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It is thought that at least 140,000 people were killed, of a total population of around 350,000. It was dropped by a bomber plane named the Enola Gay. On 6 August 1945, Truman ordered an atom bomb to be dropped on the city of Hiroshima. Truman, who had replaced Franklin Roosevelt following his death in April 1945. The decision to drop the atom bomb was taken by President Harry S. The dropping of the atom bombs was the first and only time that nuclear weapons have been used. This was the dropping of atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American forces.Īn atom bomb is capable of causing much greater destruction than the bombs that had been used throughout World War Two, and in previous conflicts. One of the most significant events of World War Two happened in 1945. While Germany had surrendered, the Pacific WarĬontinued. This was one of the turning points in the war, resulting in American troops and supplies joining the war in Europe to support Britain. On 8 December, Roosevelt spoke to Congress and declared war on Japan and Germany. The attack killed 2,335 American troops and damaged or destroyed 21 US Navy ships. Japan took advantage of this in the knowledge that, if they could destroy the base, it would mean that they could have control of the Pacific. Moreover, the USA did not expect Japan to attack them in Hawaii, which meant that they had relatively few defences in place at Pearl Harbor. The USA had imposed economic sanctions on Japan, which affected trade in goods such as oil and aircraft, and prevented Japan from becoming a bigger global power. The bombing followed several years of rising tension between Japan and the USA. On 7 December 1941, a Sunday morning, Japan carried out a surprise attack on the American Naval base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. However, American President Franklin Roosevelt was keen to provide support to Britain. The USA had officially remained neutral when World War Two broke out. Churchill privately called Dunkirk ‘a colossal military disaster’, which showed his concern about the loss of men and equipment. The evacuation of Dunkirk also meant Britain was left to fight against Germany without France, one of its key allies. These losses were hugely damaging to the war effort. Over 400 tanks, six destroyers and 145 aircraft were also lost. However, there were also big losses: over 68,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, captured or unaccounted for. The evacuation was considered to be a success, with 340,000 French and British soldiers brought back to England in one week. Dutch, Belgian, French and Norwegian ships were also involved in the operation. īritain organised a huge evacuation effort, sending over a whole range of naval and civilian boats to pick up stranded soldiers. To find out more about the role of troops from across the British Empire during World War Two, read this guide. He led them through Dunkirk’s heavily bombed harbour. For instance, Major Mohammad Akbar Khan, an Indian soldier, was in charge of 300 Indian soldiers and 23 British troops. They reached the English Channel and waited on beaches at Dunkirk to be rescued.īritain had soldiers fighting from many different countries in its empire. The British Expeditionary Force, which had been sent to France to try and stop the German invasion, had to retreat. They swept through the country, capturing Paris on 14 June. They quickly overwhelmed the defences and armed forces of countries they invaded.
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Their tactics were known as ‘Blitzkrieg’, which means ‘lightning war’. The German army was sweeping through Europe.