World History

What was the name of the last German offensive in WWII?

A = battle of the Bulge

What was the cross-channel invasion by the US and England that attacked the Germans in France at the beaches of Normandy called?

A = D-Day

The Japanese take over most of East Asia.

The Japanese claim that they are liberating these countries from European colonialism.

Really they are just replacing Europeans as the rulers.

Call their new empire the Greater East-Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.

This included the Philippines where 12,000 U.S. soldiers under the command of Douglass MacArthur were forced to surrender.

MacArthur left for Australia to avoid capture but vowed, “I shall Return.”

US Prisoners captured in the Philippines (along with captured Filipinos) are forced to march 65-miles to a prison camp.

Known as the Bataan Death march.

Japanese are unusually cruel during march.

They beat, kick, bayonet, and shoot stragglers.

600 US soldiers and over 6,000 Filipinos die.

Their culture—believed one should fight to the death. It was dishonorable to surrender.

Therefore did not respect those that did surrender.

Rape of Nanking —kill 300,000 and rape 20,000 and pillage.

Bomb Chinese civilians in cities.

Conduct medical experiments on prisoners.

Force women in the countries they conquer to be “comfort women” (i.e.-forced sex slaves).

Island Hopping —taking strategic islands but bypassing (skipping) others.

As the US gets closer, they use captured islands as airbases to bomb Japan.

Douglas MacArthur is commander of US forces in the Pacific.

Gen. MacArthur led his forces toward the Philippines.

Large Naval battle at Leyte Gulf (largest in history)—Japanese navy is crippled.

Japanese resort to Kamikaze attacks.

Kamikaze = suicide pilots. They crash their planes into U.S. ships.

What was the name for US pacific strategy? A = Island Hopping

What was name of forced march of US and Filipino prisoners in which many were killed by the Japanese?

A = Bataan Death March

What were Japanese suicide pilots called?

A = Kamikazes

What did the Japanese call their Pacific empire? A = Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere

What were the women that the Japanese forced to be sex slaves called?

A = Comfort Women

Battles in the pacific result in far more deaths than those in Europe.

Why?:

A =Japanese think that it is dishonorable to surrender.

Therefore their soldiers either die fighting or kill themselves.

1945- America bombers drop Napalm bombs over Tokyo.

120,000 Japanese dead

250,000 buildings destroyed

Japan refuses to surrender

Even though they have no navy and air force left and are surrounded by the U.S., most Japanese do not want to surrender.

They want to make a deal with the U.S. to not get punished too hard after the war.

They want to make sure they can keep their emperor.

USA won’t make a deal.

Manhattan Project: The U.S. program to build a nuclear bomb.

Chief scientist was J. Robert Oppenheimer

Some advisors did not want to use the bomb. They thought it was morally wrong.

They also felt that Japan’s defeat was inevitable.

Some wanted to demonstrate the bomb.

Others –like US President Harry Truman--felt it was a military weapon that should be used to end the war.

They felt that it could end the war without the US having to invade Japan (it was estimated that it might take up to 1-million lives).

Also, some felt that dropping the bomb would demonstrate to the Russians America’s capabilities so they would listen to the US after the war.

America warns Japan of new weapon

U.S. promises, “Prompt and utter Destruction”

Japan refused to surrender

Aug. 6, 1945: the B-29, Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

80,000-120,000 killed instantly

Thousands die later

76,000 buildings destroyed

Japan still refuses to surrender

America plans to drop the second bomb on Kokura, Japan

This target was clouded over, so the bomber turned toward the next city on the list

August 9th B-29 Bocks Car drops the Fatman bomb over Nagasaki

74,000 dead instantly

After the 2nd A-bomb, the Japanese surrender.

Surrender signed on USS Missouri.

August 15, 1945

VJ-Day

What was the name for the project to develop the atomic bomb?

A = Manhattan Project

Who was the chief scientist of the Manhattan Project?

A = J. Robert Oppenheimer

What were the 2 cities that had atomic bombs dropped on them?

A = Hiroshima and Nagasaki

What was the name of the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb?

A = Enola Gay