The War Ends Chapter 25 Section 5

Battle of the Bulge Hitler’s last desperate offensive Goal – to cut off Allied supplies coming through Antwerp, Belgium December 16, 1944 – the attack b/g Germans caught the US by surprise As German troops raced west, their lines bulged outward Battle of the Bulge

The Bulge 2 Germany wanted to capture the town of Bastogne where several important roads converged US troops raced to Bastogne, arriving just b/f German troops Germans surrounded the town and demanded surrender The Germans were denied Eisenhower ordered Patton to rescue the surrounded US troops

The Bulge 3 Patton’s troops slammed into German lines at Bastogne Allied aircraft b/g hitting German fuel depots By Christmas Eve the Germans were forced to halt Two days later Patton’s troops broke through to Bastogne January 8, 1945 German troops b/g to w/draw

Hitler Dies Allies into Germany Soviets forces attack Germany’s eastern border US forces attacked Germany’s western border Hitler hides in his bunker in Berlin April 30, 1945 he put a pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger Hitler’s secretary carried his body outside and doused it w/ gasoline and set it on fire Hitler chose Karl Doenitz as his successor

V-E Day Doenitz tries to surrender to the US and British while continuing to fight the Soviets Eisenhower insisted on unconditional surrender May 7, 1945 – Germany surrendered unconditionally May 8, 1945 was declared V-E Day Victory in Europe

Battle of Iwo Jima February 1945 – 110,000 US Marines landed on Iwo Jima US takes control of the island and its airfields 6 US Marines raise US flag on top of Mount Suribachi US soldiers 6,821 US soldiers died; 19,189 were wounded Japanese soldiers Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers, only 1,083 survived to be taken prisoner

The Flag Raisers

Firebombing in Japan B-29’s drop bombs filled with napalm Napalm – jellied gasoline The bombs would not only explode, but they would start fires as well Very controversial b/c the fires would also kill civilians It was the quickest way to destroy Japan’s war production Tokyo firebombing killed over 80,000 people and destroyed more than 250,000 buildings

Okinawa April 1, US troops landed on Okinawa Largest amphibious assault in the Pacific campaign of WWII Allied lost 50,000 lives Japan lost over 100,000 lives Estimated 40,000 – 150,000 civilian lives lost

Terms for Surrender The US demanded unconditional surrender Many Japanese leaders were willing to surrender w/ one condition The emperor had to stay in power The Manhattan Project – the codename for the American program to build the atomic bomb

Dropping Little Boy Truman b/l it was his duty to use every weapon available to save American lives August 6, 1945 – a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima B/w 80,000 and 120,000 people died instantly Thousands more died later from burns and radiation sickness

Dropping Fat Man August 9, 1945 The Soviets declare war on Japan US dropped the second bomb called “Fat Man” on Nagasaki It killed b/w 35,000 and 74,000 people August 15, 1945 – Japanese emperor ordered his govt. to surrender V-J Day – victory in Japan

Building a Post-War World The United Nations Each member would have a representative Each member would have one vote The UN would also have a Security Council of 11 members 5 countries would be permanent members US, Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union These 5 would each have veto power

The Enemy on Trial International Military Tribunal (IMT) Created by the US, Britain, France, and the SU Nuremberg trials – the IMT tried German leaders suspected of committing war crimes Similar trials were held in Tokyo for the leaders of wartime Japan The emperor was not indicted b/c the Allies feared any attempt to put him on trial would lead to an uprising by the Japanese