wwii: part 4 the great struggle

WWII Part IV

The Great Struggle

Allies Vs. Axis

Nazi

Germany Kingdom

of Italy

Empire of Japan

The “Big Three” of the Allies

Included • United States

• Great Britain

• Soviet Union

The Axis Powers Included

• Germany

• Italy

• Japan

A Two Front WarWWII was fought in Europe and the Pacific.

The Pacific Theater

Stopping the Japanese

American forces won a major sea and air battle at Midway Island.

General Douglas MacArthur

•Led the Pacific Theater with a tactic called island-hopping.

Island-Hopping-• US forces

would attack key islands one by one, moving closer and closer to Japan.

The European Theater

Driving Back the Germans

•In 1942 the Allies begin to defeat the Germans in Africa.

•May 1943 the Germans are forced out of North Africa.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

•Directs the invasion of Southern Europe and Italy.

Down Goes Italy•As the Allies

advance, the Italians overthrow Mussolini and surrender.

June 6, 1944 D-Day

•The day the Allies, under the command of General Eisenhower, invade German occupied France.

(Opening scene from Saving Private Ryan)

Meanwhile, the Soviets are driving the Germans back

across Poland.

By February 1945, Soviet troops were just outside Berlin,

Germany.

On April 30, 1945 Adolph Hitler takes his own life.

On May 7, 1945 the Germans surrender.

The fight for Europe is over.

What about the Japanese!?!

Island-Hopping Toward Japan

Allied forces finally get close enoughto Japan to make air raids on major

cities.

No Surrender• Despite heavy losses the

Japanese refuse to surrender.

FDR Passes the Torch• In April 1945, Franklin Delano

Roosevelt dies, and Harry S Truman becomes president.

Decisions, Decisions

•With the Japanese refusing to surrender Truman has to decide to invade Japan with soldiers or drop the newly developed atomic bomb on Japan.

Manhattan Project• Manhattan

Project is the name for the secret program to design the Atomic Bomb.

HiroshimaOn August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb lands on the Japanese city

Hiroshima killing between

80,00 and 120,000 people

instantly.

Nagasaki• Three days

later another atomic bomb is dropped on the city of Nagasaki killing between 35,000 and 74,000 people.

On August 15, 1945 the Japanese surrender.

Post War Peace

•What will happen next? – Will the United States and Soviet Union

emerge as the two super powers of the world?

– Will the Allies become divided in their plans for the defeated Axis Powers?

– Will the German and Japanese commanders be punished for their crimes against humanity?

To Be Continued…