Winning the WarWhat military strategies did the

United States and its allies pursue to defeat the Axis powers in World War

II?

Preview

You are the head coach of a high school basketball team. Your team is about to

play the top-ranked team, which has last year’s most valuable player (MVP) on its

roster.

You just found out that half of your team is caught in traffic and will not make it in

time for the start of the game. What strategy will you pursue?

Preview

Choose one of these strategies. On a piece of paper, write a paragraph explaining your choice.

• Play defense, stall, and try to keep the score close in hopes that your other players will arrive soon.

• Go on the offense and attack the opponent’s MVP, hoping to tire him or her and get him or her to foul.

• Attack the weakest player, even if that allows the MVP to stay rested and remain on offense.

Activity Instructions• When the United States entered World War II, the Axis

forces were superior in both number and strength, much like the stronger team in the Preview.

• Military analysts for the United States and its allies had to determine which strategies to pursue to defeat the dominating Axis powers.

 • You will take on the roles of military analysts and make

recommendations for how to win the war.• You will first evaluate military strategies by examining

background information and maps of the battlefront.• You will then present your recommendations in a top

secret military briefing.

Introduction• At the beginning of the war…• Atlantic coast mostly unprotected• Coastal cities not required to observe nighttime

blackouts• US did not have enough naval vessels• First months of 1942 – German U-boats sank

dozens of ships off the Atlantic Coast

Introduction

• If you were the “coach” of the U.S. military, which of the three strategies presented in the Preview would you pursue to safely transport your troops across the Atlantic?

• Play defense and stall.• Attack the opponent’s MVP.• Attack the weakest player.

• Upon entering the war, how was the United States like the weaker team in the Preview?

When the US entered the war• Axis controlled most of Europe• Nazi’s were well into Russia• Nazi’s were well into North Africa

Allied Leaders Debate War Strategy• The Allies have limited resources• Defense was the focus until the US built up the military• Churchill & Roosevelt met to determine a strategy• They could not afford to fight and offensive war on 2

fronts• The decided “Europe First” – winning Europe back and

fighting defensively in the Pacific

Preparing for War in Europe

Preparing for War in EuropeYou are now World War II military analysts who will participate in a briefing to make recommendations on a key military decision.

Decision 1: February 1942• The United States recently entered the war on the side of the

Allies. Unfortunately, the United States has limited military divisions ready for immediate deployment to Europe. Which military strategy do you advise President Roosevelt to pursue?

• Discuss the following strategies with your group and choose the one that you believe will be most effective in defeating the Axis powers. Look back at the Preview and identify the coach’s strategy that best matches your choice.

Where to strike when the US had troops to do it?France? • They would help when liberated - Makes a good staging area –

Germany was strong there, it would be tough

Italy? • They have a weak army – Good base for securing the rest of Europe

– Getting through Uboat infested Mediterranean would be difficult

North Africa?• Not well defended – Could be gateway to Europe – Far from target

of Germany – Challenging to transport & maintain forces

Soviet Union?• Help the Soviet Red Army push back Germans – USSR is now an

Allied Force – Transporting & supplying from the US would be a massive effort

Preparing for War in Europe

Preparing for War in Europe

Prepare your recommendations by gathering supporting arguments from the student text and accompanying map.

• Strategy 1 Deploy divisions to Britain. Launch an immediate cross-channel invasion of France. Then move eastward to liberate Paris.

• Strategy 2 Deploy divisions to the Mediterranean and launch an invasion of Italy from naval ships. Capture the island of Sicily first and then advance north onto the mainland.

• Strategy 3 Defend the Soviet Union. Move Allied divisions into the western part of the Soviet Union and help the Red Army defend itself against German divisions.

• Strategy 4 Launch an invasion of North Africa from Egypt and from naval ships in the Atlantic. Advance toward Tunisia and defeat German divisions.

War in EuropeWhat really happened? – AFRICA

• They invaded North Africa and then Sicily• General George Patton was one of the

commanders• Popular because of his high survival rates• Very harsh to those under his command

• Italy’s government got scared & Mussolini was forced to resign

War in EuropeD-Day (Invasion of Normandy)The Landing• June 6, 1944 – 156,000 Allied troops land on 5 beaches in

France• General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the attack• General Omar Bradley led the first army troops to land in

France• Allied planes attacked the Nazi’s before the beach landing• Normandy was the largest amphibious operation of its

time

(Show videos)

War in EuropeD-DayThe Advancement• Allies moved East, liberating Paris (August 1944)• German counter-attacked in the Battle of the Bulge (Dec

1944)• German attack collapsed after that• Allied troops pushed on into Germany from the West, the

Soviets entered from the East• Soviets captured Berlin (capital of Germany) (May 1945)• Hitler commits suicide & Germany surrenders• Vernon Baker – one of the first African Americans to see

combat -52 years after his heroic actions in WWII, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (show H. vid)

Preparing for War in the Pacific• Glue Pacific Map in your Notes

Preparing for War in the Pacific

Japanese Advance in Asia & the Pacific• After Pearl Harbor, American forces in the Pacific took

months to regroup – by March 1942, Japan controls much of the Pacific

• America controlled the Philippines at this point in history• US & Filipino troops fight to keep Japan from taking the

Philippines – troops were ordered to leave in March 1942

• 2 months later the Bataan Death March occurred• May 1942 – Japan takes British controlled Burma – this

cut off the Burma Road from India to China – they now have no land or sea access to supplies

• To keep the Japanese busy, the US sent airborne supplies over the Himalayas to the Chinese

Preparing for War in the Pacific

Starting Action in the Pacific• US morale is low because of Japanese victories• Roosevelt urges military chiefs to attack Japanese

homeland• Planned to bomb with B-25’s from carrier & then land in

China (Pearl Harbor movie when he dies)• Bombs did little damage but thrilled Americans/shocked

Japanese• Admiral Chester Nimitz was Commander in Chief of

Pacific Naval Fleet• General Douglas MacArthur was Commanding US

Army in the Pacific• George Marshall was Chief of Staff & worked with

Roosevelt

Preparing for War in the PacificDecision 3: June 1942

• The Japanese control most of the Pacific. The Allies are using the majority of their resources to fight the war in Europe. Given the current situation, which military strategy do you advise President Roosevelt to pursue?

• Discuss the following strategies and choose the one that you believe will be most effective in defeating the Japanese in the Pacific. Look back at the Preview and identify the coach’s strategy that best matches your choice.

• Prepare your recommendations by gathering supporting arguments from the text and accompanying map

Preparing for War in the Pacific

How to put the Allies on the Offensive in the PacificAleutian Islands?• Build airbases in the Aleutians – pilots would have to

deal with snow, wind, & fog – all supplies would have to be shipped from US mainland

China?• Build bases in China-good staging area to attack

Japan-getting supplies would be difficult by land or sea

Liberate Japanese held territory in the Pacific?• First free islands far from Japan & move closer-takes

time & would have high casualties

Preparing for War in the Pacific• Strategy 1 Create a staging area in inland China.

Launch an air assault on the nearby Japanese mainland.

• Strategy 2 Liberate Japanese-occupied islands in the Pacific. Create a staging area on each liberated island and prepare for the next advance.

• Strategy 3 Build air bases in the Aleutian Islands. Launch bombing raids directly on the Japanese mainland by using the new B-29 bombers.

• Strategy 4 Contain the Japanese and stop their expansion in the Pacific. Wait until the war is won in Europe and then increase Allied forces in the Pacific.

War in the Pacific

What they did – Liberate the Islands• US forces “island-hopped” or “leap frogged” –

capturing less defended islands one at a time and then use it as an airbase to attack the more defended island

• Battle of Midway • US deciphered Japanese code that they were planning an attack • US was ready for them• US destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers• After Midway, Japan was only on the defensive

Truman Faces a Decision to Drop the Bomb• The Manhattan Project was the program that

developed the Atomic Bomb• After the successful test of the first A-Bomb, Harry

Truman had to decide what to do…• The US was already bombing Japan and

blockading to prevent supplies – but Japan refused to surrender

Truman Faces a Decision to Drop the Bomb

Decision 4: August 1, 1945

• Despite Allied victory in Europe, the war in the Pacific continues. Although some predict that Japan is close to surrendering, others warn that if the Japanese do not surrender, an invasion of Japan will take many months and may result in the deaths of thousands of Allied forces. President Truman has just informed you that the United States has at its disposal several atomic bombs. Given this information, which strategy do you advise President Truman to pursue? 

• Discuss the following strategies and choose the one that you believe will be most effective in defeating the Japanese. Look back at the Preview and identify the coach’s strategy that best matches your choice.

• Prepare your recommendations by gathering supporting arguments from the text and accompanying map.

Truman Faces a Decision to Drop the Bomb• Strategy 1 Drop an atomic bomb on a large

Japanese city. Continue to drop bombs on other cities until Japan surrenders.

• Strategy 2 Plan a large-scale invasion of Japan. Prepare staging areas on nearby islands and attack Japan by air and sea.

• Strategy 3 Wait as long as needed for Japan to surrender. Continue the naval blockade and massive bombing raids.

Truman Faces a Decision to Drop the BombWhat happened - US Bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Conclusion

Discuss these debrief questions with your group.• • For which World War II military strategies or

actions do you think the United States should be praised? Why?

• • For which World War II military strategies or actions do you think the United States should be criticized? Why?

• • If you had been president during the war, how might you have conducted the war differently?

Let’s WriteIn two well-written paragraphs, respond to the following question: • Should the United States be praised or criticized for the

military strategies or actions it pursued during World War II? • Your response should address at least two of the military

strategies and actions.

• World War II Military Actions and Strategies• “Europe First” Strategy• Postponement of an invasion of France• Decision not to bomb the concentration camps• Leapfrogging strategy• Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa• Decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan

Let’s Write

Make sure each paragraph includes:• • a clear topic sentence that communicates the

main idea of your paragraph.• • one or two pieces of evidence (facts, data,

quotations, examples) from the reading to support your topic sentence.

• • one or two sentences that explain how your evidence supports your topic sentence.