#8 WWII Turning Points CAUSES  EVENT  EFFECTS

Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942 A. Cause 1. Americans broke the Japanese code and knew Midway was next target of Japan 2. Massive Japan fleet rumored to be ready to attack (over 110 ships – largest in naval history) to finish destruction of Pearl Harbor B. Event 1. US Admiral Chester Nimitz outnumbered but led surprise counter- attack 2. 3-day battle C. Effect 1. US avenging Pearl Harbor? 2. Japan lost 4 carriers, cruiser, 322 planes 3. More of a loss for Japan 4. After Battle of Midway, Allies start island-hopping strategy (seizing less protected islands)

Battle of Guadalcanal Aug. 7, 1942 A.Cause 1.Island Hopping 2.Japanese building air base on Guadalcanal B. Event 1. Battle of Guadalcanal 2. US & Australia v. Japan C. Effect 1. Feb Japanese abandon “island of death”

North African Campaign A.Cause 1.General Rommel took Tobruk, Libya June When Tobruk fell, General Montgomery sent to control forces in N. Africa B.Events 1.Oct Battle of El Alemein (British forces beat Rommel and he fell back) 2.Nov. 4 - Operation Torch (Allied troops led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower crush Rommel in Morocco and Algeria) C.Effects 1.Rommel crushed

Battle of Stalingrad A.Cause 1.Germans wanted to capture Stalingrad because it would speed up transfer of military supplies to Moscow 2.Hitler wanted to capture city because of name – same reason Stalin wanted to defend it B.Event 1. German army approached Stalingrad midsummer & winning 2. November – Soviets launched massive counterattack 3. Feb. 2, 1943 – “some 91,000 frost-bitten, lice-ridden, half-starved German troops surrendered.” C.Effect 1. 1,250,000 Soviet deaths 2. Soviet army began to move in towards Germany 3. Turned the tide in European war!

Invasion of Italy - July 10, 1943 A.Cause 1. Stalin urged British & Americans to invade France but they decided to attack Italy first A.Event 1.Invasion of Italy 2.Conquest of Sicily B.Effect 1.Ousted Mussolini from power 2.Sept. 3 – Italy surrenders but Germans seize Italy and put Mussolini back in charge 3.Fighting in Italy continues until Germany falls in May April 27, 1945 – Mussolini found disguised as German soldier  shot next day

Invasion of Normandy (D-Day), June 6, 1944 A. Cause 1. For 2 years, Allies planned surprise attach on Axis by air, ships, ground troops 2. Eisenhower organized Operation Overlord which was the invasion to liberate France B. Event 1. June 6, 1944 – 3 army divisions (British, Canadian, and American troops) made a surprise attack on the beaches of Normandy and pushed forward to liberate France 2. Strong German retaliation C. Effect 1. Very heavy casualties for all sides 2. By Sept. 1944, Allies liberate Europe! (freed France, Belgium, Luxembourg, & Netherlands) 3. Helped FDR get elected to 4 th term!!!

Battle of the Bulge, Dec. 16, 1944 – Jan. 5, 1945 A. Cause 1. Oct – Americans captured the first German town and Hitler responded with surprise counter attack B. Event 1. Hitler ordered troops to break through Allied lines 2. 8 German tank divisions broke through weak American defenses along 80-mile front 2. lasted 1 month 3. Germans were pushed back in the end C. Effect 1. Germans lost 120,000 troops 2. From that point on, Germans could only retreat 3. The tanks and weapons that they lost were unable to be replaced

Liberation of Death Camps, July 1944 A.Cause 1.Allied troops continued eastward further into Germany, Soviets pushed westward toward Berlin B. Event 1.July Soviets troops first to discover Nazi death camps 2.SS guards tried to burn all evidence of crimes 3.Soviets found the world’s largest crematorium C. Effect 1. Nuremberg Trials – series of Military tribunals for war crimes and crimes against humanity

Germany’s Unconditional Surrender A.Cause 1.April 25, 1945: Soviet army stormed Berlin 2.Hitler wrote letter blaming Jews for starting the war and his general for losing it; then commits suicide 3.MysteryQuest: Death of Hitler 3:42MysteryQuest: Death of Hitler 3:42 B.Event 1. May 7, 1945US General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich C.Effect 1.May 8, 1945 – V-E Day (Victory in Europe) 2.First part of war over 3.Can now turn all attention to Pacific

Battle of Iwo Jima, Feb. - March 1945 A. Cause 1. Allies had taken the Phillipines back 2. Wanted to take Iwo Jima because it was an island close to Japan B. Event 1. Lasted 36 days 2. one of the most populated areas 3. US was successful C. Effect 1. After this, all that stood in the way for Americans to reach Japanese mainland was Island of Okinawa

Battle of Okinawa, March - June 1945 A. Cause 1. strategy of island-hopping 2. Okinawa was Japan’s last defense outpost B. Event 1. Japanese unleashed more than 1900 kamikaze attacks, sunk 30 ships, damaged 300, killed more than 7000 C. Effect 2. Over 10,000 Japanese died 3. Last major battle of Pacific/WWII 4. Allies succeeded in taking over Japan’s last defense outpost 5. Japan still refused to surrender, so US would later decide to use A-bomb

A-Bomb on Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Aug. 6 & 9, 1945 A. Cause 1. some say we were still trying to avenge Pearl Harbor 2. Japan refused to surrender B. Event 1. Aug. 6, 1945 – Enola Gay – A-bomb (Little Boy) over Hiroshima 2. Aug. 9, 1945 – Boxcar Willie (Fat Man) dropped on Nagasaki C. Effect 1. Japan finally surrendered 2. Completely eliminated the cities where they were dropped 3. Thousands of deaths & other effects on human lives Atomic Bomb and Hiroshima 1:16