Monday - Notes
FDR’s War Message
Pearl Harbor was not the only area Japan attacked on December 7
“Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya”
“Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong”
“Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam”
“Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands”
“Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island”
“This morning Japanese attacked Midway Island”
Why did Japan attacked Pearl Harbor?
After Japan invaded french in 1940, US stopped trading with Japan
Japan signed the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact in April, 1941 guaranteeing that Japan and USSR would not go to war
Japan realized they needed US trade to be successful in war
Only way to force US’ hand was to hit them hard in a surprise attack forcing them out of the war
Japan knew that this plan was a huge risk, but thought it was the only way to defeat US
Plan backfired. Instead, Japan “awoke a sleeping giant”
Backdoor to War Conspiracy
Discuss
Bataan Death March- Philippines- 1942
Up 10,000 Filipino ad 650 American POW’s died during march
Doolittle’s Raid - April 1942 (Dropping bombs in Japan, , was the first positive feeling for the US)
Battle of the Coral Sea- First Turning Point in Pacific
US wasn't winning but neither was Japan but we stopped them so they wouldn't go to Australia, which then they would have invaded.
Battle of Midway- June 1942 - Major Turning Point in Pacific
We demolished Japan we intercepted and strike first before they could
Guadalcanal - August 1942 - February 1943
It was the first offense the US put on Japan (slowly)
The Japanese had a plan to fight to the death
Kamikazes
They were suicide pilots that flew into ships ( or just tried to destroy the ships)
They started to use them when they were losing the war, Japan hoped this would turn the tide of the war but it didn't.
Made a lot of damage and killed a lot of US soldiers
MacArthur’s Return to the Philippines
February - March 1945 ( Iwo Jima)
US invaded Japanese
6,821 US deaths
Battle of Okinawa - April/June 1945
-It was a Japanese island that we took over and defeated them
Summer 1945
Operation Downfall
Planned for October 1945
Estimated to have over 1 million casualties
- Estimated to have 267,000 deaths
Tuesday - More Notes
VJ Day
August 14//15, 1945 (Official UK)
September 2, 1945 (Official for US)
When Japan officially signed on USS Missouri
Potsdam Declaration - July 1945
Dismantle the current government of Japan (Excluding Emperor Hirohito)
The Allies(US) will occupy Japan
Japan will consist only of the major islands (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku). It will lose all territory gained in WWII and years leading up to it
Japanese military forces will be disarmed and allowed to return home
There will be war crimes trials for the atrocities committed by Japan throughout WWII
Democracy will be promoted as well as Freedom of Speech, Religion, and of thought, as well as respect for fundamental human rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights- 1948)
Japan will be allowed to have industry so they can make money to pay for reparations. World trade will also be enabled at some point
Allied (US) occupation of Japan (1945-1952) will end once Japan accomplishes all the above points
WWII Major Battle/ Operations Timeline Vs Germany
Battle of the Atlantic - 1941-1945
Operation Torch (Invasion of Morocco) - 1942
Operation Avalanche (Invasion of Italy)- 1943
Battle of Salerno (1943)
Battle of Anzio (1944)
Battle of Monte Cassino (1944)
Operation Overlord (D-Day) - June 6, 1944
Operation Dragoon (Invasion of Southern France) - August , 1944
Battle of the Bulge( Hitler’s last major Offensive) - Winter 1944-45
Operation Varsity (Invasion of Western Germany past the Rhine River) - March 1945
Fighting in Germany - Issues with the Siegfried Line (West wall)
The German West wall - Siegfried Line
German U-Boats
After repeated attacks by German U-Boats on US ships in the Fall of 1941, FDR announced that he had ordered the US Navy to attack German and Italian warships in the “waters which we deem necessary for our defense”
War was imminent
Allied Intelligence
Churchill and Roosevelt knew the importance of intelligence in safeguarding Allied commerce to defeat the Axis Powers
The allies shared information from RADAR and High Frequency Radio Direction FInding (HF/DF or “huff duff”)
RADAR provided a means of detecting vessels and aircraft above the surface
HF/DF was used to locate the sources of enemy radio transmissions such as submarines
Allied intelligence leaders began sharing code-breaking secrets, known as “very special intelligence” and classified under cover-names like “ULTRA” and “MAGIC”
Enigma
System in which Germany transferred their information through codes
Solving the Enigma system remains one of the great allied triumphs of World War II
- During periods when allied crypt analysts were unable to solve Enigma, U-Boats caused great damage to Anglo- American commerce
D-Day Facts
The D in D-Day stands for “dau” since the final Invasion date was unknown and weather dependent
156,000 allied troops from the US , the UK, Canada, Free France and Norway
The Allied code names for the beaches along the 50-mile stretch of Normandy coast targeted for landing were Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
Omaha was the costliest beach in terms of Allied casualties
Major Generals
US - Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley
US - Bernard Law Montgomery
Germany - Erwin Rommel
Casualties
US - 6603 -1465 killed
US - 2700
Canada - 1074 (359 total)
Germany - Estimated between 4,000-9,000
- More than 326,000 troops had crossed with more than 100,000 tons of military equipment
Wednesday - Gone In New York for Vocal
Thursday - Gone In New York for Vocal
Friday - Gone In New York for Vocal
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