This is Ms. Kilgallon & Mrs. Cole's WWII Ends Power Point.

1. Ending WWII
U.S. History
Ms. Kilgallon
Mrs. Cole

2. Learning Targets
1. To identify the battles and strategies that
led to VE day & VJ day
2. To analyze the impact of D-day, battle of
the bulge and the dropping of the bomb

3. Election of
1944
· FDR won an
unprecedented
fourth term in
office in 1944.
· However, in April
of 1945, FDR died,
forcing Vice-
President Harry
Truman to assume
the Presidency.

4. Harry S Truman taking
the oath of office after
the death of Franklin
D. Roosevelt, April 12,
1945. The following
day, Truman spoke to
reporters and said, "...I
don't know whether
you fellows ever had a
load of hay fall on you,
but when they told me
yesterday what had
happened, I felt like the
moon, the stars, and all
the planets had fallen
on me."

5. IN ONE SENTENCE
SUMMARIZE THIS
PICTURE

6. D-Day:
day of days
• When? – June 6, 1944
• Where? – Normandy, France
• Results? – A fleet of 4,000 ships carried Allied
troops to Normandy in order to invade France in
an attempt to defeat the Germans.
• Importance? – On August 25, 1944, Allied forces
liberated Paris from Nazi rule…which D-Day
started
D-Day Animation

7. June 6, 1944: D-DAY
• 3 divisions invaded German lines
– U.S., British, Canadian
• 156,000 troops, 4,000 landing
crafts, 600 warships, & 11,000
planes
• The largest land-sea-air
operation in HISTORY
• Regained much of French
territory back!

8. Battle of the Bulge:
• When? December 16, 1944–
• Where? border areas near Luxembourg, France–
and Germany
• Results? The Germans began a counterattack–
against the Allies as the Allies attempted to drive
the Germans completely out of France.
• Importance? This battle showed the–
desperation of the German forces. While the
Germans were able to slow down the Allied
advance, they could not stop it completely.

9. Victory in Europe
· By April of 1945,
American and Soviet
troops were closing in
on Berlin.
The endless procession of
German prisoners marching
through the ruined city streets
to captivity.
· Adolf Hitler
committed suicide on
April 30, and Germany
officially surrendered
on May 7.

10. Red army soldiers raising the Soviet flag on the roof of the
Reichstag (German Parliament) in Berlin, Germany.

11. Unconditional Surrender!
• Soviet Army
stormed Berlin
• Germany pushed
back after Battle
of the Bulge
• Camps had been
liberated-July
1944

12. V-E Day
• Victory in Europe Day!!!
– May 8, 1945
– General Eisenhower
accepted
unconditional
surrender of the
Third Reich
We’re so
excited our
Men can
come
HOME!

13. · On May 8, the
Allies
celebrated V-E
Day (Victory
in Europe).
Churchill
waves to
crowds in
Britain after
broadcasting to
the nation that
the war with
Germany had
been won,
8 May 1945.

14. V-E Day Celebrations in New York City, May 8, 1945.

15. Island Hopping in the Pacific
• The U.S. began a policy of
island hopping,
using islands as
stepping-stones
towards Japan.
Video: Island Hopping - The U.S. invasion of the Tarawa Atol
(5:52)
• The two main goals of
the U.S. in the Pacific
were:
1. to regain the
Philippines.
2. to invade Japan.

16. · By February of 1945, the U.S. had
recaptured the Philippines and captured the
islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Raisingthe
FlagonIwo
Jimadepicts
five United
States
Marines and
a U.S. Navy
co rpsman
raising the
flag o f the
United States
ato p Mount
Suribachi
during the
Battle o f Iwo
Jima.

17. HOW ARE WE GOING TO…Defeat of Japan?
· The U.S. planned to invade Japan in 1945, though
experts warned that the invasion could cost over a
million casualties.
Stalin, Truman and Churchill at the
Potsdam Conference.
· Upon learning
about the atomic
bomb, Pres.
Truman sent the
Japanese the
Potsdam
Declaration,
warning them to
surrender or face
“prompt and utter
destruction.”

18. To drop the bomb or
not?
• Truman just learns of the Manhattan project
• Thebest-keptsecretof thewar
• Should they use the atomic bomb?
– Might not work
– Could set the atmosphere on fire
– End the Earth

19. Testing…
They first tested the bomb in New
Mexico
– More powerful than expected
How would the Japanese respond?
1. Surrender
2. Test might be a dud-nothing would happen
3. Shoot down the delivery plane or move
American prisoners of war into the test
area

20. · On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb
on Hiroshima, Japan, killing at least 70,000 people and
destroying most of the city.

21. The aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

22. · On August 9, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on the
city of Nagasaki, killing at least 40,000 people.
Mushroom cloud from the
nuclear explosion over
Nagasaki rising 60,000
feet into the air on the
morning of August 9 1945

23. Before and after photos of downtown Nagasaki.

24. V-J Day
• Victory in Japan
• August 15, 1945
• Officially marks
the end of WWII

25. Crowds outside the White House celebrate V-J Day, the
Japanese surrender and the end of World War II. August 1945