World War II

From Appeasement to Victory

Why did Japan see the United States as an enemy? Why did the United States end its isolationist policy?

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The U.S. attempted to stop Japanese aggression

Q.O.D. #13 2/4/10

hampered the Japanese expansion in Asia, which angered Japan.

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The U.S. was directly attacked at Pearl Harbor and declared war on Japan.

Yalta Conference

 Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe, Churchill and Roosevelt wanted self-determination  Needed Stalin to help win the war  Big Three agreed:  USSR would enter the war against Japan after Germany surrendered   USSR would be given some territory in Asia Germany would be divided into four zones to be governed by the USSR, Britain, U.S. and France  Stalin agreed to hold free elections in Europe

War in Europe

 By early 1945 Nazi defeat was imminent  Allies turned attention to Asia  Nazis  March 1945: Allies crossed the Rhine into western Germany  Soviets were closing in on Berlin

Elbe River

 In late April 1945, Americans advancing from the west and Soviets coming from the east met at the Elbe River in Germany

War in Europe

 Italy: Guerillas captured and killed Mussolini  Germany: As the Soviets closed in on Berlin, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker on April 30, 1945.  May 7: Germany surrendered.

 May 8: V-E Day (Victory in Europe)  Many factors contributed to Nazi defeat:     Nazis had to fight on several fronts Hitler made bad decisions Underestimated the USSR The productive capacity of the U.S.

War in Asia

 Japan controlled much of Southeast Asia by mid-1942.

 May 1942: Bataan Death March  Japanese defeated the Allied troops at Bataan, and the American Maj. King surrendered (against the orders of Gen. MacArthur).

 72,000 prisoners were forced to march 61 miles and endured random beatings and were denied food and water.  54,000 made it to Camp O’Donnell

War in Asia

 Coral Sea  Midway  Decisive victory for U.S.

 Superior communications   Knew Japanese were coming and were ready Codebreakers  Guadalcanal: beginning of “island-hopping” campaign  Goal to recapture some Japanese held islands while skipping others.

 Served as stepping stones to the next objective

Island Hopping in the Pacific

 U.S. forces in the Pacific, led by General Douglas MacArthur, moved north toward Japan  U.S. Navy, led by Admiral Chester Nimitz, was blockading Japan  British were fighting Japanese in Burma and Malaya

Atomic Bomb

 Japanese would not surrender for any reason  In 1944 Japanese introduced kamikazes  Military planned invasion, but it would be costly  Group of scientists had been working on the Manhattan Project  They could create the most powerful explosion ever known by splitting atoms  President Truman decided to use the bomb

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

 August 6, 1945: American plane dropped an atomic bomb on city of Hiroshima   Instantly killed more than 70,000 Japanese did not surrender  August 8: USSR declared war on Japan  August 9: Second bomb dropped on Nagasaki  40,000 killed  August 10: Japan surrendered  September 2, 1945: formal peace treaty signed on USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay