World War II (part 2)

World War II Overview

World War II was fought from
1939 until 1945 in Europe,
East Asia, North Africa, and
in many places throughout
the Pacific Ocean. 
It was caused by Germany’s
desire to control other
countries and began in 1939
when German troops
invaded Poland. 
Germany's desire for power is
an example of imperialism. 
Important events during World
War II include the Japanese
bombing of Pearl Harbor, D-
Day, VE Day, and the
dropping of the atomic
bombs over Japan.
 Taking Sides
World War II began when Nazi
Germany invaded Poland on
September 1, 1939. 
Allies Axis
Germany, Italy, and Imperial
Japan made up a military
alliance known as the Axis Great Britain Germany
Powers.  United States Italy
The war lasted until 1945 Canada Japan
when the Axis Powers were Soviet Union
defeated by the Allied
Powers, who were made up
of the United States, the
Soviet Union, Great Britain,
and China.
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japan
attacked the U.S. military base
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 
This event came after the
Japanese had come into an
alliance with Nazi Germany in
1940. 
The Japanese had hoped to
destroy the U.S. Navy with the
attack but failed to do so. 
The next day, December 8, 1941,
the U.S. entered into World
War II by declaring war on
Japan. 
 Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a
naval battle fought from
June 4-7, 1942, near the
Midway Atoll in the Pacific
Ocean. 
The battle began as a
Japanese attack on United
States forces in an attempt
to cripple the power of the
U.S. in the Pacific. 
Though the battle ended in
heavy losses on both sides,
it was a major victory for
the United States and has
been called the turning
point of the war in the
Pacific.
Tehran Conference
Allied leaders met to settle plans for a
major invasion of Europe during the
Tehran Conference in Tehran, Iran, from
November 28 to December 1, 1943. 
Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, U.S.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
agreed that the Soviets would launch an
attack from the Eastern Front at the
same time that the other Allied nations
attacked Axis forces in Western Europe
via France in an invasion that would
cross the English Channel from Great
Britain. 
Preparations for the invasion, known as
Operation Overlord, were of
monumental proportions, and by June
of 1944, over 3 million military
personnel had been stationed in Great
Britain. 
 D-Day
On June 6, 1944, the Allied
forces landed on the beaches
in Normandy, France, marking
the beginning of Operation
Overlord. 
Also known as D-Day, Operation
Overlord was the code name
for the invasion of Western
Europe by the Allies in their
campaign to liberate Europe
from the Nazis. 
The invasion at Normandy was
one of the largest amphibious
assaults ever conducted and
was an important point in the
war. 
Many historians call D-Day the
beginning of the end for Nazi
Germany.
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, initially known as the
Ardennes Offensive, began on December
16, 1944.
The battle was a major campaign launched
by the Germans through the Ardennes
Mountains in an attempt to defeat the
Allies on the Western Front. 
Hitler believed that Allied troops were not
very powerful in Western Europe, and a
major offensive would cause their alliance
to fall apart. 
In reality, the battle became the last major
German offensive operation. 
With the German Army greatly weakened
after the failed attack, the Allied forces
were able to push further into Europe and
re-take conquered land.
 Yalta Conference
The leaders of the Allied nations again met at the Yalta Conference from February 4-11, 1945,
in order to discuss the reorganization of post-war Europe. Among the main results of the
conference include the following:
Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin agreed to respect democratic ideals in Eastern European nations
that were currently occupied by Soviet troops in exchange for keeping control of territory
that had belonged to Poland before the war.
Stalin also pledged, at the urging of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to join the fight against
Imperial Japan within three months of the end of the war in Europe.
The Allied Powers agreed during the Yalta Conference that Germany would be required to
meet terms of an unconditional surrender and would be divided into four occupation zones
following the end of hostilities.
Poland's independence would be given back to them, and it was further acknowledged that
Poland should receive additional territories in the north and west at the expense of German
lands.
Arguably the single most important development of the Yalta Conference was the proposal of
the United Nations, an organization meant to encourage international cooperation in the
post-war world and to replace the faulty League of Nations that had been established at the
end of World War I.
Yalta Conference
 Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima
was fought from
February to March of
1945 on the Japanese
island of Iwo Jima. 
Some of the worst
fighting of World War
II occurred during this
battle, with
approximately 6,000
American soldiers
killed and another
19,000 injured. 
Of the 21,000 Japanese
soldiers fighting on
the island,
approximately 20,000
were killed during the
battle. 
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, also
known as Operation Iceberg,
was fought from March to
June of 1945 on the Japanese
island of Okinawa. 
The battle is well known for being
the largest amphibious assault
during the Pacific Theater as
well as having some of the
highest casualties of any
battle of World War II. 
During the battle, approximately
100,000 Japanese soldiers
were killed. 
Casualties for the Americans
totaled nearly 50,000 with
approximately 12,000 soldiers
killed in action.
 Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was the final meeting
between Allied leaders of World War II. 
The meeting lasted from July 17 to August 2,
1945, and it included Soviet Premier Joseph
Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill, and President Harry S. Truman. 
Truman had only recently come to the
presidency after Franklin D. Roosevelt's
death in April of 1945. 
Because Nazi Germany had agreed to
surrender unconditionally to the Allies a few
months earlier, the main issues discussed
during the Potsdam Conference included the
division of Germany into four occupied
zones, the disabling of any industry in
Germany that could potentially be used for
war production, and the terms of surrender
for Imperial Japan.
 Holocaust
Beginning in the 1930s, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis tried to exterminate all the
Jewish people in Europe. 
Hitler was anti-Semitic, and felt that the Jews as a race were inferior. Hitler's
polices embraced the idea that there was a superior, northern European
race called the Aryans that was threatened by the Jewish people. 
The Nazis forced Jews to live in concentration camps where many were
worked to death or simply killed. Over 6 million Jews died as a result of
Hitler and the Nazis.
Allied forces freed people from Nazi concentration camps at the end of the
war in 1945. 
After the terrible events of the Holocaust, sympathy rose for the Jewish
people. This caused more people to favor the creation of a Jewish
state. Israel, officially known as the State of Israel, was established in
1948. Many Jews, including many Holocaust survivors, decided to move to
the newly formed country.
 Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials occurred from
1945 to 1946 in Nuremberg,
Germany. 
They can best be described as a
series of trials and tribunals set up
to prosecute notable military and
political leaders of Nazi Germany
after its defeat at the hands of the
Allies. 
Major war criminals were charged
with planning, initiating, and
waging wars of aggression, war
crimes, and crimes against
humanity. 
After being found guilty, many of the
accused were sentenced to death.
 Atomic Bombs
On August 2, 1939, prominent
scientist Albert Einstein wrote a
letter to President Franklin D.
Roosevelt as a warning about the
implications of the development of
nuclear technology. 
In the letter, Einstein stated that
extremely powerful bombs could
be constructed from radioactive
elements like uranium and that
German scientists were already
working on developing such a
weapon.
One main result of the letter from
Albert Einstein to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the
establishment of the Manhattan
Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Einstein warned Roosevelt of the
threat posed by nuclear bombs. 
In a later letter, Roosevelt responded
to Einstein, thanking him for the
warning and stating that he has
taken measures to investigate the
uses of uranium and nuclear
technology. 
The Manhattan Project was then given
the task of developing the world's
first atomic bomb.
 Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Potsdam Declaration was issued
on July 26, 1945, and called for
the immediate, unconditional
surrender of the Japanese forces.  another 75,000 died in Nagasaki.
The language of the declaration was
harsh, stating that Japan must
surrender unconditionally or face
"prompt and utter destruction."
Japanese leaders refused to
acknowledge the declaration.
On August 6th and 9th, the only
atomic bombs ever used in warfare
were dropped on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The effects of the bombs were
devastating. More than 70,000
people died in Hiroshima and
 
Both cities were almost completely
destroyed and more people would
later die due to the effects of
radiation poisoning. 
Six days after the Nagasaki bomb was
dropped, Japan surrendered to the
Allied Powers. 
August 15, 1945, also known as
Victory over Japan Day, marked
the official end of World War II.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 Controversy
President Harry S. Truman, along
with other Allied leaders, made the
decision to drop the bombs
because of the belief that their use
would force the Japanese to
surrender quickly.
Above all else, Truman and the Allied
leaders wanted to avoid an
invasion of the Japanese home
islands at all costs, though the
planning of such an invasion was
already underway.
A controversy sprang up almost
immediately after the atomic
bombs were dropped. 
Those against the use of the atomic
bombs at the end of World War II
stated that the bombs were
militarily unnecessary. 
People who supported this argument
believed Japan would have
surrendered eventually even
without the use of the bombs.

This operation, code named Operation

Downfall, was predicted to cause
as many as a million casualties for
the Allies and an even higher
number for the Japanese.