Chapter 24Section 4

“Toward Victory”

Vocab• Dimension- size or extent; length, width, or height• Efficient- acting effectively; without wasted cost or effort• Harry S. Truman- FDR’s Vice President who took office

after Roosevelt passed from a stroke• Island hopping- strategy in which American forces would

capture some Japanese-held islands and go around others• Kamikaze- missions in which suicide pilots crashed their

planes into American ships• Genocide- the deliberate attempt to wipe out an entire

nation or group of people• War crimes- wartime acts of cruelty and brutality that are

judged to be beyond the accepted rules of war and human behavior

Victory in Europe• Italy Surrenders: In July 1943, British and American troops took control

of Sicily. They fought along the Italian Peninsula, heading northward.Mussolini was dismissed from office and on September 8, 1943,

the new government surrendered to the Allies.• D-Day: On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), ~155,000 Allies crossed the English

Channel to Normandy, in western France. They landed on 5 different beaches, 4 of which quickly overcame German opposition.

On Omaha beach, the Americans were faced with a strong German defense. At the end of the day, over 2,000 Americans died, but they still managed to be victorious.

On August 25, 1944, the Allies liberated Paris after 4 years of being under Nazi rule.

• Battle of the Bulge: On December 16, 1944, Hitler fought back in Belgium. The Germans came close to pushing through Allied lines, but did not succeed.

Although each side lost tens of thousands of soldiers, the Allies had back-up troops on the ready, Germany did not.• Germany Invaded: In January 1945, a fierce Soviet army

entered German territory. Western Allies joined them in large numbers. Allied planes bombed German industries and cities.

On April 14, 195, FDR passed from a stroke, which crippled American spirit. Truman was brought into presidency. Many had doubts on his leadership skills.

• Victory in Europe: On April 16, Soviet troops attacked Berlin. Hitler took shelter in an underground bunker and committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The next week Germany surrendered at Eisenhower’s French headquarters. On May 8, the Allies rejoiced Victory in Europe, also known as V-E Day.

Victory in the Pacific• Island Hopping: August 7, 1942, U.S. Marines arrived at

Guadalcanal in the south Pacific. The Americans fought for 6 months, with hunger and disease, until they gained full control of the island.

Navajo soldiers, using there own language, radioed crucial messages from island to island. The Japanese intercepted some of these messages, but were not able to understand the unique Navajo language.

In January 1945, troops landed on Luzon, in the Philippines, and then continued on Manila. Americans controlled the city nearly after a month of fighting. This cost the life of over 14,000 Americans, 350,000 Japanese, and 100,000 Filipino citizens.

• Japan Holds Firm: Island hopping marines neared Japan. Their final stops were Iwo Jima, where 6,000 Americans died, and Okinawa, where 12,000 Americans died.

Towards the end of the war, Japan began using kamikaze warfare, in which suicide pilots crashed their planes into American ships. This led Americans to believe that only a full-scale invasion of Japan would make them surrender.

In the spring of 1945, after Hitler’s defeat in Europe, the Americans bombarded Japan along the coast and destroyed shipping. Millions of people lacked food, but Japanese leaders still claimed they were victorious.

• The Atomic Bomb: President Truman planned to invade Japan although the expected casualties were to be around half a million. This was before the president was informed that the atomic bomb - a weapon so powerful it could destroy entire cities - had been successfully tested in New Mexico.

On August 6, 1945, an American plane dropped an atomic bomb on Heroshima. The destruction was unbelievable; within minutes, it had killed more than 130,000 people.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, which killed 35,000 people in impact. Many more died from radiation poisoning.

Finally, on August 14,1945, Japan surrendered, known as V-J Day. World War II had ended at last.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=atomic+bomb&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=ew4-1wnt5uKr1M&tbnid=AIFI5WDE4sTLZM:&ved=0CAUQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.gwu.edu%2F~nsarchiv%2FNSAEBB%2FNSAEBB162%2F&ei=2l0jU_vBHcqwygGrvoGQCA&bvm=bv.62922401,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNGFA7vYJnFWQkJRwS8_x4WWnHcrsw&ust=1394913107352789

• Victims of the Nazis: World War II was the bloodiest conflict in human history. 60 million people died, including 400,000 Americans, 2/3 of them civilians. Nobody discovered the terrors by the Nazis inflicted on the Jews, until after Germany’s defeat.

Hitler practiced racism, extreme anti-Semitism, and believed the Jewish population was responsible for Germany’s defeat in World War I. he attempted to annihilate all Jews in Europe as a solution to the problem.

6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. The Nazis also murdered millions of Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, communists, and people with mental or physical disabilities.

The Holocaust

• Death Camps: There were 6 death camps in Poland, in which millions were transferred to in cattle cars. Hundreds were killed in gas chambers, and others underwent torture or other gruesome medical experiments. Allies soldiers liberated the death camps and were stunned by the sight and stench of death. Survivors looked like living skeletons.

• War Crimes Trials: The Allies prosecuted leaders of the Axis Powers for war crimes, because of the shocking reality of what they had done.

In the Nuremberg Trials in 1946, 12 defendants were sentenced to be hung. Trials similar to this were held elsewhere.

http://pages.uoregon.edu/mccole/HIST303Spring2012/maps/WWIIbattlefronts.jpg

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