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Learn about the impactful strategies and events such as D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge that shaped the outcome of World War II for the Grand Alliance of the US, UK, and USSR.
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H. Grand Alliance – U.S. (FDR), U.K. (Winston Churchill), & U.S.S.R. (Joseph Stalin). 1. Unconditional Surrender – Allies fight until Axis surrender w/o conditions. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the Allies were fighting for the "unconditional surrender" of Germany, Italy and Japan - a stand immediately endorsed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. (L-R) French Gen. Henri Giraud, Roosevelt, Charles DeGaulle, Churchill. January 24, 1943.
Total War • Concept of “total war” • Mobilizing the economy • Rationing • Women in the work force • Propaganda • Military tactics Two women stand amidst the ruins of an almshouse in Berkshire, England.
Rationing and Victory Gardens • Gasoline, coffee, sugar, meat, other goods are rationed. • “Victory Gardens” and other measures.
Mobilizing the Economy A worker inspects 1000-pound bomb cases
Women in the Work Force “Rosie the Riveter”
A female combat photographer. A WASP (Women's Airforce Service Pilot) pilot during the war. Army Air Field, Texas.
Allies vs. Axis • Allies in green; Axis in orange; neutral in gray
At the beginning of 1943, the Allies agreed to seek from the Axis Powers nothing short of “unconditional surrender.”
Italy Surrenders1943 Allies enter Rome
The bodies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, center, his mistress, Clara Petacci, right, and Achille Starace, former secretary of the Fascist Party, hang by their heels in Milan, Italy, April 29, 1945, after they were executed by Italian partisans. AP Photo/U.S. Army Air Force
The D-Day InvasionJune 6, 1944 Eisenhower speaks with U.S. paratroops of the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the evening of June 5, 1944. “Operation Overlord” Large landing craft convoy crosses the English Channel on June 6, 1944.
D-Day Invasion (June 6, 1944) - Allies • invade at Normandy to liberate France. • 1. Largest naval invasion in history. Allied ships during D-Day invasion, 1944.
The Battle of Normandy (D-Day) was fought in 1944 between Nazi Germany in Western Europe and the invading Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of World War II. Over sixty years later, the Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, still remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops crossing the English Channel from England to Normandy in then German-occupied France. It is most commonly known by the name D-Day. U.S. troops wade ashore at Normandy
D-Day Invasion The invasion was supposed to happen on June 5th, but was postponed due to bad weather and rough seas.
82nd Airborne dropped inland of Normandy beach (some off DZ). Utah Beach, Normandy. Allied forces under U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower. “Operation Overlord” 150,000 Allies, biggest military offensive in history. Allies fought their way past underwater mines, barbed wire, and machine-gun fire. Heavy resistance even though Germans thought it was a diversion for a larger invasion elsewhere. Germ slow response allowed Allies to set up a beachhead. Within three months, Allies had 2 million men and half mill vehicles.
The primary Allied formations that saw combat in Normandy came from the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Substantial Free French and Polish forces also participated in the battle after the assault phase, and there were also contingents from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Norway.
3. Battle of the Bulge (1944) – Last effort by Germans to win. An American soldier guards German troops captured during the Battle of the Bulge U.S. troops advance through the snow toward the town of St. Vith, Belgium
J. Tuskegee Airmen – The African- American pilots of WWII. Pilots of the "Tuskegee Airmen," the elite, all-African American 332nd Fighter Group at Ramitelli, Italy. Tuskegee Airmen in front of a P-40. P-51’s of the 332d Fighter Group; the "redtails" of the Tuskegee Airmen. The nearest aircraft depicted is that of Lt. Lee Archer, an Ace.
B-17’s on their way to German factories. U.S. Air Commander Harris – strategic bombing of cities to crush will to fight. Feb, 1942, 4-engine bombers available for action. 1943, B-17 Flying Fortress; allowed US to bomb Berlin/Germany, better technology with radar; used chaff to block ground radar. 1944, the B-29 Superfortress developed (able to bomb Japan) had 10 machine guns, pressurized to fly at 30K feet, 20K lbs of bombs (incindiaries), fly 1,900 miles.
The Firebombing of Dresden Dresden at the time, “was a mass of munitions works, an intact Gov’t center, and a key transportation center. It is now none of those things.”
316 bombers of the US Eighth Air Force attacked Dresden’s marshaling yards outside the city center. Taking part were B-17 Flying Fortresses. Dresden, Germany after bombings.
German V2 rocket being prepared for launch in the early 1940's. The “V” was for Vengeance. • The Nazis last desperate bid to turn the course of WWII was by unleashing an arsenal of sinister weapons (Wernher von Braun) against the Allies. • They were known as the V-1 (prototype cruise missile) and the V-2, the first ballistic missile. Both weapons caused immense civilian casualties in London and Antwerp (By March of 1945, 1,054 hit England). • After WWII, Braun & his team came to White Sands, NM.
By Jan 1945, Hitler moved into a bunker 55 ft below Berlin to direct the war. • March 1945, Allied moved into Germany. • In April 1945, Allies linked with Soviets in northern Germany. Soviet forces began pushing west: Ukraine (end of 1943), Balkan states • beginning of 1944), Warsaw (Jan 1945), Berlin (Apr 45); southern front swept • through Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. • In 1945, Hitler Youth members (13-14 years old) were on the front lines. • Blamed the world’s Jews for the war.
K. Hitler commits suicide – Apr 30, 1945. 1. V-E Day (Victory in Europe) – war in Europe ended on May 7, 1945. Germany Surrenders Cover of US newspaper, May 2, 1945.
There'll be a hot timeIn the town of BerlinWhen the Yanks go marchin' inI wanna be there boy,And spread some joyWhen they take old BerlinThere'll be a hot timeIn the town of BerlinWhen the Brooklyn boys beginTo take the joint apartAnd tear it downWhen they take old BerlinThey're gonna start a rowAnd show them howWe paint the town back, in KokomoThey're gonna take a hikeThrough Hitler's ReichAnd change his 'Heil' to 'What ya know, Joe' There'll be a hot timeIn the town of BerlinWhen the Yanks go marchin' inYou could never keep 'em happy down on the farmAfter they take Berlin<instrumental interlude>I'm gonna grab a FrauAnd show her howWe paint the town back, in MichiganI'm gonna take a hikeThrough Hitler's ReichAnd change that 'Heil' to 'Gimme some skin'There'll be a hot timeIn the town of BerlinWhen the Yanks go marchin' inYou know that you could never keep 'em happy down on the farmAfter they take Berlin “Hot Time In The Town Of Berlin”by Frank Sinatra
The Pacific War, 1944–1945 U.S. soldiers raise the American flag after capturing Iwo Jima.
L. Navajo Code Talkers – Native • Americans used their native language • as code during WWII. Cpl. Henry Bake, Jr., and Pfc. George Kirk, Navajos serving in December 1943 with a Marine Corps signal unit, operate a portable radio set in a clearing behind the front lines. • The Navajo Code Talkers (400) have been credited with saving countless lives and hastening the end of the war. • The Code Talker's primary job was to talk and transmit information on tactics, troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield information via telegraphs and radios in their native dialect. A major advantage of the code talker system was its speed. The method of using Morse code often took hours where the Navajos handled a message in minutes. • The Navajo's unwritten language was understood by fewer than 30 non-Navajo's at the time of WWII. The size and complexity of the language made the code extremely difficult to comprehend, much less decipher. It was not until 1968 that the code became declassified by the US Government. Pfc. Preston Toledo and Pfc. Frank Toledo, Navajo cousins in a Marine artillery regiment in the South Pacific, relay orders over a field radio in their native tongue.
The Navajo Code NAMES OF PLANESNAVAJO WORDCODE DIVE BOMBER GINI CHICKEN HAWK TORPEDO PLANE TAS-CHIZZIE SWALLOW FIGHTER PLANE DA-HE-TIH-HI HUMMING BIRD BOMBER PLANE JAY-SHO BUZZARD NAMES OF SHIPS BATTLESHIP LO-TSO WHALE AIRCRAFT CARRIER TSIDI-MOFFA-YE-HI BIRD CARRIER SUBMARINE BESH-LO IRON FISH DESTROYER CA-LO SHARK
► Outlawed by Geneva Convention, Japanese used mustard gas in China & New Guinea. ► Australia stockpiled tons of mustard gas for defensive purposes (uncovered in 2007).
M. Japanese conquest of SE Asia. 1. Forced laborers – 800K Koreans sent to Japan. 2. Burma-Thailand Railway (1943) – 12K Allied & 90K natives died. 3. French Indochina – Ho Chi Minh’s Communist Party provided info & rescued U.S. pilots. POW workers on the Burma-Thailand Railway (1943).
The Bataan Death March was a war crime involving the forcible transfer of 72K POW’s, with wide-ranging abuse and high fatalities, by Japanese forces in the Philippines in 1942. Approximately 5-10K Filipino and 600-650 American prisoners of war died before they could reach Camp O'Donnell. The march occurred after the three-month Battle of Bataan, part of the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42). The Death March (1942). Generals Wainwright (left) and MacArthur.
Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942) Executive Order No. 9066 The President Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104); Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.
Manzanar Camp, central California.
Japanese-Americans leaving from Los Angeles to Manzanar.
The Doolittle Raid; April 18, 1942. Doolittle Raid – Boost US morale; bombed Japan; small damage but huge boost in morale; crash landed in China; nearly 250K Chinese killed for revenge. A B-25 taking off from Hornet for the raid.
Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle (center) with members of his flight crew and Chinese officials in China after the attack. LtCol James H. Doolittle, USAAF (front), leader of the raiding force, wires a Japanese medal to a 500-pound bomb, during ceremonies on the flight deck of USS Hornet, shortly before his force of sixteen B-25B bombers took off for Japan.
O. Pacific Theater. 1. Battle of Midway (June 4, 1942) – turning point of war in Asia. a) U.S. planes destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers. Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu burning, morning of 5 June 1942. • US cracked Japanese codes; knew they’re coming; runways intact and carriers safe. • Four Japanese carriers sunk; Navy never recovered. • US established superiority in the Pacific. • Now – war of attrition; war became bitter.
The Battle of Midway The USS Yorktown receives a direct hit during the battle of Midway
2. Guadalcanal (Aug 1942-Feb 1943) – first Japanese land taken. 3. Iwo Jima (Feb-Mar 1945) – flag; airstrip. • Invasion on Feb 19, 1945, faced 22,000 Japanese on volcanic island. • Jap used natural tunnels for static defense (in contrast to bonsai/ rushing attacks used before. • Code name for Mt. Sirabachi was “Mt Hot Rocks.” • Took 4-days to raise U.S. flag (photo), approx 40-days to take island. It has been said that if was not for the Navajo Code Talker's, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima.
Kamikaze - Means "divine wind“ in Japanese, and refers to the suicide attacks by Japanese military aviators, against Allied shipping in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of WWII. USS Bunker Hill was hit by Ogawa and another kamikaze near May 11, 1945. 372 personnel were killed. A Mitsubishi Zero fly’s toward the USSWhite Plains on October 25, 1944. The aircraft exploded shortly after this picture was taken, scattering debris across the deck.