Chapter 28.4

1. Chapter 28.4 The End of the War

2. War Ends in Europe • Soviet Victories • The Soviets won at Stalingrad in early 1943 and were able to stop the siege at Leningrad in early 1844 • The Soviets pushed the Axis powers out of the USSR and back into eastern Europe by mid 1944 • By January 1945 Soviets were within 40 miles of Germany’s capital, Berlin

3. War Ends in Europe • D-Day • The next step for the Allied powers was to take back France • The U.S. and Great Britain planned for a year to massive attack they would initiate on the Germans in France • They would have to entire by the sea through the English Channel on to the beaches on Normandy • They needed to create ships to transport the soldiers and tanks across the sea • They had to stage a complex plan to mislead Hitler about their plan

4. War Ends in Europe • D-Day (continued) • On June 6 1944 Allied forces invaded the beaches in Normandy in three phases • The first were parachuted down behind enemy lines • The second were planes sent to drop bombs to help stop German defenses and create craters on the beaches • The third were the soldiers storming the beaches • Over 150,000 troops landed on the beaches • The casualties were high but the Allied forces broke the German defense and secured the beaches • With the beaches secured other Allied forces (1 million soldiers)were able to come in to France to help and take it back from Germany • After a week of brutal fighting Allied forces were able to break German defenses and reconquered much of France • By the end of August the Germans had surrendered Paris and Allies had push the Germans out completely

5. War Ends in Europe • The Battle of the Bulge • Hitler tried one last time to gain back the areas he had lost in Europe • In Dec 1944 he ordered a counterattack through Belgium • At first the Germans were advancing and made a bulge in the Allied defenses • But by Jan 1945 the Allied forces had crushed the Germans • This marked the end of the German resistance • By march they Allied soldiers were headed into Berlin from the west and the Soviet allied soldiers were headed in from the East

6. War Ends in Europe • German Surrender • The Soviets reached Berlin first in April 1945 • Hitler had killed himself and Berlin surrendered • After 6 years of fighting the war in Europe was over

7. War Ends in the Pacific • Final Battles • Even though the war in Europe was over it was still raging on in the Pacific • By the mid-1944 the Americans had been making regular bombing raids on Japanese cities • The Americans closest base to Japan was still to far away, they needed a closer base to make the raids more successful • They wanted to take the island Iwo Jima only 750 miles from Japan • The Battle of Iwo-Jima lasted a month and 7,000 Americans died • 19,000 out of the original 20,000 Japanese defenders fought to the death to keep Iwo-Jima but lost to the Americans • The Americans then wanted to take Okinawa which was only 350 miles from Japan so that they could then invade the inland of Japan • The Americans won and lost 12,000 men and the Japanese lost 100,000

8. War Ends in the Pacific • The Atomic Bomb • The next step was to take Japan • The Americans did not want to invade Japan because they knew that the Japanese would fight to the death and kill hundred of thousands of their men • Allied leaders estimated that the invasion of Japan would cost 1 million Allied soldiers • They considered another option: the atomic bomb • The atomic bomb was a new weapon and had not been used before and was estimated to kill more than 50,000 people at a time and wipe out entire cities

9. War Ends in the Pacific • The Atomic Bomb • Harry S. Truman the new President had to make the decision to drop the bomb • Many believed it was the best defense, it would force the Japanese to surrender and save American lives • Others thought such a deadly weapon should only be used as a last resort • Truman decided to drop the bomb • On July 26 1945 the Allies issued a demand for Japan’s surrender. The Japanese did not respond • On August 6th 1945 American bomber dropped the bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima killing 70,000 people instantly • The Japanese still did not surrender • On August 9th the American dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki killing 75,000 people • Tens of thousands of residents who were not killed in the initial blast would later died from radiation poisoning • Emperor Hirohito surrendered Japan on August 15th 1945 the final ending to WWII

10. The Postwar World • The Postwar World • Look at WWII casualties chart on page 862 • 10’s of millions of people had died during the war • Entire countries were destroyed along with their economies • Food, shelter, and medicine were scarce • The war had displaced millions throughout Europe • Many people were still hostile to Jewish people and some holocaust survivors were killed when they returned home

11. The Postwar World • Planning for the Future • Before the war ended the Allied nations were planning for what would happen when the war finally ended • In 1941 FDR and Churchill met and made the Atlantic Charter which outlined their purpose in the war which was not to gain any territory, restore the world to peace, giving every people and nation the choice of what government they wanted

12. The Postwar World • Yalta • In early 1945 when Allied victory was the on the brink of success the Allied powers were having a hard time agreeing on peace terms • They met in the Soviet Union at the Yalta Conference • The three leaders, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin came to several agreements • Keeping his territory that was part of Poland • Stalin agreed to respect the democratic governments of the eastern European countries he now occupied • Roosevelt persuaded Stalin to join the fight in Japan • Roosevelt got Stalin to agree to the United Nations • The United Nations replaced the League of Nations and encouraged international corporation to help prevent further wars • US, GB, France, and the USSR had the most power in the UN

13. The Postwar World • Potsdam • In July 1945 the leaders met again but in Potsdam Germany for the Potsdam Conference • Ill will and discontent was growing between the Soviet Union and other Allied powers • Soviet Plans • By the end of the war western Europe was afraid of the Soviets influence on Eastern Europe and that communism would spread • Their fears were validated when Stalin broke his promise to allow Eastern European countries to remain under democratic rule • One war end and another struggle was about to begin.

14. Assignment • Complete 28.4 Assessment Questions on page 863 • 1-4 all parts