Get ready for the quiz

1. Based on Canadians in Hong Kong Get ready for the quiz

2. Quiz 1. When was Hong Kong attacked? 2. What policy did the US adopt, honoring a pledge to British? 3. How many Canadian soldiers were sent to Hong Kong? 4. How many Canadians died? • When were the Canadians forced to surrender?

3. Quiz 1. When was Hong Kong attacked? Dec 7th 1941 2. What policy did the US adopt, honoring a pledge to British? “Hitler First” 3. How many Canadian soldiers were sent to Hong Kong? 1,975 4. How many Canadians died? 555 • When were the Canadians forced to surrender? Christmas Day 1941

4. Iwo Jima, Hiroshima and Nagasaki The Pacific Theatre

5. Objectives • Students will be able to describe how the Allies achieved victory in the Pacific war • Questions to consider: • How does America establish itself as a nuclear power? • How does the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki affect future global relations? • What are the lasting effects of the bombs on the Japanese people? • Consider the justification of bombing densely populated civilian cities • How nuclear warfare changes global relations (precursor to the Cold War)

6. The War in the Pacific • After the United States declared war on Japan, the Americans had to restructure their economy and military forces to prepare for what everyone knew would be a long war. • They could not strike back immediately with full force. This enable the Japanese to go on a rapid and vast war of conquest. • While Canada and other allies participated in the Pacific, be aware that the main force in this theatre was the Americans. • Battles or involvements by the Allies that helped achieve victory will be highlighted for you (yay!)

7. War in the Pacific • The primary participants were Japan and the US, (although soldiers from many countries participated in the Pacific.) • The Japanese were successful through the first half of 1942. • Their troops were well trained and experienced • British forces were largely focused on Germany

8. War in the Pacific • US had a policy of “Hitler First” (more men & equip. went to Gr.) • America’s strength in the Pacific was temporarily impacted by the Pearl Harbor attack. • Japan expanded west to the edge of India, north to the Aleutians, south almost to Australia, and east nearly to Midway.

9. War in the Pacific Coral Sea & Midway. • In May 1942, the Battle of Coral Sea was a loss for the Americans, in terms of equipment, but a win in terms of stopping Japanese expansion to the south toward Australia. • In June 1942, the Battle of Midway was a success for the US. • The US sunk 4 Japanese carriers, while the US lost only 1

10. War in the Pacific – Battle of Midway • This battle is considered a turning point in the war. • Although the tide turned for the Americans, progress was slow. • The Japanese tenaciously held on to every island they had. • Battles were hard and loss of life high. • The Americans utilized a method called “Island Hopping.” • As each island was taken, air cover from planes using the new island would extend US power to the next island.

11. Island Hopping • Instead of attacking and recapturing every island by the Japanese, the American strategy was to select key islands about 400 miles apart • By taking several islands, they were able to progressively move their base for attack that much closer to Japan itself • The Americans simply ignored the islands in between because they could now cut off supplies to these islands.

12. War in the Pacific Leyte Gulf • Oct of 1944- the US began landing troops on Leyte (a gulfe in the Phillippines) • With US attention divided between the landing forces and the ocean, Japan saw an opportunity. • The Japanese offered one last naval offensive, a desperate attack to destroy the American fleet. • The Japanese were out numbered in men and equipment • The US effectively sank the remaining offensive power the Japanese navy had. • It was in this battle that the Japanese introduced the kamikaze suicide technique. Kamikaze pilots would load their planes with explosives and deliberately crash them into American ships The American navy sank one half of the Japanese fleet

13. Kamikaze Technique

14. War in the Pacific – Iwo Jima • For Japan, this battle was the decisive loss that led to the end. • In Feb. of 1945, the US attacked the small island of Iwo Jima and Okinawa (two Japanese islands south of the Japanese homeland) • It was important for its airbases. Kamikaze pilots used it, and US fighters could use it to escort bombers to Japan. • It took over a month for the marines to take the tiny island. • The Marines lost 6,891 men killed and 18,070 wounded. • Out of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island, only 212 were taken prisoners. • This was the location of the famous picture of Americans raising the US flag on the mountain top.

15. U.S. Marines raise the flag on Iwo Jima in Joe Rosenthal’s famous photograph

16. Preparing for Invasion • As the US prepared to invade Japan, they were concerned for the massive cost. • The Japanese were prepared to fight to the last man, woman and child. • In the US, scientists had been working on a new weapon- an atomic bomb. • This secretive plan was called the Manhattan Project

17. The Manhattan Project • Since March 1943 – US funded a very secretive and expensive project to see if it was possible to create an atomic bomb • 1945, President Truman (Roosevelt had died earlier that year) learned that the test in New Mexico had been successful. This was an option for him to end the war in the Pacific • After the test, the Americans had two bombs ready to use in the summer of 1945, a spherical plutonium bomb nicknamed “Fat Man,” and a sausage-shaped uranium bomb named “Little Boy”

18. Manhattan Bomb Test

19. Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Aug 6, 1945- the US drops the first atomic bomb. The city of Hiroshima is obliterated. • Aug 9, 1945- a second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki. The US threatens more, even though it is their last bomb. Plane that dropped the first bomb

20. Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 • American military planners informed Truman that he could expect from 1-1.5 million American casualties and another 12-28 months of fighting to take the islands of Japan. Therefore, Truman decided to use the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima • “Little Boy” was dropped on the industrial city of 340,000 people. The explosion at ground zero created temperatures of 540,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Beyond the meltdown zone, an immense firestorm destroyed 60,000 of 92,000 buildings • The official death count was 78,000 but an additional 60,000 people died later of atomic bomb-related injuries or diseases

21. Ariel view of Hiroshima after the bomb

22. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Dome Then and Now

23. Destructive Power of the Bomb • The destructive power of the bomb was overwhelming. • The bombs left over 220,000 people dead (blast and subsequent illness). • Initial survivors suffered severe burns, then radiation poisoning, which killed many.

24. Media • Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is based on a true story of a girl who survived the Hiroshima bombing and develops leukemia as a result of the radiation • Grave of the Fireflies (2005)Follows the struggle of two siblingsfollowing the firebombing of KobeMarch 1945

25. Hiroshima Bombing • http://youtu.be/t19kvUiHvAE

26. Dr. Robert J. Oppenheimer • Considered the father of the atomic bomb but was against nuclear production • http://youtu.be/26YLehuMydo

27. Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 • Since Japan did not surrender immediately, Truman ordered the next atomic bomb to be dropped on Nagasaki • “Fat Man” was dropped on a city of 250,000 and the death toll reached over 35,000 people • A total of approximately 170,000 people died due to both atomic bombs

28. Peace, August 14, 1945 V-J Day (Victory in Japan) • On August 14, 1945 the Japanese government surrendered, and the second world war was over • (Nazi Germany surrendered May 8 1945 – we will look at that next week) Scene made famous in Life magazine, celebrations on V-J day