Winning World War II
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Transcript of Winning World War II
Winning World War II
Alliance: Great Britain, U.S., Soviets
• Big Three alliance uneasy due to idealogical differences
• Created out of necessity of war• Defeat Hitler first, then Japan• Stalin wants allies to take pressure off of
Soviet Union and launch attack on Western Front
• U.S. and Britain attack North Africa and Italy instead, war takes toll on Soviets
Allied invasion of Northwestern Europe
• Amphibious attack on Normandy nicknamed Operation Overlord or D-Day
• Began June 6, 1944 from sea• High casualty rates• By fall of 1944, allies defeat the Germans at
coast, push inland, and liberate Paris and Belgium
Battle of the Bulge
• By Dec. 1944, Hitler’s armies pinched by Soviets to the East….British and Americans to the West
• Allies killed thousands of civilians in air raids on Germany
• Hitler launches a surprise offensive• American troops hold Germans 8 days waiting on
reinforcements and push Germans back• Allies cross bridge at Remagen over the Rhine
River into Germany
Allied Victory in Europe
• After Battle of the Bulge, Allied forces close in on Berlin from East and West
• Terms of German Surrender discussed at Yalta Conference
• Eisenhower stops allied advance 50 miles from Berlin to ensure Soviet control
• Soviets meet British and Americans at Elbe River• Hitler commits suicide, Karl Donitz surrenders Germany
on May 7, 1945• Discovery of Nazi death camps
Pacific War
• Launched by Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 1941
• Thousands of Americans die in Bataan Death March in Philippines
• Island hopping strategy• Doolittle Raids in April 1942 bomb key
Japanese cities
Turning point in the Pacific War
• Battle of Coral Sea fought with aircraft carriers, fighters, bombers, in May 1942
• US decodes plan to attack island of Midway and forces japan to retreat, turning point of war for Allies
Battle for Iwo Jima
• In 1943 and 44, US captures islands: Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Marshall Islands, and Mariana Islands
• Fighting for Iwo Jima causes great casualties for both sides
• Americans take Iwo Jima, then Okinawa placing them in strong position to launch air attacks on Japan
End of WWII
• US bombs Japan relentlessly with traditional bombs• US blockades Japanese supply lines• Japanese use kamikaze missions • Atomic bomb successfully tested in July 1945• Aug. 6 1945-1st atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima• Aug. 9-2nd atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki• Over 170,000 people killed from blast alone• Japan surrenders Aug. 14, 1945
Casualties of War
• Over 400,000 Americans killed in WWII• Over 50 million died world wide