TOWARD VICTORY!
Chapter 18 Section 4 pp. 485-488
Adapted from a presentation by Molly Sughroue 2012
Setting the Scene….
• Although the United States Army and
the Filipino defense forces had
battled to keep the Japanese out of
the island chain, they had not been
successful.
• Thousands of Allied civilians (men,
women, and children) were being
help in prison camps throughout the
islands
• Allied Troops found that the war in
the Southeast Asia and Pacific areas
were very different than those in
Europe – most were fought at sea, on
tiny islands, or in deep jungles.
War in the Pacific
• Japan controlled much Southeast Asia and many Pacific
islands
• May 1942, Japanese gained control of the Philippines, killing
several hundred American soldier and 10,000 Filipino soldiers
during the 68-mile Bataan Death March
• “heat, dust, starvation, thirst, flies, filth, murder, torture, and
corpses”
• Many Filipino risked and sometimes wasted their lives trying to
give food and water to captives on the march
War in the Pacific Continued
• June, United States warships and airplanes
damaged two Japanese fleets during the battles
of the Coral Sea and Midway Island
• Greatly weakened Japan, stopped their advance
• U.S. marines landed at Guadalcanal, which
marked the beginning of island hopping
• Goal to recapture Japanese islands while
bypassing others
• United States gradually moved toward Japan..
And by 1944 the U.S. Navy was blockading Japan
while American bombers pounded Japanese cities
The War Pressed On
• In October 1944, MacArthur began the fight to
retake the Philippines while the British pushed
Japanese forces back in the jungles of Burma
and Malaya.
• The Japanese government, however, refused
to surrender.. So the war pressed on.
The Nazis Defeated
• Allied forces battled toward
Germany, advancing clear into
Belgium in the December of
1944 where Germany launched
a massive counterattack
• This became known as the
Battle of the Bulge, which
lasted over a month, delayed
the Allied Advance, and was
Hitler’s last success
But the Allies still continued their advance further into Germany….
• Germany faced round-the-clock bombing by the
Allies
• In one 10-day period, the huge industrial city of
Hamburg was almost erased by bombing
…AFTER
BEFORE…
• By March, the Allies crossed the Rhine into western
Germany while Soviet troops from the east closed in
on Berlin
• American and Soviet soldiers met and shook hand at
he Elbe River.
Everywhere, Axis armies began to surrender.
The End in Europe
• Guerillas captured and executed Mussolini in Italy.
Meanwhile, in Berlin, Hitler knew the end of the was
was near.
• As Soviet troops fought their way into the city, Hitler
committed suicide in his underground bunker
• Germany followed with surrender on May 7, and,
officially, war in war in Europe ended the next day
• May 8, 1945: V-E Day (Victory In Europe)
Defeat of Japan
• Allies poured the rest of their resources into defeating Japan
• Though most Japanese navy and air force were destroyed by
mid 1945, they still possessed an army of two million men
• The road to victory remained long and costly…
Invasion Versus the
Bomb
• Because the Japanese would rather fight to
death than surrender, the Allies realized that
invasion would cost them more than bombing
the place.
• Though Harry Truman believed the atomic
bomb to be a terrible new force for
destruction, he decided using the bomb would
be much more effective than invasion.
The Allied leaders did issue a warning to Japan
to surrender or face “utter and complete
destruction.” When Japan ignored the
deadline, the United State decided to take
action… thus causing…
The Bombing of
Hiroshima
• American plane dropped atomic bomb
on Hiroshima August 6, 1945
• Flattened four square miles
• Killed 70,000 people
• More died from radiation months after
The Bombing of
Nagasaki
• Soviet Union declared war on Japan August 28,
but again Japanese leaders did not respond.
• The next day, the United States dropped a
second atomic bomb on Nagasaki
• More then 40,000 people dead
• Finally on September 2, 1945, a peace treaty was
signed on board the American battleship
Missouri
An Ongoing Controversy
• The Atomic Bomb:
• Brought quick end to war
• Brought terrifying destruction
• People question if it should have been used
• Why did Truman use the bomb?
• Invasion would kill many Americans and
Japanese
• Wanted to impress Soviet Union with U.S.
power
• American forces occupied the smoldering ruins
of Japan
• Allies divided Hitler’s fallen empire into four
zones of occupation
The war was over… but how could they avoid the mistakes
of 1919 and build foundations for a stable world peace??
REVIEW
• What was the day called on June 6, 1944 when
allies landed at Normandy and started the
liberation of France?
• D-Day
• Hitler’s last offense in the war?
• Battle of the Bulge
• What were Japanese “Divine Wind” pilots called,
they flew their planes into ships?
• Kamikaze
REVIEW
• Who becomes the U.S. president after FDR
dies?
• Harry Truman
• How does Hitler’s life end?
• He commits suicide
• On August 6, 1945 what city did the U.S. drop
the first Atomic Bomb on?
• Hiroshima
REVIEW
• Three days later after the Japanese gave no
response what city did the U.S. drop the
second bomb on?
• Nagasaki
• What country surrendered aboard the USS
Missouri on September 2 1945?
• Japan