Peter+Schlafly

Turning Points Project Peter Schlafly

There were many major turning points of WWII, but three very important ones were the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and D-Day. PEARL HARBOR Pearl Harbor was an unannounced surprise attack made by the Japanese on the American naval base of Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. The attack was mad on December 7, 1941. The result of the attack made by the Japanese was the entry of the United States into the war. The entry of the US into World War II was very important because they were one of the largest powers in the world at that time, and when they entered the war on the side of the allies it gave the upper hand to them. The allies got the upper hand because the United States had resources, and unlike the other countries that had been at war for a couple of years, they had plenty of people. Another reason that this was so important was because later in the war when the US was doing everything possible to get Japan to surrender, they used the Atomic Bomb and the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor helped justify the killing the Atomic bomb did. The reasoning for the Japanese’s attack on Pearl Harbor was because they believed by taking out much of the Navy that America had in the pacific, it would make it easier to gain land throughout southern Asia. The United Sates got lucky though because when the Japanese attacked, they had multiple aircraft carriers that were out on training and not at the base, and on these carriers were many aircraft. This was good because they still had some very important ships they did not need to replace. One primary source that can be used for Pearl Harbor is the speech that was made by president at the time, Franklin D Roosevelt. This speech shows the anger that he, and America had after the attack. When he says “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” he shows his anger with Japan as a country. This is a picture of Pearl Harbor during the attack

D DAY Like Pearl Harbor, D Day was a very important and influential event of WWII. D Day was on June 6, 1944. It was when the allies, mostly US and Britain, made landings on the coast of Normandy. Normandy and all of France had been taken over by Germany. The allies made an attack on the coast of Normandy, they did this to push back the Germans and gain back France. There were many wounded and dead soldiers from this battle. It is estimated that the allies had a total number of 10,000 casualties. There are many reasons that this was an important event in the war, one of them is that it gave momentum in the war to the allies. This is because they made an attack on the Germans and pushed them back, clearly winning the battle. One primary source that helps explain this attack was the letter written by President Eisenhower to the troops preparing for the battle. In it he says “We will accept nothing less than full Victory”, this quote shows what they plan on doing and that they can’t lose to the Germans. This is a picture of soldiers getting off a boat and storming the shore of Normandy.

HIROSHIMA Hiroshima was possibly one of the most important events in WWII for America. The bombing of Hiroshima was when the United States dropped the Atomic Bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The date of this bombing was August 6, 1945. The US did this in an effort to get Japan to surrender, which they would end up doing. The US would also drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese City of Nagasaki three days later. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima was named “Little Boy” and it leveled the city itself while killing between 90,000-166,000 in the next 2 to four months. The bomb not only had an immediate effect but a lasting one. It caused leukemia and other diseases for many of the people who were not killed. The dropping of both of these bombs was so key in the war because 6 days after the dropping of “Fat Man” on Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to the allies, ending the Pacific war and WWII as well. It is clear that any event that would end a war is very important, but that is not the only reason it was important. Hiroshima was the first time that a bomb with that kind of power and deadliness was ever used, and it showed the world could happen, which is why after that all the countries wanted it so that no one was the only one without it. One primary source that relates to Hiroshima was the speech made by President Truman after it, he said “But that attack is only a warning of things to come”, which showed that the United States was not going to back down. Also that they were going to do anything necessary to defeat Japan. This is a picture of Hiroshima after it had been leveled by the atomic bomb.

TIMELINE June 29, 1919-- Treaty of Versailles September 30, 1938-- Munich Agreement August 23, 1939-- Nazi Soviet non aggression pact September 1, 1939-- invasion of Poland June 10, 1940-- Battle of Britain begins March 11, 1941-- Lend-Lease Act June 22, 1941--Operation Barbarossa December 7, 1941-- Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor January 26, 1942-- first American troop are in Great Britain January 31, 1943-- Germany surrenders at Stalingrad June 6, 1944-- D day, landing on Normandy April 30, 1945-- Hitler Commits suicide May 8, 1945-- VE day August 6, 1945-- Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima August 9, 1945-- Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki August 14, 1945-- Japanese surrender August 15, 1945-- VJ day

MAP of Europe during WWII This map shows who was on what side of WW2.

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