3/24 Notes Cold War Beginnings & End of WWII (Pacific + Early Cold War)

Philippines (1944)

MacArthur promised “I shall return”; U.S. invaded in 1944 despite Navy concerns

Battle of Leyte Gulf

Largest naval battle of WWII; called “last stand of the tin can sailors”

Iwo Jima

Small volcanic island needed for airfields to bomb Japan; heavily fortified

Iwo Jima significance

Famous flag-raising photo by Joe Rosenthal; thousands of U.S. casualties

Okinawa

Japanese home island; heavily defended; major battle before invasion of Japan

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots (“divine wind”) who crashed into U.S. ships

Firebombing of Japan

Gen Curtis LeMay used B-29 bombers to burn cities; caused massive deaths

Potsdam Conference (1945)

Truman Stalin Churchill meet; tension rises; U.S. demands unconditional surrender

Potsdam outcome

Japan refuses to surrender despite warning

Atomic Bomb (Hiroshima)

August 6 1945 “Little Boy” uranium bomb dropped by Enola Gay

Atomic Bomb (Nagasaki)

August 9 1945 “Fat Man” plutonium bomb dropped by Bockscar

Atomic bomb result

Japan still hesitates; massive destruction and casualties

V-J Day (Aug 15 1945)

Japan surrenders ending WWII

Official surrender (Sept 2 1945)

Signed on USS Missouri

United Nations (1945)

Created in San Francisco to keep peace after WWII

General Assembly

Main UN body where all countries have a vote

Security Council

15 members; 5 permanent (US UK France China USSR) handle major conflicts

Economic and Social Council

Works on global economic and social issues

Secretariat

Runs day-to-day operations of UN; based in New York City

International Court of Justice

Global court that settles disputes between nations

Trusteeship Council

Helped former colonies become independent; mostly inactive today

UNESCO

Promotes education science and culture worldwide

UNICEF

Provides aid and support for children globally

WHO

World Health Organization; focuses on global health

George Kennan

U.S. expert on USSR; wrote “Mr. X” article

Containment

U.S. policy to stop the spread of communism

Iron Curtain

Churchill’s term for division between communist East and democratic West

Truman Doctrine (1947)

U.S. gives aid to countries resisting communism (ex Greece)