Transcript Slide 1
Objective: To examine the major battles from 1942 –
1944.
A Time of Peril
Germany:
· Germany had conquered
most of Europe and
invaded the Soviet Union
in 1941.
· The Soviets retreated as
the Germans advanced on
Moscow, burning crops
and farm equipment as
they went in order to keep
them out of German
hands.
Operation Barbarossa:
Hitler’s Biggest Mistake
Operation Barbarossa: The
German Invasion of Russia
• Hitler believed the Russian Army could be
destroyed in 3 months
• 22 June 1941 - Hitler attacked (wanted to
win before U.S. involvement)
• Initial German aims were to capture Russian
oil fields and industrial areas in order to;
– Support Germany’s war in the west
– Break Russian economic power so she
could not attack at some later date
Russian strategy
• Barter space for time; intended
retreats
• Scorched earth policy; withdrew and
forced the Germans to overextend
their lines of communications and
supply. Forced Hitler’s exposed army
to spend the winter in -40 degree
weather
• Partisan organizations were to prey on
Germany’s lines of communications
German- Offensive Halted
• Supply lines were so long that they slowed
the advance
• Vast area which had been taken was hard to
control because of Partisan activity
• The massive size of Russia exhausted
German troops
• The Russian winter set in and the Germans
did not have adequate equipment to fight a
winter battle
Video- 20th Cent. Battlefields: Stalingrad
Stalingrad
• When?
August 1942
Where?
Stalingrad, Soviet Union
Results
After months of brutal
warfare, the Russians
wore down the German
army
Importance
Soviets start to push
Germans back. Millions
die and a city is
destroyed
• During the German siege of
Leningrad, over one million
Soviets were killed.
More than half a million victims are buried at the
Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery.
Battle of El Alamein:
• When? – October 1942
• Where? - El Alamein, Egypt
• Results? – British and U.S. forces drove the German army,
led by General Rommel, from Egypt west into Tunisia.
• Importance? – U.S. Gen. Eisenhower led the Allies in an
invasion of Tunisia, from Algeria, forcing Rommel to
surrender in May of 1943.
Animated Map
North Africa
Australian
soldiers at the
Battle of El
Alamein
• In 1943, the Allies invaded Italy from North Africa,
eventually liberating Rome from Nazi control in June of 1944.
Allied
advance in
El Guettar,
Tunisia,
North
Africa,
3/21/43.
Opening a Second Front
Help!! Attack
the Nazis on
the Western
Front, quick!
• In order to ease
pressure on the
Soviet Union,
Joseph Stalin
asked the Allies to
open a second
front by crossing
the English
Channel and
attacking the
Germans in
France.
Alright,
but you’d
better
appreciate
this!
• The planned invasion of Europe was called Operation
Overlord, and General Eisenhower was named commander of
the Allied forces in Europe.
• Eisenhower had to organize the eventual invasion of
Normandy France, known as D-Day, which involved over 3
million Allied forces.
General Eisenhower gives the order of the day "Full victory
- Nothing else" to paratroopers in England just before they
board airplanes in the first D-Day assault.
D-Day:
• When? – June 6, 1944
• Where? – Normandy, France
• Results? – A fleet of 4,000 ships carried Allied troops to
Normandy in order to invade France in an attempt to
defeat the Germans.
• Importance? – On August 25, 1944, Allied forces
liberated Paris from Nazi rule.
Turning point for the Western Front.
Animated Map – D-Day
World War II in Color – D-Day
Medics help an injured American soldier.
American soldiers wading through water into Nazi machinegun fire on the coast of France.
At Utah Beach, members of an American landing party help
others whose landing craft was sunk by the Germans off the
coast of France. The survivors reached Utah Beach, near
Cherbourg, by using a life raft.
American assault troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment,
injured while storming Omaha Beach, wait by the Chalk
Cliffs for evacuation to a field hospital for further medical
treatment. Collville-sur-Mer, Normandy.
Crossed rifles in the sand placed as a tribute to this fallen
soldier.
The Battle of the Bulge:
Hitler’s Last Offensive
Dec. 16, 1944
to
Jan. 28, 1945
Battle of the Bulge:
• When? – December 16, 1944
• Where? – border areas near Luxembourg, France and
Germany
• Results? – The Germans began a counterattack against
the Allies as the Allies attempted to drive the Germans
completely out of France.
• Importance? – This battle showed the desperation of the
German forces. While the Germans were able to slow
down the Allied advance, they could not stop it
completely.
Last offensive battle for Germany.
• Battle of the Bulge Video Clip
Death of Hitler Video
The Tide Turns
• The Allies enjoyed victories in the Pacific, North Africa, Italy
and Russia.
• In Italy, Mussolini had been overthrown and the new
government joined the Allies.
April 29, 1945
Mussolini and
15 other fascist
leaders are
executed and
hanged at an
Esso gas
station in the
Piazzale Loreto
in Milan.
Japan:
• After
attacking
Pearl Harbor,
the Japanese
seized Guam,
Wake Island,
Hong Kong,
Malaya,
Burma and
the Dutch
East Indies.
• The Japanese also defeated American and Filipino forces, led
by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, in the Philippines.
U.S. troops
surrender
to the
Japanese
in the
Philippine
Islands,
May 6,
1942. A
total of
11,500
Americans
and
Filipinos
became
POWs.
Bataan Death March
• Japan took over the Philippines, which were
controlled by the US
• They surrounded and captured 75,000
American soldiers on the Bataan Peninsula
VideoGhosts of
Bataan
Cruel Treatment
• The Japanese soldiers marched the prisoners to
a POW camp
• The American soldiers were forced to march 70
miles, injured, with almost no food or water
• Anyone who became too weak was killed
World War II: Major Battles (1942 – 1944)
Battle of Coral Sea
• When?
May 1942
• Where?
Coral Sea (Pacific)
• Results
Japanese advancing
towards Australia. Battle
of Naval ships and
planes. Japanese halted.
• Importance
Battleships never came
within shooting distance
of each other. Aerial
battle only.
World War II: Major Battles (1942 – 1944)
Battle of Midway Island:
When? – June 1942
Where? – Midway
Island (Pacific
Islands)
Results? - The U.S.
sank four Japanese
aircraft carriers.
Importance? – It
limited Japan's ability
to attack Hawaii again
or other Allied
positions.Turning
point in the Pacific.
Campaign for Guadalcanal:
• When? – August 1942
• Where? Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands (Pacific Islands)
• Results? – The U.S. defeated the Japanese, gaining
control of the island.
• Importance? – Guadalcanal became a military base from
which to counterattack the Japanese.
Video – Dogfight over Guadalcanal
Iwo Jima
• When?
February 1945
US forces landed on Iwo
Jima, 750 miles south of
Tokyo. The landings
were heavily opposed by
the Japanese, who
fought to the death. The
Japanese had dug
hundreds of tunnels from
which to attack.
Nevertheless, the US
Marines overwhelmed
the defenders in a very
hard fought battle that
lasted for almost 30
days. It was one of the
most bloody battles of
the war.
Ira Hayes
Ballad of Ira Hayes
Johnny Cash
•
CHORUS:
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war
Gather round me people there's a story I would
tell
About a brave young Indian you should
remember well
From the land of the Pima Indian
A proud and noble band
Who farmed the Phoenix valley in Arizona land
Down the ditches for a thousand years
The water grew Ira's peoples' crops
'Till the white man stole the water rights
And the sparklin' water stopped
Now Ira's folks were hungry
And their land grew crops of weeds
When war came, Ira volunteered
And forgot the white man's greed
•
CHORUS:
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war
There they battled up Iwo Jima's hill,
Two hundred and fifty men
But only twenty-seven lived to walk
back down again
And when the fight was over
And when Old Glory raised
Among the men who held it high
Was the Indian, Ira Hayes
CHORUS:
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war
Ira Hayes returned a hero
Celebrated through the land
He was wined and speeched and
honored; Everybody shook his hand
But he was just a Pima Indian
No water, no home, no chance
At home nobody cared what Ira'd done
And when did the Indians dance
•
CHORUS:
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war
Then Ira started drinkin' hard;
Jail was often his home
They'd let him raise the flag and lower
it
like you'd throw a dog a bone!
He died drunk early one mornin'
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for Ira Hayes
CHORUS:
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war
Yeah, call him drunken Ira Hayes
But his land is just as dry
And his ghost is lyin' thirsty
In the ditch where Ira died
Victory was never in doubt…What was in doubt, in all our
minds, was whether there would be any of us left to dedicate
our cemetery at the end, or whether the last Marine would die
knocking out the last Japanese gun and gunner. Let the
world count our crosses.
MajGen Graves Erskine, CG 3d Marine Division, following
the Battle for Iwo Jima
What platoon are you guys?
Platoon, hell! We’re the 2nd Battalion, 22d Marines, what’s
left of us anyway.
Exchange between Marines following the Battle for Sugarloaf
Hill on Okinawa, May 1945
Okinawa
• When? April 1945
• American forces landed on the island
of Okinawa. The Japanese changed
their tactics and, instead of opposing
US troops at the beaches, put up
their defense away inland. At the
same time, Japanese aircraft and
ships made Kamakazi attacks on the
US fleet. The attacks exacted a
heavy price: over 7,000 US
serviceman and 100,000 Japanese
were killed on Okinawa.