The Allied Victory

Setting the Stage

0On December 22, 1941, just after Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt met at the White House to develop a joint war policy. Stalin had asked his allies to relieve German pressure on his armies in the east. He wanted them to open a second front in the west. This would split the Germans’ strength by forcing them to fight major battles in two regions instead of just one. Churchill agreed with Stalin’s strategy. The Allies would weaken Germany on two fronts before dealing the deathblow. At first Roosevelt was torn, but he ultimately agreed…

The Tide Turns on Two Fronts

0 Battle of Stalingrad:0 Hitler sends his army to capture oil field in the Caucasas Mountains-

and to capture Stalingrad 0 Fighting begins August 23, 1942

0 Luftwaffe bomb the city to ruins0 Stalin told his men to defend Stalingrad to the death!0 By November of 1943 Germany controlled nearly 90% of the city…0 Soviet troops outside the city counter-attack and surround the

Germans0 Cutting off supplies, the Russians force the remaining 90,000 German

troops to surrender0 Stalin looses nearly 1 million men in the fight for Stalingrad, but now

has the Germans retreating west….

War Limits Civil Rights

0 Japanese Internment Camps:0 After Pearl Harbor wave of racism sweeps over the

nation0 Feb 19, 1942 Roosevelt calls for the “rounding up of

aliens” – Jap-America citizens sent to relocation camps0 Moved to secure military locations away from the coast

0Where they could not assist in Japanese invasions0Most were native born American citizens, and their parents

were Japanese….

V-E: Victory in Europe

0D-Day Set Up:0 Led by Dwight D. Eisenhower0 US been landing millions of troops and supplies in GB

preparing to invade northern France0 Germans knew attack was coming, they didn’t know

where0 US sets up “dummy armies” near the French port of

Calais to throw off the Germans

V-E: Victory in Europe

0 D-Day:0 June 6, 19440 Code-name Operation Overlord0 Main force sent to Omaha Beach0 Over 2,700 American soldiers alone died on the beaches that

day0 Even with heavy loses the Allies took the beach.0 Launching point for taking back Paris----then Berlin0 Over a million new troops land in Normandy in one month0 By September the Allies has liberated France and now set

their sites on Germany…..

Battle of the Bulge

0Hitler:0 “This battle is to decide whether we shall live or die….All

resistance must be broken in a wave of terror…”0 Hitler attempts to split British and American forces in

two to disrupt supply lines0 Able to break through weak American lines, but is

quickly counter attack and forced to retreat0 Defeat at the Battle of the Bulge spells the end for

Hitler’s war machine….

Germany’s Unconditional Surrender

03 million Allied troops approach Berlin from SW0Another 6 million Soviet troops approach from the E0April 25th 1945 Soviets have surrounded the city and

are bombarding it with artillery fire.0Hitler hiding in an underground bunker marries his

long time girlfriend Eva Braun and they commit suicide in April 30 1945

0May 7, 1945 Dwight D. Eisenhower accepts the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich…the fighting in Europe is finally over….

V-J: Victory in Japan

0 Japanese in Retreat:0 Japanese kamikazes are biggest threat to naval victory in

the pacific0Suicide pilots crashed their planes into Allied ships to sink

them0 March 1945: American Marines take the islands of Iwo

Jima and Okinawa. 0Okinawa: 100,000 Japanese casualties 12,000 American

0 Now only 350 miles from southern Japan….

The Japanese Surrender

0The Manhattan Project:0 Top-Secret Project to develop the atomic bomb

0Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer (scientist)0 President Truman only learns about the A-bomb when

he become president0Bomb or No Bomb:

0 Truman believes that invasion will cost nearly 500,000 lives

0 Top advisors believe dropping the bomb is fastest way to end war…

Japanese Surrender

0Bombs Away:0 Truman gives Japan warning if they do not surrender to

expect “rain of ruin from the air”0 Japanese do not respond….0 August 6, 1945 US drops “Little Boy” on Hiroshima killing

between 70-80,000 people 0 August 9, 1945 US drops “Fat Boy” on Nagasaki killing

another 70,000 people…0 Japan surrenders on the USS Missouri on September

2, 19450 WWII is finally over….