WWII was fought on multiple fronts.

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WWII was fought on multiple fronts.
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Multiple Front war

• A multiple front war divided the U.S. war efforts
  and fighting forces. The forces of the U.S. were
  divided between confronting Germany and Italy in
  North Africa and Europe and confronting Japan in
  the Pacific.

3
Multiple Front War

• A multiple front war created a huge demand for
  wartime supplies and resources. The demand for
  men and supplies on all fronts challenged the
  resources of the United States and made the U.S.
  the major supplier for all the Allied Powers.

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Strategic Objective

•         1. Hitler first Churchill FDR wanted
  to concentrate on defeating Germany before giving
  Japan higher priority.

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Axis Powers Leaders

• Axis Powers - Germany, Italy, Japan. Axis
  Leaders
• Adolf Hitler - Fascist dictator of Germany.
• Benito Mussolini - Fascist dictator of Italy.
• Hirohito - Emperor of Japan.

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Allied Powers Leaders

• Allied Powers - Great Britain, France, the
  U.S.S.R, and the United States after 1941.
  Allied Leaders
• Winston Churchill - Prime Minister of Great
  Britain.
• Josef Stalin - Communist dictator of the
  U.S.S.R.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt - President of the United
  States, President Harry Truman after Roosevelts
  death in 1945

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Advantages to the Allied Powers with the United
States involved in the war

• 1. The capacity for war production of the United
  States provided a significant advantage.
• 2. Fresh troops could be obtained from the United
  States. The Allied countries were tired because
  they had been fighting somewhere in Europe since
  1939.

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Allied Turning Points in the War

• Battle of Stalingrad (Sept. 1942)
•   First major German defeat on land.

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D-Day June 6, 1944

• D-Day (June 6, 1944) Invasion of Normandy --
  "Operation Overlord"
• a. Perhaps wars most important
  battle             b. Commanded by General
  Dwight D. Eisenhower             c. 120,000
  troops left England and stormed 5 beachheads at
  Normandy Coast.                 i. 800,000 more
  men within 3 weeks 3 million total
• Signaled the beginning of the liberation of
  Europe

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Liberation of Europe

• Invasion of Germany             a. Pre-invasion
  bombing                 i. Hamburg all but
  wiped out in summer 1943                 ii.
  Berlin and other major cities and targets hit
  repeatedly
• especially factories and oil refineries.

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Europe surrenders May 8, 1945
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The Pacific Front

• Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942) turning point
  in the Pacific war         Japan never won
  another battle in the Pacific after the defeat at
  Midway.
•            The US began Island Hopping towards
  the Japanese mainland

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Island Hopping

• Island Hopping military strategy began in 1943
  and involved the US forces attacking islands
  randomly as they made their way towards Japan.
  Allowed us to break through Japanese defenses and
  get closer to Japan

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Island Hopping
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"Kamakazie" attacks more frequent
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The bombing of Japan

• . Bombing of Japan resulted in destruction of
  most major cities             -- March 1945,
  100,000 die in a single Tokyo raid 60 of
  buildings destroyed.
• At this point it did not look like the Japanese
  would surrender any time soon

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Death of FDR

• Election of 1944 and death of FDR     A. FDR,
  with running-mate Harry S. Truman, defeated
  Republican Thomas Dewey.         -- FDR elected
  to an unprecedented fourth term in office.    
  B. April 12, 1945 -- FDR died at Warm Springs, GA
      C. Vice President Harry Truman become
  president

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Truman becomes President
President Harry S. Truman (1945-53)
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The Manhattan Project

• Super Secret project to create the atomic bomb

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The Manhattan project
Site of the "Manhattan Project"- Los Alamos, NM
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The explosion
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"Fat Man"
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"Little Boy"- "gadget" used on Hiroshima
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The Atomic bomb

• August 6, 1945 -- First atomic bomb ("Little
  Boy") dropped on Hiroshima         1. 80,000
  killed immediately 100,000 injured            
  -- Countless die later of radiation sickness or
  cancer         2. Bomb dropped by the Enola Gay
          3. Japanese govt still did not
  surrender

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V-J Day

• August 9, 2nd bomb ("Fat Man") dropped on
  Nagasaki 60,000 dead
•     F. August 14, Japan surrendered         1.
  World War II is over.         2. Sept 2,
  Japanese formally surrendered aboard U.S.S.
  Missouri in
• Tokyo Bay.

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Decision to drop the Atomic Bomb

• The decision to drop the atomic bomb became
  controversial in later few decades.         1.
  Most compelling reason for dropping the bomb was
  that it saved
• countless U.S. lives who would have had to invade
  Japan.

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Crew of "Enola Gay"- photographed right after
their return
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Hiroshima after the bomb
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The aftermath of the Atomic bomb
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Japan surrenders
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Japan surrenders
August 15, 1945- VJ Day
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Important American Military Leaders

• Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley, (1893-1981),
  American general, who during World War II
  commanded the U. S. 12th Army Group in Europe.
• Took part in the invasion of Normandy D-Day

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890-1969
• American general and 34th President of the United
  States was the principal architect of the
  successful Allied invasion of Europe during World
  War II and of the subsequent defeat of Nazi
  Germany.
• He led the assault on the French coast at
  Normandy, on June 6, 1944, and held together the
  Allied units through the European campaign that
  followed.

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Douglas MacArthur 1880 1964

• During World War II, MacArthur fought in
  Southeast Asia against Japan. After the defeat of
  his forces in the Philippines, he made his famous
  statement to the troops who were left behind I
  shall return.
• He became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces
  in the Southwest Pacific and took command of
  Australian, American, Dutch, and other Allied
  forces defending Australia, fighting mainly in
  and around New Guinea.

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George Patton 1885-1945

• During World War II he served in North Africa and
  Sicily before becoming the commander of the Third
  Army.
• Patton distinguished himself in various World War
  II campaigns including the invasion of North
  Africa and the capture of Sicily.

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Chester A. Nimitz 1885-1966

• In December 1941, however, he was designated as
  Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific
  Ocean Areas, where he served throughout the war.
• On December 19, 1944, he was advanced to the
  newly created rank of Fleet Admiral.
• He commanded American forces during their long
  advance across the Pacific to full victory in
  August 1945.