Battles of World WarII
Sarah Gonzales
The Bataan Death March
- April 9th, 1942, part of the Battle of Bataan
- The Bataan Peninsula was surrendered by around 75,000 American and Filipino troops
- American soldiers were forcibly removed from Mariveles to San Fernando and then straight to Capas by train
- The soldiers were out under poor conditions such as abuse, lack of clean water, scarce of medicine, and diseased.
- The march took 6 days and 7 nights
- There was no approximate death count, however, 60,000 soldiers contained
The Two Pronged Attack Strategy
- Developed June 1942
- After the Battle of Midway, Admiral Chester Nimitz and General MacArthur put this plan in place in order to allow the U.S to remain in power of the pacific front and to keep the Japanese from gaining control over the Pacific Ocean.
- The Us army would isolate the japanese and eliminate their resources from places such as Vietnam and Thailand should the plan follow through.
- This plan would also give the US an advantage to face bombers on the Japan side on small islands
- Also synonymous with "Island Hopping"
Island Hopping
- A crossing of islands to make long trip short
- Another term used to describe "The Two-Pronged Attack Strategy"
- Employed by the United States during the Pacific War with Japan
- Island Hopping began in the Midway Islands (Hawaii to Japan) and ended in Japan, where the Japanese were defeated and left with their mainland
Battle Of Midway
- Took place around June 1942.
- A crucial naval battle in the Pacific Front in World War II.
- The attack was planned by Admiral Chester Nimitz among others to attack and successfully defeat the Imperial Japanese Navy.
- Only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, did the United States Navy win near Midway Atoll, damaging the Japanese fleet beyond repair
Okinawa
- Okinawa was invaded by the Marine Corps and the U.S Army with approximately 185,000 troops in 1945
- The last and biggest battle in the Pacific war between the United States and the Japanese Imperial Army
- Involved 287,000 troops of the US Tenth army against the Japanese Thirty second army.
- The Okinawa Campaign lasted 82 days from April 1st to June 22nd, 1945. At the end of this campaign, the japanese suffered from more than 65,000 casualties
Chester Nimitz
- Admiral Chester Nimitz along with General Douglas Macarthur, planned attacks and strategies for the the U.S navy when going into many of the battles during the pacific war
- 10 days after the attack on pearl harbor, Nimitz was promoted to Commander in chief of the pacific fleet by President Roosevelt.
- Defeated the Japanese Navy in the Battle Of Midway, Solomon islands campaign, the Okinawa campaign, the Two-Pronged attack strategy, and the battle of Coral Sea.
Douglas MacArthur
- Out of action in 1937 until he was called up again into active service in 1941 where he took his place as the general and commander of the Untied Sates Army from the East.
- Japanese forces prevented the troops from landing in Luzon, forcing MacArthur to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula.
- After his new promotion to supreme commander of allied forces in April, 1942, MacArthur commanded the Island Hopping for two years until October 1944
- MacArthur and Chester Nimitz both served as Admiral and General for the Untied States Navy.
The Flying Tigers
- 1941-1942
- The first American Volunteer group (AVG) in the Chinese Air Force
- The group was composed of Marine Corps, U.S Army Air Corps and Navy and was led by Claire Lee Chenault, who was recruited under presidential authority .
- Trained in Burma, the team set out three fighter squadrons of 30 aircraft each to defend China and defeat the japanese forces.
- The team's first fight was 12 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 20th, 1941 against the Japanese forces
- Though disbanded and replaced by the 23rd Fighter group of the U.S Army, both groups remained with the same commander, and the same shark tipped aircraft.
Iwo Jima
- In February 1945, once the U.S had arrived at the Marianas Islands, the decision was made to take over the island Iwo Jima.
- However, the Island of Iwo Jima was heavily defended by the Japanese Imperial Army, covered in secret caves, hidden weaponry, and dugouts in order to prepare for the U.S invasion.
- The island would have been conquered within 5 or less days, but because the following above, the invasion was fought for an approximate month.
- The Japanese casualties were significant in comparisons to the casualties the U.S suffered.
- In light of the U.S victory, an air base was created for bombers to land there rather than Marianas Island.
The European/African Front
The European/African Front
- Around 1942, the U.S not only supplied England with troops and artillery, but created Allies that would travel along the English Channel, including places such as Sicily, North Africa, and Morocco
The Invasion of Normandy (D-Day)
- June 6th, 1944
- On that day, many of the Allied powers landed in Normandy. including the British Corps and the U.S corps with a total of 130,00-156,00 troops total on the invasion of Normandy.
- Also called Operation Overlord, and D-Day
- The Allied powers of western Europe launched an attack with U.S, British, and Canadian forces in Normandy, France.
- The attack would have came sooner, but due to weather conditions and climate change, the troops had to wait for the weather to break, so safety and landing is ensured when the allied powers attacked.
- It was a stalemate between Hitler's German forces and the Allied power, and by the end of the war, German forces had to put their command and power in question and retreated. In this process, the majority of Northern france was liberated.
D-Day - A Critical Moment In History
The Battle of the Bulge
- December 16th,1944-January 16th, 1945
- Also known as Battle of the Ardennes ad was the last significant German offense system on the Western front to counter against the Allied powers.
- The "Bulge" refers to the lines that the german forces drove through when the Allied powers were invaded earlier.
- After the invasion and battle of Normandy, the Allies traveled from Northern France to Belgium. In December, General Dwight Eisenhower's troops were aught and unprepared by the German forces, but by the beginning of January, the Germans had to retreat due to a burn out of resources
Dwight Eisenhower
- President of the United States of America and the supreme commander of the allied forces of the Western front and Europe.
- Appointed supreme commander by Roosevelt and was responsible for the invasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Overlord.
- Under his supervision, the allied powers liberated the majority of Western Europe
George Patton
- George. S. Patton was the senior chief in the United States Army and led the U.S Seventh Army for the European, African, and Mediterranean front
- After the invasion of Normandy, Patton assumed his role as commander of the Third U.S Army, which then successfully led his forces into Nazi Germany by the end f the war.
- Died in Germany after being in a car accident. This was after the war.
Omar Bradley(The Soldier's General)
- Was the Senior officer in the U.S Army, but after World War II, was promoted to General of the U.S Army.
- As he commanded nearly 43 divisions, Bradley led his troops to victory from the Invasion of Normandy to the end of the European war.
- Bradley's courteous and polite public appearance made him less commander, more like thoughtful leader, and portrayed Bradley as a favorable public appearance.
George Marshall
- American soldier and statesman, Marshall had a significant role in World War II and the Cold War.
- Was also the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Chief of Staff of the United
States Army under two presidents - Organizer of the largest military expansion in U.S history, and though he never led troops into combat, Marshall did teach troops combat styles in wartime.
The Navajo Code Talkers
- First used by the Cherokee and Choctaw indians, bilingual soldiers used Native American language in the Marine Corps to code talk during war time.
- Philip Johnston, a soldier who grew up on a Navajo reservation, proposed to the Marine Corps to use the Navajo language to code talk.
- Johnston proposed that the Navajo language would be suitable for code due to their syntax and word placement, and because Navajo is only spoken in the Navajo lands of the American Southwest.
- The Navajo Code Talkers were mainly made up Marine Corps, and if words in the language became too difficult to simply type out on letter, the talkers would use symbols in the languages to get messages across securely.
The Tuskegee Airmen
- The first African American aviators for the military in the United States Armed Forces
- Due to the Jim Crow Laws still holding precedents over the racially segregated U.S Army, many of the Airmen were trained in Tuskegee Army Airfield from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee Alabama.
- Among the group, there were 5 Haitians and one man from Spain.
- The 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group were the only black airmen who saw combat
The Fall of Berlin
- Berlin was the final offensive in the western front that was operated by the Soviet Union
- Prior to the war, the Soviet Union (Red Army) had encircled the city of Berlin after winning mini invasions around Berlin.
- German defenses were little to no good as they were led by Helmuth Weidling and poorly trained Volksstrum and Hitler Youth.
- Before the battle was won, Hitler and his other followers committed suicide and sooner after that, the city's defenders surrendered on May 2nd 1945.