Battles of WWII Chapter 25 Section 2

Attack of the Philippines ► Douglas MacArthur  Commander of the American and Filipino forces in the Philippines ► Japan attacks American airfields in the Philippines  Land Japanese troops there ► MacArthur retreats to the Bataan Peninsula  They hold out for more than 3 months  Lack of supplies and disease cripple the forces

Bataan Peninsula ► FDR removes MacArthur from the Philippines  MacArthur was an American hero  His capture would demoralize the American people  MacArthur is sent to Australia ► April 9, 1942 – allied troops at Bataan surrendered  Bataan Death March

General Douglas MacArthur MacArthur or “Dug Out Doug” As his men called him had abandoned His men claiming that he would return. He had ordered them to fight to the last man.

Bataan Death March ► 78,000 American POW’s were forced to march 65 miles to a Japanese prison camp ► Thousands died on this march

This was the largest surrender of American Troops in U.S. military history. The American and Filipino soldiers finally surrendered at Corregidor in the Philippines May 1942

U.S. soldiers on death march from Bataan to Cabanatuan – May 1942

Doolittle Raid ► April 18, 1942 – America bombs Japan for the first time  Bomb Tokyo to raise morale  James Doolittle commander ► B-25 bombers  Long range bombers  Take off from aircraft carriers but too big to land on an aircraft carrier  After the attack they would have to land in China

Attack Midway ► After the Doolittle Raid the Japanese decided to attack Midway ► Yamamoto – commander of the Japanese fleet  His idea to attack Midway Island  The last American base in the North Pacific  To destroy the American fleet to protect Tokyo from any more bombing

The Battle of Midway ► The Japanese launched their aircraft against Midway  Heading for an ambush  US code breakers  Japanese planes ran into antiaircraft fire  38 Japanese planes were shot down ► US launches a counterattack  The US sank 4 Japanese aircraft carriers ► Yamamoto ordered his remaining ships to retreat

A Turning Point ► Midway was a turning point in WWII  The Japanese lost 4 of its largest carriers ► The heart of its fleet  6 months after Pearl Harbor the US had stopped the Japanese advancement in the Pacific

The Struggle in Africa ► Battle of Kasserine Pass  1 st time US troops had to fight the Germans  US didn’t do well  outmaneuvered and out fought  Eisenhower fired the general who led the attack and put Patton in command ► By May 13, 1943 the last German forces in North Africa surrendered

Hitler Attacks Russia ► 1942 – Hitler b/l the only way to defeat the Soviets was to destroy its economy  Capture strategic oil fields, industries and farmlands ► The key to Hitler’s attacks was the capture of Stalingrad  Controlled the Volga River and was a major railroad junction  Cut the Soviets off from the resources they needed to stay in the war

Stalin Responds ► Stalin ordered his troops to hold Stalingrad at all costs – retreat was forbidden ► Soviet troops surrounded Stalingrad trapping almost 250,000 German troops  91,000 Germans surrendered  Only 5000 survived the prison camps and returned home after the war ► The Battle of Stalingrad – A turning point!!!  Put the Germans on the defensive for the rest of the war

Politics in 1944 ► Service overseas kept many Democratic voters from casting ballots in the 1942 congressional elections, and the low turnout helped Republicans gain congressional seats. ► Republicans seized the opportunity to roll back New Deal reforms. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the (CCC) was abolished. ► But the Democratic administration fought back by persuading Congress to guarantee absentee ballots for servicemen. Democrats won in the voting booths in ► In June 1944, Congress unanimously approved the landmark GI Bill of Rights, promising to give veterans government funds for education, housing, and health care, and to provide loans to start businesses and buy homes when they returned from overseas.

► After twelve turbulent years in the White House, F.D.R. was exhausted and dying with heart disease. But he was determined to remain president until the war ended. ► “All that is within me cries out to go back to my home on the Hudson River,” he declared. “But as a good soldier…I will accept and serve” if reelected president. ► Roosevelt’s poor health made the selection of a vice presidential candidate important. Convinced that Americans had soured on liberal reform, F.D.R. dumped Henry Wallace and chose Harry S. Truman, a more conservative Democrat. ► Republicans, confident of a strong upsurge in the nation, nominated New York Governor, Thomas E. Dewey. ► Roosevelt was given a 53.5 percent majority, his narrowest presidential victory ever. The Election of 1944