1. Endgame and the Atomic Bomb

2. The Battle of the Bulge December 1944
Hitler’s desperate response to the advance of the Allied forces after D-Day
Attack came through the Ardennes Forest, intended target was Antwerp, Belgium
Splitting the Allied forces in half- forcing the British and Americans to ask for peace separate from the Soviets
That would allow him time and resources enough to defeat the Soviets
Almost ¼ million troops against 4 American units
American stubbornness slowed the German advance, allowing time for reinforcements to arrive and for Germany to run out of supplies
Most costly battle for the US Army in WWII- over 100,000 casualties

3. End of the 3rd Reich Allied advance after the Battle of the Bulge
By early April 1945, US troops had crossed the Rhine River and the Soviets were beginning their final assault on Berlin
Hitler had retreated to an air-raid bunker beneath the chancellery in mid January
April 30- When he was informed that the Russians were closing in, Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide
Both took cyanide capsules (which he had tested on his dog), but the Fuhrer shot himself as well.
1 week after his suicide, Germany formally surrendered
Allied command decided that May 8th would be celebrated as VE-Day (Victory in Europe)

4. Yalta and Potsdam Conference
Yalta Conference- meeting of the “Big Three”(FDR, Churchill and Stalin) to discuss postwar Europe
February 1945
Soviets granted large spheres of influence in Eastern Europe
Agreements on German reparations after the war
Only weeks before the German surrender, FDR died of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945
Harry Truman becomes president

5. Yalta and Potsdam Conferences cont.
The Potsdam Conference was the last major peace conference held from July 17- August 2, 1945
Attended by Truman, Churchill, and Stalin
Talks centered on plans for postwar Europe, but also on how to bring an end to the war in the Pacific
Economy choices on managing postwar Germany- demilitarization and remaking their economy and political systems
Controversy over the German-Polish border

6. Okinawa Last and biggest Pacific island battle in WWII
April 1-June
The determined Japanese implemented kamikaze tactics- making this a difficult, costly encounter
Japanese- 77,000 casualties
US- 65,000 causalities
Over 100,000 civilian casualties
The final surrender offered the US strategic airfields for bombing the main island of Japan

7. The Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project was a secret government project aimed at the development of the atomic bomb
Initiated by a 1939 letter from Albert Einstein to FDR telling of German experiments on splitting the atom- officially launched after Pearl Harbor
Led by scientist Robert Oppenheimer
Secret development and research in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (the Atomic City)
First successful test in Trinity New Mexico on July 16, 1945

8. Ending the War in the Pacific
Japanese refused to surrender
General MacArthur favored continuing traditional warfare, including an invasion of mainland Japan- estimated this could bring over 1 million US casualties
Despite moral misgivings of his generals and scientists, Truman decides to use the Atomic bomb on Japan in an attempt to bring the war to a quick end
Bomb nicknamed ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945
When this did not illicit immediate surrender, on August 9, ‘Fat Man’ was dropped on Nagasaki
By the end of December 1945, deaths in the 2 cities ranged from 140, ,000
Japan formally surrenders on August 15, 1945 ending WWII