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US Declares War on Japan
-Japan bombs Pearl Harbor with no warning
-American neutrality is over
-US begins war production -
Battle of the Coral Sea
-The American and Australians are successful in stopping a Japanese
-All fighting was done by air
-Massive air craft carriers launched planes
-Japanese were stopped for the first time
-Started 5/4/1942
-Ended 5/8/1942 -
The Battle of Midway
-Japanese wanted to attack an island Northwest of Hawaii
-US had broken the Japanese code and knew the attack was coming
-Chester A. Nimitz had sent scout planes out to spy on the Japanese fleet
-The US was once again successful in stopping the Japanese, making devastating blows to the Japanese Pacific fleet
-US began island hoping and moved closer to Japan
-Started 6/4/1942
-Ended 6/7/1942 -
The Battle of Guadalcanal
-The United States began island hopping and taking territory from Japan
-Guadalcanal was the first island to be attacked, and marked the first Japanese defeat on land
-The United States continued to get closer to Japan
-Started 8/7/1942
-Ended 2/9/1943 -
The Battle of the Philippine Sea
-The Battle of the Philippine sea was one of the last major naval battles between the US and Japan
-Japan suffered heavy air and sea losses
-They lost multiple carriers and more than half of the air fleet
-With this defeat, Japan was unable to recover and ever mount another defense against the strong American Navy
-Started 6/19/1944
-Ended 6/20/1944 -
The Yalta Conference
-As the Allies pushed towards victory, Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met to discuss the future of Germany
-Stalin wanted to harshly punish the Germans for what they did
-Churchill disagreed with Stalin, and wanted to divide Germany into 4 different zones occupied by Allied troops to stop any potential uprisings
-Roosevelt acted like a mediator and made compromises with both leaders
-Germany was temporarily divided, and Poland would become its own country again
-Lasted until 2/11/1945 -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
-Iwo Jima was an island critical to the US
-It had a base from which heavily loaded bombers might be able to reach Japan
-20,700 Japanese troops defended the island, and almost 6,000 US Marines died, the highest toll in any battle in the Pacific
-The island of Okinawa was the only obstacle left for the US
-Started 2/19/1945
-Ended 3/26/1945 -
The Battle of Okinawa
-Okinawa was even bloodier than Iwo Jima
-The Japanese launched over 1,900 kamikaze attacks, sinking 30 ships, damaging 300 more, and killing 5,000 seamen
-Almost 7,600 Americans died, while an astounding 110,000 Japanese soldiers died, including 2 generals, who committed suicide instead of surrendering
-Started 4/1/1945
-Ended 5/26/1945 -
Bombing of Hiroshima
-The United States finally had an opportunity to invade Japan, but knew that they still had a major army
-Instead, the US drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and 43 seconds later, the city ceased to exist, destroying everything around it
-The Japanese still refused to surrender after the bombing -
The Bombing of Nagasaki
-After Japan refused to surrender, the United States dropped second atomic bomb
-An estimated 200,000 Japanese dies from the shock and radiation of the second bomb
-After seeing the destruction of his country, Emperor Hirohito surrendered to the United States -
V-J Day
-V-J Day was the day World War II essentially ended
-Japan officially surrendered to the US, and with Germany already defeated, the Axis Powers were beaten
-The surrender occurred on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan -
The Nuremburg Trials
-The discovery of Hitler's death camps led many surviving Nazis to stand trial for their actions
-24 prominent leaders within the Nazi Party were tried for crimes against humanity
-12 were sentenced to death, while the other 12 were sent to prison
-Many more Nazis were sentenced to prison, while some were able to walk free
-The trials lasted from 1945 - 1946
