Download US Involvement in World War 2

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Essential Question:
 What role did the U.S. play in
winning the wars in Europe &
the Pacific?
Warm-Up Question:
 What other major American
war is most similar in its
resemblance to the U.S.
entrance into WW2?
Battle of The Atlantic
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Germany attempted to stop supplies
reaching the Allies
German U-boat operations led to the
sinking of numerous Allied ships
“Wolfpack” operations began against
convoys
Battle of Atlantic Cont’d
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Growth of US participation
- Germans initiate unrestricted submarine
warfare
-Germans attack shipping routes near US
Coast
- Allies use a convoy system and air cover
to improve the amount of supplies
reaching the Allies
-Increased loss of German submarines,
turning point of the battle
The Allies began to win the Battle of the Atlantic in
1941 with Lend-Lease aid, but took control in 1943
with America’s entry into the war
North African Theater
Germany and it’s allies controlled much of Europe
and Northern Africa. In 1942, British and
American troops invaded North Africa and won
control of the area by the middle of 1943.
When the
U.S. entered WW2
in late
1941,
Japan
dominated
Germany
controlled
victory
seemed
remote
the western half of
almost all of Europe
the Pacific Ocean
Germany pressed
into Russia
Axis armies
controlled
Northern Africa
& threatened
But…over
the next 2 years, the U.S. & the Allies
the
Suez
Canal
began
to win
the wars in Europe & the Pacific
Europe 1941-1943
The U.S. wanted
to attack across
Nazi-controlled
France by 1943
In 1942,
U.S.-Anglo troops
The
USSR
“freed”
Poland,
England
wanted
began the Italian campaign
Hungary,
Romania
to attack Italy
To win
European
& Stalin
wasthe
ANGRY
Infrom
1943,
the Soviet armycampaign,
won at Stalingrad;
Northern
2 different
Germany
was never again
on the
offensive
Africa in 1942
plans
were
proposed
Italian Campaign
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Roosevelt and Churchill
met in Casablanca and
determined that they
would accept only
unconditional surrenders
from Axis Power countries
The Battle of Anzio was
the bloodiest of the
campaign. It last 4
months.
The Italian king called
Mussolini to Rome and
had him arrested.
By agreeing to “Operation Overlord”
Tehran
Conference,
1943
FDR proposed
a
future
United
Nations
dominated
(D-Day), the Allies would divide the
by
“4 policemen”
(USA, Britain,
China,
&
USSR)
 In 1943,Axis
FDR,military
Churchill,
Stalin
met
in
across two fronts
with
power
to
“deal
immediately
with
any
Tehran, Iran for the first of three wartime
sudden
emergency
which
requires
action”
conferences:
The USA, Britain, USSR coordinated their
war strategy
 FDR & Churchill finally committed to
Stalin’s demands to open a western
front (D-Day)
 Discussed plans to create a “general
internat’l organization” to promote
“peace & security” (UN)

European Theater
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General Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme
Allied Commander, coordinated the plan to
recapture Europe. On June 6th, 1944 Operation
Overlord was launched. It is most commonly
referred to as D-Day..
Europe 1944-1945
U.S. & British
troops landed at
5 strategic points,
pushed through
France drove
towards Germany
The long-awaited 2nd
front came on June 6,
1944 with D-Day
Yalta Conference
in independence
February 1945
To recognize the
&

sovereignty
of at
nations
The
“Big 3” met
Yalta in
to Eastern
discuss Europe
post-war Europe given the eminent
defeat of Germany:
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Stalin refused to give up Eastern Europe
but he did agree to “self-determination”
Stalin agreed to send Soviet troops to
the Pacific after the German surrender if
the USSR could keep Manchuria
Soon after the Yalta Conference in Feb 1945,
FDR died…and Harry Truman became president
In late April 1945, the Allies broke through
the Eastern & Western Fronts forcing both
Italy & Germany to surrender
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Essential Question:
 What was the American strategy for
winning the war in the Pacific?
War in the Pacific
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By 1942, Japan had captured Burma, Hong Kong,
Malaya, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The Allied troops took back the Pacific with a strategy
called island hopping. The US Navy and Marines
avoided Japanese strongholds and attacked areas of
weakness.
“Island-hopping”
allowed
the Allies
to win
The Doolittle Raid
on Tokyo
on April
strategic 18,
islands
investing
precious
1942without
was a morale
boost
time, resources, & American lives
U.S. victory at Midway in 1942
gave the Allies naval supremacy
The Japanese refused to play by according
to the Geneva Convention “rules” of war
The German surrender in May 1945, allowed
the U.S. to turn its full attention towards Japan
Victories at Saipan in 1944 & Iwo Jima &
Okinawa in 1945 allowed for bombings on Japan
The Decision to Drop the A-Bomb
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With no definitive end it sight, how would
the Allies defeat Japan?
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The U.S. military favored a full-scale invasion
of Tokyo by 1946
The Japanese refused to surrender & were
arming civilians for an Allied invasion
At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945,
Truman gave the order to use the atomic
bomb
Enrico Fermi at the
University of Chicago
Triumph & Tragedy in the Pacific
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In August 1945, the USA forced Japan to
surrender by dropping 2 atomic bombs
Effect of the atomic bomb:
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Saved hundreds of thousands of American (&
Japanese) lives
Revenge for Pearl Harbor
Showed the USSR that the USA had the
ultimate weapon (began the Cold War nuclear
arms race)
Nagasaki
Hiroshima
WW2 Timeline
(Allies, Axis, USSR)
Its Finally Over!
Conclusions
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WW2 was the largest & deadliest war in
history & changed the U.S.
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Wartime industry ended the Great
Depression, expanded the size of the federal
gov’t, & ushered in affluent decade
The USA emerged as a world superpower,
developed a nuclear arsenal, & engaged a
Cold War against the USSR