Major Battles and End of
WWII
• Guiding Question: What battles were
major TURNING POINTS that swung the
course of WWII in favor of the Allies?
Japanese Strategy
• After Pearl Harbor, Japan
invaded the Philippines
and Indonesia and
planned to invade both
Australia and Hawaii
• Japan hoped America
would just accept
Japanese domination of
the Pacific rather than
wage a bloody war to
reverse Japanese gains
North Africa
• The British were
fighting the Germans
and Italians in North
Africa
• Wait… why were
European countries
battling in Africa?
North Africa
• Battle of El Alamein:
German forces
threatening to seize
Egypt and the Suez
Canal were defeated
by the British
– This defeat prevented
Hitler from gaining
access to Middle
Eastern oil supplies
Europe
• Battle of Stalingrad:
German forces
besieged the Russian
city of Stalingrad
• A long, cold, and
bitter battle
Europe
• Hundreds of thousands of
German soldiers were
killed or captured in the
months-long siege
• Germany’s defeat at
Stalingrad prevented
Germany from seizing
Russian oil fields and was
THE turning point against
Germany in the east
• Bloodiest battle in human
history (1.5 million
casualties)
• vid
D-Day
• American and Allied
troops under General
Eisenhower landed in
German-occupied
France on June 6,
1944
• Largest amphibious
invasion in history
D-Day
• Despite intense
German opposition
and heavy American
casualties, the
landings succeeded
and the liberation of
western Europe from
Hitler had begun
• vid
Pacific
• Battle of Midway:
Japanese forces
moved toward
Midway Island
• If the Japanese
destroy American
base on Midway, they
will be able to invade
Hawaii
Midway
• Americans had
broken the Japanese
code, and new the
attack was coming
• Though out
numbered, the US
won the battle
Midway
• This American victory
ended the Japanese
threat to Hawaii and
began a series of
American victories
which brought the war
closer to Japan
• TURNING POINT
Pacific
• Iwo Jima and
Okinawa: Big battles
where Americans
invaded Japaneseheld islands
• Though America won
these battles, they
were incredibly costly
in American and
Japanese lives
Pacific
• Showed America that the
Japanese intended to
fight fiercely for every
square mile of Japanese
territory
• Even Japanese civilians
were armed with swords
and bows and arrows and
would rather commit
suicide than surrender
VE-Day
• Write this on your notes:
• May 8, 1945
• European Allies accept Germany’s
surrender
• Hitler had killed himself in a bunker as
Russian troops approached
Atomic Bomb
• Over the course of World War II, American
and German scientists were both working
on developing nuclear weapons
• America developed them first
Atomic Bomb
• As the war winded down,
it became clear that for
America to defeat Japan,
the US would have to
invade Japan itself
• This was a scary
prospect because of the
casualties for both
Americans and Japanese
would be horrendously
high
• vid
Atomic Bomb
• America decides
instead to use atomic
bombs on the
Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
• Tens of thousands of
civilians killed in both
cities
Question
• Is it OK to kill civilians if it helps your
cause is just?
– What if killing them ‘saves lives’ in the long
run?
– What about 9/11?
Japan Surrenders
• Shortly after the
bombs are dropped,
Japan surrenders,
avoiding the needs for
American invasion
Writing Activity
• On a separate sheet of paper, tell me if
you think the use of the atom bomb on
Japan was justified
• About 5 GOOD sentences
• Tell me why you think what you think
– Legit to kill enemy civilians?
– Did it save lives?