WWII Comes To An End WWII Unit

The 3 rd Reich Collapses After D-Day, the Allies continued to work their way through France, liberating Paris by August Three weeks later were at the German border. Germany’s Last Stand: Recognizing they were in a tight spot, in December 1944, German forces launched a counteroffensive in Belgium forcing Allied troops to retreat 50 miles. The Battle of the Bulge: Fighting continued for 3 weeks but the US troops under Patton were able to fight Germans off and were close to entering Germany. 100,000 dead. Meanwhile Stalin had pushed German troops out of Russia and entered Germany from the east.

The Yalta Conference Yalta: Just as they reached a point imminent success, relations between the Allies grew strained. Disagreements: Yalta Agreement: - Yielded to Soviet demands on many points - Promised….. In years to come, the disagreements between the West and the USSR escalated into the Cold War. Critics said that Roosevelt did not share in Churchill’s mistrust of Stalin and felt we sold out eastern Europe at Yalta and emboldened Soviet aggression.

Final Moves Victory in Europe: Allied troops launched their final offensive in February Throughout the month, Americans and British conducted an intense bombing campaign of Dresden, Germany. The controversial goal of the mission was to sap the German will to fight and ensure that German troops could not move east to fight the Soviet Union. The End for Hitler: No Surrender:

Potsdam Conference This conference was held from late July to August Brought together the leaders of Britain, US, and the Soviet Union together for the last time during the war. Harry Truman now represented the United States, having taken office after Roosevelt’s death in April. Turnover of leaders left a new sense of uncertainty and mistrust at the proceedings. Tensions Rise: We Have a Bomb, Stalin: Matters even more complicated when Truman learned from his advisors that the US had successfully tested a nuclear weapon. He did share the specifics of the atomic bomb, but did share with Stalin that we had a new weapon beyond what anyone could imagine. Stalin had been aware of the American project to build the bomb. Called the Manhattan Project. What to do With Germany:

Germany Post-Potsdam

The Manhattan Project & Surrender Bombing of Hiroshima: Bombing of Nagasaki: After a second bomb destroyed Nagasaki on August 9 (killing 60,000-80,000), the Japanese government surrendered. Truman himself said he never lost any sleep over the decision to drop the atomic bomb, but others were more conflicted. Moral Repercussions:

Images from the Bombings

Building a New World More than 60 million dead after WWII. Germany lost 7 million, USSR lost 23 million. Much of Europe lay in ruins. Americans and Soviets liberated Nazi work and death camps and the world saw the extent of Hitler’s Holocaust, which killed an estimated 11 million. Just as WWII transformed the world, it also transformed our role in world affairs and we became a superpower. At the same time, the USSR was also moving into superpower status. The Cold War was just beginning. United Nations: Putting the Enemy on Trial: