World War II: The “Big Three” Turn the Tide
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
• In 1940, FDR viewed Germany as the greatest threat to U.S. security and the future of democracy
• By giving material aid to GB, the U.S. would act as “the great arsenal of democracy”
• Wished to defend the “four freedoms” = freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, freedom from fear.
• Lend-Lease Act (1941) permitted GB to obtain all the U.S. arms it needed on credit
• The Atlantic Charter (1941) with Churchill affirmed their peace objectives
-self-determination for all people, no territorial expansion, and free trade
• Goal = defeat Germany first with fewest U.S. casualties

The Big Three meet at the Yalta Conference, February 1945

Winston Churchill
• Prime Minister of Great Britain
• Believed that German defenses were too strong in northern and western Europe
• Supported an Allied strategy of first attacking German troops in North
Africa
• Goal = move on the attack Germany from the south through the “soft underbelly” of Europe = Italy
Joseph Stalin
• Leader of the Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
• The Soviets faced a brutal attack from Germany
• Death rates were extremely high among Russian forces and civilians
(outnumbered that all Allied deaths combined)
• Goal = open up a second front in western Europe
-promised a 2nd front early in war, didn’t come until 1944

World War II: The Battlefronts
Fighting Germany
Coordinating their military strategy, the British and
Americans concentrated on two objectives in 1942:
1. Overcome the threat of German submarines in the
Atlantic
2. Begin the bombing campaign of German cities
Battle of the Atlantic
Naval war to control the shipping lanes of the Atlantic
German submarine warfare contained through developments in the use of radar, sonar, and the bombing of naval bases

Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942-January 1943)
Very bloody fighting between German and
Russian forces
Russian forces defeated the Germans and forced them to retreat
Importance
Turning point in the fighting of the war in Europe
Proximity to Russian oil fields made this a strategic location for the war effort

D-Day Invasion (June 6, 1944)
Allied invasion of Normandy in western France
Largest invasion by sea in world history
Involved over 200,000 Allied troops, 11,000 aircraft, and
4,000 vessels
General Dwight Eisenhower commanded troops from the
U.S., G.B., France, and Canada
Within six weeks over one million more Allied troops landed in western France
Allied offensive moved quickly to push back the German occupying forces
August 1944 = Allied troops had liberated Paris
September 1944 = Allied troops had crossed the German border for the final push to Berlin

World War II in Europe and North Africa

Yalta Conference (February 1945)
The Big Three met to discuss the future of Europe after the defeat of Germany
1. Germany would be divided into occupation zones
2. Free elections would be held in the liberated countries of Eastern Europe
3. The Soviets would enter the war against Japan
4. The Allied Powers would create a new world peace organization = the United Nations

Germany’s Defeat
Allied bombing raids over Germany had reduced the nation’s industrial capacity and ability to continue fighting
Hitler committed suicide and the Nazi army surrendered a week later
V-E Day = May 8, 1945 the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany
U.S. troops witnessed the horrifying extent of the Nazi concentration camps
-more than 6 million Jewish civilians had been murdered
-Soviet prisoners of war, Polish and Soviet civilians, homosexuals, people with disabilities, and other political and religious opponents were targeted

The War in the Pacific
Fighting Japan
The war in the Pacific was dominated by naval forces battling over a vast area
Turning points in halting the Japanese advance:
1. Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942) U.S. aircraft carriers stopped a Japanese invasion of
Australia
2. Battle of Midway (June 1942) U.S. destroyed four aircraft carriers and 300 planes = major turning point

Island Hopping Strategy
Campaign to get within striking distance of Japan by seizing strategic islands in the Pacific
Bypassed strongly held Japanese islands and isolated them with naval and air power
1. Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 1944) the
Japanese navy was nearly destroyed, kamikaze attacks were used
2. Battle of Iwo Jima (Feb-March 1945) bloody battle with 27,000 U.S. casualties = 1/3 of all
Marines killed in the Pacific

World War II in the Pacific

Bombing of Tokyo (March 1945)
Over 80,000 Japanese killed = mostly civilians
200,000 buildings destroyed
16 square mile section of the city was targeted for destruction
The Japanese continued to fight even after this serious loss of life and property
Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945)
Stalin was the only remaining member of the Big Three =
Harry Truman (U.S.), Clement Atlee (G.B.)
1. Issued a declaration to Japan to surrender unconditionally or face “prompt and utter destruction”
2. Pledged to hold war-crime trials of military leaders

Atomic Warfare (1945)
Hiroshima (Aug. 6) & Nagasaki (Aug. 9)
Nearly 160,000 were killed or injured from bombing
Possibly 100,000 later died of burns and exposure to radiation
Japanese Surrender
V-J Day = August 14, 1945
Japan’s formal surrender (Sept. 2) aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo harbor was received by General MacArthur

The Legacy of World War II
1. Approximately 300,000 Americans lost their lives in battle, and another 800,000 were wounded
2. 50 nations met to draft a charter for a new international peacekeeping organization = United
Nations
3. France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, China, Japan, and the Soviet Union had all suffered extensive damage from the war
4. American cities had remained unscarred and after the war the U.S. was the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world
5. While people looked forward to a more peaceful and democratic world, tensions with the Soviet Union and the threat of nuclear war would affect this sense of optimism