wwii battles & events
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WWII Battles & Events. Aug. 1939. Albert Einstein & others send letter to Pres. FDR urging research into the atom & nuclear weapons. Sept. 1939. Nazi invasion of Poland Official start of WWII. May-June 1940. Battle of Dunkirk Allied troops escape to the safety of England - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
WWII Battles & Events
ALBERT EINSTEIN & OTHERS SEND LETTER TO PRES. FDR URGING RESEARCH
INTO THE ATOM & NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Aug. 1939
Sept. 1939
Nazi invasion of Poland
Official start of WWII
May-June 1940
Battle of Dunkirk
Allied troops escape to the safety of England
Miracle at Dunkirk
June 1940
The Fall of France Nazis take control of
N. France
Vichy France: Nazi run puppet gov’t. in S. France
Aug. –Sept. 1940
Battle of Britain
England’s RAF defeats the German Luftwaffe after 1 month of bombing
Radar helped RAF win!!
The Battle of Britain was effectively over by Sept. 15, 1940. The Luftwaffe lost 1,800 aircraft & 2,660 crew.
The RAF lost 1,020 aircraft & 537 crew. The RAF controlled the skies!
Pearl Harbor, HawaiiDec. 7th, 1941
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, home of the Pacific Fleet After attack, many feared of land invasion “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”
A date which will live in infamy….
D E C . 8 , 1 9 4 1 : F D R A S K E D C O N G R E SS T O
D E C L A R E WA R O N J A PA N !
US Joins the War
After Pearl Harbor, the US joins the Allies Fall of France &
attack of USSR United under
“Remember Pearl Harbor!”
Japanese boastful
Dec. 1941 – May 1942 The Philippines
Japan invaded the islands & took Americans prisoners
Douglas MacArthur lead US troops stationed there Forced out by Japanese “I Will Return”
Bataan Death March: Captured US troops forced to march over 50 miles to POW camp Many died (30,000)
Japan controlled Philippines Disproved theory of white
domination in SE Asia
• FDR ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 & BEGINS THE INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE -AMERICANS & OTHERS
Feb. 1942
April 1942
Doolittle Raids
Showed Japan could be attacked by plane
Japanese islands
vulnerable to attack
Dampened Japanese spirits & lifted US morale
May 1942
Battle of the Coral Sea
Allies stop Japan from invading Australia
Coral Sea: May 1942Japan eyeing
AustraliaUS & Australian
troops stop Japanese advance (1st time)
Australia not invaded
New type of naval warfare: no ships, fought with airplanes from aircraft carriers
Allies lost most, but Japan unable to continue, out of fuel
Battle of Midway: June 1942“US Avenged Pearl Harbor”
• Led by Admiral Nimitz• US intercepted info. abt. Japanese movement toward strategic island of Midway, then off to finish Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor• US outnumbered 4 to 1• US took big chance, sent bulk of Navy for this sneak attack • Worst Japanese defeat
• 4 aircraft carriers, 322 planes & 1 cruiser
• Turning point of Pacific Theater• Japan begins to weaken, loses power in Pacific
Battle of Stalingrad: Aug. 1942- Feb. 1943 (Left Side)
Germany stuck on Eastern Front (Near Soviet Union) Stalingrad major Soviet industrial center,
Germany needs the resources because it’s low on oil & machinery
Nov. 1942-Feb. 1943 Hitler tried to take Stalingrad, burned city
Soviets retaliated, fighting back in -44 weather Turning point of the European Theater (1943)
US upset because already lost 200,000
USSR loses that many by breakfast everyday
8 million soldiers (estimate)
16 million civilian (estimate)
• Stalin wants US & Britain to get involved with land troops ASAP• Distract German troops• Fighting Germany alone for months
Guadalcanal: Aug. 1942 – Feb. 1943(Right Side)
1st land offensive of Pacific War
6 months battleIsland of DeathImportant for use as
an airstrip: toehold to attack on Japan
Showed how costly this would be (30%)
US moving closer to Japan
Oct. 1942
Battle of El Alamen
Allied victory in N. Africa!
Allies able to invade Europe via Italy “Belly of the Beast”
OPERATION TORCH
CODENAME OF ALLIED ASSAULT ON NAZI FORCES
IN N. AFRICA
Nov. 1942
GERMANY SURRENDERS IN TUNISIA
May 1943
June 6, 1944Operation Overlord D-DAY
June 6, 1944: Allied invasion of Normandy, France Gen. Dwight Eisenhower in charge of Allies Largest amphibious invasion in history Problems: Drop zones, fortifications, underwater mines etc. Several beaches attacked – Omaha Beach heaviest Led to the Liberation of France By Sept. 1944, most of N. Europe was free
Since you are all so clearly well versed in your knowledge of WWII, you will be
happy to know there is a quiz tomorrow
Leyte Gulf, Philippines: Oct. 1944
Guess who made good on his promise to return to the Philippines? “People of the Philippines: I have returned!”
3 major battles take place US takes the Philippines: MacArthur in charge Islands completely taken by 1945 Japanese desperate & use Kamikaze pilots: Suicide pilots
Lost 424 pilots
Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945Battle of the BulgeBattle of Aachen: 1st
German city takenGermany broke through
American lines (creating bulge)
80 mile front & took 1 month to get back under Allied control; Germany defeated
Germany’s last major attack
Germany’s Demise2 front war: USSR &
US1945: US & Soviet
troops met in BerlinHitler hiding in
bunker with new wife & other friends
April 30, 1945: Hitler shot himself, wife took poison, gave dog cyanide-bodies burned
Hitler blamed Jews in final letter
Feb. – March 1945
Iwo JimaStrategic: serve as
base for heavy bombers (couldn’t take off from carriers)
Most protected place on earth – 20,000 Japanese
Only 200 survived
April – May 1945
Battle of Berlin
Soviet troops invade the city…
Many Nazis flee, leaving Berlin unguarded
April 28, 1945 April 30, 1945
B. Mussolini killed by Partisans as he attempted to escape into Switzerland.
Body hung in Milan to serve as proof of death
A. Hitler commits suicide & has his body burned
Death of the European Dictators
Death of Mussolini
April – June 1945
OKINAWA LAST ISLAND IN US’S WAY TO JAPAN
HEAVY CASUALTIES: SHOWED POSSIBLE HIGH LOSSES IF US INVADED
JAPAN Estimated over 1,000,000 would be lost in land invasion
of Japan
V-E DAYVICTORY IN EUROPE DAY
1 S T PART OF WAR OVER
May 8, 1945
TRINITY EXPLOSION• 1st atomic weapon detonated in Los Alamos, New Mexico: 7/16/45• 20,000 tons of TNT• Flash seen 450 miles away & heard 200 miles away
• More powerful than dared hoped• Oppenheimer: “I have become Death, the shatterer of worlds, waiting that hour that ripens to their dooms.”• $20 billion to develop• 4 bombs made (1 test, 2 for war, I unused)
August 6, 1945: US drops A-Bomb on Hiroshima Enola Gay: Plane which dropped 1st A-Bomb (Little Boy); 70,000 dead in blink of eye, 30,000 from radiation & injuries W/i 43 seconds, most buildings collapsed into dust Japan refused to surrender
Why?
Before
After
Barefoot Gen.
Aug. 9, 19452nd A-Bomb dropped
on Japan - Fat Man7,000 degrees
CentigradeEmperor horrified &
surrenders: 8/14/45
It was perhaps unforgivable, but in fact at the time, I was completely calm & composed. In other words,
it was just too much, too enormous to absorb.- Yosuke Yamahata- Nagasaki Survivor
Aftermath
Hirshima
Gone in an Instant
Art of a Survivor
Aug. 15, 1945 September 2, 1945
V-J Day: Victory in Japan. War in the Pacific
over!!!
Japan’s formal surrender is accepted!
Japan Surrenders
• NUREMBERG TRIALSWar crimes trials
Nov. 1945 – Oct. 1946