america in wwii: course of war

America in WWII: Course of War

AP US History

The Rising Sun

After Pearl Harbor, Japan assaults Pacific

Targets American outposts of Guam, Wake, and Philippines; British port of Hong Kong and British Malaya

Moves into China, Burma, & takes Dutch East Indies

Pacific Theater of Operations

Pacific Theater of Operations

Singapore Surrenders[February, 1942]

Singapore Surrenders[February, 1942]

The Burma CampaignThe Burma Campaign

The “Burma Road”

General Stilwell Leaving Burma,

1942

The Rising Sun

Japan attacks Philippines US forces under Gen Douglass

MacArthur in Philippines surrender

Japanese & Human Rights

The Nazi’s weren’t the only group guilty of human rights violations during WWII

The Japanese captured, tortured, and killed Americans and Filipinos in Asia, the Chinese, and multiple ethnic groups throughout southeast Asia

U.S. Surrenders at Corregidor,

the Philippines [March, 1942]

U.S. Surrenders at Corregidor,

the Philippines [March, 1942]

Bataan Death March: April, 1942

Bataan Death March: April, 1942

76,000 prisoners [12,000 Americans] Marched 60 miles in the blazing heat to

POW camps in the Philippines.

Bataan Death March

the forcible transfer of 75,000 American and Filipino POWs from the Bataan peninsula to prison camps (consistent marching in tropical heat for one week)

Along the way… Beheadings cutting of throats casual shootings bayonet stabbing Rape Disembowelment deliberate refusal to allow the prisoners food or water

Falling down or inability to continue moving was a death sentence, as was any degree of protest or expression of displeasure

Allied Counter-Attack: Island Hopping

BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA MAY 7-8, 1942

Battle of the Coral Sea

first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other (Shōkaku vs. USS Yorktown)

Japan sunk more ships, but ended in stalemate (disengaged after 2 days)

tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk; strategic victory for the Allies because it showed that the Japanese could be halted

June 1942The US defeated the

Japanese by relying on US carrier dive bombers

This became a turning point in the war because it was the first major defeat for the Japanese

Battle of Midway: the US strikes back!

USS YORKTOWN

HIT BY JAPANESE CARRIER

PLANES. IT WAS THE

ONLY CARRIER THE U.S.

LOST. THE JAPANESE

LOST FOUR CARRIERS AND ALL

THEIR PILOTS.

U.S. CARRIER DIVE BOMBERS PREPARE TO STRIKE JAPANESE CARRIERS AT MIDWAY

F-4 WILDCAT FIGHTER

U.S. CARRIER AIRPLANES WON THE

BATTLE OF MIDWAY

DAUNTLESS DIVE BOMBER

General Douglas McArthur

Becomes Supreme Allied Commander of the Pacific

General Douglas McArthur

Bio… Fought in WWI, WWII, and the Korean

War General in the Pacific theatre of WWII Won Medal of Honor for his service in the

Philippines Accepted Japan’s surrender at the end of

the war Oversaw American occupation of Japan

from 1945 – 1951 Buried in Norfolk, VA

War in the Pacific

After Midway, the US was pushing the Japanese back to their own country

The two largest battles in the Pacific were Iwo Jima and Okinawa

OKINAWA

MAP SHOWING INVASIONS OF IWO JIMA AND OKINAWA

IWO JIMA

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima was invaded in February 1945 because it could be used as a base for US B-29

bomber raids on Japan It knocked out three airfields being used

for kamikaze attacks on US ships

Kamikaze Pilots

Kamikazes were the suicide attacks the Japanese began late in the war when they realized they could not defeat conventional US forces

Most of the pilots were extremely

young

Kamikaze Pilots

PICTURES OF KAMIKAZES, AND U.S. SHIPS HIT BY SUICIDE PLANES

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Elimination of the airfields brought forth a US win

Japanese had to rely on infantry (used tunneling and surprise attacks); still no match for US air strikes

Losses were still heavy (US – 20,000 killed or wounded; all Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima killed, taken prisoner, or fled – 22,000)

Famous photograph of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi on

Iwo Jima taken by Joe Rosenthal in February

of 1945

STRATEGIC BOMBING CAMPAIGN OVER

JAPAN, 1944-1945

U.S. INVASION MAPS OF OKINAWA

Okinawa

Operation Iceberg Largest amphibious launch in WWII

(also air) 82 days Japanese casualties: 100,000

soldiers; almost as many civilians (suicide)

US casualties: 62,000 highest death toll in naval history

Operation Downfall

Allied invasion of the main island of Japan two planned major invasions in 1945 and

1946 Estimates of US casualties ranged to over

a million Millions of Japanese would be killed

FDR

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945

Harry Truman

FDR’s Vice President Became President when FDR died Promised to end the war with as few

lives lost as possible Gave the order to drop the atomic

bomb on Japan

The Atomic Bomb

The Enola Gay (plane) dropped “little boy” (bomb) over the city of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945

70,000 killed immediately. 48,000 buildings destroyed 100,000s died of

radiation poisoning & cancer later.

Japan refused to surrender

The Atomic Bomb

On August 9th a second Atomic Bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki

40,000 killed immediately 60,000 injured 100,000s died of radiation poisoning

& cancer later

The world was a

changed place!

The Surrender

On August 10, 1945 the Japanese surrendered

The formal surrender: Tokyo Bay, September 2nd, 1945 aboard the U.S.S. Missouri

VJ DAY, AUGUST 14, 1945 WORLD WAR II ENDS

WW II Casualties: Europe

WW II Casualties: Europe

Each symbol indicates 100,000

dead in the appropriate theater of operations

WW II Casualties: AsiaWW II Casualties: Asia

Each symbol indicates 100,000

dead in the appropriate theater of operations

WW II Casualtie

s

WW II Casualtie

s

Country Men in war Battle deaths Wounded

Australia 1,000,000 26,976 180,864

Austria 800,000 280,000 350,117

Belgium 625,000 8,460 55,5131

Brazil2 40,334 943 4,222

Bulgaria 339,760 6,671 21,878

Canada 1,086,3437 42,0427 53,145

China3 17,250,521

1,324,516 1,762,006

Czechoslovakia — 6,6834 8,017

Denmark — 4,339 —

Finland 500,000 79,047 50,000

France — 201,568 400,000

Germany 20,000,000

3,250,0004 7,250,000

Greece — 17,024 47,290

Hungary — 147,435 89,313

India 2,393,891 32,121 64,354

Italy 3,100,000 149,4964 66,716

Japan 9,700,000 1,270,000 140,000

Netherlands 280,000 6,500 2,860

New Zealand 194,000 11,6254 17,000

Norway 75,000 2,000 —

Poland — 664,000 530,000

Romania 650,0005 350,0006 —

South Africa 410,056 2,473 —

U.S.S.R. — 6,115,0004 14,012,000

United Kingdom 5,896,000 357,1164 369,267

United States 16,112,566

291,557 670,846

Yugoslavia 3,741,000 305,000 425,000

1. Civilians only.2. Army and navy figures.3. Figures cover period

July 7, 1937 to Sept. 2, 1945, and concern only Chinese regular troops. They do not include casualties suffered by guerrillas and local military corps.

4. Deaths from all causes.5. Against Soviet Russia;

385,847 against Nazi Germany.

6. Against Soviet Russia; 169,822against Nazi Germany.

7. National Defense Ctr., CanadianForces Hq., Director of History.

Massive Human Dislocations

Massive Human Dislocations

The U.S. & the U.S.S.R. Emerged as the Two

Superpowers of the later 20c

The U.S. & the U.S.S.R. Emerged as the Two

Superpowers of the later 20c

The Nuremberg War Trials:Crimes Against Humanity

The Nuremberg War Trials:Crimes Against Humanity

Japanese War Crimes Trials

Japanese War Crimes Trials

General Hideki Tojo

Bio-Chemical

Experiments

7 Future American Presidents Served in World War II

7 Future American Presidents Served in World War II

How America Changed…

WWII changed America in many ways The Great Depression was finally over and a

new period of prosperity began Women and minorities found new

employment Fear against Japanese Americans led to their

internment during the war Black participation in the military and in the

economy led to the Civil Rights Movement After the war, America abandoned

isolationism completely