Victory in the pacific

Objectives: 149. Define island hopping Recognize how victories at Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa built momentum for the Allies Describe the wartime transition of power from FDR to Harry Truman Define the Manhattan Project Recognize the events that brought an end to the war in the Pacific.

Objective 149: Define island hopping. Island hopping was the military strategy of attacking only important islands, rather than all of them. Islands that were held by major Japanese forces would be attacked. Smaller Japanese units on islands that were hopped would be cut off from supplies.

Objective 150: Recognize how victories at Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa built momentum for the Allies. Leyte Gulf, fall of 1944: The largest, most decisive battle in the Pacific, where the U.S. took control of the Philippines for the first time since spring of Iwo Jima, February 1945: The United States took this island after severe casualties from both sides, bringing us within 750 miles of Tokyo. Okinawa, April 1945: One of the bloodiest battles of the war, this conflict ended with the U.S. getting within 350 miles of Japan, on the verge of invading Japan.

Objective 151: Describe the wartime transition of power from FDR to Harry Truman.  Franklin Roosevelt had been president since  With the end of the war in sight, Roosevelt ran for, and won a fourth term as president. Harry Truman was his V.P.  April 12, 1945 – Franklin Roosevelt died suddenly.  Harry Truman became president.  Within the first month of his presidency, Truman had to face an incredibly tough decision: should the U.S. use an atomic bomb on Japan?

Objective 152: Define the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was an ongoing effort to build an atomic weapon, worked on since This research and development was prompted by the warning that Germany was working on a similar weapon. Research centers were built in Tennessee, Washington and New Mexico. The New Mexican center was the first to develop the bomb and test it.

Objective 153: Recognize the events that brought an end to the war in the Pacific.. Truman had an important decision to make: He could send troops to invade Japan, but top advisors estimated the potential loss of 250,000-1,000,000 American lives. Iwo Jima and Okinawa proved the fighting would be difficult, and gruesome. The Japanese would not surrender.

Or he could use the newly tested A- bomb. This would avoid American casualties, but would result in potentially thousands of Japanese civilian deaths. Truman opted for the A-bomb, believing it would be a quicker end to the war. Truman gave Japan one last chance to agree to an unconditional surrender. When the Japanese refused, the order was given to bomb. Objective 153: Recognize the events that brought an end to the war in the Pacific.

On August 8, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, leveling the city. After another failed attempt to force a Japanese surrender, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9. The two bombs combined to cause 200,000 Japanese casualties.

Objective 153: Recognize the events that brought an end to the war in the Pacific. After the bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese finally relented, surrendering on September 2, This day is called V-J Day (Victory over Japan).

Objective 154: Identify the impact World War II had on the world. Allied victory. The Nazi government and Japanese military warlords were overthrown. WWII resulted in more death, and destroyed more property than any war in world history. Hundreds of cities destroyed. Millions of homes lost. Millions of people lacked basic necessities. Some estimates put the death toll of the war worldwide at 70 million+.