Defeat in the East

The Carrier War While the War in the Atlantic was fought between German submarines and the Allied convoys, the war in the Pacific would be decided between the aircraft carrier forces between the United States and Japan Whomever controlled the air over the Pacific would determine the war

Battle of Midway

USS Yorktown

Midway At Pearl Harbour, the American Navy was lucky not to loose its aircraft carrier forces At Midway, the Japanese Navy wanted to engage these forces and knock them out of the war and buy time in the Pacific In the beginning, the Japanese had 4 aircraft carriers task forces To the Japanese surprise, the American naval forces were stronger than anticipated (3 Aircraft Carriers)

The Americans had broken the Japanese cipher codes, ensuring they would know that the battle plans would be Due to the advance warning, the Americans were waiting for the Japanese with stronger numbers than expected In one day, the Japanese lost all 4/4 aircraft carriers they had in their force This would be the turning point in the pacific war

Island Hopping This strategy allowed the American and British Commonwealth (Australia and New Zealand) to regain the islands under Japanese control Islands chains such as the Solomon’s (near Australia) and Guam (near the Philippines) became American targets These islands would be used for future bases for American air power to bomb Japan into submission

These islands would be fought to the last, since the Japanese command refused surrender (suicide was preferable) Tarawa – Nov. 20, 1943 At the Battle of Tarawa, of the 5000 Japanese soldiers, only 17 surrendered This island cost the Americans 1000 KIA Fight to the Death

Iwo Jima Was targeted for capture since it was close to Japan, as well as establish a fighter base for the U.S. bomber command As with the many others, this battle was going to persuade allied commanders to use the atomic bomb later in the war After a month of fighting, US casualties were 12,500 dead and 35,000 wounded The Japanese would loose 23,000 dead, while only 200 surrendered

Potsdam Declaration July 17, 1945 “Big Three” meeting of Truman, Stalin and Churchill in Potsdam, Germany These leaders issue a joint statement demanding the unconditional surrender of Japan If not, Japan risks “utter devastation” of its homeland A week before, the USA tests its atomic bomb

Fire Bombing of Japan Using the new air bases from captured Japanese islands at Okinawa and Iwo Jima, the Americans begin an all out bombing of Japan From January-May, 1945, over 500,000 civilians are killed and 13 million are left homeless in Japan When Japan refused to surrender, President Truman decided to take it to the next level

Atomic Bombings August 6, 1945 The U.S. aircraft “Enola Gay” drops its atomic weapon on Hiroshima Instantly, 80,000 civilians are killed in the firestorm, while 100,000 are injured August 9, 1945 Nagasaki is destroyed by the second atomic bomb, killing 35,000 and wounding 60,000 August 14, 1945 – Japan surrenders

Soviet Invasion of Manchuria August 8, 1945 Two days after, the atomic attack on Hiroshima, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan A full scale invasion of Manchuria occurs, the Soviet forces defeat the Japanese army in Manchuria, and move towards the Korean border (present day North Korea) August 14, 1945 – Japan surrenders

Holocaust With the end of the war, the Allies in Europe begin to investigate the deaths of the Jewish population in Europe at the hands of the Nazis While at first the Jews faced legal restrictions and a loss of rights, this would gradually escalate to imprisonment and death 1933 – 1 st Camp built at Dachau 1942 – Hitler adopts the “Final Solution”

With the adoption of the “Final Solution,” Hitler now sets in motion the whole scale elimination of the Jewish people in Europe Hitler’s personal bodyguard force, the “S.S.” were put in charge of these camps More than 3 million men, women and children were killed in Auschwitz alone Millions more died from starvation, torture, and forced labour In total, 6 million Jews were killed, and another 6 million non-Jews were killed (enemies, gypsies, homosexuals, etc.)

Nuremburg Trials Nov. 21, 1945 – Oct. 1, 1946 Trials that put the top 22 of Nazi Germany’s leaders on trial Symbolically, it was held to be the most significant denazification policy (I.E. getting rid of the Nazi’s from power) 12 leading Nazis were hanged and 7 were sent to prison, while 3 were acquitted

The prosecution stated these crimes were so terrible that “civilization can not tolerate them being ignored, because it may not survive them being repeated.” Critics stated that this represented a “political act of the victors against the vanquished.”

Post- War Divisions in Europe In Europe, the occupying armies of the Soviet Union and the Western Allies will have long term implications In the West, the Americans and British begin rebuilding the nations from the devastation of the war In the East, Stalin begins to support the growth of communist governments in nations which the Red Army occupies

Thus, Europe would be divided between pro-Western and pro-Soviet spheres By the end of 1946, Eastern and Western Europe would be divided along both ideological and economic lines Democracy vs. Communism Capitalism vs. Socialism With the end of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and the Western Allies no longer have a common enemy in Europe

The Soviet Union will annex all the lands it was originally awarded in the Nazi-Soviet Pact (Baltic States, Eastern Poland, etc.) As well, Germany would be “temporarily” divided and occupied by the four powers (USSR, USA, Britain and France) It would be united and neutralized after a period of five to ten years. Poland would lose land to the USSR in the East, while gain lands at the expense of Germany in the west

Divisions in Asia Korea would be divided along the 38 th parallel (without consultation) North Korea would be occupied by the USSR, and the south would be occupied by the USA Japan would be occupied by the USA France and Holland would regain its colonial possessions in South East Asia