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

Midway

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

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

D-Day

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

The Battle of the Bulge

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

Iwo Jima

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

Okinawa

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