1. The Pacific Theatre: From Midway to the Missouri
-Derek Smith-
MBSS

2. World War Two Slideshows
Danzig to Moscow (Europe )
Japanese Expansion (Pacific )
Stalingrad to Berlin (Europe )
Midway to the Missouri (Pacific )
The Holocaust ( )
Derek Smith
MBSS

3. Slideshow Outline Title Operation Downfall WW2 Slideshows
The Manhattan Project
Slideshow Outline
The Bombs
The Battle of Midway
The Potsdam Declaration
Guadalcanal
Hiroshima
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
Nagasaki
Iwo Jima
Impact of the Bombs
Fire Bombing of Tokyo
The Debate
Roosevelt Dies
Surrender
Okinawa
War Crimes & The Treaty
Derek Smith
MBSS

4. The Battle of Midway June 4-6, 1942
This battle is considered a MAJOR turning point in the war, and the most significant battle in the Pacific.
The US had broken the Japanese code, and intercepted a Japanese attack on Midway island.
It was a definitive success for the US.
The US sunk 4 Japanese carriers.
The US lost only one carrier.
Derek Smith
MBSS

5. Guadalcanal Aug Feb 1943
The Japanese were threatening to isolate Australia, and deny the US a South Pacific base.
Aug 1942, US Marines launched the first major offensive against the Japanese.
The battle for Guadalcanal was a long battle of attrition and a test of supply routes.
It ended with a fierce naval battle won by the US
Derek Smith
MBSS

6. The Battle of Leyte Gulf
Oct of the US began landing troops on Leyte (in the Philippines)
With US attention divided between the landing forces and the ocean, Japan saw an opportunity.
The Japanese offered one last naval offensive, a desperate attack to destroy the American fleet.
The Japanese were out numbered in men and equipment
The US effectively sank the remaining offensive power the Japanese navy had.
For Japan, this battle was the decisive loss that led to the end.
The USS Reno steams past the burning USS Princeton.
Derek Smith
MBSS

7. Iwo Jima In Feb. of 1945, the US attacked the small island of Iwo Jima
It was important for its airbases. Kamikaze pilots used it, and US fighters could use it to escort bombers to Japan.
It took over a month for the marines to take the tiny island.
The Marines lost 6,891 men killed and 18,070 wounded.
Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island, only 212 were taken prisoners.
This was the location of the famous picture of Americans raising the US flag on the mountain top.
Derek Smith
MBSS

8. Firebombing of Tokyo
From the islands Saipan & Tinian, B-29s could reach Japan.
Raids started in Feb & lasted 7 months.
March 9th, 279 B-29s dropped ~1,700 tons of bombs.
~41 km² of the city were destroyed, ~100,000 people died in the resulting firestorm, (more than Hiroshima or Nagasaki).
~50% of Tokyo was destroyed by the end of the war.
Derek Smith
MBSS

9. Roosevelt Dies
At the Yalta conference in Feb. 1945, FDR looked increasingly frail.
After Yalta, he kept a busy schedule & addressed Congress on March 1st.
On April 12, he died of a stroke.
Vice President Harry Truman took over.
Truman was uninformed of major war initiatives & had been excluded from most meetings (he was unaware of the Manhattan Project).
He asked FDR’s cabinet to remain in place.
A few weeks later, the US celebrated V-E day.
Derek Smith
MBSS

10. Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, (Operation Iceberg), was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War.
The intense battle lasted from early April until mid-June, 1945 (82 days).
Japan lost over 100,000 troops, and the Allies suffered more than 50,000 casualties.
More than 100,000 civilians were killed, wounded, or committed suicide. (~1/4 of the population died)
Okinawa was to be a base for the US in the invasion of the Japanese mainland, (Operation Downfall).
Derek Smith
MBSS

11. Operation Downfall
The operational plan to invade mainland Japan was never used, but was in place and preparations were underway right up to the surrender of Japan.
Casualty estimates varied, but many expected that the attack would cost 1 million US lives and up to 10 million Japanese lives.
**The US manufactured 500,000 purple heart medals in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. This is more than have been needed in the last 65 years (including Korea and Vietnam). In 2003, there were 120,000 of these medals still in stock. There are so many that units in Iraq and Afghanistan carry bulk supplies to award to soldiers in the field.
Derek Smith
MBSS

12. The Manhattan Project This was a secret US Army project from 1942–1946
Responding to fears that Hitler was developing an atomic bomb, the US set out to do it first.
The scientific research was directed by American physicist Robert Oppenheimer.
They built a prototype to be tested in New Mexico (code name: Trinity), which was a success.
It was too late to use it in Europe, but the US decided to use the bomb as an alternative to invading Japan.
Another consideration was that the Soviets were preparing to attack Japan; the US didn’t want to share influence in the Pacific.
Derek Smith
MBSS

13. The Bombs
The Manhattan Project resulted in three bombs- the one for the Trinity test, and “Fat Man”, and “Little Boy”.
Fat Man was based on collapsing pressure on a single mass of uranium, and Little Boy was based on a uranium bullet being shot at another mass.
They were transported to Tinian island in secrecy.
At the time, they were the most powerful weapons made by man.
Compared to modern weapons, their yields were minimal.
Bomb
Country
Yield (Kt)
Trinity (’45) US 19
Littleboy (’45) 15
Fatman (’45) 21
Castle (’54)
15,000
Tsar Bomba (’61)
USSR
57,000
Derek Smith
MBSS

14. The Potsdam Declaration
July 26, 1945, a declaration was issued by Truman, Churchill, and Chiang Kai-Shek at the Potsdam Conference in Germany.
It outlined the terms for unconditional Japanese surrender, stating that if Japan did not surrender, it would face “prompt and utter destruction.”
The Japanese rejected the declaration by ignoring it.
The United States then formalized its plans to use atomic weapons on Japan to encourage Japanese surrender.
Derek Smith
MBSS

15. Hiroshima
On Aug 6, 1945, Col. Paul Tibbets piloted “The Enola Gay”, a B-29 over the city of Hiroshima.
Second Army headquarters were in Hiroshima, and it was an important supply port.
But it was also a city with a wartime population of ~350,000.
The “Little Boy” bomb detonated at 8:15am, instantly killing about 80,000. About another 100,000 would die from injuries and radiation sickness.
Derek Smith
MBSS

16. Nagasaki
On Aug 9, 1945, Major Charles Sweeny piloted “Bock’s Car” over the city of Nagasaki.
Nagasaki had many factories that made arms, including the torpedoes used at Pearl Harbor.
Nagasaki’s wartime population was ~210,000.
The “Fat Man” bomb detonated 3km away from the aiming point, limiting the blast to a valley area.
By the end of the year, ~80,000 had died.
Derek Smith
MBSS

17. Oppenheimer
Derek Smith
MBSS

18. Impact of the Bombs
Those in the fireball were vaporized or turned to carbon.
Survivors, suffered severe burns melted skin off of bodies, milder burns healed with tough keloid scars.
Some drank the black rain that fell after the blast.
Many suffered radiation sickness. Hair would fall out, blood would not clot and vomiting of blood and black fluid would precede death.
Derek Smith
MBSS

19. The Debate: Was the US justified in dropping the bomb? Justified
NOT Justified
The Japanese were given a chance to surrender.
The bombs forced Japanese surrender- quickly ending the war & limiting deaths.
They prevented massive casualties on both sides if an invasion was launched.
Japan was the aggressor nation
Japan was still waging war in China
Prisoners needed to be liberated.  
They were militarily unnecessary; Japan could have been defeated without them (invasion, blockade)
The bombings were inherently immoral; they targeted civilians
No warnings were given
It was just a test to measure the weapons
The use of these weapons was a War Crime
Derek Smith
MBSS

20. Surrender
Aug. 15, Emperor Hirohito, in a radio address to the nation, announced the surrender of Japan.
On September 2, 1945, the surrender ceremony was held on the deck of the U.S. battleship, USS Missouri.
Derek Smith
MBSS

21. War Crimes and The Treaty
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), ran from May 1946 to November 1948.
The IMTFE was less than ideal:
The Imperial family was never charged
Dr. Shiro Ishii was never charged in exchange for his medical research data from Unit 731
Many who were charged were never brought to trial.
By 1958, all prisoners were paroled.
In 1951, the San Francisco Peace Treaty formally ended the war between Japan and the Western powers.
The US was eager to rebuild Japan as a strategic ally in the Pacific, and many are critical of their willingness to “look the other way” after the war ended.
Derek Smith
MBSS