WWII: Battlefronts1939-1945

Two Theaters: Europe (Germany) and Pacific (Japan)

European Theater Pacific

Theater

Strategies Axis: Germany, Italy and

Japan had their own goals only shared common enemies

Main goal: prevent American war materials from getting into Europe…u-boats patrol seas (“wolf packs”) but sonar use will level the playing field Battle of Britain: German air

raids on Britain… Hitler was hoping to defeat Britain just like he had France…not successful

Allies: unified in their goals…get Hitler in Europe and then turn to the Pacific

Had General George Patton controlling efforts in Africa

Allies attacked Italy, overthrew Mussolini and removed Hitler’s help…new gov’t declared war on Germany

Russia wanted Allies to set up western front in France so Germany was fighting a two-front war

War in Europe: Stalingrad Germany had attacked

Russia and Hitler wanted Stalingrad for the oil fields

Hitler would not admit defeat even though his troops were surrounded

Turning Point of War In Europe because it ended any plans Hitler had for domination in Europe

Operation Overlord (D-Day) Plan to invade German occupied France to

create two-front war for Germany led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower

D-Day: when Allies hit Germany on the beaches of Normandy (code name Omaha)

Now Germany fought a hopeless two front war with Allies closing in on Germany…this is why Germany lost the war

Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s counterattack to D-Day An attempt to separate British and American

troops that only pushed Hitler further back into Germany…defeat would come soon

Ends war in Europe V-E (Victory in Europe) Day

Hitler commits suicide on April 30, 1945 7 days later Germany surrendered on May 7th

War in Pacific: Midway Japan was trying to

conquer all of Asia…turned its sights to the American naval base at Midway

American Admiral Chester Nimitz knew of these plans and dealt them the most decisive defeat of the war…turning point of war in the Pacific because it ended the Japanese advance in the Pacific

Island Hopping American strategy in

the Pacific of hopping from island to island on a steady path to Japan

Deadly process when Japanese kamikazes deliberately crash their planes into American ships Like suicide bombers

Iwo Jima 36 day campaign in the

process of island hopping to obtain the 5 mile island of Iwo Jima

US Marines plant the American flag on Japanese territory… symbolic of American successes and later victory over Japan

The Atomic Bomb Ends the War

Albert Einstein split atoms and it created large amounts of energy…FDR creates the Manhattan Project (but bombs are tested in Arizona) to develop the atomic bomb for military use led by J. Robert

Oppenheimer not realizing its potential and future impact on war would be so devastating

V-J Day

President Harry Truman ordered for two atomic bombs to be dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima

Emperor Hirohito surrendered and Americans celebrated V-J (Victory in Japan) Day

WWII was over http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki#Announcement_of_the_bombing_in_audio

V-J Day.mp4 Atomic Bomb Drop.asf

Holocaust

The Nazis attempt to kill all Jews (genocide)

Hitler’s Final Solution to the Jewish problem was to extermination of all Jews 6 million total

Concentration/death camps warehoused Jews until extermination

After war, America helps liberate (free) remaining Jews

WWII Meetings Casablanca Conference: first meeting between Allies

(GB and US) to discuss war strategies Tehran Conference: 1st Big Three meeting on how to

get Hitler to surrender Potsdam Conference: meeting to discuss how to

punish Germany and get Japan to surrender Yalta Conference: end of war meeting on how to

rebuild Europe and divide up Germany amongst Allies

The Big Three Winston Churchill for Britain

FDR for US, after he

dies Harry Truman steps in.

Joseph Stalin for

Soviet Union