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Major Battles and End of WWII
• Guiding Question: What battles were major TURNING POINTS that swung the course of WWII in favor of the Allies?
Japanese Strategy
• After Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines and Indonesia and planned to invade both Australia and Hawaii
• Japan hoped America would just accept Japanese domination of the Pacific rather than wage a bloody war to reverse Japanese gains
North Africa
• The British were fighting the Germans and Italians in North Africa
• Wait… why were European countries battling in Africa?
North Africa
• Battle of El Alamein: German forces threatening to seize Egypt and the Suez Canal were defeated by the British– This defeat prevented
Hitler from gaining access to Middle Eastern oil supplies
Europe
• Battle of Stalingrad: German forces besieged the Russian city of Stalingrad
• A long, cold, and bitter battle
Europe
• Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers were killed or captured in the months-long siege
• Germany’s defeat at Stalingrad prevented Germany from seizing Russian oil fields and was THE turning point against Germany in the east
• Bloodiest battle in human history (1.5 million casualties)
• vid
D-Day
• American and Allied troops under General Eisenhower landed in German-occupied France on June 6, 1944
• Largest amphibious invasion in history
D-Day
• Despite intense German opposition and heavy American casualties, the landings succeeded and the liberation of western Europe from Hitler had begun
• vid
Pacific
• Battle of Midway: Japanese forces moved toward Midway Island
• If the Japanese destroy American base on Midway, they will be able to invade Hawaii
Midway
• Americans had broken the Japanese code, and new the attack was coming
• Though out numbered, the US won the battle
Midway
• This American victory ended the Japanese threat to Hawaii and began a series of American victories which brought the war closer to Japan
• TURNING POINT
Pacific
• Iwo Jima and Okinawa: Big battles where Americans invaded Japanese-held islands
• Though America won these battles, they were incredibly costly in American and Japanese lives
Pacific
• Showed America that the Japanese intended to fight fiercely for every square mile of Japanese territory
• Even Japanese civilians were armed with swords and bows and arrows and would rather commit suicide than surrender
VE-Day
• Write this on your notes:
• May 8, 1945
• European Allies accept Germany’s surrender
• Hitler had killed himself in a bunker as Russian troops approached
Atomic Bomb
• Over the course of World War II, American and German scientists were both working on developing nuclear weapons
• America developed them first
Atomic Bomb
• As the war winded down, it became clear that for America to defeat Japan, the US would have to invade Japan itself
• This was a scary prospect because of the casualties for both Americans and Japanese would be horrendously high
• vid
Atomic Bomb
• America decides instead to use atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Tens of thousands of civilians killed in both cities
Question
• Is it OK to kill civilians if it helps your cause is just?
– What if killing them ‘saves lives’ in the long run?
– What about 9/11?
Japan Surrenders
• Shortly after the bombs are dropped, Japan surrenders, avoiding the needs for American invasion
Writing Activity
• On a separate sheet of paper, tell me if you think the use of the atom bomb on Japan was justified
• About 5 GOOD sentences
• Tell me why you think what you think– Legit to kill enemy civilians?– Did it save lives?
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