Transcript Winning World War II: Important Allied Victories Battle of Britain – (July – Oct.

Winning World War II:
Important Allied Victories
Battle of Britain – (July – Oct. 1940)
Battle of Britain – (July – Oct. 1940)
Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or
lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be
free. . . . if the British Empire and its Commonwealth lasts
for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their
finest hour!”
- Winston Churchill
• Royal Air Force (RAF), the British
air force fought day and night
against the bombing raids of the
Luftwaffe or German air force.
• The Luftwaffe attacked shipping,
infrastructure (radio, telegraph,
roads, bridges, buildings, etc.), and
military installations (air fields,
factories).
• Yet the biggest target was the
civilian population.
• It was Germany’s attempt to defeat
the morale of the British people
which would then put pressure on
British diplomats to sue for peace.
• It was unsuccessful. By October
of 1940, the Germans could no
longer afford to continue the nightly
attacks.
Battle of Coral Sea – (May 1942)
Battle of Coral Sea – (May 1942)
• First major battle between
the Japanese naval forces
and the U.S.
• Lasted for 2 days.
• First use of air craft
carriers in the Pacific.
• Entirely fought in the air
and sea.
• Although the number of
ships sunk was in favor of
the Japanese, it was a
victory for the Allies
because for the first time
they were able to halt the
advance of the Japanese
Empire.
• The U.S. naval forces
intercepted and deciphered
Japanese code and knew
where the Japanese forces
were located.
Battle of Midway – June, 1942
Battle of Midway – June, 1942
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Used the same
deciphering code that
was intercepted
during the Battle of
Coral Sea.
The battle lasted 4
days.
Was fought entirely
with naval and air
forces.
Important strategic
location which was
central to the “Island
Hopping Strategy.”
Allowed for the
Doolittle Raids.
Demonstrated that
the Japanese were
not invincible and
could be defeated.
Battle of Stalingrad – (July 1942 – Feb. 1943)
Battle of Stalingrad – (July 1942 – Feb. 1943)
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Over half a million German soldiers were
killed, nearly 1 million Soviet soldiers died
and another half million Soviet citizens were
killed. It was the bloodiest battle in the war.
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Stalingrad was a major industrial
city that supplied much of the
western Soviet Union with
petroleum from the Caucasus.
The battle lasted for over 6 mos.
Germany bombed the city and
destroyed over 90% of the
buildings.
Civilians inside the city were
encouraged to pick up weapons
and fight against the invading
Germans.
The fighting went back and forth
with the Germans nearly capturing
the strategic city.
The use of individual assault rifles
and tanks played significant roles
in the fighting.
The Germans were then pushed
back and never again threatened
any major Soviet cities.
Battle of Stalingrad – (July 1942 – Feb. 1943)
The Italian Campaign – (July 1943 – 1945)
• First invasion of Europe by Allied
forces (most fighting had been
done in the air and sea and North
Africa).
• Italy had been allies with Nazi
Germany prior to the war.
• Allied forces (mostly British and
Americans) invaded Sicily in July
and mainland Italy in September.
• Mussolini was captured and Italy
surrendered in September as well.
• German forces took the place of
the Italian soldiers.
• The Allies relied heavily on
paratroopers, Higgins Boats,
tanks, and infantry assaults to
push the Germans out of Italy.
• Overall casualties: Axis: 658,000;
Allies: 320,000
D-Day (Invasion of Normandy) – (June 1944)
D-Day (Invasion of Normandy) – (June 1944)
• The invasion was successful but caused
25,000 Allied casualties.
• However, this broke the defenses of the
Atlantic Wall and marked the beginning of
the end for Nazi Germany.
• By 1942 Hitler had created a
formidable “Atlantic Wall” to defend
the Atlantic coast.
• The world knew that an amphibious
invasion had to happen along the
Atlantic coast in order to defeat Nazi
Germany.
• June 6th, 1944 became known as
D-Day or “designated day,” the day
designated to begin the invasion.
• For months prior to D-Day, Allied
bombers bombed locations up and
down the Atlantic Wall to soften the
defensive positions set up on the
beaches.
• The night prior to D-Day thousands
of paratroopers dropped behind
German lines.
• The next morning thousands of
Allied ships made the attack across
the English Channel from Britain.
Disguised .50 mm artillery gun
Disguised bunker in Normandy
German defenses on the beaches of Normandy.
German soldier inside a “pill box” looking for
the impending invasion.
Another “pill box” or bunker. This one on Juno Beach. Most of these
German defensive positions were not taken out by the Allied air attack in
the weeks prior to the invasion
Battle of the Bulge – (Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945)
Battle of the Bulge – (Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945)
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Within four months, Nazi Germany had
surrendered to the Allies, the war in Europe was
over.
• In December of 1944 the
Germans attempted their
last offensive, driving the
U.S. forces back 60
miles.
• Hitler hoped to force the
Allies to peace talks so
he could refocus on the
Eastern front and the
Soviets.
• One division, the 101st
Airborne, was surrounded
and trapped in the town
of Bastogne.
• After one and a half
months, General Patton’s
3rd Army (infantry and
tank division) broke
through the German lines
and the Allies pushed
them into full retreat.
Battle of Iwo Jima – (Feb. – March 1945)
Battle of Iwo Jima – Feb. – March 1945
YouTube Clip:
Flags of our Fathers / Letters
From Iwo Jima MashUp
• Both a strategic island and a symbolic victory
due to the fact that it was the first battle fought
on Japanese homeland.
• One of the final pieces of the U.S. “Island
Hopping Strategy” in the Pacific.
• For years, the Japanese defenses had been
established, creating hundreds of bunkers and
“pill boxes” and tunnels that extended
throughout the island.
• This was the largest amphibious invasion in
the history of warfare.
• The use of bombers to destroy the defenses
did little. U.S. forces relied upon Higgins Boats
to land on the beaches as well as tanks and
the use of napalm to destroy vegitation.
• After 36 days of fighting, the U.S. forces
overwhelmed the Japanese soldiers.
• Of the nearly 22,000 Japanese soldiers, only
250 were taken alive (most fighting until death,
many committing suicide).
• There was nearly 27,000 U.S. casualties.
Bombing of Tokyo – (Feb. 1945)
Bombing of Tokyo – (Jan. - July. 1945)
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By early 1945, the U.S. had
“Island Hopped” close enough
to begin bombing mainland
Japan, including the capital city
of Tokyo.
The U.S. used the B-29
“Flying Fortress”
The B-29s had been making
bombing raids from China to
Japan as early as 1944, but
after capturing Iwo Jima, P-51
Mustangs now had the range
to make the flight to defend the
bombers..
Over 50% of the city, or 16
square miles were destroyed.
Hundreds of thousands of
civilians were killed.
Bombing of Tokyo – (Jan. - July. 1945)
• YouTube Clips:
Bombing of Japan.1 (start @ 11:30)
Bombing of Japan.2 (end @ 2:00)
Bombing of Dresden – (Feb. 1945)
Bombing of Dresden – (Feb. 1945)
Bombing of Dresden – (Feb. 1945)
• Dresden, located
approximately 100
miles south of Berlin,
was bombed between
Feb. 13th – 15th, 1945.
• The city had little if
any military strategic
significance.
• Nearly 4,000 tons of
bombs were dropped
on the city by U.S.
and RAF forces,
creating a firestorm
that burned 15 square
miles of the city.
• The bombings left
between 100,000 and
200,000 German
civilians homeless
and killed an
estimated 25,000.
Battle of Okinawa – (April – June 1945)
Battle of Okinawa – (April – June 1945)
• Okinawa, like Iwo Jima, was actual
Japanese territory. Japanese
civilians lived on the island.
• Okinawa was the last land battle
fought in the Pacific theater and
was located only 340 miles from
mainland Japan.
• It was fought for 82 days.
• The fighting was similar to Iwo
Jima (amphibious invasion and the
use of Higgins Boats, use of
bombers on the strong defenses,
etc.).
• A significant air and sea battle took
place off the coast, as the
Japanese attempted to defend their
homeland.
• There was a total of over 1,400
kamikaze attacks.
• Total casualties: Japanese –
100,000; U.S. – 50,000
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan (August 6th, 1945)
• The Manhattan Project, the title
given to the U.S. military’s
research and development
program for the production of
atomic weaponry, cost over $2
billion.
• Although Hiroshima was the
home of military personnel, it was
also populated by hundreds of
thousands of civilians.
• “Little Boy” was dropped on
Hiroshima and is estimated to
have killed upwards of 300,000.
• Generations since have also
dealt with the effects of radiation
poisoning and subsequent birth
defects.
• Most of those killed were
civilians.
• Japan surrendered 9 days later.
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb on
Nagasaki, Japan (August 9th, 1945)
• Video Clip:
Hiroshima / Nagasaki
• “Fat Man” was dropped on
Nagasaki three days after
Hiroshima.
• Less deaths occurred at
Nagasaki, however, the city was
also less populated.
• Nearly 100,000 people were
killed during the Nagasaki
bombing.
• These two attacks represent the
only uses of nuclear weapons in
war to date.
• The survivors of the bombings
are called hibakusha.
• There are still over 200,000
hibakusha alive today and dealing
with the effects of the bomb blasts.