1. Chapter 43 Their Finest Hours: Americans in the Second World War 1942–1945

2. Stopping Japan Allies winning the war British resistance Russian loss of lives American industrial might American strategists Humiliation and Anger U.S. fights for time in Philippines Douglas MacArthur leads U.S. troops U.S. forces surrender Philippines Bataan Death March creates anger

3. Stopping Japan Stopping Japan (cont.’d) Japanese strategy Build defensive perimeter of heavily fortified islands far from Japan Early May 1942 plan near completion Coral Sea and Midway Coral Sea: carrier-based aircrafts do fighting Coral Sea: U.S. victory forces Japan to change plans Midway: Japan suffers a crucial defeat Midway: Crushes Japan’s offensive capacity

4. Stopping Japan Stopping Japan (cont.’d) Anti-Japanese hysteria U.S. fears invasion aided by Japanese Americans Almost no evidence to support fears U.S. interns Japanese Americans at inland camps Supreme Court upholds action in Korematsu v. U.S. Hawaiians treat Japanese Americans better Japanese Americans contribute to war effort German, Italian Americans suffer little persecution U.S. interns German aliens arrests fascists

5. Defeating Germany First Germany bigger threat to Western hemisphere Germany primary enemy Japan will fall after Germany Friction among the Allies FDR, Churchill trust each other Churchill, Stalin mistrust each other Stalin paranoid toward FDR, Churchill FDR tries to reassure Stalin

6. Defeating Germany First Defeating Germany First (cont.’d) African campaign and Stalingrad Germans threatened Suez Canal British win counterattack at El Alamein Eisenhower invades from the west Soviets have major victory in Stalingrad early 1943 Invasion of Italy Allies invade Sicily, Italy George Patton leads Allies Italians surrender Germany sends in troops, fighting continues Mark Clark bogs down on the peninsula

7. Defeating Germany First Defeating Germany First (cont.’d) Ike and Politics Allied assault across English Channel Allies select Dwight Eisenhower (Ike) to lead invasion Organizational skills are Eisenhower’s strength Eisenhower also a diplomat British, U.S. disagree on invasion of Germany British want single thrust into Germany Eisenhower opts for slower advance Slower advance appeases Soviets D-Day Operation Overlord massive invasion force Allies keep date, place secret D-Day: June 6, 1944 at Normandy Eisenhower’s planning leads to success

8. Defeating Germany First Defeating Germany First (cont.’d) The Battle of the Bulge and the end Germans launch counterattack in Belgium Bulge in lines threatened to split Allied forces Break in weather lets Allies use superior air force Allies invade Germany Hitler commits suicide; Germany surrenders Yalt Conference FDR insists on unconditional surrender At Yalta FDR does not resist Soviet proposals for postwar FDR does not give Stalin anything he did not already have FDR wants Soviet help in war with Japan

9. The Twilight of Japan, The Nuclear Dawn U.S. flies supplies “over the hump” into China MacArthur advances towards Japan through Philippines Chester Nimitz conquers islands close to Japan Pacific Island Warfare Japanese do not believe in surrender, fight to the death Fighting slow with high casualties, U.S. retakes Philippines; gains Marianas Islands Spring 1945, Japanese situation hopeless Japanese still refuse to surrender Casualty rates high at Iwo Jima and Okinawa Japanese fight back with kamikazes

10. The Twilight of Japan The Twilight of Japan (cont.’d) Birth and a death Albert Einstein advises FDR about German research U.S. begins Manhattan Project to build bomb FDR reelected fourth term; dies April 12, 1945 President Harry Truman Advisors predict one million U.S. casualties in Japan Truman gives order to use atomic weapons Little Boy” and “Fat Man” U.S. drops bombs at Hiroshima, Nagasaki Japan surrenders September 2, 1945

11. Discussion Questions What were the factors that led the Allies to victory over the Axis? Which was the most important? Examine Japan’s strategy in the Pacific. Why was in necessary for the Americans to fight an island- hopping war? What role did the United States play in the D-Day invasion? Why was it so essential establish a beachhead in Europe? For what reasons did Truman choose to use the atomic bomb against Japan? Was it the right decision?