With Germany and Italy defeated, the focus switched to
ending the war with Japan…
With Germany and Italy defeated, the focus switched to
ending the war with Japan…
The The Final Year Year
• The US retakes the Philippines in a long and costly
campaign.
• Borneo, Iwo Jima and the Okinawa fall, with heavy
losses on both sides.
• The military leadership of Japan refuses to give up, in
spite of the loss of the bulk of their forces.
• An edict is issued, ordering civilians on the main
Japanese islands to construct bamboo spears and meet
the invaders on the beaches.
• US Bombers produce a firestorm in Tokyo, killing
100,000 people in two days.
• The US, Britain and China issue the Potsdam Declaration,
…and bringing an…
End to the Island Hopping Campaign
Iwo Jima & Okinawa
How to Island Hop with General Douglas MacArthur:
1. Bomb
2. Invade
3. Build an
airfield
to bomb
the next
island
Island Hopping on Iwo Jima
Mt. Suribachi
Island Hopping on Iwo Jima
1. Bomb:
2. Invade:
3. Build an airfield:
Island Hopping on Iwo Jima
1. Bomb: 74 days in a row
2. Invade:
3. Build an airfield:
Island Hopping on Iwo Jima
1. Bomb: 74 days in a row
2. Invade: 110,000 US vs.
22,000 Japanese
3. Build an airfield:
Island Hopping on Iwo Jima
1. Bomb: 74 days in a row
2. Invade: 110,000 US vs.
22,000 Japanese
3. Build an airfield: Already
there, used for bombers and
fighters to destroy Japanese cities.
Iwo Jima Casualties
6,821 US Dead
20,000 US Wounded
Nearly all 22,000 Japanese
fought to the death.
Iwo Jima was used to support the
bombing of Japanese cities, and as a
staging area for hopping to the next
island, Okinawa.
Okinawa was going to be the stepping
stone into Japan.
Okinawa Facts
500,000 Civilians living there before the battle
150,000 Civilians killed during the ugly battle
97,000 Japanese soldiers before the battle
7,000 Japanese soldiers survived the battle
Hundreds of Japanese “Kamikaze” pilots trained
to pilots crash into US Navy boats, killing 5,000
Americans
US invasion force of 200,000 soldiers
US casualties, 12,513 dead, 55,000 wounded
Okinawa Facts
500,000 Civilians living there before the battle
150,000 Civilians killed during the ugly battle
97,000 Japanese soldiers before the battle
7,000 Japanese soldiers survived the battle
Hundreds of Japanese “Kamikaze” pilots trained
to pilots crash into US Navy boats, killing 5,000
Americans
US invasion force of 200,000 soldiers
US casualties, 12,513 dead, 55,000 wounded
Okinawa Facts
500,000 Civilians living there before the battle
150,000 Civilians killed during the ugly battle
97,000 Japanese soldiers before the battle
7,000 Japanese soldiers survived the battle
Hundreds of Japanese “Kamikaze” pilots trained
to pilots crash into US Navy boats, killing 5,000
Americans
US invasion force of 200,000 soldiers
US casualties, 12,513 dead, 55,000 wounded
Iwo Jima was used to support the
bombing of Japanese cities, and as a
staging area for hopping to the next
island, Okinawa.
Okinawa was going to be the stepping
stone into Japan…
Iwo Jima was used to support the
bombing of Japanese cities, and as a
staging area for hopping to the next
island, Okinawa.
Okinawa was going to be the stepping
stone into Japan…but the atomic
bombings forced a surrender before
the invasion began.
America Bombs Japanese
mainland
• Japan was short on pilots, ammunition,
and fuel.
• American bombers hit factories, military
bases, and cities.
• In a single night in March of 1945 B-29
bombers destroyed 16 square miles of
Tokyo. Killing 83,000 Japanese.
Okinawa is 340 miles from Japan
Letter to Harry
Truman
April 24, 1945
Dear Mr. President,
I think it is very important that I should have a
talk with you as soon as possible on a highly secret
matter.
I mentioned it to you shortly after you took
office but have not urged it since on account of the
pressure you have been under. It, however, has such
a bearing on our present foreign relations and has
such an important effect upon all my thinking in this
field that I think you ought to know about it without
much further delay.
Faithfully yours,
Henry Stimson
Secretary of War
Invading Japan?
If America did invade Japan,
many Americans would have died.
Secretary of
State James
Byrnes claimed
500,000.
Total combat
deaths after
four years of
war – 292,000.
Saving Lives by
Using the Bomb
Non-combatants were dying throughout
Asia at the rate of 200,000 per
month.
The complete naval blockade of Japan
would have resulted in hundreds of
thousands of deaths due to
malnutrition, dehydration, and famine.
The atomic bomb saved thousands of
American soldier’s lives
Debate over the Bomb:
American Support
Americans were suffering many
casualties and the Japanese were
showing no signs of possible
negotiation.
A cease fire was non-negotiable.
If the United States dropped the
atomic bomb, surrender and peace
would probably occur.
Truman’s Motivations
Cont.
Many historians believe that a main
reason for the use of the bomb was
retaliation for the surprise and brutal
attack on Pearl Harbor.
After the bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima, Truman said “This is the
greatest thing in history.” and
“Nobody is more disturbed over the
use of atomic bombs than I am but I
was greatly disturbed over the
unwarranted attack by the Japanese
on Pearl Harbor and their murder of
our prisoners of war.
Thousands of POW”S were mistreated
The USS Indianapolis
• Delivered the first atomic bomb to the US air force in
Tinian.
• July 30 1945 sunk by Japanese submarine off the Philippines
on the way home.
• Because of her ‘special mission’ her journey was ‘secret’.
• Of 1200 crew, 900 survived the sinking only to find
themselves at sea with no rescuers even looking for them.
• Sharks were quickly attracted and after 4 days only 300
men were left, mostly terrified out of their minds.
• It was the worst US Navy disaster in history.
The Enola
Gay. The US
plane chosen
to drop the
Atomic bomb
on Japan.
The Atomic Bomb at
Hiroshima
Hiroshima During
World War II
Hiroshima, Japan had reached a
population of over 381,000.
Due to evacuations, the city population
dropped to 255,000 at the time of the
attack.
The city’s building construction consisted
of several reinforced concrete buildings
and lighter structures such as small
wooden workshops and houses.
Hiroshima Before The
Atomic Bomb
Hiroshima After
The Atomic Bomb
Hiroshima – August 6, 1945
© 70,000 killed
immediately.
© 48,000 buildings.
destroyed.
© 100,000s died of
radiation poisoning &
cancer later.
The Mushroom Cloud
8:15 AM, “The
Little Boy” was
dropped over the
center of Hiroshima
It exploded about
2,000 ft. above
the city and had a
blast the equivalent
to 13 kilotons of
TNT.
Due to radiation,
approximately
152,437 additional
people have died.
Japanese
Realization
Tokyo control operator of JBC noticed
Hiroshima station went off air.
Complete silence when military bases called
Army Control Station.
White House public announcement was
Tokyo’s first knowledge of the attack.
Japan did not immediately surrender after
the bombings. Emperor Hirohito was forced
to agree to the Potsdam Declaration.
Nagasaki – August 9, 1945
© 40,000 killed
immediately.
© 60,000 injured.
© 100,000s died of
radiation poisoning
& cancer later.
The Japanese surrender party onboard a US battleship in
Tokyo Bay 15.9.1945.They are ‘enduring the unendurable’
at the Emperor’s request. The Emperor finally concedes
that Japan cannot face US technology and survive.
Notice the gun
crews ready for
action on the right.
The Americans
were still fearful of
Kamikazes.
V-J Day (September 2, 1945)