1. Winning the War in Europe and the Pacific Theaters
Unit 9: World War 2 ( )
Winning the War in Europe and the Pacific Theaters

2. Hitler’s Fortress Europe December 31, 1941

3. Stalingrad,
1944
Sicily, July 1943
Tebessa
El Alamein, Oct. 1942

4. The Battle of Stalingrad (Sept. 42 – Feb. 43)
True turning point of war in Europe!
Fought deep in Russia (USSR)
Brutal house -house; block -block fighting
330,000 Ger dead or captured; 1 Million USSR dead
Germany forced to retreat!

5. North Africa Campaign (1940 – May 1943)
Two goals: take pressure off U.S.S.R. & establish base to attack Italy!
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower or “Ike” leads the U.S. invasion in Nov to join British.
US and Gen. George S. Patton (aka. Blood & Guts) helped British force Axis surrender in Tunisia. Meet in Casablanca, Morocco in Jan to plan next step.
240,000 Axis troops captured and Allies were in control of N. Africa!

6. Invasions of Sicily and Italy (July 1943 – April 1945)
Gen. Patton and Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower with British invade island amphibiously and Sicily surrendered in 38 days; Mussolini rescued and sent to Milan, Italy to rule “puppet state”
Allied advance was slow and hard up the “bloody boot.”
Italy surrendered Sept. 3, 1943, but Hitler would not give up Italy easily!
Battle of Anzio (May 44) led to capture of Rome
Mussolini killed in April 28, 1945 by Italian mob
190,000 US; 500,000 Germans died!

7. D-Day Invasion of Normandy (France) June 6, 1944)
Deception was key for invasion to work
Ike said 85% may die
23,000 Airborne troops and gliders dropped behind lines
47 Divisions (21 US, 26 UK & Canada + others) & 4400 ships hit 5 beaches at dawn on D-Day - 150,000 troops.
2,000 US casualties on Omaha and Utah beaches (4200 Allies)
500,000 by week’s end & 1 Million Allies in France by end of June!
Paris liberated Aug. 24, 1944 and its on to Berlin, Germany!
60 Miles Wide – 150,000 troops began to
wade ashore at dawn.

8. The Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945)
A German surprise counter attack in Belgium to break Allied lines.
Gen. Patton moved his 250,000 army in 3 days from W. France to help stop the “bulge!”
US held at Bastogne, Belgium and by Christmas Day the skies had cleared and airborne troops and bombs stopped the advance.
Greatest battle in W. Eur. 80,000 US; 100,000 Ger casualties
Germany would never again mount another offensive in the war.

9. V-E Day! May 8, 1945 FDR died April 12, 1945
Germany surrendered to Allies!
US, Br, and USSR in Berlin (USSR 1st in)
Hitler (Apr. 30, 1945) suicide
Harry Truman US President

10. December 7, 1941: A Day of Infamy!
7:55 AM – Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
18 warships (8 battleships); USS Arizona 1177 died on one ship!
400 planes
2400 dead and 1200 wounded
America was awakened and vowed revenge!

11. The Battle of Midway (June 4-6, 1942)
May 7-8, 42 – The Battle of Coral Sea –US lost one carrier, Jap. drive to Port Morseby and Australia stopped!
June 4-6, 1942 – The Battle of Midway –Adm. Chester Nimitz sunk 4 carriers
Japan abandoned plans for attacking Fiji, Samoa, and Midway and goes on defensive.
Midway was turning point of Pacific War.

12. The Battle of Guadalcanal and Island Hopping Campaign
Aug 7, 1942 – Feb 9, 1943 in the Solomon Islands
20,000 marines invaded to stop another Jap. attempt to capture Port Moresby
Brutal Jungle Warfare
Beginning of Island Hopping – to capture key islands to allow us to eventually bomb Japan
The Jap. withdrew on the night of Feb 9, 43.

13. The Battle of Leyte Gulf and Re-conquest of the Philippines
Oct 20, 1944 –US forces wade ashore at Leyte Island to reclaim the Philippines.
General Douglas MacArthur – “I shall return!”
Jap. Imperial Navy crippled in the Battle of Leyte Gulf (Oct 23-25, 1944) ships engaged + kamikazes used for 1st time.
Greatest naval battle of war and probably in all of history!
Mar 9, 1945 Philippines freed - 80,000 Jap killed (less than 1000 surrendered). 100,000 Filipinos also died.

14. Bloody Iwo Jima and Okinawa (Feb - June 1945)
14 –square-mile island less than 700 miles from Jap. was one of the bloodiest of WW 2
110,000 US Marines were opposed by fewer than 25,000 Jap.
1 month for the USMC to take the Island
US suffered 25,000 casualties in 35 days
216 Jap. POW’s taken by US!: Get the idea?
Apr-Jun 45 – The Battle of Okinawa (350 miles from Japan) - 180,000 US and Br forces vs.100,000 Jap. who vowed to fight to the death
Jap. pilots flew 2000 kamikaze missions. Only 7200 Jap. surrendered !
US suffered 50,000 casualties and 100,000 Okinawan civilians perished (many commit ted suicide b/c Jap. forces) urged them to.
Extremely costly victories for U.S.

15. Manhattan Project Ends War
Gen. Leslie Groves and Sci. J. Robert Oppenheimer lead project
Jul 16, 45 – Los Alamos, NM = successful test
Pres. Truman – Aug 6, 45 Hiroshima – 60 K dead; Aug 9, 45 Nagasaki – 35 K
Some estimates as high as 135,000 dead; 64,000 injured
VJ-Day- Aug 15 & Jap. Formally surrenders Sep 2, 1945