October, 2001

Allies of World War II

How did World War II start? How did it end? These are the type of questions that are asked about World War II. In this essay, you will learn who fought against who, how it started, and how it ended.

On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. After the German attack, France and England declared war on Germany. In 1941 Japan took over the French Indochina. The United States entered the war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The government forced all Japanese Americans to Relocation Camps where they were guarded like prisoners, since the Americans thought they may not be loyal to the country.

The Allies who helped fight against Japan, Italy, and Germany (axis) were Soviet Union, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Iceland, Madagascar, Africa, Mexico, and the U. S.

In the summer of 1945, President Harry S. Truman was faced with a difficult decision. United States scientists had invented a powerful new weapon – an atomic bomb. The scientists thought if they saw the bomb's power, they would surrender.

Other scientists and military leaders urged Truman to use the bomb. They thought that bombing them might make them surrender. Truman decided to use the bomb. In July he warned the Japanese to surrender or be destroyed. Japan did not surrender. On August 6, 1945, an American plane dropped the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan.

The atomic bomb killed almost 78,000 people. On August 9, the United States dropped another bomb on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. The second bomb killed at least 40,000 people. The next day Japan asked for peace talks. It surrendered on August 14, 1945. World War II was over.

by Samantha
A-6
Petersen School

Site of WWII posters: http://www.nara.gov/exhall/powers/powers.html

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