WWII in the Pacific
Bushido--Japanese Warrior Tradition
• Importance of Honor
– To surrender is to
disgrace your family &
your country
• Death in Service of the
Emperor
• Japan has never been
defeated
“The other enduring
image of total
sacrifice is that of the
kamikaze pilot,
plowing his plane
packed with high
explosives into an
enemy warship.”
Japanese Expansion--Review
• Goals
– 3000 Mile E. Asian Empire—1940 (4,000 mi. by 1942)
– Access to Resources
– Living Space
• Expansion
– Korea, Manchuria, E./S. China, French Indochina,
Dutch East Indies…
• Alliances:
– Axis Powers (Tripartite Pact)—1940
– Japan-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact—1940
U.S. Response--Review
• Embargo scrap metal,
iron, and steel (1940)
• Freeze All Japanese
Assets
• Lend Lease Aid to China
• Oil Embargo
– Japan had depended on
U.S. for 80% of its oil
Japanese Occupation of Indonesia
After Pearl Harbor: Executive Order 9066
Japanese Pacific Strategy
• Knock out US fleet at
Pearl Harbor
• Occupy islands in the
Pacific and defend
them
• Hope Allies will grow
weary of war and give
up
Execution of Japan Strategy
• Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Attack on Philippines
– General Douglas MacArthur
flees Philippines
– 78,000 American and Filipino
soldiers forced to surrender
– Begins Bataan Death March
(20,000 + die)
“Do not live in shame as a
prisoner. Die, and leave no
ignominious crime behind you.”
The War: Episode 1; Scene 9: Bataan
Japanese Empire--1942
U.S. Strategy
• Executive Order 9066
• Island Hopping
– Military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against Japan
» Idea was to bypass heavily fortified Japanese positions and
instead concentrate the Allied resources on strategically
important islands that were not well defended but capable
of supporting the drive to the main islands of Japan.
• Commanding Generals
– General Douglass MacArthur (Army)
– Admiral Chester Nimitz (Navy)
Doolittle Raids (April 18, 1942)
• What: The first air raid by the U.S. to strike the
Japanese Home Islands
• Purpose:
– Restore American Morale
– Get Japanese to Question Their Leadership
– Retaliation for Pearl Harbor
• Significance:
– Little physical damage; but mental toll on Japanese
people…question leaders
– Led Japanese to hastily plan attack on Midway (the last
U.S. base west of Hawaii)…Midway would become major
turning point in Pacific
– Japan moved key aircraft carrier from Indian Ocean to
defend home islands
Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942)
Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942)
• Significance:
– Key Pacific Naval
Battle…Turning point in the
Pacific
– Halted the Japanese advance
– Destroyed 4 Japanese
Carriers
– Irreparable damage to
Japan’s Pacific Fleet…evens
the playing field b/n 2 Navy
Guadalcanal (8/7/42-2/9/43)
• Aug. 7, 1942 –Feb. 9, 1943
• “6 months of Hell”
– 1st Marines
• Significance
– First US land victory in Pacific
– Puts Japanese on retreat
– Protect US supplies in Australia
& route b/n US & Australia
– Prevents Japanese airfield from
being constructed
Guadalcanal
• “The average soldier on Guadalcanal ran a
fever, wore stinking dungarees, loathed
twilight, and wondered if the US Navy still
existed.”
– Sid Phillips
Guadalcanal
• Based on the fighting at Guadalcanal, what
could you assume about the war with the
Japanese?
Terror in the Pacific (1943-1944)
• Tarawa (Nov. 20-23, 1943)
– First major battle in the Central Pacific
• Need to take ctrl. of Gilbert Islands to open door
to Marshall and Marianas Islands…Need to gain
airfields
– Only 1 Japanese officer & 16 enlisted men
surrendered (out of 4,690)
– Over 3,100 US casualties
• Saipan (June 15-July 9, 1944)
– Coveted as airfield as put Japan’s home islands w/in
range of B-29
– Japanese enlist soldiers and civilians to fight in battle
(20,000 civilian deaths)
• Peleliu (Sept. 15-Nov. 27, 1944)
– 9,834 Amer. casualties on an island w/ little strategic
importance…party of Japanese soldiers held out until
1947!!!
Historical Footage from the Battle of Peleliu
Battle of Leyte Gulf
(Oct. 23-26, 1944)
• MacArthur: Fulfills
Promise to Return to
Philippines
• Largest Naval Battle in
History
– Opens up liberation of
Philippines
– Cut off Japan from vital
supplies of Petroleum
and Rubber
Kamikaze
• Kamikaze
– “The other enduring image of total sacrifice is that
of the kamikaze pilot, plowing his plane packed
with high explosives into an enemy warship.”
– “I am pleased to have the honour of having been
chosen as a member of a Special Attack Force that
is on its way into battle, but I cannot help crying
when I think of you, Mum. When I reflect on the
hopes you had for my future ... I feel so sad that I
am going to die without doing anything to bring
you joy.”
Iwo Jima (Feb. 19-March 26, 1945)
• First American attack on
Japanese home islands
• Significance:
– Emergency air base for
American bombers
– 1st time Americans had more
killed/wounded than Japanese
– What was this a sign of?
Iwo Jima—Feb. 1945
• General Kuribayashi
– Brilliant; western
educated
• Japanese Strategy
– Fought entire battle
underground (16 mi. of
tunnel; 1500 rooms)
– Strategy called for no
Japanese survivors;
planned to die
– Kill 10 Americans before
they’re killed
"You must not expect my survival,"
General Kuribayashi wrote to his wife
long before the invasion came. “
Americans Raise Flag at Iwo Jima
• 1st time Americans had
more killed/wounded
than Japanese
“The Marines were above ground and
the Japanese were below them
underground. The Marines rarely saw
an alive Japanese soldier. The Japanese
could see the Marines perfectly. ”
Mount Suribachi
Okinawa--April 1-June 22, 1945
• Objectives
– Destroy Japan’s
merchant fleet
– Estbl. US Air Bases to
target Jap. Industry
– Create American supply
base
• “Typhoon of Steele”
– Massive Allied Invasion
– Ferocity of fighting and
kamikaze attacks…
influences US decision to
drop the bomb…why?
• Casualties:
– Allies: 40,000 +
– Japanese: 100,000+
– Civilians: 10s of 1,000s
Okinawa
Discussion Prompt 1
• How did the intense fighting at Iwo Jima and
Okinawa influence the U.S. decision to drop
the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Firebombing Japan (March 1945)
• Target largest industrial
areas of Japan
– Nearly every major
Japanese city
firebombed
• Massive Civilian
Casualties
• Tokyo
– 80,000 die
– 250,000 buildings
destroyed
Firebombing Discussion Prompts
• Why did General Curtis LeMay implement the
use of firebombing against Japan?
• What impact did this have on the cities and
populations of Japan? Give specific examples.
• Can the use of firebombing against Japanese
civilian populations be justified?
An Eyewitness Account to the
Firebombing of Japan
“Stacked up corpses were being hauled away on lorries. Everywhere
there was the stench of the dead and of smoke. I saw the places on the
pavement where people had been roasted to death. At last I
comprehended first-hand what an air-raid meant. I turned back, sick and
scared. Later I learned that 40% of Tokyo was burned that night, that
there had been 100,000 casualties and 375,000 left homeless.”
“A month after the March raid, while I was on a visit to Honjo on a
particularly beautiful cherry-blossom day, I saw bloated and charred
corpses surfacing in the Sumida River. I felt nauseated and even more
scared than before.”
“We ourselves were burned out in the fire raid of May 25th 1945. As I
ran I kept my eyes on the sky. It was like a fireworks display as the
incendiaries exploded. People were aflame, rolling and writhing in agony,
screaming piteously for help, but beyond all mortal assistance.”
Fusako Sasaki
Japan Firebombing:
A Path of Destruction
Name of Japanese
city firebombed
Percentage of the
city destroyed
Equivalent in size to
the following American city
Yokohama
58
Cleveland
Tokyo
51
New York
Toyama
99
Chattanooga
Nagoya
40
Los Angeles
Osaka
35.1
Chicago
Nishinomiya
11.9
Cambridge
Siumonoseki
37.6
San Diego
Kure
41.9
Toledo
Kobe
55.7
Baltimore
Omuta
35.8
Miami
Wakayama
50
Salt Lake City
Kawasaki
36.2
Portland
Okayama
68.9
Long Beach
Discussion Prompt 2
• What was Einstein requesting of FDR’s
administration in his letter?
• Why do you think Einstein was making such a
request, despite being a pacifist?
Manhattan Project (1942-1945)
• What?
• Code-name for the U.S. program
to develop an atomic bomb
• Leaders
– General Leslie Groves
– J. Robert Oppenheimer
• Why Use It on Japan?
–
–
–
–
Estimate of US Casualties
Cost of Project
Intimidate Soviets
Retaliation for Pearl Harbor and
Bataan Death March
Los Alamos: July 16, 1945
Reflections on the Bomb:
Los Alamos, July 16, 1945
• We knew the world would not be the same. A
few people laughed, a few people cried, most
people were silent. I remembered the line from
the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita.
Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he
should do his duty and to impress him takes on
his multi-armed form and says, "Now, I am
become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I
suppose we all felt that one way or another.
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Reflections on the Bomb
• At Los Alamos during World War II there was
no moral issue with respect to working on the
atomic bomb. Everyone was agreed on the
necessity of stopping Hitler and the Japanese
from destroying the free world. It was not an
academic question ‚ our friends and relatives
were being killed and we, ourselves, were
desperately afraid.
-Joseph O. Hirschfelder, chemist
Dropping the Atomic Bomb
• Hiroshima—Aug. 6, 1945
– Paul Tibbits the “Enola Gay” and “Little Boy”
– 71,000 + killed
• Nagasaki—Aug. 9, 1945
– Neil Bocks—”Boc’s Car” and “Fat Man”
– 42,000+ killed
Japan’s Surrender--1945
• V-J Day: September 2, 1945
The Decision to Drop the Bomb
Socratic Seminar
Zinn…Acknowledging History
• Was all this bloodshed and deceit-from Columbus to
Cortes, Pizarro, the Puritans-a necessity for the human race
to progress from savagery to civilization? Was Morison right
in burying the story of genocide inside a more important
story of human progress? Perhaps a persuasive argument
can be made-as it was made by Stalin when he killed
peasants for industrial progress in the Soviet Union, as it
was made by Churchill explaining the bombings of Dresden
and Hamburg, and Truman explaining Hiroshima. But how
can the judgment be made if the benefits and losses cannot
be balanced because the losses are either unmentioned or
mentioned quickly? Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States.
Socratic Seminar Tips: Inner Circle
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Refer to the text, your research, paper, etc. when needed during the discussion.
This is not a test of memory. You are not "learning a subject;” your goal is to
understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in the text.
Build on what others say:
– Ask questions to probe deeper, clarify, paraphrase and add/synthesize a
variety of different views in your own summary.
– Questions drive the discussion!
Clarify:
– “I think what Stephanie is trying to say is...”or “I’m not sure I understand what
you are saying, Jeff. What is....”
Paraphrase and add:
– “Lupe said that.... I agree with her and also think....”
Synthesize:
– “Based on the ideas from Tim, Sally, and Maya, it seems like we all think that
Truman was....”
Use your best active listening skills:
– Nod, make eye contact, lean forward, provide feedback, and listen carefully to
others.
Participate:
– When you would like to speak, flip one of your talking chips into the center
Support your responses with evidence!
Speak up so that all can hear you.
Talk to each other, not the teacher.
Socratic Seminar: Outer Cirle
• Take Notes on the Seminar:
– What was your partner doing when someone else was talking? Take
notes.
– What were the major ideas being discussed in the seminar? (Did it
remain focused on one or two?) Note the ideas that were discussed.
– How many times were direct references made to the text, notes,
research, or essays? Note examples.
– How many times did your partner ask a question of another
participant? Make note of a few of these questions.
– How many times did a participant respond to or build on the comment
of another seminar participant? Did anyone ask another participant to
clarify or explain something that someone said? Note examples.
– Was there any evidence that a participant changed his or her opinion
or position as a result of what was discussed in the seminar? Make
note of instances.
– How many times did your partner speak?
– Tips/Suggestions for your partner.
• Post Reflective Questions for the Inner Circle on Padlet (min. 1 per
person): http://padlet.com/jziegler1/abomb
Question #1
“Was the decision to use the
atomic bomb on Japan
justified? Explain your
answer.”
Question #2
“What were the consequences
of the use of the atomic
bombs both on Japan and
the developing Cold War?”
Additional Discussion Prompts
• Did it save lives on both sides?
• Did it show the world how devastating the bomb was, discouraging future
use?
• Since its use, we have spent $5.5 trillion on nuclear energy/bombs, could
this money have been used in other areas more effectively?
• Did racism play a role in its use against the Japanese? What was the
difference between this and attack on Pearl Harbor?
• Were there alternate solutions?
• Was Japan a threat to the U.S. at this point in the war (especially w/ it
sanctions on Japanese trade)?
• Were American terms unreasonable? If Japan had been allowed to keep
their emperor in power than would the bomb have been necessary?...
• Should the U.S. have waited longer to drop the 2nd bomb? How much of a
role did the Soviet Union entrance into the war play in the decision to drop
the 2nd bomb?
• How much of this was an attempt to intimidate the Soviets?
• Is a nation safer with the bomb?
WWII…Setting the Stage for the
Cold War…
Tehran Conference (Nov. 1943)
• 1st major meeting of FDR, Churchill, and
Stalin (the Big 3)
– Soviets agree to launch offensive on
Eastern Front as US/Brits launch invasion
of France (1944)
– Soviets pledge to aid in war against Japan
after Germany defeated
– Stalin agrees to formation of U.N. after the
war
– FDR/Stalin discuss division Germany after
the war
– Begin discussing fate of E. Europe… FDR
calls for free elections if Baltic states were
to join Soviet Union…Stalin pushes back on
this…why?
Yalta: February 1945
• 2nd mtg. of FDR, Churchill, Stalin
• Soviets agree to join war v. Japan,
in exchange…
– Soviet sphere of influence in
Manchuria; Sakhalin; and Kurile
Islands
• FDR and Churchill concede E.
European nations bordering USSR
should be “Soviet friendly,” in
exchange…
– Soviets pledge free elections in all
land liberated from Nazi Germany
• FDR & Stalin divided and weak
Germany
– Churchill wants a strong
Germany…why?
• Lay out framework for United
Nations (5 member Security
Council)
Potsdam: July 1945
Major Changes Since Yalta (5 Mos.)
• FDR dead, Churchill replaced as PM during conference.
• Stalin only original…meet to discuss post-war Europe
– Truman very suspicious of Stalin; Ardent anti-communist
• The United States reveals it has the A-bomb…
– Who might Truman have been trying to intimidate?
• Allies agree Germany is to be divided into 4
occupation zones (US, GB, FR, & Soviet zones)
– But disagree over issue of reparations…
• Revise German, Poland, Soviet border to benefit Soviets
• Tensions high b/n U.S. & Soviets
Clement Atlee; Harry Truman; Joseph Stalin
United Nations
• United Nations:
– International
Peacekeeping Org.
– Regulate Atomic
Energy
– Security Council
– Difference between
League of Nations
and United Nations?
Consequences of WWII--Europe
• Division of Germany and Europe and creation of
“Iron Curtain”
– Germany ÷ into a western (US, GB, FR) and eastern
sector (Soviet) as was Berlin
– Stalin installs pro-Soviet governments in Bulgaria,
Hungary, and Romania
– Stalin supports communist governments in Albania
and Yugoslavia
– Stalin bars free elections in Poland…
– Winston Churchill: “An Iron Curtain has descended
across the continent”
Consequences of WWII--Europe
• The creation of two visions of the post war
world:
– American/Western Vision: UN to deter aggression
• Collective security = NOT appease future aggressor
nations.
• Establish “friendly” governments
– USSR: Treated as major power
• Disarm/weaken Germany
• Russia would be surrounded by "friendly" governments
in Eastern Europe
Consequences of WWII--Europe
• The Cold War Begins: US & USSR emerge as 2
superpowers
Consequences of WWII--Europe
• Introduction of Nuclear Weaponry and the
arms race
Conference Summary Questions
• Summarize the major agreements made at the…
– Tehran Conference
– Yalta Conference
– Potsdam Conference
• How did the relationship between the 3 major
powers change over the course of the 3
meetings?
• In what ways did the Potsdam Conference
foreshadow the coming Cold War?
• What might be meant by a Cold War?
• Why do you think the U.S. and Soviet Union
emerged from WWII as the sole superpowers?
Summary Questions
• How was the Potsdam Conference a sign of
the growing tensions between the U.S. and
Soviet Union and the coming Cold War.
• Why do you think the U.S. and Soviet Union
emerged from WWII as the sole superpowers?
What might be meant by a Cold War?
Potsdam: Setting up the
Nuremberg Trials
• “… War criminals and those who have participated in
planning or carrying out Nazi enterprises involving or
resulting in atrocities or war crimes shall be arrested
and brought to judgment. Nazi leaders, influential
Nazi supporters and high officials of Nazi
organizations and institutions and any other persons
dangerous to the occupation or its objectives shall be
arrested and interned.…”
• — Protocol of the Proceedings, Potsdam Conference,
August 1945
Immediate Consequences of WWII
• U.S. and Soviet Union establish themselves as
dominant powers: bipolar world
• Initiates start of the Cold War; “Iron Curtain”
– Division of the world into US/Soviet Spheres
•
•
•
•
Nuclear Arms Race
United Nations
Nuremberg Trials
Massive human/economic costs
– Why does US offer to help rebuild Europe/Japan