Topic 14 - World War II (1935-1945)

Lesson 4 - Winning a Deadly War

14-4.mp3

When Adolf Hitler learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was delighted. “Now it is impossible for us to lose the war,” he predicted. “We now have an ally who has never been vanquished in 3,000 years.” Although Germany’s alliance with Japan did not require it, Hitler promptly declared war on the United States.

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Start up

The Allies launched a massive invasion of Europe in June 1944. Why would this event have caused both dread and celebration among Americans at home?

Guiding Questions

What early defeats did the Allies suffer, and how did they turn the tide?
Why did Japan finally surrender?
What made World War II the deadliest war in history?

Vocabulary

Academic Vocabulary

Early Defeats for the Allies

At first, Hitler’s prediction looked as if it might come true. In early 1942, the situation looked bleak for the Allies. German armies occupied most of Europe and much of North Africa. German submarines were sinking ships faster than the Allies could replace them. The German war machine seemed unbeatable.

Meanwhile, Japan was sweeping across Asia and the Pacific. American forces were divided between two fronts, and everywhere the Allies were on the defensive. It was not until 1943 that the tide of battle turned. It took time for the Allies to develop new strategies, weapons, and forces to fight back and win the war against Hitler and Japan.

Germany Invades the Soviet Union

In the Soviet Union, German armies were closing in on Moscow, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and Stalingrad (Volgograd) during the summer of 1941. The Soviets resisted heroically. They burned crops and destroyed farm equipment so that the Germans could not use them. The harsh Russian winter that followed also greatly hindered the German advance.

The German attack caused massive suffering. During the 900-day siege of Leningrad that began in the fall of 1941, more than one million Russian men, women, and children died, mostly of starvation.

Analyze Images Residents of Leningrad dig antitank ditches in expectation of the German invasion.

Use Visual Information What can you tell from the photograph about the hardships the Soviet people faced during the war?

Japan Advances Across the Pacific

Meanwhile, Japanese forces were on the move in the Pacific. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, they seized Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

General Douglas MacArthur commanded United States forces in the Southwest Pacific. In the Philippines, he also directed Filipino troops. This combined force was still too small to match the powerful Japanese attacks. But they fought bravely as they made their final stand on the Bataan Peninsula, on Manila Bay:

Primary Source

“Besieged on land and blockaded by sea, cut off from all sources of help in the Philippines and in America, these intrepid fighters have done all that human endurance could bear. . . . Bataan has fallen, but the spirit that made it stand—a beacon to all liberty-loving peoples of the world—cannot fall!”

— Norman Reyes, “Voice of Freedom” broadcast, 1942

MacArthur was able to withdraw. However, about 75,000 troops he left behind to defend Bataan were captured. From the safety of Australia, MacArthur declared, “I shall return.”

The Japanese pressed on. They captured Malaya (today’s Malaysia) and Singapore, Burma, and the Dutch East Indies (today’s Indonesia). They threatened India to the west and Australia and New Zealand to the south.

GEOGRAPHY SKILLS

This map shows the vast territory controlled by Japan in 1942. Beginning that year, the Allies pushed back and gradually freed those lands from Japan.

Location Based on the map, what challenges did the U.S. military face in the Pacific Theater?
Infer Why would the Japanese want to control tiny islands thousands of miles from Japan?

READING CHECK

Identify Supporting Details What difficulties did the United States face in fighting a war in the Pacific?

The Allies Change the Course of the War

To succeed against the Axis powers, the Allies had to agree on a strategy. Even before Pearl Harbor, American and British leaders had decided that the Allies must defeat Germany and Italy first. Then, they would send their combined forces to fight Japan.

Victories Over Japan

Adopting a “beat Hitler first” strategy did not mean abandoning the war in the Pacific. Chester Nimitz, commander of Allied forces in the Pacific, sent a naval task force into the Coral Sea near Java in May 1942. The task force, strengthened by aircraft carriers that had survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, met a Japanese fleet there. After a three-day battle, the Japanese fleet turned back. It was the first naval battle in history in which the ships never engaged one another directly. All the damage was done by airplanes launched from the carriers.

One month later, the United States Navy won a stunning victory at the Battle of Midway. American planes sank four Japanese aircraft carriers. The battle severely hampered the Japanese offensive. It also kept Japan from attacking Hawaii again.

Pushing Across North Africa

Allied forces began to push back the Germans in North Africa. In October 1942, the British won an important victory at El Alamein in Egypt. German forces under General Erwin Rommel were driven west into Tunisia.

Meanwhile, American troops under the command of Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, and George S. Patton landed in Morocco and Algeria. They then pushed east and trapped Rommel’s forces in Tunisia. In May 1943, his army had to surrender.

Analyze Images This photograph shows U.S. General George S. Patton in the North African desert. A light tank is in the background.

Use Visual Information Based on the photograph, what particular difficulties do you think the armies fighting in North Africa would have faced?

The Allies Invade Italy

From bases in North Africa, the Allies organized the invasion of Italy. Paratroopers and soldiers brought by sea captured the island of Sicily. In early September 1943, the Allies crossed from Sicily to the mainland of Italy.

By then, Mussolini had been overthrown as leader of Italy. The Germans, however, still occupied much of Italy. In a series of bloody battles, the Allies slowly fought their way up the peninsula. On June 4, 1944, Allied troops marched into Rome. It was the first European capital to be freed from Nazi occupation.

The Eastern Front

The Soviet army repelled the Germans from Leningrad in 1943. At Stalingrad, after months of fierce house-to-house fighting, Soviet soldiers forced the invading German army to surrender. Slowly, the Soviet army pushed the remaining German forces westward through Eastern Europe. Fighting in Russia and Eastern Europe was fierce. The Soviet Union would eventually lose some 9 million soldiers during the war, more than any other country.

For years, Stalin had urged Britain and the United States to send armies across the English Channel into France. Such an attack would create a second front in Western Europe and ease pressure in the East. However, not until 1944 were Churchill and Roosevelt prepared to attempt an invasion of Western Europe.

Operation Overlord

Years of planning went into Operation Overlord, the code name for the invasion of Europe. General Eisenhower, who was appointed commander of Allied forces in Europe, faced an enormous task. He had to organize a huge army, ferry it across the English Channel, and provide it with weapons, ammunition, food, and other supplies. By June 1944, almost 3 million troops were ready for the invasion.

The Germans knew that an attack was coming, but not when or where. To guard against the Allied invasion, they had mined beaches and strung barbed wire along the entire French coastline. Machine guns and concrete antitank walls stood ready to repel an advance.

GEOGRAPHY SKILLS

This map shows the advance of Allied forces and the location of major battles.

Interaction What evidence from the map indicates that the Soviet Union gained territory previously taken by the Axis powers?
Summarize Based on the map, how would you describe Germany’s situation during 1944 and 1945? Why was this the case?

D-Day in France

In the early morning of June 6, 1944— D-Day as it was known—a fleet of 4,000 Allied ships carried the invasion force to France. Allied airplanes dropped thousands of paratroopers into occupied France behind German lines. Gliders landed in the French fields to deliver yet more troops and supplies. Allied warships shelled German defenses in preparation for the attack, but the main thrust of the invasion came from troop landings on five different beaches along Normandy. Allied troops scrambled ashore, with particularly tough resistance at a location code-named Omaha Beach. Americans suffered 2,400 casualties at “Bloody Omaha”:

Primary Source

“It all seemed unreal, a sort of dreaming while awake, men were screaming and dying all around me. . . . I honestly could have walked the full length of the beach without touching the ground, [the bodies] were that thickly strewn about.”

— Melvin B. Farrell, War Memories

Eventually, Allied forces captured all five beaches. Then, despite intense German gunfire and heavy losses, Allied forces surged on to capture more territory along the coast of France. Every day, more soldiers landed at Normandy to reinforce the advance. Progress after D-Day was extremely slow and dangerous due to French farm fields that provided thick cover for the enemy. But the Allied ground troops fought stubbornly and pushed German forces back.

The Allied liberation of France continued with the capture of Cherbourg, an important French port, by the end of June. Then the Allies swept east. On August 25, 1944, they entered Paris. After four years under Nazi rule, the Parisians greeted their liberators with joy. Within a month, all of France was free.

Analyze Images After the Allies captured the beaches at Normandy, the fighting moved inland, and the beach served as a supply center as more men and equipment were brought in.

Use Visual Information What challenges were faced by General Eisenhower and others who planned Operation Overlord?

READING CHECK

Identify Main Ideas What was the “beat Hitler first” strategy and what are some examples of its success?

Defeat for Germany

By September, the Allies were moving east toward Germany. However, a shortage of fuel for trucks, tanks, and other vehicles slowed the advance.

The German Counterattack

On December 16, 1944, German forces began a fierce counterattack. They pushed the Allies back, creating a bulge in the front lines. During the Battle of the Bulge, as it was later called, the outnumbered American forces held the Germans back. Because of their own fuel shortage, the Germans were unable to power their tanks through the American defense. The Allies maintained their ground.

The Battle of the Bulge slowed the Allies but did not stop them. While Allied armies advanced on the ground, their planes bombed Germany. At night, British airmen dropped tons of bombs on German cities. By day, the Americans bombed factories and oil refineries. The bombing caused severe fuel shortages in Germany and reduced the nation’s ability to produce war goods.

Roosevelt’s Death Stuns the Nation

Breaking all tradition, in 1944, President Roosevelt announced he would run for a fourth term. His Republican opponent was Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York. Roosevelt was tired and ill. “All that is within me cries to go back to my home on the Hudson,” he wrote. Still, he and his running mate, Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri, campaigned strongly and won.

Five months later, on vacation in Georgia, the President complained of a headache. Within hours, he was dead.

All over the world, people mourned Roosevelt. His death especially shocked Americans. Many could hardly remember any other President. As for Truman, he was faced with taking over a country in the midst of war. “I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me,” he later recalled.

Victory in Europe

By April 1945, Germany was collapsing. American troops were closing in on Berlin from the west while Soviet troops were advancing from the east. On April 25, American troops encountered the Soviet army at Torgau, 60 miles south of Berlin.

As Allied air raids pounded Berlin, Hitler hid in his underground bunker. Unwilling to accept defeat, he committed suicide. One week later, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. On May 8, the Allies celebrated the long-awaited V-E Day—Victory in Europe.

Analyze Images This scene occurred about 70 miles from Berlin, as American troops moving east met up with Soviet troops moving west.

Infer Why were these Americans and Russians celebrating?

READING CHECK

Identify Cause and Effect Why did the United States bomb German factories and oil refineries?

Japan Surrenders

While war raged in Europe, the Allies kept up pressure on Japan. The United States had two main goals in the Pacific war: to regain the Philippines and to invade Japan. Both tasks would prove difficult. American forces encountered stubborn resistance as they advanced into Japanese territories. Japanese soldiers were trained not to surrender, even if it was clear they were not going to win.

Capturing Japanese Islands

To gain control of the Pacific Ocean, American forces used a strategy of capturing a few vital Japanese-held islands and going around others. In this island-hopping campaign, each island that was won became another stepping-stone to Japan.

A deadly routine developed. First, American ships and planes shelled and bombed an island. Next, troops waded ashore under heavy gunfire. Then, they slowly advanced across the island, often engaging in hand-to-hand fighting against determined Japanese resistance.

American Indian soldiers known as code-talkers made a key contribution. They helped create a code based on the Navajo language and used it to radio vital messages from island to island. The Japanese intercepted many messages but were totally unable to decode them.

In October 1944, American forces under General MacArthur finally recaptured the Philippines. In hard-fought battles, other forces captured the islands of Iwo Jima (EE woh JEE muh) and Okinawa (oh kuh NAH wuh) from the Japanese. Capturing Iwo Jima was important because of the air base located there. Okinawa, just 340 miles from the mainland of Japan, was intended to be used as a launching point for the invasion of Japan.

For the Japanese, defending their homeland became a desperate struggle. Japanese leaders stressed an ancient code known as Bushido, or the Way of the Warrior. It emphasized loyalty, honor, and sacrifice. To surrender was to “lose face” or be dishonored. In suicide missions, kamikaze (kah muh KAH zee) pilots loaded old planes with bombs and then deliberately crashed them into Allied ships.

Analyze Charts This chart summarizes important ideas about the war against Japan.

Identify Supporting Details Approximately how many casualties did the U.S. Army suffer in the Pacific theater during World War II?

Plans to Invade

By April 1945, American forces were close enough to launch attacks against the Japanese home islands. American bombers pounded factories and cities. American warships bombarded the coast and sank ships. The Japanese people suffered terribly. Yet, their leaders promised a glorious victory.

United States military leaders made plans to invade Japan in the autumn. They warned that the invasion might cost between 150,000 and 250,000 American casualties.

A Secret Weapon

Truman, Churchill, and Stalin met at Potsdam, Germany, in July 1945. While there, Truman received word that American scientists had successfully tested a secret new weapon, the atomic bomb. A single bomb was powerful enough to destroy an entire city. Some scientists believed that it was too dangerous to use.

From Potsdam, the Allied leaders sent a message warning Japan to surrender or face “prompt and utter destruction.” Japanese leaders did not know about the destructive power of the atomic bomb, and, consequently, they ignored the Potsdam Declaration.

Analyze Images These photographs show the city of Hiroshima before and after it was struck by the atomic bomb.

Explain an Argument Do you think it was right to drop the atomic bombs? Why or why not?

Atomic Bombs End the War With Japan

On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The blast destroyed most of the city, killing at least 70,000 people and injuring an equal number. On August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped, on Nagasaki. About 40,000 residents died instantly. In both Nagasaki and Hiroshima, many more people later died from the effects of atomic radiation.

On August 14, 1945, the emperor of Japan announced that his nation would surrender. The formal surrender took place on September 2 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The warship flew the same American flag that had waved over Washington, D.C., on the day that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

V-J (Victory in Japan) Day sparked wild celebrations across the United States. People honked their car horns. Soldiers and sailors danced in victory parades. World War II was over at last.

Analyze Images Americans in New York celebrated after living through the world’s worst war.

Infer Why would many Americans have mixed feelings at the end of the war?

READING CHECK

Identify Main Ideas Why did Japan surrender in 1945?

Widespread Devastation

World War II was the deadliest war in history. The exact number of casualties will probably never be known. Estimates of the number of people killed vary from 30 million to 60 million.

The fighting occurred on the land, sea, and air throughout many parts of the world. The war affected civilians more than any other war. Bombers destroyed houses, factories, and farms. By 1945, millions were homeless and had no way to earn a living. Well over half of the deaths from the war were civilians.

After the war, Americans heard horrifying stories of the brutal mistreatment of prisoners of war. When the Japanese captured the Philippines in 1942, they forced about 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners to march 65 miles with little food or water. About 10,000 prisoners died or were killed during the Bataan Death March.

The Holocaust

In the last months of the European war, Allied forces uncovered other horrors. The Allies had heard about Nazi concentration camps—prison camps where members of targeted groups were confined. Some concentration camps were death camps, where people were systematically murdered. As the Allies advanced into Germany and Eastern Europe, they discovered the full extent of the Holocaust, the slaughter of Europe’s Jews by the Nazis. During the war, the Nazis imprisoned Jews from Germany and the nations Germany conquered. More than 6 million Jews—two thirds of Europe’s Jews—were tortured and murdered.

When Allied troops reached the death camps, they saw the gas chambers the Nazis had used to murder hundreds of thousands of people. The battle-hardened veterans wept at the sight of the dead and dying. After touring one death camp, General Omar Bradley wrote:

Primary Source

“The smell of death overwhelmed us even before we passed through. . . . More than 3,200 naked, emaciated bodies had been flung into shallow graves.”

— Omar N. Bradley, A General’s Life

Nearly 6 million Poles, Slavs, and Roma, or Gypsies, were also victims of the death camps. Nazis killed many prisoners of war, as well as people they considered unfit because of physical or mental disabilities. Many people the Nazis thought were “undesirable” were also put to death, including homosexuals, beggars, alcoholics, and political enemies.

Analyze Images These prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, near Munich, Germany, are celebrating the arrival of the conquering U.S. Army.

Understand Effects What challenges did concentration camp survivors face after the war?

War Crimes

As the full truth of the Holocaust was revealed, the Allies decided to prosecute Nazis for war crimes and “crimes against humanity.” The accused included government officials, military officers and enlisted men, businesspeople, and others. As a result of the Nuremberg Trials, 12 top Nazi leaders were sentenced to death. Thousands of others were convicted and imprisoned or executed.

The Allies also held war crimes trials in Tokyo. Over 4,000 Japanese officers and soldiers were convicted and over 900 were executed.

These postwar trials established the legal principle that individuals are responsible for their criminal actions even when they are following orders.

Postwar Challenges

Americans looked ahead to life after such a devastating war. More than ever before, the United States would have a critical influence on world affairs. The daunting task of moving on presented many challenges. How would Europe be rebuilt? What would happen to Germany? How would the emergence of the Soviet Union as a world power affect democracy around the world? In the wake of two terrible world wars, how could peace be maintained? World leaders struggled with these problems as they entered a new modern era.

Analyze Graphs This graph compares the numbers of deaths suffered by the principal nations involved in World War II.

Use Visual Information Approximately how many civilian casualties did the Allied Powers suffer in all?

READING CHECK

Understand Effects Why was World War II so deadly?

Lesson Check

What was the Battle of Midway and why was it important?
What was Operation Overlord and what were its results?
What happened during the Holocaust?
Compare and Contrast the Allies’ strategy in the Pacific with their strategy in Europe.
Use Evidence What were the Nuremberg Trials, and why were they important?
Writing Workshop: Use Narrative Techniques Draft the first part of your narrative. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and similes. You will use this draft as a start for the narrative you will write at the end of the topic.

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