Download Allies Achieve Victory in Europe and the Pacific

Allies Achieve Victory in
Europe and the Pacific
p. 484
Europe,
March 1945: (2)
• Allies cross the Rhine River into
Germany
• Soviet troops are closing on Berlin
•
April
• Franklin Roosevelt passed away
– _____ became US president
– Harry Truman
• American and Soviet troops met at the
Elbe River in Germany
• _______ committed suicide surrounded by
Soviet troops in Berlin.
• Adolf Hitler
May
V-E Day:
• German leaders surrender
unconditionally…..May 8
The focus in May now turned to the
Pacific and Japan.
• Bataan Death March:
• Thousands of Filipino and American troops were
captured near Manila.
– They were brutally force-marched to inadequate
prison camps.
• Thousands died, some killed by guards.
– Japanese guards also punished Filipinos who tried to
give food and water to the marching prisoners.
Island hopping:
• Allies took some Japanese-held islands
• useful for
– harbors
– installations
– airbases
• but bypassed others
– That had no real purpose and were not dangerous to
Allied shipping and communications).
• This resulted in winning the Pacific war faster.
General Douglas MacArthur:
• US Army General in charge of the Pacific war in
the South and West Pacific.
• FDR ordered him out the Philippines before the
fall in 1942.
– EC: he promised Filipinos, “____”
– “I shall return”
Kamikaze:
• Japanese suicide pilots who flew one-way
missions to crash into Allied warships.
• Approximately 2,800 Kamikaze attackers
sunk 34 Navy ships, damaged 368 others,
killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over
4,800.
The ultimate kamikaze
• The “Ohka”, “cherry blossom”
• piloted rocket bomb
• US called it the “Baka”, “fool”.
Japan was still dangerous.
• The Allies would pay dearly if they tried a
conventional invasion: (3)
– 2 million-man army
– Suicidal fanaticism
• Kamikaze:
• Japanese soldiers also preferred to fight to the death
– surrender would dishonor their emperor and ancestors
– Banzai charges
– Pretending to be dead, wounded, or surrender and suddenly
shooting or grenading Allied troops
– Japanese troops and people fought harder and were
more suicidal as the Allied forces got closer to Japan.
Operation Olympic?
• Allied planners considered an invasion of
southern Japan that would cost at least
500,000 Allied lives….
• There was a less costly possibility…..
American policy makers debated about
using the atomic bomb on Japan: (2)
• A devastating weapon, is it moral to use
it?
• To force Japan to surrender.
– We would not let them kill our soldiers
– We would just keep dropping A-bombs
• If the US had the bomb first, it would stop
Stalin’s communist expansion after the
war.
The Manhattan Project:
• US’ secret operation to develop an atomic
bomb.
– Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Roosevelt,
warning that Nazi Germany would develop
one.
• FDR approved funding of secret research
and development centers to design and
build an atomic weapon.
– Germany surrendered before it made a bomb
or the US could make and use one on it.
Trinity
• The atomic-bomb (plutonium version) was
successfully tested at White Sands, New
Mexico, in July, 1945
Hiroshima; Nagasaki:
• Two Japanese cities on which the US dropped
atomic bombs.
• A uranium (natural) device exploded above the
city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945; “Little Boy”
• 70,000 were killed, as they did not take cover.
– Many had no idea of the bomb’s power.
– They did not think a single bomber was a danger.
Hiroshima
• How long did it take the bomb to reach the city
once it was dropped?
• How large was the fireball?
• What were the temperatures under the fireball
when the bomb detonated?
• What happened to the people that were close to
the fireball?
• What did the shockwave from the explosion do?
• What time was the local time the bomb
dropped?
Nagasaki:
• A plutonium (man-made) device exploded above the city
of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945; “Fat Man”
• US needed this bombing to study the power of a manmade material
– It was more powerful than natural uranium.
• 40,000 died.
– Many took cover as news had spread about the bomb in
Hiroshima…..
• still, many did not take the news seriously.
“Suffer the insufferable”
• Emperor _________ decided to personally
surrender on August 10th,
• Hirohito
– He asked the Japanese people to cooperate with the
Allies, by radio, on August 14th.
• Japanese nationalists tried to stop him, but failed.
• The Japanese people prepared for great hardship…..
– Destruction, unemployment, and food shortages.
• They were surprised that the Americans were not vengeful as
they began their occupation.
Informal Surrender.
• The Japanese government surrendered on
August 15th. On American calendars it’s
called ____
• V-J Day
Atomic Bomb
• As a 1945 U.S. citizen should the U.S.
have dropped the Atomic Bomb on Japan?
Explain.
• As a citizen today should the U.S. use the
Atomic Bomb in future conflicts? Explain.
Map Skills
• 2. Describe the extent of Japanese control in
1942.
• By 1942, Japan controlled a large portion of the
Pacific, SE Asia, and parts of northern and
eastern China.
• 3. How did geography make it difficult for Japan
to maintain control of its empire?
• Japan’s Empire was far-flung.
• Many outposts on isolated islands
– Difficult to supply and defend the empire.
Standards Check, p. 485
• How did the Allied forces finally defeat the
Germans?
• Germany lost because:
– Location
– Poor decisions by Hitler
– Superior US industrial capacity
Standards Check, p. 486
• What strategy did General MacArthur use
to fight the Japanese in the Pacific?
• Island-hopping
Image, p. 486
• Why might the scientists who created the
bomb have counseled leaders not to use
it?
• They were worried about the harm and
destruction it might cause.
Standards Check, p. 487
• What strategies did the Allies use to end
the war with Japan?
• The Americans dropped two atomic
bombs on Japan
• The Soviets invaded Manchuria