3/23 notes WWII Endgame: D-Day to German Surrender

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France at Normandy.

Paratroopers on D-Day

Allied airborne troops landed behind German lines to seize roads and bridges.

D-Day Beaches

Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

Omaha Beach

The hardest D-Day landing because of heavy German defenses.

D-Day Goal

To establish a foothold in France and begin liberating Western Europe.

Operation Cobra

Breakout offensive that helped Allied forces escape Normandy and push into France.

Operation Market Garden

September 1944 airborne assault to seize bridges in the Netherlands; failed at Arnhem.

“A Bridge Too Far”

Phrase used to describe the failure of Operation Market Garden.

Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s last major offensive in the west, fought in winter 1944–45.

Malmédy Massacre

SS troops executed about 100 American prisoners during the Battle of the Bulge.

Bastogne

Belgian crossroads town surrounded during the Battle of the Bulge.

“Nuts”

General Anthony McAuliffe’s response when Germans demanded surrender at Bastogne.

Patton’s Relief of Bastogne

General George Patton turned his Third Army and broke through to relieve the surrounded troops.

Yalta Conference (1945)

Meeting of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin to decide the postwar future of Europe.

Yalta Agreement

Stalin promised to help form the United Nations, enter the war against Japan, and allow free elections in liberated countries.

FDR’s Death

Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945.

Hitler’s Final Days

Hitler hid in a bunker in Berlin and married Eva Braun.

Hitler and Eva Braun

Both committed suicide on April 30, 1945.

V-E Day (May 8, 1945)

Victory in Europe Day; Nazi Germany surrendered.

Doolittle Raid (April 1942)

U.S. air raid on Tokyo led by Jimmy Doolittle using planes launched from the U.S.S. Hornet.

Jimmy Doolittle

Led the first U.S. air attack on Japan to boost American morale.

Purpose of the Doolittle Raid

Showed Japan that the U.S. could strike back after Pearl Harbor.

Why Midway was important

Japan wanted to trap the U.S. Navy and control the Pacific.

Japanese plan at Midway

Japan planned to attack Midway and draw out U.S. carriers.

U.S. codebreaking at Midway

U.S. Navy decoded Japanese plans and set a trap.

Code AF

Revealed Midway was the Japanese target.

Battle of Midway

Turning point in the Pacific War; U.S. sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and lost one carrier, Yorktown.

Yamamoto

Admiral who led Japan’s Pacific strategy and wanted to destroy U.S. carrier power.

Battle of Coral Sea

May 1942 naval battle that stopped Japan’s advance toward Port Moresby, New Guinea.

Coral Sea Significance

First naval battle where enemy fleets never saw each other directly.

Coral Sea Losses

U.S. lost the Lexington; Yorktown was badly damaged; Japan lost Shoho and damaged Shokaku.

Guadalcanal

Solomon Islands battle that protected Australia from Japanese expansion.

“Island of Death”

Nickname given to Guadalcanal because of the brutal fighting.

Iron Bottom Sound

Sea near Guadalcanal filled with sunken ships after intense naval battles.

Island Hopping

U.S. Pacific strategy of capturing key islands and bypassing heavily fortified ones.

Tarawa

A tiny but heavily fortified island; the battle showed how costly amphibious assaults could be.

Saipan

A key island in the Pacific campaign; its capture brought major Japanese losses and civilian panic.

Saipan Death Toll

About 30,000 Japanese defenders died; many civilians were pushed toward suicide by propaganda.

Philippines in the Pacific War

Controversial but important target because MacArthur wanted to fulfill his promise to return.

MacArthur in the Philippines

He said he would return after being forced to leave earlier in the war.

Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway Connection

Coral Sea slowed Japan; Midway shattered Japan’s carrier power and shifted momentum to the U.S.