The End of the War 1943-1945

General Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower was made the commander of U. S. troops in 1942. His first move is to create an invasion plan for Europe. He chooses Italy first before France hoping to knock Italy out of the war.

Invasion of Italy July of 1943 Began with the invasion of Sicily Led by General Patton Mussolini is fired and the Fascist Party is outlawed. Italy surrenders in Sept. of 1943, but the Germans fight on in Italy against U. S. & British forces.

Invasion of Italy German resistance is stiff. Mussolini is put in power by Germany in Northern Italy. The U. S. never totally roots out German resistance. Eventually, the Italian people hunt down Mussolini and blame him for the destruction of their home. They kill Mussolini, drag him through the streets, and hang him up for display at a gas station. The U. S. loses many thousands of soldiers more than anticipated. Italy scares U. S. officials about casualty numbers that an invasion of France will cost.

Tuskegee Airmen From the segregated Tuskegee Institute in Alabama First African American pilots to fly in WW2. Units were segregated. Escorted U. S. bombers to targets.

Victories are piling up in the Pacific: Solomon Islands Gilbert Islands Marshall Islands Caroline Islands Mariana Islands US soldiers were shocked at the practice of seppuku, kamikazes, and no surrender. U .S. Politicians were shocked at the huge loss of life.

Navajo Code Talkers Navajo Indians used in the Pacific Code was never broken by the Japanese Navajo were always paired up with a white soldier with orders to kill them if they were about to be captured by the Japanese.

Sample code words: Tank = turtle Machine gun = sewing machine Bomber = pregnant airplane

Operation Overlord “D Day” Dwight D. Eisenhower was made the Supreme commander Create a 2nd front, and a beachhead in France Eisenhower’s most trusted General, Omar Bradley, made commander of 1st Army which led the way onto the beaches at Normandy.

D-Day Invasion – Normandy Beach, Northern France

Largest amphibious landing in history (150k men in the 1st wave) Invasion took 2 years to plan because it had to be perfect. It could not fail. Largest amphibious landing in history (150k men in the 1st wave) Hitler thought it was a decoy and delayed reinforcements Invasion was a success partially due to the huge intelligence scam put on the Germans and French Resistance fighters. About 10,000 Allied deaths; 2500 American deaths.

SAIPAN - JUNE 15, 1944 153,000 Marines vs. 30,000 Japanese We need Saipan to bomb Japan (1200 miles away).

SAIPAN The Japanese chose death over surrender. Soldiers and Civilians jump over the cliffs to their death.

BOMBING JAPAN - 1944 We are now in position to bomb Japan. * Most bombs were fire bombs. Most of Japanese structures were made of wood & paper. * Japan will receive 160,830 TONS of bombs.

Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Battle of the Philippines October 1944 MACARTHUR RETURNS!!! Largest naval battle in history. 280 ships fought each other over 3 days. First kamikazes appear. last major battle that the Japan can launch. Japan will use whatever it has left to fight to the death. Victory at Leyte leads to the Battle of the Philippines. 80,000 Japanese die 100,000 Filipino civilians

KAMIKAZES Last attempt to turn the war. Attacks would last the rest of the war. Scares U. S. sailors. There is little defense.

Hiroo Onoda He had been stationed on Lubang Island in the Philippines when it was overrun by U.S. forces in February 1945. Most of the Japanese troops were slain or captured, but Onoda and several other men holed up in the jungle. The others were eventually killed, but Onoda held out for 29 years, dismissing every attempt to coax him out as a ruse. Finally the Japanese government located his commanding officer, who went to Lubang in 1974 to order Onoda to give up. The lieutenant stepped out of the jungle to accept the order of surrender in his dress uniform and sword, with his rifle still in operating condition.

In Northern France Fighting proved difficult; the Germans had been getting ready since 1940. Swampy countryside and the hedgerows on the sides of roads made northern France difficult to root out the Germans. After 6 weeks, Allied forces liberated Paris. The Germans had one last attack…. French Hedgerow Liberating Paris – Aug 1944

Battle of the Bulge Last major German offensive (counter attack) Largest battle of the war in Western Europe. Signaled the end of the war for most Nazis

101st Airborne Division is trapped at Bastogne, France. General Patton to the rescue! Patton marches his 3rd Army 100 miles in the snow in three days to rescue the U.S. troops. Brutal Cold Lack of food, water, shelter, warm clothing, medical supplies, weapons. Situation almost appears hopeless where 101st would have to consider surrender.

IWO JIMA & OKINAWA… The last two… *600 Miles from Japan, great bombing bases.

Battle of Iwo Jima February 19th – March 26th 1945 18,500 Japanese KIA 6,800 American KIA; 25,000 wounded

Battle of Okinawa April 1st – June 22nd 1945 110,000 Japanese killed 12,500 Americans killed 100,000 civilians died in the fighting. Japanese were fighting until the death (no surrender) Japanese soldiers were forcing civilians to strap explosives to themselves to be blown up while surrendering. Convinced American politicians and military that an invasion of the home islands of Japan would be the bloodiest conflict that the U. S. would be involved in during WW2. Maybe another way to end the war can be found….

Yalta Conference , February 1945 Germany is divided into occupied zones Stalin promises Enter the war in the Pacific vs. Japan Hold free elections in occupied territories

Last Days of the War in Europe U. S. forces faces less and less resistance the further into Germany they travel. U. S. Government urges General Eisenhower to race toward Berlin to capture as much of Germany as possible before the Russians took too much. Once Ike saw the Nazi death camps, he moved the U. S. forces south into Bavaria. He left Berlin to the Russians. He knew what the Russians were doing to the Germans. Ike wanted the Germans punished.

Germany Surrenders Hitler commits suicide as Berlin is surrounded Germany surrenders on May 8th, 1945 known as V-E Day. FDR died about a month before.

MANHATTAN PROJECT After taking office, Truman learns of a secret project: the atomic bomb

Manhattan Project Most expensive war project. Led by physicist Robert Oppenheimer Scientists were conflicted about the use of the bomb on Japan. Tested in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945. An invasion of the Japanese home islands scheduled for November 1945 and April 1946 could cost millions of lives.

DID TRUMAN HAVE OPTIONS? Could he use as a bargaining tool? (End war or we will…) Demonstrate the bomb in Tokyo bay, then ask for Japanese surrender? Invasion of Japan? Use bomb to save lives?

POTSDAM CONFERENCE-JULY 1945 Allies discussed post-war rule of Germany and Japan. Truman demands that Stalin allows all eastern European countries to have free democratic elections (self determination) Stalin agrees but will never live up to the bargain. He wants a buffer zone between the U. S. S. R. & Germany. Truman hints about A-bomb to Stalin. Stalin already knows about bomb from his spies in New Mexico.

Truman decides to use the bomb to save American lives. It will also save millions of Japanese lives. TRUMAN WARNS JAPAN OF DESTRUCTION AND ASKS FOR SURRENDER, NO REPLY FROM JAPAN. Japan probably wondered what else we could do to them after firebombing their cities. Col. Paul Tibbits

Friendship Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan: the Enola Gay’s aiming point for bomb.

HIROSHIMA - AUGUST 6TH, 1945 90,000 to 140,000 Dead

NAGASAKI - AUGUST 9TH, 1945 40,000 to 70,000 Deaths

AUGUST 14, 1945 V-J Day Formal Surrender September 2, 1945-aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, formal surrender is signed.

Aftermath… 55 million soldiers and civilians died 30-50 million from the Soviet Union alone (unknown total) U. S. S. R. loses the most lives of any country. 405,400 American dead 670,000 more Americans wounded