Chapter 22 Section 4

Toward Victory

Setting the Scene

General Douglas MacArthur stood at the dock on Corregidor in March 1942. A boat waited to evacuate him from the fortified island in the

Philippines. Although the United States Army and Filipino defense forces had battled to keep the Japanese out of the island chain, they had not

been successful. Thousands of Allied civilian men, women, and children were being held in prison

camps throughout the islands, and American and Filipino soldiers were under attack on the Bataan

peninsula. After reaching Australia, MacArthur pledged his determination to free the Philippines

with the words "I shall return.”

Allied troops found that the war in Southeast Asia and the Pacific was very different from that in

Europe. Most battles were fought at sea, on tiny islands, or in deep jungles.

I. War in the PacificBy May 1942, the Japanese controlled much of SE Asia and many Pacific islands, including the Philippines

I. War in the Pacific

Hundreds of American and 10,000 Filipino

soldiers were killed during the Bataan Death

March

I. War in the Pacific

In May and June 1942, the US stopped the

Japanese advance at the battles of the Coral

Sea and Midway Island

I. War in the Pacific

In August 1942, US Marines landed at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and began an "island-hopping" campaign

I. War in the PacificBy 1944, the US Navy under Admiral Chester Nimitz was blockading Japan and bombers pounded Japanese cities and industries

I. War in the Pacific

In October 1944, MacArthur began to retake

the Philippines while the British were winning

in the jungles of Burma and Malaya

MacArthur returns to the

PhilippinesBritish in Burma

II. The Nazis Defeated

As Allied armies advanced into Belgium in December 1944, Germany launched a massive counterattack – the Battle of the Bulge

II. The Nazis Defeated

Allied bombers hammered Germany with round-

the-clock bombing raids

Dresden, Germany

II. The Nazis Defeated

In March 1945, the Allies crossed the Rhine

River into Germany and Soviet troops closed

in on Berlin

Crossing the Rhine River near

Worms, GermanyRed Army in Berlin

II. The Nazis Defeated

In late April, American and Soviet soldiers

linked up at the Elbe River

II. The Nazis Defeated

As Soviet troops fought their way into Berlin, Hitler committed suicide. Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945 – V-E Day

A soldier raises the Soviet flag over the Reichstag in Berlin

III. Defeat of Japan

Most of the Japanese navy and air force had

been destroyed, yet the Japanese still had an

army of two million men

III. Defeat of Japan

Officials estimated that an invasion of Japan would cost over a million casualties - scientists offered another way to end the war

Provision Order of Battle

for Invasion of Japan

(August 1945)

III. Defeat of Japan

In July 1945, Allied scientists successfully tested the first atomic bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico

On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was detonated at the

Trinity Site, equivalent to eighteen thousand tons of TNT

III. Defeat of Japan

President Harry Truman warned the Japanese to surrender or face destruction, but they ignored the deadline

The "Potsdam Declaration"

described Japan's present

perilous condition and ended

with an ultimatum: Japan

must immediately agree to

unconditionally surrender, or

face "prompt and utter

destruction".

III. Defeat of Japan

On August 6,1945, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people

Crew of the Enola Gay Hiroshima after the atomic bomb

III. Defeat of Japan

On August 8th, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria - Japan still did not surrender

III. Defeat of Japan

On August 9th, the US dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing more than 40,000 people

Aftermath of Nagasaki bombingAtomic “Mushroom cloud”

III. Defeat of Japan

Emperor Hirohito forced the government to surrender - the peace treaty was signed aboard the battleship Missouri on September 2, 1945

An Ongoing Controversy

Dropping the atomic bomb brought a quick end to the war. It also unleashed terrifying destruction.

Ever since, people have debated whether the United States should have used the bomb. Why

did Truman use the bomb? First, he was convinced that Japan would not surrender without an invasion that would result in an

enormous loss of both American and Japanese lives. Truman also may have hoped that the bomb

would impress the Soviet Union with American power. At any rate, the Japanese surrendered

shortly after the bombs were dropped, and World War II was ended.