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Victory in Europe and the Pacific
Why it Matters
In 1942 and 1943 the Allies turned back Axis advances
In 1944 and 1945 they attacked Germany from the west and east
U.S. advanced across the Pacific and created a new weapon that would change warfare and global politics
Planning Germany’s Defeat
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin discussed starting a second front in France
In November 1943, they met in Teheran, Iran
Agreed upon opening a second front in France and defeating Germany by Land, Sea, and Air
Given the code name Operation Overlord
D-Day Invasion of Normandy
Eisenhower served as supreme commander
Landing on a 50 mile stretch of beaches in Normandy
Allies created a fictional army at Calais, west of Normandy, to deceive the Germans It worked, Hitler sent his top tank division to
Calais
Beaches Code Named
Heroes Storm the Beaches
June 6, 1944- D-Day- Allies hit Germany in force
Attempted to destroy Nazi transportation and communication and soften beach defenses
Four of the beaches saw low casualties
Omaha- an American assigned beach- had tough opposition
Omaha The Germans dug trenches and structures
to fire heavy artillery The beach was covered with deadly guns
and mines Some soldiers were dropped too far from
the beach and drowned from heavy packs Others were met with a rainstorm of
bullets, shells, and death Allies were able to gain a toehold in France
Liberation of Europe
Germany was now facing a two front war and losing lands they once dominated
August 1944- Allies liberate Paris Hitler ordered the city be destroyed but his troops left
the “City of Lights”
Rommel and other leading generals planned to overthrow Hitler, but the plot failed
Hitler refused to surrender
Battle of the Bulge
Hitler’s counter attack Hitler did take the Americans by
surprise by creating a bulge in the American line, but they were able to hold on
When the weather cleared, Allied forces were able to attack back and began pushing the Germans out of France
Allies Push to Victory
1945- Mussolini tries to flee to Switzerland but was captured and executed
Soviets, U.S., and British were making their way to Berlin Positioned for an all out assault on the capital
Hitler was a physical wreck He and his closest associates committed suicide on April 30,
1945
Victory in Europe
FDR did not live to see the day He died April 12, 1945
Harry S. Truman became the new President
• Germany surrendered May 7
• Americans celebrated V-E day (Victory in Europe)
Advancing in the Pacific
American strategy of island hopping Capturing some Japanese held islands and ignoring
others on a steady path toward Japan
Each island was a struggle to take Rather than surrender, many Japanese
killed themselves Kamikaze pilots deliberately crashed
planes into American ships The U.S. and MacArthur still pushed
forward
Iwo Jima U.S. marines faced a determined
enemy 36 days of fighting left 23,000
marines dead But the U.S. was successful in
taking the island
Okinawa
Even deadlier than Iwo Jima Contained a vital air base necessary
for a planned invasion of Japan Most complex and costly operation of
island hopping strategy 50,000 casualties
Japan was low of fuel and ammunition and virtually defenseless
The Atomic Bomb
Albert Einstein wrote to FDR about the need to proceed with atomic development
The Manhattan Project- code name for the program of development of an atomic bomb
J. Robert Oppenheimer- ran the scientific aspect of the project
July 16, 1945 the first atomic bomb was tested
Truman Makes His Decision Truman understood the ethical issues of
using the bomb Axis powers also had nuclear capabilities
and no way to tell how close they were to developing a bomb
Chief priority was to save American lives the current campaign could cost up to 1,000,000 lives
The decision was not difficult for Truman
Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6, 1945- U.S. pilots drop the
first bomb on Hiroshima Within 2 minutes more than 60,000 residents were
dead or missing
August 9, 1945- Soviet Union declares war on Japan AND the U.S. drops the 2nd bomb on Nagasaki killing 35,000
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t19kvUiHvAE&feature=fvst
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF4LQaWJRDg
Victory in the Pacific
On August 15, 1945 the Allies celebrate V-J Day (Victory in Japan)
Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945
The most costly war in history was over
As many as 60,000,000 people, mostly civilians, had died in the conflict