Vocabulary Battle of Stalingrad- Turning pt in the Battle for the Soviet Union. Last German offensive in USSR. Battle of Midway- Turning pt of the Pacific. The Japanese are on the defensive against the allies. D-Day- Massive Allied invasion force that lands at Normandy, France. Turing pt of the 20 century. Battle of the Bulge- Last desperate gamble by Hitler to defeat the Allies and force a peace treaty. Island Hopping- Strategy of hopping from one island to the next only taking the most crucial islands. Manhattan Project- Secret American project to develop the atomic bomb.
THE ALLIES FIGHT BACK
Doolittle’s Raid The Axis Powers are winning April B-25 Bombers bombed Tokyo The bombs did little damage but was a psychological victory May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea New kind of warfare Fought with planes Allies lost more men and ships but stopped Japan’s southward advance
The Battle of Midway Turning Point of the Pacific June 1942, Allied code breakers decode a secret Japanese message Admiral Chester Nimitz knew the Japanese targeted Midway The outnumbered Americans destroyed 332 planes, 4 aircraft carriers, and a support ship
Allied Offensive Battle of Guadalcanal Gen. Douglas MacArthur develops “island hopping” strategy By-pass Japanese strongholds for less defended islands Aug, 1942 U.S. Marines attack Guadalcanal to prevent massive Jap. Airbase After 6 months of fighting the Japanese abandon the “island of death” losing more than 24,000 out of force of 36,000
Allies Fight Back in Europe and Africa The Battle of El Alamein British forces led by Gen. Montgomery “Monty” push Gen Rommel’s Afrika Corps back Gen. Eisenhower “Ike” led an American force from Morocco which trapped and crushed Germany’s Afrika Corp in May 1943
Battle of Stalingrad Turning point in the East Aug. 1942, Germans begin bombing raids By Nov. Germans control 90% of the city Could not force a surrender before winter Soviets launch a counterattack Soviets force surrender and begin to push the German army back through Soviet Union German army of 330,000 was reduced to 90,000
Invasion of Italy July 1943 British and American forces led by Gen. Patton and Gen. Montgomery invade the island of Sicily Conquered Sicily in 1 month Toppled Mussolini from power Italy surrenders on Sept and enter Rome in June 1944
Operation Overlord June , D-Day Gen. Eisenhower assembles the largest land/sea invasion in History Allies land on the beaches of Normandy, France Allies took massive casualties but held the beaches and allowed troops/equipment to be moved in Turning pt. of 20 century By Sept. they liberated France, Belgium, and Luxembourg
Battle of the Bulge Dec. 16, 1944 Last German offensive of the war German tanks broke through in the Ardennes Although completely surprised the Allies were able to push the Germans back through the Bulge The back of Germany had been broken!
Victory in Europe May 8, 1945; V-E Day 9 million Allied and Soviet troops approached Berlin Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide on April 30 Gen. Eisenhower and President Truman accept Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 7
Victory in the Pacific Oct. 23, 1944; Battle of Leyte Gulf Gamble by Japan that didn’t pay off and the Japanese Navy was destroyed Only army and kamikazes stood between the Allies and Japan Iwo Jima and Okinawa Japanese homeland islands that were taken between March and June Bloodiest battles of the war Japanese lost 100,000 troops to the Americans 12,000
Manhattan Project Secret project to develop the atomic bomb led by Gen. Leslie Groves and Dr. Robert Oppenheimer Pres. Truman had to decide to either use the bomb or invade the Japanese island Aug 6, 1945; The “Enola Gay” drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima 70,000-80,000 people died in the attack Aug 9, 1945; 2 nd bomb was dropped on Nagasaki More than 70,000 people were immediately killed Aug. 14, 1945; V-J Day Japan surrenders to Gen. MacArthur on Sept
Closing What was the U.S. War Strategy in the Pacific? What were the turning pts in the Pacific, Soviet Union, and Western Europe? Who was “Ike”? What was Hitler’s last gamble to win the war? What was the significance of the Battle of Leyte Gulf? What was the Manhattan Project? How did WWII come to an end?