1. World War II #5 Fighting WWII in Asia
21. Nuremburg Trials 22. GI Bill of Rights 23. Joseph Stalin 24. Benito Mussolini

2. Essential Question:
What role did the United States play in fighting in Asia during World War II?
Warm-Up Question:
What was the significance of :
The Battle of the Atlantic?
Stalingrad?
Operation Overlord (D-Day)?
The Battle of the Bulge?

3. Quick World War 2 in Europe Review
“Europe First” & Battle of the Atlantic

4. Quick World War 2 in Europe Review
Victory in North Africa
Turning Point: Stalingrad
Operation Torch & liberation of Italy
Fighting in Europe,

5. D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France
Europe
D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France
Soviet army seizes Berlin; Germany surrenders May 7, 1945
Battle of the Bulge

6. While American forces fought in North Africa in 1942, the U. S
While American forces fought in North Africa in 1942, the U.S. Navy began fighting Japan

7. Fighting the War in the Pacific, 1942
In the months following Pearl Harbor, Japan captured the U.S. outposts of Guam and Wake and British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore.
In the Mariana Islands, Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific, Douglas McArthur was ordered to flee from a Japanese invasion.
Bataan Death march

8. Fighting the War in the Pacific, Cont...
2. American spirits were lifted in April Colonel James Doolittle led a successful air raid on Tokyo in a move designed to strike fear in the very heart of the Japanese.
3. Six months after Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway was a major turning point in the war with Japan.

9. Discussion Question
Why do you think America’s air force was more important fighting the Pacific than in Europe?

10. Fight the War in the Pacific, 1943 - 1944
4. General MacArthur devised the strategy of island hopping to fight the Japanese in the Pacific.
The US would island hop past Japan’s heavily defended islands and seize the more easily defeated outposts.
There, the U.S. could build landing strips and employ blockades to cut Japan’s supply lines.

11. Fighting the War in the Pacific, 1943 - 1944
5. After the crushing defeat, (at Leyte Gulf), the desperate Japanese began using the “bonsai charge”-kamikaze attacks. But, the “Divine Wind” failed to stop the Allied advance in Japan.

12. Fighting the War in the Pacific, 1943 - 1944
Why did the U.S. need to capture the heavily fortified islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa?
The US air force could began sending bombers to Japan’s main land.

14. Whether to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Critical Thinking Decision A

15. The Manhattan Project
Based on scientific research, FDR created the Manhattan Project, the code name for developing an atomic bomb:
Robert Oppenheimer was put in charge of developing the bomb
From , a number of secret labs across the country developed & built the bomb

16. The bomb was constructed in a secret city in Oak Ridge, TN
In July 1945, the bomb was successfully tested at Los Alamos, New Mexico during Project Trinity
The bomb was constructed in a secret city in Oak Ridge, TN
Physicist Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago developed the nuclear reaction
Nuclear plant in Hanford, WA developed the plutonium

17. Whether to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Critical Thinking Decision B
Truman’s Decision: C

18. The Japanese refused to surrender even in the face of defeat
By 1944, Americans gained supremacy of the air & ran daily fire bombings on Japanese cities
In addition, Japanese soldiers resorted to horrific acts of barbarity on the battlefield
The Japanese refused to surrender even in the face of defeat

19. Dropping the Atomic Bomb
Truman issued the Potsdam Declaration to Japan: surrender or face prompt & utter destruction
When Japan refused to surrender Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945
After 3 days, the Japanese gov’t did not respond to the bombing
The U.S. dropped a 2nd atomic bomb in the city of Nagasaki

20. Winning the War in the Pacific and the End of WWII
7. As the US marched across the sea towards Japan, daily raides by American B-29 bombers were destroying Japanese cities and killing thousands of civilians.
For Japan, defeat inevitable, but the island nation would never surrender

21. Winning the War
8. Shortly after becoming president in 1945, Harry Truman learned of the Manhattan Project- the codename for the best kept secret of WWII-a secret weapon powerful enough to destroy an entire city.

22. Winning the War
9. At 2:45 am on August , the Enola Gay headed out over the Pacific toward the Japanese island of Hiroshima. The city of Hiroshima was annihilated.

23. Winning the War
10. When Japan failed to respond, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, leveling half of the city and killing more than 39,000. By the end of the year, the death toll reached more than 80,000.

24. Winning the War
11. On Sept , Japan formally surrendered. The war was finally over.
Discussion Q: By 1944, the US was firebombing Japanese cities. Why couldn’t the US continue firebombing rather than dropping the atomic bomb?

25. Hiroshima
Nagasaki

28. Dropping the Atomic Bomb
Effect of the atomic bomb:
Saved hundreds of thousands of lives because it prevented a U.S. land invasion of Japan
Revenge for Pearl Harbor
Showed the USSR that the USA had the ultimate weapon (began the Cold War nuclear arms race)

29. WW2 Timeline (Allies, Axis, USSR)