Pearl Harbor December 7, ,500 killed, 8 battleships damaged, 3 destroyers unusable, 3 light cruisers damaged, and 160 aircraft destroyed and 128 more damaged USS Arizona: 1,200 sailors and marines on this ship alone, USS Oklahoma, and USS Utah suffered irreparable damage

Early War in the Pacific Under General Douglas MacArthur in December of 1941 troops pushed back from Manila to a fort on Corregidor Island Troops held out until May despite not having the necessary supplies

Baatan Death March POWs were forced to march over 60 miles up the Peninsula Almost 10,000 died from malnourishment and exhaustion with hundreds more dying from brutal treatment in prison camps

Doolittle Raid Under the leadership of Colonel James Doolittle in April 1942 a force of 16 B-25 Bombers engaged in nighttime bombing raid on Tokyo First time bombs had ever been dropped on Japan

Battle of Midway June 1942 Admiral Chester Nimitz Turning point in war as Japan on the defensive Island Hopping Strategy American forces now on the offensive Assault on Guadalcanal in August 1942 Go from island to island capturing them on the way to Japan

During these fights, Japanese soldiers fought to the death, even engaging in suicide bombings More than 3,000 pilots had died in these kamikaze missions

Iwo Jima and Okinawa February 1945-Iwo Jima 60,000 Marines landed on Iwo Jima and almost 7,000 were killed April 1945-Okinawa 12,000 U.S. troops were killed compared to 110,000 Japanese From this island America could launch its final offensive on Japan

Manhattan Project Secret development of first atomic bomb in world history J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves were the leaders of this project July 16, 1945 the bomb was tested outside of Alamogordo, New Mexico

Do you agree or disagree with President Truman’s decision to drop the bomb? 3.8 Format Base responses on information presented in today’s lesson as well as your previous knowledge of the events that resulted after the war was over.

“I asked Gen. Marshall what it would cost in lives to land…in Japan. It was his opinion that ¼ million casualties would be the minimum cost. …I asked Sec. Stimson which cities in Japan were devoted exclusively to war production. He…named Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We sent an ultimatum to Japan. It was ignored. I ordered atomic bombs dropped on the two cities. …Dropping the bombs ended the war, saved lives and gave the free nations a chance to face the facts.” -President Harry S. Truman

Japan given enough warning and chance to surrender? Critics of President Truman contend that he failed to warn the Japanese that they would be attacked with an atomic bomb and thus gave them no opportunity to surrender until the bomb was dropped. The critics also contend that the bomb could have been dropped in an unpopulated area to demonstrate its power. Source: Selected case studies in American history: The decision to drop the atomic bomb

“…We call upon the Government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction….” Source: Potsdam Declaration July 26, 1945 “On July 28 the Premier of Japan, Suzuki, rejected the Potsdam ultimatum announcing that it was ‘unworthy of public notice.’ In the face of this rejection we could only proceed to demonstrate that the ultimatum had meant exactly what it said….” Source: Henry L. Stimson, The United States Secretary of War in Selected case studies in American history

Was the bomb necessary for victory? Many critics of President Truman contend that there was no need to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima because Japan was already defeated in August of They argue that there would have been no need to invade the Japanese mainland and that the bomb did not significantly shorten the war and did not save enough lives to justify its use. Source: Selected case studies in American History: The decision to drop the atomic bomb

“…The Japanese were already defeated and were ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing of conventional weapons...” Source: Admiral William D. Leahy in Selected case studies in American history “There was every reason to think that the Japanese would defend their homeland with even greater fanaticism than when they fought to the death on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. No American soldier who survived the bloody struggle on those islands has much sympathy with view that battle with the Japanese was over…” Source: Karl Compton, atomic scientist and advisor to the President in Selected case studies

“The final decision of where and when to use the atomic bomb was up to me. Let there be no mistake about it. I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used. The top military advisers to the President recommended its use, and when I talked to Churchill he unhesitatingly told me that he favored the use of the atomic bomb if it might aid to end the war….” Source: Harry S. Truman in Selected case studies in American history: The decision to drop the atomic bomb

On August 6, 1945 the U.S. Airplane the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In the initial blast, more than 60,000 of Hiroshima’s residents were dead or missing. On August 9 th the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki initially killing 35,000 more.