World War Two

The Pacific Theatre

Background1. Militarism in Japan

In 1920s – two main factions developed in Japan – divided between the civilian government and Military

Japan’s military very strong Had advantages over civilian

government, i.e. organization & weapons to impose will

Wanted Imperialistic Expansion

Japanese Army acted without government consent or approval

Background – cont’2. Imperialistic Expansion and Military Takeover

1931 – Japanese Army invaded Manchuria without the consent of the Japanese government

Military – planned to terrorize the civilian gov. and force the country to accept martial law

when the military takes over and creates their own laws to govern civilian affairs (usually in time of war or civil crisis); overrides civil law

Prime Minister assassinated Followed by vicious in-fighting

between factions of the army Hit squads sent to kill major political

leaders

Background – cont’3. How USA Became a Target

When France fell to NAZIS in 1940

Japan quickly occupied most of French Indo-China

American President Roosevelt responded by freezing Japanese assets in American banks

Roosevelt also refused to sell Japan any more oil or scraps of metal – needed desperately for war industries

Cut off from major supplies – Japanese military commanders insisted war with USA only solution

4. Pearl Harbour – December 7, 1941

Surprise attack by Japan on American naval base in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii

Devised by the brilliant naval commander Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku

Intended to give Japanese Navy control of the Pacific in preparation for future attacks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Im5ILUjH5o&feature=related

Pearl Harbour – cont’

Hitler declared war on USA in support of Japan

USA declared war on Germany

Canada declared war on Japan

Britain finally got the ally it needed

Dec 8, 1941 – USA and Britain declared war on Japan

Pearl Harbour – cont’

Pearl Harbour – cont’

“A day the will live in infamy”

19 ships were destroyed or disabled 150 planes lost 2400 military personnel and civilians killed The Japanese were largely successful in

surprising the USA; however, they failed to cripple the American Navy – 3 US aircraft carriers were at sea and would play a key role in the War in the Pacific.

5. Canadians at Hong Kong - 1941

Canadians were sent to fight the Japanese in the British colony of Hong Kong

1st time Canadians saw active battle in WWII

5. Canadians at Hong Kong – cont’

Troops faced impossible task forced to surrender after 17 days

of fighting on Christmas Day, 1941, when supplies & ammo ran out

500 Canadian soldiers wounded 290 killed Most – captured and put into

Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) camps and treated very harshly

267 Canadian POWs died in camps

Turning the Tide in the Pacific Battle of the Coral Sea (4-8 May 1942)•Japanese desire Port Moresby, New Guinea

• Vital Allied base (Australia)• Naval battle fought with aircraft• First time two fleets fought without

being within sight of each other• Draw – Inhibits Japanese invasion

force

Battle of Midway (4-7 June 1942)•Japanese to engage US carrier force•4 Japanese vs. 3 American carriers

• USS Yorktown, by now, repaired•Jap. Fleet move toward Midway•US Naval Intelligence breaks Jap. code•In bombing Midway, Jap. Fleet caught unawares

The Road to Tokyo – American Advance on JapanRoute I: MacArthur: S.W. Pacific, New Guinea & Philippines Route II: Nimitz: Gilbert, Marshal Is., Mariana & Iwo Jima

Island Hopping (1942-1945)•the idea of taking key islands, rather than all•using each island as a staging point for the next brutal, often fanatical resistance by Japanese

Battle of Leyte Gulf (23-26 Oct. 1944)•Jap. Navy’s last stand•US Pacific Fleet•200+ ships

• 17 carriers, 12 battleships, 1500 planes

•Japanese Fleet•70 ships

• 4 carriers, 9 battleships, 200 planes

•‘Kamikaze’ dive-bombers

Iwo Jima and Okinawa By the Spring of 1945, US forces had

captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa, two Japanese islands just south of the Japanese homeland.

Iwo Jima 216 of 21 000 Japanese soldiers are taken alive US suffers 24 800 casualties of 110 000 troops

Okinawa US suffers 62 000 casualties (40 000 killed) Over 100 000 Japanese combatants killed

Final Stages of WarUS ‘Strategic Bombing’ of Japan (1944-45)•B-29 Superfortress

• 1500km range• 90% of bombs dropped

•Major urban centres selected• Most cities built of wood/paper• ‘precision’ bombing impossible

•Night-time ‘firebombing’•500 000 Japanese deaths•5 000 000 homeless

** See Fog of War – cities Firebombedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYxXFwIPGHk

Final Stages of the WarManhattan Project

Secret, expensive plan to develop Atomic weapons

Los Alamos, New Mexico (1945)Truman’s decision

June 1, 1945 – US Secretary of War recommended that the bombs be dropped without prior warning on Japanese military targets in an urban setting

Prominent scientists disagreed – urged giving the Japanese a demonstration explosion over an isolated area, using the bomb only as a last resort

Truman rejected their views as “impractical” and made the “military decision” to shorten the war and save American lives

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/trinity-test/videos/manhattan-project

Einstein & Leo Szilard

‘The search for a revolutionary weapon was one of the most immediate and persistent outcomes of the

industrialization of war in the mid-nineteenth century, and both a logical and inevitable extension of the

revolution in war which preceded.’John Keegan, The Second World War

Photo courtesy National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office

Destruction of test house located 3,500 feet (1,000 meters) from detonation site of atmospheric test

at Nevada Proving Ground in 1953 The first photo and the last photo were taken 2.3 seconds apart.

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945

“Little Boy” was dropped on the industrial city of 340,000 people

Explosion at Ground Zero created temperatures of 540,000 degrees Fahrenheit

Immense firestorm gutted the city, destroying 60,000 of 92,000 buildings

Official death count: 78,000 Additional 60,000 died later

of atomic bomb- related injuries or diseases

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs3JE4WRL-8

Hiroshima cont’

Hiroshima cont’

Hiroshima cont’

“My God, what

have we done?" Robert Lewis

co-pilot of the Enola Gay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nrvMNf-HEg

Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 Since Japan did not

surrender immediately Truman ordered the atomic bomb be dropped on the Japanese City of Nagasaki

“Fat Man” dropped on city of 250,000

death toll reached 35,000 people

Total of approx. 170,000 died due to both atomic bombs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KISiBHxv40

Nagasaki – cont’

Effects of Atomic Bombs

Shadows burned into concrete from blast; people vaporized

Effects of Atomic Bombs

Severe burns covering entire body = severe pain and suffering

Effects of Atomic Bombs

Severe property damage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id-yfB3I_R4&feature=related

V-J Day (Victory in Japan)

August 14, 1945 – VJ Day

Japanese government sued for peace

Second World War OVER

V-J Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3LyuWg8QTo

Bombing of Dresden, Germany: Controversy

Historically, Dresden had been northern Germany’s cultural centre – a city filled with museums and historic buildings

It was mostly untouched throughout the war

By February 1945, the city was filled with refugees – people moving from east to west in an attempt to escape the advancing Red Army

From February 13-15, over three waves of attacks, 3,300 tons of bombs were dropped on the city

Many of the bombs that were dropped were incendiary bombs that created so much fire that a firestorm developed

temperature peaked at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit

Very few of those in the city centre survived

Dresden – con’t About 15 km2 of the ancient city

were destroyed, including more than 14,000 homes, 72 schools, 22 hospitals, 19 churches and scores of commercial and government buildings

The city was not simply a cultural centre – there were factories there producing weapons and equipment for the Nazi war effort, therefore many believe that the city was a legitimate target. It was also a rail base to send troops to the war front with the Russians.

The precise death toll remains uncertain

Historians generally believe 35,000 to 60,000 people perished in the two days of bombing, but due to the unknown number of refugees in the city that the count could easily be 10 times higher

Dresden Controversy Was the bombing

was justified? Does its outcome

constituted a war crime?

# who died close to Nagasaki (nuclear bomb)

Agreed by many: the raids continue to be included among the worst examples of civilian suffering caused by strategic bombing in WWII