Chapter 24-4 Toward Victory By Spencer and Ethan

Victory in Europe, Italy Surrenders 1943- Russia was bearing the brunt of the Nazi Assault. Stalin wanted the Americans and British to open up a “second front.” July 1943- American and British troops crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia. September 8, 1943, the new Italian government surrendered to the Allies.

D-Day 1944- Allied forces were ready to undertake the invasion of France. Under the command of General Eisenhower, the Allies carefully planned the landing. On June 6, 1944-- Known as D-Day-- More than 155,000 American, British, and Canadian troops crossed the English Channel. They landed on beaches to take over the Germans.

D-Day and Battle of the Bulge By day’s end, some 2,500 American soldiers died on Omaha beach. But they accomplished their mission. Within a month, a million Allied troops had stormed ashore. December 16, 1944, the Germans counterattacked in Belgium. But Americans forces won the Battle of the Bulge.

Germany Invaded, Victory in Europe January 1945 Soviet Union force entered Germany from the east. Then soon after more Allied troops came from the west. While some troops were on the ground a lot of planes bombed German industries and cities.

Victory in Europe Meanwhile, Germany was collapsing. On April 16, Soviet troops begin an assault on Berlin. Hitler took shelter in a bunker underneath the streets. On April 30th, 1945 Hitler committed suicide. A Week later Germany surrendered.

Victory in the Pacific, Island Hopping The Battle of Midway in 1942 had halted Japan’s advance in the Pacific. American commanders adopted a strategy known as island hopping, in which American forces would capture some Japanese-held islands and go around others. Navajo soldiers made a key contribution to the island hopping strategy. Using their own language, these code-talkers radioed ital messages from island to island.

Japan Holds Firm Meanwhile, island-hopping marines approached Japan. Their last two stops were Iwo Jima in February and Okinawa in April. The Americans paid a terrible price for the two islands. Six thousand Americans died at Iwo jima; twelve thousand at Okinawa. Japan’s were kamikaze’s.

The Atomic Bomb President Truman made plans for invading Japan in the autumn. Truman learned that a secret weapon--the atomic bomb-- had been successfully tested in the New Mexico desert. The new weapon was so powerful that it could destroy an entire city. August 9, 1945, an American plane dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The destruction was like nothing the world had seen.

Atomic Bomb Continued The bombs names were “Little Boy” and “Fat Man.” We dropped two bombs on them until Japan surrendered. They surrendered on the USS Missouri.

The Holocaust World War II was the bloodiest conflict in human history. It took the lives up to 60 million people including about 400,000 Americans. Only then did the world learn the full extent of Nazi brutality. Some two thirds of those killed were civilians.

Victims of the Nazis Nazism was built on racism and extreme anti-Semitism. Hitler wanted to annihilate all Jews in Europe. The world entered a genocide, Other groups targeted were Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, communists, and people with physical or mental disabilities.

Death Camps The Nazis developed an efficient system of mass murder. They built six death camps in Poland. They transported women, children and men there by train cars. As Allied soldiers liberated the death camps, they were shocked by the sight and smell of piles of corpses.

War Crimes Trials Shocked by the Holocaust and Other Nazi actions, the Allies took an unprecedented step. In the German city of Nuremberg, Allied judges tried prominent Nazis for plunging the world into war.

Websites http://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2014/01/soldiers_playing_cards-P.jpeg https://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/349928/auschwitz.jpg http://airandspace.si.edu/webimages/carousels/540/11137_carousel1.jpg http://www.army.mil/e2/rv5_images/d-day/share.jpg http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/photo-gallery/bulge/ http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/b/b6/Nazi_Party_Logo.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140725022404 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/ProhibitionSign2.svg/2000px-ProhibitionSign2.svg.png http://www.american-historama.org/images/fat-man-little-boy-a.jpg http://cdn.rsvlts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Shigemitsu-signs-surrender.jpg http://operationexodususa.org/sites/default/files/blog_cover_images/Child-survivors-photographed-at-Auschwitz-in-1945.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/24/article-2401242-1B6875D5000005DC-169_306x611.jpg