Yalta Conference, Allied leaders
made important decisions about the
postwar world.
San Francisco:
N/A
United Nations (UN) established
Nuremberg:
Jackson;
at the Nuremberg trials, Nazi leaders
were tried for wartime crimes