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AMERICA JOINS THE WAR World War II
AMERICA JOINS THE WAR
World War II
Timeline of Major Events : European Theater
December 7, 1941: US attacked December 8,1941: US declares War January 1942: First American troops arrive in
Great Britain September 1942: Battle of Stalingrad begins
(Soviets v. Germans) October 1942: British fight Germans in Egypt at
El Alamein November 1942: Americans land in North Africa
and begin fighting in Morocco and Algeria
Timeline January 1943: Casablanca conference February 1943: Battle of Stalingrad ends May 1943: Germans and Italians surrender in
North Africa July 1943: Allies invade Sicily August 1943: Allies have captured Sicily, Italy
has surrendered September 1943: Allies begin invasion of Italy Nov-Dec 1943: Tehran Conference
Timeline June 1944: Allies take Rome June 6, 1944: D-day August 1944: Allies liberate Paris December 1944- January 1945:
Battle of the Bulge February 1945: Yalta Conference April 12, 1945: FDR dies
Timeline April 23, 1945: Soviet Troops reach Berlin April 25, 1945: Soviet and US troops meet
outside of Berlin April 28, 1945: Mussolini is executed April 30, 1945: Hitler commits suicide May 2, 1945: Berlin is captured, fighting
ends in Italy May 7, 1945: Germany surrenders May 8, 1945: V-E Day (Victory in Europe)
Conflicting ideas America’s 2 major allies (Great Britain and
Soviet Union) had conflicting strategies G.B.: wanted to focus on the ‘soft underbelly’,
didn’t feel they were ready to confront Hitler with their full force yet.
S.U.: they were already facing a huge Nazi force deep within their territory and wanted the US and G.B. to open a Second Front in France. An American diplomat joked Molotov only knew 4
words in English, “yes, no, and Second Front”
Fighting in the Soviet Union
The German invasion of the Soviet Union began on June 22, 1941.
By November 1941 they surrounded Moscow The Soviets were fighting 200 German divisions along a
2,000 mile front! The pivotal battle occurred in Stalingrad
Winter of 1942/43 the Germans advanced on this transportation hub
Fighting was block to block , house to house The Germans eventually ran out of supplies, surrounded by the
Soviets they surrendered in Feb 1943. This marked the end of the myth of German invincibility!
Ends before fighting in N. Africa is over. Germans were in full retreat from Soviets from this point
on.
Stalingrad The Soviet win marked the beginning of a
Soviet advancement , pushing closer and closer towards Germany.
Stalin repeatedly begged for help from the US and GB, and never forgave them for not helping him out.
The Soviets suffered more loses at Stalingrad than the Americans did during the entire war! They were focused on fighting in N. Africa at the
time.
Fighting in the Atlantic FDR felt the US was unprepared for a full
scale European invasion and favored the British plan
1st task to start an invasion of North Africa – gain control of the Atlantic From Jan to Mar 1942 German subs sank
almost 1 million tons of allied goods By 1943 new technologies allowed the allies
to gain control of the Atlantic
North Africa November 1942 the US started
their invasion of North Africa, led by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower.
Operation Torch Focused on French colonies of
Morocco and Algeria At the same time British forces
were defeating the Germans led by Rommel at El Alamein in Egypt. This allowed the Allies to then
control the Suez Canal!!! Allies were able to defeat
the German and Italian troops by May 1943 , taking enemy held territory for the first time during the war.
Heading to Europe January 1943 The Casablanca Conference was
held in Casablanca, Morocco FDR and Churchill
Plan to take Sicily and enter Europe through Italy before a cross channel invasion
Promised to intensify bombing raids on Germany to help the Soviets
Decided on the policy of unconditional surrender None of the allies would negotiate a separate
surrender with the Axis powers The Axis powers would have no say in end of war
agreements
Sicily: Operation Husky The Allies used bases in
North Africa to cross the Mediterranean and land in Sicily in July 1943 Fighting in N. Africa had
already taken a huge toll on the Italian army
Battled German and Italian troops for more than a month
Led by General Patton During this time Mussolini
was overthrown by anti-fascists and he fled to German controlled territory in Northern Italy
By September of 1943 Italy agreed to unconditional surrender and began fighting on the side of the Allies by October
Mainland Italian invasion The Italian campaign lasted
for almost 2 years with some of the toughest fighting of the war taking place in the Italian cities of Anzio and Monte Cassino.
The Allies were able to take control of most of Italy by June 1944, when Rome was captured.
Fighting continued to control northern Italy until the end of the war.
Mussolini was captured by anti fascist Italians in April 1945, he was killed.
Tehran Conference November/December 1943 Tehran, Iran The Big 3: FDR, Churchill, and Stalin
met to discuss and plan the cross channel invasion
Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan once Germany was defeated.
Invasion of France D-day: Operation overlord June 6, 1944
Led by Eisenhower 21 American divisions landed on the beaches on Northern
France (Normandy Coast) 26 British, Canadian, and Polish divisions 150,000 troops in first wave of the landing 4000 ships and landing craft Faked invasion of Calais with cardboard cutouts, “Rupert's”
and misinformation by double agents diverted some German forces
11,000 bombers prepared the way attempting to destroy German communication and transportation networks
20,000 troops dropped in night before to destroy German fortifications
Troops crossed the English Channel at 6:30 am
D-day Omaha beach saw the largest number of casualties Germans were dug in at the top of the beach and
had heavily mined the beach Eventually the Allies were able to take the beaches
and this provided a landing point for more than 2 million soldiers within a month
Still considered the largest seaborne invasion in history
This signaled the start of the 2 front war for Germany , who were already retreating from the Soviets
By August 1944 the Allies had liberated Paris!
<a href="http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-40543"> Omaha Beach: German defenses</a>
Allies advance towards Germany
After D-day the Germans faced a full scale two front war.
By August 1944 the Allies had liberated Paris
Soviets were moving from the east forcing the Germans out of the Soviet Union, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, and Poland.
By December 1944 the Allies had pushed the Germans out of France and were heading into Belgium and Luxembourg
Battle of the Bulge December 1944 – January 1945
The last German offensive An attempt to push the Allies
out of the Ardennes forest and back into France.
Germans were able to initially push the Allies back creating a bulge in the line.
Allies were able to obtain reinforcement from bombers and take the territory
Germans remained on the defensive until the end of the war!
This battle also depleted the German supplies and demoralized troops
Yalta Conference February 1945 FDR, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta in
the Soviet Union. Planned for the Nazi surrender
Allies would divide Germany and the capital of Berlin into 4 zones controlled by the allies until a new government could be formed
Soviets were given ‘temporary’ control of post-war Poland and promised to eventually allow for free elections
Stalin re-affirmed his promise to join the war in the Pacific after Germany surrendered
Allies advance towards Germany
By January 1945 the Soviets had entered Germany and the Allies had made it to Northern Italy.
By April 1945 Mussolini had been captured and killed, the Allies entered Germany, and were closing in on Berlin
FDR dies April 12thHarry Truman becomes the President
Hitler commits suicide April 30, 1945 May 7th Germany surrenders to the Allies
Formally done in a little French schoolhouse with Dwight D. Eisenhower overseeing
May 8th declared VE day: Victory in Europe!!!!!
Fighting in the Pacific
Timeline of War in the Pacific
December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor attacked December 8, 1941: US Declares war December 22, 1941: Japan attacks the
Philippines April 18, 1942: Doolittle bombing raids on
Tokyo May 6, 1942: US surrenders the Philippines
and the Bataan Death March begins May 7-8, 1942: Battle of the Coral Sea June 5-6, 1942: US wins battle of Midway
Timeline of War in the Pacific
August 7, 1942: Guadalcanal begins and ends by February 1943
October 23-25, 1944: Battle of Leyte Gulf February 19,1945: Battle of Iwo Jima begins March 16, 1945: fighting ends on Iwo Jima,
American victory March 1945: US takes back control of the
Philippines April 1, 1945: Battle of Okinawa begins June 21, 1945: US wins Battle of Okinawa July 17-August 2, 1945: Potsdam Conference
Timeline of War in the Pacific
July 26, 1945: Potsdam Declaration issued
August 6, 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
August 9, 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
August 15, 1945: Japan surrenders (V-J Day)
September 2, 1945: Formal surrender ceremony.
Fighting in the Pacific America declares war on Japan
12/8/41, the day after the attack at Pearl Harbor
Gen. Douglas McArthur was commanding the US Army forces in Asia at the time of the attackBy the end of December 1941 the
Japanese were able to control Guam, Wake Island, and Hong Kong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dARSvPDoJag
Fighting in the Philippines December 22, 1941 the Japanese begin
their land invasion of the Philippines US forces were not prepared for the
ferocity of the Japanese and were forced to repeatedly retreat. End up in the jungle, with little food and
water Americans and Filipinos surrendered and
were captured as POWs in May 1942
Bataan Death March 75,000 Americans and Filipinos
surrendered 5 day March to POW camp
No water Little food “the sun treatment” Already starving and dehydrated 7,000 died during the March
Japanese Forces advance Through out the Pacific the Japanese
continued to capture territory rich in oil, rubber, and other supplies needed for the war effort.
By the summer of 1942 Japan dominated the Pacific.
America Strikes Back April 1942: Doolittle raid
Led by Colonel James Doolittle , bombing raid of the Japanese city of Tokyo.
Planes were launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet
16 B-25 bombers launched an attack that inflicted modest damage on military targets
This was a morale booster for the US even though it resulted in no military gain
Battle of the Coral Sea May 7-8 1942 The Japanese were poised to launch an attack on
Australia, one of our key Allies in the Pacific. The US sent two aircraft carriers to stop the Japanese
from taking New Guinea and heading to Australia. USS Lexington and USS Yorktown Lexington was sunk during the battle
The first time in history that a naval battle was fought exclusively with planes.
The US forced Japan to call off their invasions of New Guinea and Australia (US victory!)
This battled indicated that the war in the Pacific would be won or lost based on the strength of carriers and planes – we had the advantage!
Allies turn the tide in the Pacific Battle of Midway
Admiral Yamamoto wanted to destroy the US Naval base on the island of Midway, now the hub of our Pacific fleet
US Admiral Chester Nimitz got word of Yamamoto’s plan
The Battle began June 5, 1942 Considered the most
important naval battle of WWII 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were
sunk, 250 aircraft lost, and most of Japans experienced fighters were killed
Japan was now on the defensive for the rest of the war
Guadalcanal August 1942-February 1943 Took place on the Solomon islands First American land offensive action in the Pacific Fighting was brutal (jungle, hand to hand combat) This was the first leg in the 2-prongged American
plan of “island hopping” towards the home islands of Japan using the combined forces of the Marines, Navy, and Army. Admiral Nimitz heading towards Japan from the Central Pacific,
MacArthur from the South Pacific The plan was to capture islands from the south to the
north and use them to launch bombing campaigns to take islands successively closer to Japan itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SQqVEu135E
America takes back the Philippines
October 1944 160,000 troops sailed for Leyte
Gulf to allow them to land on the Philippine island of Leyte
The Battle that ensued in Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle in history.
It was also the first time the Japanese used Kamikaze pilots.
US was able to knock out much of Japans naval fleet
The Americans were not able to take Manila, the capital of the Philippines until March 1945, isolated pockets of fighting continued until the end of the war in August 1945.
Iwo Jima America wanted to launch more
effective bombing raids on Tokyo and the only solution was to take an island closer to Japan. 70,000 American troops
February 19, 1945 Marines landed Island had been ravaged by
previous bombing campaigns. some of the bloodiest fighting of
the war Had to capture Mt. Suribachi and
airfields… They were able to take the island
by March. Almost all of Japan’s 20,000 troops
were killed Only 200 taken prisoner at end of
battle 7,000 American deaths https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXGvAC6g2PM
OkinawaIt was decided that America needed a base closer to Japan to launch a land invasion, Okinawa was 350 miles off the coast of Japan. Date: American troops landed
on April 1, 1945 island captured by June 22, 1945.
Major casualties on both sides!!! Significance: The last major
battle in the Pacific Almost all of Japan’s 100,000
troops were killed 80-100,000 civilians died 19,000 American deaths (180,000
fought) https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=UXvtDi9a1Oc
Potsdam Conference July 17-August 2, 1945 Potsdam, Germany Truman, Churchill, Atlee (new Prime Minister of G.B.) and
Stalin Re-affirmed policy of unconditional surrender for
Japan – Potsdam Declaration Japan had sued for peace with the condition they could
keep their Emperor in power During the conference Truman found out that our
atomic bombs were fully operational and decided to use them against Japan if they would not surrender Stalin doesn’t know / Churchill & Atlee do
Issued ultimatum to Japan : “Failure to surrender unconditionally will result in utter destruction”
Hiroshima July 26, 1945: Potsdam
declaration issued “ failure to surrender
unconditionally will result in prompt and utter destruction.”
August 6, 1945 American B-29, the Enola Gay
dropped 1 atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Little Boy 80,000 people died instantly 35,000 were injured Estimated total death toll = 200,000
Those who dies of injuries / cancer / birth defects
5 square miles of destruction
Despite the destruction and devastation Japan would not surrender
Nagasaki August 9, 1945
A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki Fat Man (bomb) Bockscar (plane)
35,000 -40,000 were killed / 60,000 wounded
80,000 die after blast due to illness/ birth defects / cancer
2.5 square miles of destruction
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 V-J day Formal surrender ceremony was
held September 2,1945.
Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki? Yes No
What is your opinion?
