World History 12/13/13

Warm-up Write 1 sentence on why each of the following are important—NOT WHAT HAPPENED: 1.Invasion of Poland by Germany 2.Battle of France 3.Battle of Britain 4.Attack on Pearl Harbor 5.Stalingrad (part of “Case Blue”)

War at Sea The Battle of the Atlantic ( ) Axis and Allied powers are fighting over control of the Atlantic Ocean. Why? German U-Boats U-Boats are good at first, but begin to lose because of sonar/depth charges and radar/aircraft torpedoes.

War at Sea By 1943, the Allies have won the Battle of the Atlantic and can out-do U- Boats. This was extremely important. Winston Churchill said: “The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome.”

North Africa & Italy Why North Africa? The Suez Canal! Italian troops attack Egypt in 1940 British destroy Italians & threaten to take over all of North Africa Germany gets involved: sends Erwin “Desert Fox” Rommel to command the “Afrika Korps.” British are pushed back to Egypt

North Africa & Italy At El Alamein in October 1942, British General Montgomery defeats Erwin Rommel. The Germans have poor supply lines & few reinforcements in Africa, leading to a decisive win for the Allies. This is a huge morale boost for the Allies.

North Africa & Italy America gets involved, and Dwight Eisenhower (future president) lands with troops in North Africa. Rommel is surrounded now and forced to surrender—250,000 soldiers taken & North Africa lost. Huge win for Allies. The Allied troops now turn their attention to Italy. Allies take over Sicily. Fighting continues in Italy until 1945, when Italians surrender.

War in the Pacific After the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Japan is much stronger than America. Japan attacks the Philippines, where there are many weak Filipino troops and a small American army (under Gen. MacArthur). In April 1942, Allies surrender and march to a prison camp. Thousands die—called the Bataan Death March OPlfhVEw-7U

War in the Pacific Battle of Coral Sea (May 1942): aircraft carriers off the coast of Australia fight. Japanese win (by losses), but the Americans do stop the Japanese for the first time. Battle of Midway (June 1942): Japan attacks Midway, in the middle of the Pacific, in hopes of destroying the American fleet. Americans break the Japanese code and ambush their aircraft carriers (destroy 4). Huge victory for America over Japan—they never recover.

War in the Pacific Americans use strategy called “island hopping” under General MacArthur. Capture weaker islands that are closer to Japan to cut off supplies to stronger islands. Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942-January 1943): Allies win six-month battle on island (terrible conditions). This shows America is off the defensive and now on the offensive. In 1944, Japan gets desperate. They start using an attack called “kamikazes” (meaning divine wind) in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Japanese pilots crash their own planes to blow up Allied ships. Allies are very close to winning.

Soviets turn the tide Soviets won huge battle at Stalingrad. Next: Battle of Kursk (July-August 1943) Soviets are able to stop phase 2 of blitzkrieg for the first time. German power on the Eastern front never recovers. Operation Bagration: Soviet offensive in 1944 to take over Poland. German power in east is almost completely destroyed.

D-Day Allies plan for a massive invasion of France (on beaches of Normandy) on June 6, Casualties are high, but the Allies win the beaches and many soldiers come to mainland Europe to fight Hitler. News: uLs uLs

Battle of the Bulge Hitler orders a huge counterattack in December 1944 in a final attempt to defeat the Allies in the West. Allies win by January Allies are moving in on west & Soviets are moving in on east.

War in the Pacific Firebombing of Japan: starts in 1942, picks up in Kills almost 900,000 people.

War in the Pacific Battle of Iwo Jima: Americans try to get closer to Japan. In February 1945, American troops land on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. 20,000 Japanese troops on island: about 19,000 fight to the death. Battle of Okinawa: island even closer to Japan. April-June 1945, American troops invade the island and kill over 110,000 Japanese troops. Japan is close to the end now, too.

Allied Victory Battle of Berlin: April-May Soviets take over Berlin and Hitler commits suicide. V-E Day: May 8, Victory in Europe Day. Potsdam Declaration: America tells Japan to surrender or face “prompt and utter destruction.” They refuse. Atomic Bombs: August 6 & August 9—America bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki. V-J Day: Emperor Hirohito surrenders. August 15, Victory over Japan Day.

Timeline Create a timeline for the events of WWII. Star anything you feel was a turning point. Use this to answer the first EQ: What were the most important events of WWII? Be sure to identify them and explain why they were important.

Effects of WWII Millions of people killed & large areas of Europe/Asia destroyed. The Allies split up Germany into Eastern & Western blocs. Japan is occupied and turned democratic. The United Nations is formed. The U.S. & Soviet Union become the greatest world powers, and they have conflicts with each other (mostly over the spread of communism).

Essential Question How was the world influenced by World War II?

Ethics of Atomic Bombs ETHICALUNETHICAL It was a better option than invading Japan. A new level of destruction that is criminal in nature. The speedy end to the war may have saved civilian lives in the end. It was not necessary to end the war (the Soviet declaration of war did). It was part of total war.Terrorism—targeting innocents to achieve a political goal. The Japanese refused to surrender after the Potsdam Declaration. Nagasaki was three days after Hiroshima, before the full impact was known. The firebombing was even more destructive than atomic bombings. Dehumanization of Japanese: inability to reason with them outside of death.

End of Class Write an explanation of if America’s decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan was ethical or not. Explain yourself fully. If you disprove the other side, it will strengthen your argument.