The Allies’ Revenge Tom Chumash & Annione Platten Intro ● The Allies of World War 2 consisted of Britain, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, The , China, and The United States ○ The Big FOur: The US, China, UK, Soviet Union ● Their main goal was to oppose the and their aggression and create a peaceful post-war world ● Each country had a different set of ideas for what this post war world would look like ○ Britain wanted to create a post-war that would prevent from rising again, United States wanted a permanent end to the fascist regimes of Germany, Italy and Japan and to foster democracy throughout the world, Soviet Union wanted to both crush Germany and gain influence over Europe ● Each nation had been affected by the Axis powers in some way ○ Each had their own way of getting revenge 2 3 Dresden

● In the final months of , the British and American Air Force launched an extensive bombing campaign on the German city of Dresden. ● Beginning the night of 13 February, 1945, 1,200+ heavy bombers dropped 4,000+ tons of heavy and incendiary explosives on Dresden in the course of 4 successive raids ● 25,000 people killed; 75,000 homes destroyed, and a great deal of damage sustained to historical, cultural relics and architecture such as the Baroque churches of the 15 square miles obliterated in the city’s historic center ● Justified as necessary by the 110 factories reported in the city at the time manufacturing weaponry for the Axis Powers ● Immortalized in Kurt Vonnegut’s postmodern masterpiece Slaughterhouse Five

4 Dresden Cont.

● Widely criticized for mass death, historical destruction, its lateness in the war, human rights violations and targets selected ● British utilized method of sending in light, fast “Mosquito” bombers to drop red flares that would then be followed by a bomb from a larger “Lancaster” model (pictured above) ● Further criticism for “firestorm” tactic used, a process of filling a bomb canister with magnesium, phosphorus, and petroleum jelly, an early precursor of Napalm ● Many argue destruction of architecture within Dresden attempt to strike German morale, culture, and national sentiments

5 Dresden: The Aftermath

6

● The Battle of Berlin AKA The Fall of Berlin ● Soviet Union and Germany ○ Berlin was within the zone of soviet military operations ○ Allies were fraught with casualties and wanted to avoid storming large cities ● Was the last major battle in Europe resulting in the surrender of Germany and the suicide of Hitler ● United States launched various air raids on Berlin for about a month until Soviet ground troops entered the city on April 20, 1945

7 Battle of Berlin Aftermath and Map

8 Berlin Cont.

● Soviet Troops outnumbered German troops almost 2x greater ○ German troops consisted of Voldkssturm and ○ Soviet aim was to invade Berlin because it offered strategic post-war assets (German atomic bomb program) ● About 100,000 killed (20,000 civilians) ● The use of tanks, SP guns, and use of aircrafts were the primary weapons used ○ Tactics were learned from the of certain maneuvers that could be used when using the tanks ■ Infantry would move along side of streets looking for obstacles or concealed weapons

9 Tank Maneuvers

10 Tokyo

● Unlike Britain, US made promise to only target military and industrial complexes in their bombing campaigns ● Nonetheless, as jet stream over Pacific proves precision bombing impossible in 1944, General Curtis LeMay, seen as USAF’s problem-solver, placed in charge of bombing campaign ● LeMay supports Firebombing of whole Japanese cities with incendiary bombs ● More than half a million Japanese killed, the majority of whom were citizens ● Same action denounced by President Roosevelt in 1938 prior to entering the war ● 9 March, 1945 fire raid on Tokyo seen as final straw of nasty and deplorable Japanese invasion campaign ● Known as Operation Meetinghouse, 330 US B-29 Bombers killed over 100,000 people, left more than a million homeless, and burned more than a quarter of the city to the ground

11 Tokyo Cont.

● Tokyo proved testing ground for the newly invented substance known as Napalm ● 105,400 confirmed dead; deadliest conventional air attack in history ● Downtown civilian zones known as Shitamachi with populations as dense as 100,00 people per square mile chosen as targets, as their houses were made of traditional wood and paper material that would easily burn ● B-29s left Tokyo in rubble in only 2 hours and 40 minutes ● From 1944-1945, US dropped 157,00 tonnes of bombs on JApan, killing 330,000 and leaving 15 million of 72 million Japanese homeless

12 Hiroshima

● Japan and United States ● Japan had the strategy to bomb the US Naval base, Pearl Harbor with the element of surprise ○ Wanted oil and rubber market but US restricted production causing Japan to attack before their war efforts had to be put down ○ Wanted to attack so that US would be focused on recovery instead of stopping them from conquering the Philippines and Malaya ● The :: ○ Nuclear fission was discovered and thought to be weaponized in 1938 ○ By 1943: Nuclear bombs called Little Boy (Uranium based) and Fat Man (Plutonium based) had been developed ○ Cost the US 2 billion dollars

13 Pearl Harbor Attack and Manhattan Project

14 Hiroshima Cont.

● Criteria for bombing: ○ The target was larger than 3 mi in diameter and was an important target in a large city ○ The blast would create effective damage ● The United States had already planned on attacking Japan in a way that would end the war as quickly as possible with as little American casualties as possible ○ Truman believed there was no other choice ○ Also wanted to intimidate Soviet Union ● Bomb was equivalent to 13 kilotons of TNT and destroyed everything within a mile radius ● Total casualty count: 135,000 ○ About 20,000 were soldiers and the rest were civilians 15 Little Boy and the Blast

16 Nagasaki

● On 9 August, 1945, second bomb target set at Japanese city of Kokura, planned similarly as Hiroshima ● Kokura obscured by clouds and smoke from failed bomb raids, two aircrafts move to Nagasaki ● Major Charles Sweeney and crew drop “Fat Man” implosion-type bomb on Nagasaki, exploding 47 seconds later above a tennis court ● Casualty estimates vary from 22,000 to 75,000 ● Continued plans by US to develop bombs until Japanese surrender ● On 12 August, 1945, Emperor Hirohito informs royal family of his intention to surrender

17 Nagasaki Cont.

18 Conclusion

● The Soviet Union’s fight in the Battle of Berlin accomplished something that the whole war was leading up to ○ It ended Hitler’s 15+ year reign and practically the war in Europe ● The bombing campaign against Dresden served to destroy German factories, weaken their miltary, destroy culture and annihilate morale ● The bombing of Japan was one of the key ending factors of WW2 ○ It was the quickest and safest way for the United States to force Japan to surrender ○ It showed other countries just how powerful the US could be ○ Nuclear weapons and Napalm establish US as Superpower ○ Criticized for complete neglect of human rights

19