Post on 21-Jan-2021
1942
The Battle of Midway (turning point
against Japan)
The Battle of Midway
Midway: an American island used as
a refueling station
- Japan attempted a surprise attack
- U.S. broke their code and
launched an attack
- With this victory, the U.S. went on
the offensive
1942
Germany attacked Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad
Stalingrad: A city that served as a major supply route for the Soviet Union
- Germans destroyed the city
- Stalin ordered the civilians to remain in the city and use the weapons of fallen soldiers
- Became a battle fought on the streets and in destroyed buildings
- Winter arrived, and the German army, unequipped for the cold, began to freeze to death
- Soviets surrounded the remaining German army and wiped them out
- Became one of the bloodiest battles in world history (1.5 million casualties)
- Led to Hitler’s paranoia/distrust of his generals
Stalingrad
"After lunch on August 23, a colossal bombardment of the city began.
The whole city was razed in just two days. The central district was destroyed first. We left for a refugee centre – on the next day, our house just wasn’t there any longer." Boris Kryzhanovsky, memoirs of Stalingrad
resident
Stalingrad
"My dear brother! Sorry about the messy handwriting, my hands are
frostbitten and my head’s confused. We’ll never get out of here. The breakthrough won’t happen. We’re all dead here – it’s just that we don’t decompose, because of the Russian frost." Helmut Quantz,
OberLeutnant, January 24
Stalingrad
“The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses ...
Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the
flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling
bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately
to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them.
Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only
men endure.”
1943
Germany retreated from Stalingrad
(turning point against Germany)
1943: Italy surrendered
1943: Italy declared war on
Germany
June 6, 1944: The Allied Powers
invaded Normandy, France (D-Day)
D-Day
D-Day: The first day of the Allied invasion
of Normandy, France
- Largest naval attack in world history
- Led by Dwight Eisenhower
- 156,000 troops
- 5,000 ships
- 11,000 aircraft
- 5 beaches (50 miles wide)
The Nazis had a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines, and beach and water obstacles
D-Day: The Beginning of the End
Hitler thought it was a distraction
and failed to call in reinforcements
By the end of the day, more than
4,000 Allied soldiers were dead,
but the beaches were captured
Less than a week later, the
beaches were fully secure
By August, France was liberated
By the following Spring, the Nazis
surrendered
July 1944: Tojo resigned
December 1944
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge
As the Allied Powers quickly
crossed France and Belgium and
neared Germany, the Nazis
attempted one final surprise
attack
250,000 soldiers attacked the
unsuspecting American soldiers in
the heavily forested, snow-covered
Ardennes mountains
Attempted to split the Allied forces
in half
A Nazi fuel shortage and General
Patton’s leadership led to an
American victory
February 1945
The Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima
The U.S. wanted a base near the
Japanese coast
They bombed the island for 72
days before they landed
The Japanese hid an extensive
maze of unground tunnels
Almost the entire Japanese force
was wiped out (21,000 out of
22,000)
Many committed suicide
April 1945
The Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa
The US wanted to capture several
airbases
The Japanese fought desperately,
using kamikaze tactics
The Japanese held strong
defensive positions
The Japanese handed out
grenades to civilians (100,000
died)
“It was a scene straight out of hell.
There is no other way to describe
it.”
Casualties
U.S.
12,000 dead
31,800 wounded
34 ships
763 planes
Japan
77,000 dead soldiers
100,000 dead civilians
6 ships
2,800 planes
Activity: Battle Presentations
Prepare an ignite-style PowerPoint
presentation teaching the class
about one of the following major
battles.
The Battle of Stalingrad
D-Day
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Okinawa
The Rules
Tell a story of the major events of the
battle
20 slides
20 seconds per slide (put a timer on slides!)
1 picture, word, phrase, or declarative
statement per slide (No more!)
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Question/Answer time
Everyone must be prepared
Questions will be asked at random, to
random presenters