Unit 8: World War II 4.1.19

Entry Task What do you know about the use of the Atomic Bomb in WWII?

Goals: Understand what happened in the bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki Understand the reasons behind the decision to use the atomic bomb Understand two different perspectives of the bombing’s significance

Background: Bataan Death March Japan invaded the Philippines on Dec 8, 1941 American & Filipino troops surrendered April 9, 1942 Forced to march 65(+/-) miles, took 6 days 10,000 troops died b/c of brutality (starved & beaten, those too weak to walk were bayoneted) Survivors taken by rail to POW camps, thousands more died from disease, mistreatment & starvation America invaded in October 1944, recapturing the Bataan Peninsula, & liberating the Philippines in early March The War clip 1:09-1:20

Background: Iwo Jima February 1945 Americans needed a base near the Japanese coast Defended by 23,000 Japanese troops & an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, & tunnels US won after almost 2 months of fighting Photographer Joe Rosenthal took the now infamous picture (restaged for the purpose) of Americans raising the flag over Mount Suribachi at the SW corner of Iwo Jima

Background: Okinawa April 1, 1945 Last major battle in the Pacific Final push toward Japan: Okinawa = major air base 180,000 American Army & Marine Corps 130,000 Japanese troops instructed not to fire but instead watch & wait, Battleship Yamato would trap them Huge casualties US: 36,000+ injured, 12,500+ killed Japan: 110,000 soldiers killed, 40,000-150,000 civilians War in Europe is wrapping up, Germany would surrender in just a few weeks

Iwo Jima Okinawa Bataan Peninsula

The Bombing Final stages of WWII in 1945 War in Europe over The bomb had been developed over several years through the “Manhattan Project”

The Manhattan Project Nazis had an atomic energy program Allies learned later that developing a weapon was never a priority for them August 1942, Los Alamos, NM Two Goals: Develop a weapon to bring a swift end to the war Develop a new, boundless source of energy

The Bombing Paul Tibbets & the “Enola Gay” Dropped “Little Boy” on Hiroshima: Aug. 6, 1945 “I thought: ‘Thank God the war is over and I don’t have to get shot any more. I can go home.” – Enola Gay crew member

The Bombing Frederick Bock & the “Bockscar” Dropped “Fat Man” on Nagasaki: Aug. 9, 1945 “When the bombs dropped and news began to circulate that [the invasion of Japan] would not, after all, take place, that we would not be obliged to run up the beaches near Tokyo assault-firing while being mortared and shelled…we cried with relief and joy. We were going to live. We were going to grow up to adulthood after all.” – 21 year old US soldier

The Bombing Fireball: 540,000 degrees F Shockwave Radioactivity Black rain Intense heat turned thousands of people into small, charred lumps of flesh Radiation burns and internal damage caused by gamma rays produced lethal injuries to people as far as 2 miles from the center

The Bombing Approximately 100,000 people died within 4 months ½ the deaths happened on the first day Many more deaths in the years later