Victory in Europe

1. Victory in Europe

2. Situation 1943 • Allies had invaded Italy • Halted by German army • Soviets began pushing Germany back across Eastern Front • Allies began massive bombing campaign • Industrial centers • Cities

3. Stalingrad • German attacks failed • Stiff Soviet resistance • Focused attacks toward oil fields in the South • Had to capture key points • Very symbolic • Germany throws huge force into SG • Surrounded and destroyed • Beginning of end

5. Questions • Based on the previous slides’ photos what was the fighting like at Stalingrad? • What was the impact of the battle of Stalingrad?

6. Allied Bombing • Not ready to invade Germany • Will contribute by destroying German economy • Bomber raids over Germany • Important factories • Transportation centers • Also, bomb cities • Firebombing of Hamburg

7. Results of Allied Bombing • 1.5 million tons of bombs dropped by U.S. • 80,000 Americans lost • 10,000 planes lost • Many cities mostly destroyed • Cologne 61% • Hamburg-50,000 killed in single bombing • 305,000 killed • 780,000 wounded • 7.5 million homeless

8. Question • Why did the British and the Americans execute such a massive bombing campaign against German targets? • Was such a strategy acceptable? Why or why not?

9. Invasion • By 1944, U.S. and Britain ready to recapture Europe • Stalin had been clamoring for such • Germany greatly weakened by Soviets • Must attack somewhere along Atlantic Wall • Decided to attack Normandy • Tricked Germany into thinking attack would come at Calais

10. Operation Fortitude

11. D-Day • Allied invasion of occupied France • Operation Overlord • June 6, 1944 • Dwight D. Eisenhower • American, British, Canadian forces • 5 beach heads • Four taken relatively easily • One fiercely fought • Omaha Beach

14. D-Day (cont’d) • First 24,000 paratroopers • Disrupt • 160,000 soldiers pour ashore v. 10,000 Germans • Nearly 7,000 ships • 5000+ American causalities • Mostly at Omaha beach • All objects eventually captured • Much longer than hoped • Drive to defeat Germany had begun

15. Questions: • What was D-Day? • Why were the Allies successful? • What were the American beaches? • What beach was the most fiercely contested?

16. Advance • Allies are advancing on all Fronts • From Normandy • Eastern Front • Southern France • By end of 1944, had mostly pushed Germans back into Germany • Germany was near collapse • Were not quite defeated yet

17. German Counterattack • Saved forces for one last-ditch effort • Drive back the allies in the West • Would attack in the dead of winter • Cut off and destroy American and British • Stock piled resources for the attack • Launched Dec. 16, 1944

18. Battle of the Bulge • Hit American and British hard • Through Ardennes • Drove them back • Created a “bulge” in their line • Bad weather helped Germans • No air support • Germany used all reserves • Men, fuel, etc. • Eventually ran out • Attack halted by US 3rd Army • Patton • Germany had exhausted itself

19. Questions • What was the goal of the Germans in attacking in late 1944? • Why were they able to obtain early success in the winter of 1944-5? • What eventually resulted in their defeat?

20. Collapse • German army failing on all fronts • Americans cross the Rhine into Germany • Control much of it • Soviets pushing toward Berlin • Germany surrenders May 8, 1945 • Wanted to surrender to U.S. and Brits, not U.S.S.R. • Upon occupation, true extent of Holocaust becomes known

21. Final ArmyPositions

22. Questions: • Why was Germany unable to win WWII? • What did the U.S. contribute to the Allied victory? • What did the Soviets contribute? • Who ultimately deserves credit for “winning the war”?

23. Conclusion of War In Europe • Most destructive conflict in human history • Much of Europe destroyed • Bombing and fighting • Tens of millions of casualties • Russia 30 million killed • Poland over 6 million • Germany over 5.5 million • Start of rivalry between U.S. and Soviets

24. Assignment: • As a soldier write a letter describing your experiences or emotions as the war in Europe ends. Can be focused on: • Liberation of a concentration camp • Joy the war is over • Destruction • How you have been received by German people • Fear/worry about being sent to Asia • Thoughts on what the future may hold (for yourself, your country, Germany, or the world)

25. Victory in Asia/Pacific

26. U.S. Strategy • Focused on 2 main theatres • Central Pacific • Southwest Pacific • U.S. Navy would attack C. Pacific • Admiral Chester Nimitz • U.S. Army would attack S.W. Pacific • General Douglas MacArthur • Overall plan- “Island Hopping”

27. Island Hopping • U.S. selected key islands to attack • Those too heavily defended were bypassed • Japan had to defend all of Pacific • Would not/could not know where U.S. would attack • “Finest hour” of the U.S. Marine Corps • Had become amphibious assault specialists

28. Questions: • Why do you think the U.S. opted for an “island hopping” strategy in the Pacific in World War II? • Why do you think such a strategy ultimately paid off?

29. Battle of Tarawa • First U.S. offensive in the C. Pacific • Nov. 20-23rd, 1943 • Needed as an airbase against the Marianas • First heavy causalities suffered in landing • Botched landing • All but 17 of 4,836 killed • Why? • 3,166 Americans casualties • For seemingly unimportant island

30. Marine General Holland Smith • "Was Tarawa worth it?" "My answer," he said, "is unqualified: No. From the very beginning the decision of the Joint Chiefs to seize Tarawa was a mistake and from their initial mistake grew the terrible drama of errors, errors of omission rather than commission, resulting in these needless casualties." Thought Smith, "[We] should have let Tarawa 'wither on the vine.' We could have kept it neutralized from our bases on Baker Island, to the east, and the Ellice and Phoenix Islands, a short distance to the southeast.

31. Fighting in the Pacific • Very, very brutal as compared to Europe • Racial hatred • Japanese valued death in combat over the disgrace of surrender • Also, Americans typically did not allow Japanese to surrender • Result, fights in Pacific were fights to the death

32. Questions: • Why was the fighting in the Pacific so incredibly brutal? • Why did many question the value of fighting over islands such as Tarawa?

33. Southwest Pacific • Headquartered in Australia • Attacked toward the Philippines • Guadalcanal • Solomon Islands • New Guinea • Dutch Indies • Very fierce fighting in jungle terrain

34. Philippines • Sore spot for Americans • Had surrender in early 1942 • MacArthur was determined to take back • Landed on Leyte Oct. 20, 1944 • Filipinos desired and support American attack • Japan lost 350,000 men in defense • Most killed • U.S. lost fewer than 14,000 killed • U.S. had complete superiority • Air, sea, numbers, etc.

35. Battle of Leyte Gulf • Largest naval battle in history • Fought Oct. 23-26, 1944 • Off Philippines • Japanese sent virtually all of large vessels • Destroy and halt U.S. invasion • Last, best Japanese effort • Many ships destroyed • Lost dozens of ships, 500 planes, and 10,000 killed • Confirmed U.S. control of Philippines

38. Questions: • Who was the overall commander of the U.S. forces in the S.W. Pacific? • Why was it important for the U.S. to capture the Philippines? • What were the Japanese hoping to accomplish at Leyte Gulf?

39. Iwo Jima • First attack on Japanese Home Island • Feb. 19, 1945 • Extremely fierce fighting • 18,000 Japanese defenders well entrenched • Only 216 prisoners taken • American victory was assured • Nearly 20,000 wounded and 7,000 killed • On Marine battle with higher causalities

41. Question: • Why is this image so famous? • What does it represent? • Why would the flag have been raised on Mt. Suribachi in the first place?

42. Battle of Okinawa • 340 miles from Japan • U.S. needed to launch bombing raids • Attack began April 1, 1945 • Lasted 82 days • More than 100,000 Japanese defenders killed • U.S. lost more than 50,000 total casualties • Most costly campaign of war for Navy

43. Okinawa (cont’d) • Japanese launched large scale Kamikaze attacks • Tens of thousands of civilians killed • Forced ritual suicide? • Reports of widespread rape • Committed by both sides • U.S. victory • Had base to attack Japan

44. Bombing of Japan • Began after 1944 • Entrance of B-29 • Japan could offer no effective resistance • Mar. 9-10, 1945 • 334 B-29s launched • Destroyed 25% of Tokyo • Killed estimated 100,000 • Countless more injured • 1 million homeless • Destroyed 16 sq. miles

45. Tokyo Bombing

46. Questions: • What are kamikazes? • Why did Japan resort to such savage strategies? • What does the battle of Okinawa show the U.S.? • Why does the U.S. bomb Japanese cities? • Are such actions acceptable?

47. Operation Downfall • Planned Allied invasion of Japan • Japan clearly losing • Refused to surrender • Casualty estimates extremely high • More than a million allied soldiers • Tens of millions of Japanese • Expected that Japan would sacrifice entire population • Civilians would fight • Would not surrender

48. Dropping of Atomic Bombs • Projected casualties for invasion made such unappealing • Summer of 1945 U.S. finished developing atomic weapons • Bomb that could level an entire city • Aug. 6, 1945- Hiroshima • Approx. 100,000 killed • Aug. 9, 1945- Nagasaki • Approx. 70,000 killed • Japan formally surrendered Aug. 15th • War was over

50. A Japanese report on the bombing characterized Nagasaki as "like a graveyard with not a tombstone standing".