The Battle of the Bulge “Island Hopping” FDR / TRUMAN The Atomic Age THE END OF WORLD WAR II The Battle of the Bulge “Island Hopping” FDR / TRUMAN The Atomic Age

Battle of the Bulge Fall 1944 – Winter 1945 After D-Day success recapturing France, Allied advance stalls German surprise offensive through Ardennes forest in Belgium Allied line “bulges” out into France, but does not break Last stand of Germany

Fighting in the Ardennes

Living through the Battle of the Bulge

Collapse of the Third Reich Allies withstand Battle of the Bulge on Western Front Soviets withstand sieges of Moscow and Stalingrad on Eastern Front Germany pushed back to its pre-war borders Nazi death camps being exposed in Poland

Germany Surrenders – May 1945 Allies storm into Germany, Russians reach Berlin first April 28th Mussolini executed April 30th, Hitler marries Eva Braun in underground bunker Hitler / Braun commit suicide Other Nazi Officers also commit suicide – Goebbels, Goring May 2, Berlin falls to the Russians May 7, Germany signs unconditional surrender V-E Day (Victory in Europe) Hitler’s 1,000 year Reich (Empire) over after 12 years

FDR DIES Roosevelt elected to FOURTH term (16 years) April 12, 1945 FDR dies from cerebral hemorrhage Did not live to see the end of the war Truman takes over Presidency with FDR death

HARRY S. TRUMAN FDR’s Vice President Not elected (yet) 33rd President (Democrat) Given a rough time since he could never live up to FDR “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the Kitchen”

Fighting the Japanese in the South Pacific “Island Hopping” – Fighting Japanese one island at a time Begin with Island of Guadalcanal Fierce Japanese response Both armies suffer heavy losses Japanese culture: Greatest shame to be defeated or surrender

THE KAMIKAZE Self Sacrifice (Suicide Mission) Use airplane itself as the weapon – crash plane into target Regarded as Highest honor possible Terrified American Army

More Fighting 1943 -1945 Fighting in some of the hottest, mosquito infested swamps in the world Islands of Midway, Wake, New Guinea, Guam, Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa Attacks led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Invasion of Okinawa Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945 Island needed to stage invasion of Japan Heavy casualties & fierce fighting demonstrate resolve of Japanese 50,000 USA, 140,000 Japanese casualties Siege lasts until late June, 1945

The Atomic Bomb Oct. 1939 – Albert Einstein tells FDR of Germany’s nuclear fission science “The Manhattan Project” – Top Secret $2 billion spent, 120,000 workers in Los Alamos, New Mexico J. Robert Oppenheimer chief scientist

The Bombing August 6, 1945 Truman Decision to Drop “Enola Gay” plane drops “Little Boy” bomb over Hiroshima, Japan 4 square miles of the city wiped out 60,000 killed instantly August 9, “Fatman” bomb dropped over Nagasaki

“Fatman and Little Boy”

Enola Gay Bomber Plane

Hiroshima Damage

Hiroshima Before

Hiroshima After

Japanese Surrender Gen. Douglas MacArthur accepts on USS Missouri USA will write Japan’s Constitution

Why Drop the Bomb??? Invasion of Japan would take too long and cost too much 500,000 US troops would be killed Japanese would fight to the death 1945 War Mindset: “Japs are savage, ruthless, and merciless” Damage extent not known Show World We Have This Power – Make Russia fear USA

Tokyo, Japan

World War II Costs 70 million fought – 45 million died USA: 408,000 dead Russia: 6 million military deaths, 10 million civilian deaths, 25 million left homeless $1 trillion dollars spent militarily - $2 trillion dollars in property damage