There is no official casualty figure for D-Day but it is estimated that more than 425,000 allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or went missing during the battle (Allies prepare for D-Day, 2011). The Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge was the largest land battle of World War II. “More than a million men participated in this battle including some 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British” (Lopez, 2009). The Battle of the Bulge was one of the worst battles in terms of losses of American Forces in World War II. At the end of the battle the casualties were highest out of the entire war.
In thirty-six days there were nearly twenty-six thousand US casualties, almost seven thousand American troops were KIA (Hama, Erksine and Williams 98). 22,000 Japanese troops were sent to battle, with a result of only five hundred survivors. The Battle of Iwo Jima and World War II in general changed many people’s lives. Many were killed, many loved ones had died and many were mentally moved. The Flag Raising at Iwo Jima taken by Joe Rosenthal helped those people who lost and helped Americans get through this war.
With all of this set in place the Leyte landings began October, 20 1944. However, this was no surprise to the Japanese. Admiral Soemu Toyoda, commander of the Japanese fleet, initiated a plan to block the invasion and called it ‘Sho-Go 1.’ This plan called for the majority of Japan’s remaining naval strength to be put to sea in four separate forces. The first of these, Northern Force, commanded by Vice Admiral Ozawa, and was centered on the carrier ‘Zuikaku’ and the lighter carriers ‘Zuiho,’ ‘Chitose,’ and ‘Chiyoda.’ Since the Japanese lacked the necessary amount of pilots and aircraft for battle, Toyoda planned for Ozawa’s ships to lure Halsley away from Leyte. Therefore, three separate forces could approach from the west to attack the United States’ landings at Leyte.
Since the successful invasions of 1942 to 1943 in North Africa and Italy, the Allies had been pressured to open up a new front in northwest Europe. On June 6, 1944, American General Dwight D. Eisenhower and George Marshall led a great marine assault against the Germans in Normandy. The goal of this offensive was to gain control over France, which had been taken over and occupied by Nazi Germany. This operation was to be known as Operation Overlord. The Americans also had to keep the invasion a secret from their enemies.
The first wave, consisting of 134 bombers/fighters, was twenty-five minutes long and did much more damage than the second wave of flights. Overall, the Japanese only lost 29 planes. On the other hand, Pearl Harbor was “the worst naval disaster in U.S history”(article 7). The United States lost more than two thousand casualties, dozens of aircrafts, and 21 ships either damaged or completely destroyed (article 7). The purpose of this attack was to disable the United States fleet making
After the events of Midway, the U.S. opened a gate with many successes by conquering islands invaded by Japan in an effort to stop attacks on U.S. forces. Gaining the islands was essential in order to invade Japan’s mainland in order to get closer to victory over Japan. Later in the war Japan would not have it’s mainland invaded. Most islands consisted of airfields and Japanese Bases, which were required to conquer and gain an advantage over Japan’s Army. America’s success at Midway was a crucial blow to the Imperial Navy’s fleet, which would not fully recover until the war was lost.
The battle of Iwo Jima was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan. The invasion of the U.S, otherwise known as "Operation Detachment", happened because of the U.S. wanting to take over the airfield in Iwo Jima. The airfield provided a base for Japanese escort planes on their raids with the B29s. Iwo Jima's location was important part to the United States because it was between Tokyo and the American bases in the Marianas. This was another reason why it sparked the battle of Iwo Jima.
Japan had made clear overtures to peace, but cultural differences made this nearly impossible (the shame of unconditional surrender goes against their code of honour). The determination to use an expensive bomb instead of letting it rust away; the desire to find out how devastating it was and the opportunity to use the bomb as a strong showcase of US supremacy, made Japan the ideal target. Obviously, the USSR would eventually succeed in creating the a-bomb. Therefore, making Hiroshima & Nagasaki the example of the tremendous power of the bombs would make it clear to the USSR that they too needed such weapons to defend themselves. Moreover, other countries claimed the right of nuclear weapons to defend their citizens.
(Vat) After that, Japan continued its naval expansion after World War I. Looking at Japans success; Great Britain and United States realized that the Japanese Navy could threaten their interests. In order to preserve their goals, they came up with The Washington Naval Treaty. This Treaty placed restrictions on the tonnage of battleships, aircraft carriers, and cruisers that Japan could build in relation to those of the United States and Britain (Willmott). The United States argued that they had naval commitments outside of the Pacific, so the Japanese would effectively have equal
The desire of both the United States and USSR for primary influence in the region and the effects of the Chinese Civil War and Korean War must also be explored in order to fully explain the origins of the Cold War in Asia. It is important to note that the United States and the Soviet Union had interests in Asia dating back to before the Second World War. The US held important strategic territories in Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines whilst the USSR had connections with the Communists in China. These commitments were strengthened throughout the war with Japan in Asia. In the aftermath of the conflict the US wanted to be the sole occupier of Japan, and Stalin wanted to increase the USSR’s stakes in Korea and Manchuria.