The Defeat of Japan

August 1945

· The first mistake for Japan was joining forces with Hitler to conquer the world

· The second mistake was attacking China the largest populated country in the world

· The third mistake was attacking an American naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii on December 7 ,1941

· This brought the USA into the war against both Germany and Japan

· In 1942, Japan lost three aircraft carriers, the heart of their navy at the Battle of Midway

· Between 1943 – 1945, American marines supported by their air force, recaptured many countries and islands in the region of the South Pacific

· The liberation of these Japanese occupied territories broke the spirit of the Japanese forces resulting in desperate attempts to get revenge on American soldiers

· Some of the regions liberated were:

o Philippines

o Burma

o Vietnam

o China

o Korea

· In desperation the Japanese uses kamikaze pilots to fly their planes loaded with extra explosives into American ships

· 1000’s of suicide pilots made the ultimate sacrifice for Emperor Hirohito

· The American navy was able to cut off oil supply ships going to Japan. Without oil, Japanese war machines (ships and submarines) would be forced to shut down

· American long range bombers conducted heavy bombing raids on Tokyo, the capital of Japan

· Over 100,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians were killed in these attacks

· By the summer of 1945, Japan switched from offensive to defensive methods of war, struggling hard to resist the American forces on several islands in the Pacific

· One by one the islands of Guam, IwoJima and Saipan were liberated

Japan Surrenders

August 1945

· American military strategists estimate that ¼ million American marines could be killed if they conducted an amphibious raid on Japan itself

· In 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt died, his Vice – President, Harry Truman became the acting president and decided to use a secret weapon on Japan

· The Atomic Bomb , which was tested in New Mexico was this new weapon (mass destruction)

· None of the developing scientists believed that this device would ever be used as an offensive weapon of war

· Not only was the bomb deadly powerful, but nuclear radiation would poison the landscape and kill anyone coming in contact with it for years later

· President Truman decided to drop the first bomb, nicknamed “little boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The bomb devastated the city , killing 60,000 – 70,000 people in seconds

· It was mostly innocent civilians who died from the explosion

· The Japanese military still refused to surrender

· The US gave Japan 48 hours to stop fighting

· Truman decided to drop a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The power of this bomb, named Fat Boy, melted steel and concrete and killed another 40,000 to 60,000 innocent civilians

· The Japanese government finally contacted the American General, Douglas MacCarthur to sign the terms of surrender

· Japan would be monitored and occupied by American soldiers for almost five years after the war was over

· August 14, 1945 became known as V.J. Day – Victory over Japan Day