VE Day and VJ Day 11.7 Students analyze America’s participation in World War II. 2. Explain U.S. and Allied wartime strategy, including the major battles of Midway, Normandy, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Battle of the Bulge. 3. Identify the roles and sacrifices of individual American soldiers, as well as the unique contributions of the special fighting forces (e.g., the Tuskegee Airmen, the 442nd Regimental Combat team, the Navajo Code Talkers). 7. Discuss the decision to drop atomic bombs and the consequences of the decision (Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

Vocabulary V-E Day Island Hopping Kamikaze pilots Manhattan Project Hiroshima Nagasaki

Overall losses United States –Men sent to WWII 16,112,566 –KIA 291,557 –Wounded 670,846 ml

D Day Dwight D Eisenhower plans an invasion on the coast of France Normandy, France 21 American divisions 26 British, Canadian and Polish Goal: convince Germans that the Allied attack come to Calais

June 6, ,000 planes prepared the way The attack allowed for a foothold to be taken Next goal: capture Berlin

Battle of the Bulge German counter attack almost successful Germans caught Allies by surprise Battle of the Bulge instead crippled Germany

VE Day Germany had a two front war Soviets made it to Berlin by January April 1945 Mussolini fled to Switzerland –U.S forces closed in on the West side of Berlin –May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered

Island Hopping Casualties Battle of Midway –USA: <1,000 Iwo Jima, World War II (19 Feb.-9 April 1945) Gilbert, History of the Twentieth Century –Japanese soldiers: 20,000 –US: 6,821 marines sailors Johnson, Modern Times –US: 4,917 d. –Japanese: >18,000 k.

Costs of Pacific Theater Guadalcanal US: 1,592 fatalities Japanese: 25,000 lost Okinawa US: 1,592 fatalities Japanese: 25,000 lost

War in Pacific continued Island hopping U.S. strategy Japanese fought hard and bravely New threat: kamikaze pilots 3,000 kamikaze pilots died Fight for Iwo Jima the bloodiest

Manhattan Project Secret code name for the development of the atomic bomb in a top secret site in Los Alamos, New Mexico Project leader: Robert Oppenheimer July 16, 1945 first test of A bomb

Truman Decides Harry Truman decided to use the bomb What he knew: –Ethical consequences of using the bomb on civilians –Axis nuclear scientists were working on a similar bomb –Military Advisors estimated 1,000,000 casualties if we kept Island Hopping

Hiroshima August 6, 1945 In 2 minutes 60,000 civilians dead

Nagasaki Destruction

Nagasaki August 9, 1945 Soviets declare war on Japan Second A bomb dropped 35,000 dead initially

VJ Day Emperor Hirohito surrendered August 15, 1945 Radio address: first time people ever heard his voice Official surrender September 2