World War II in Europe & North Africa 10 th Grade World Modern World History

Germany Invades Poland August 23, 1939-Germany and Russia Sign a Non-Aggression Pact –Will Not Attack Each Other –Will Split Polish Territory September 1, 1939 –Germany invades Poland using Blitzkrieg tactics

Fall 1939 September 3, 1939– England & France Declare War on Germany September 17, Poland Surrenders November 1939-March Russia Invades and Defeats Finland

The Phony War (Sitzkrieg) French and British Troops Mobilize along the French German Border German Troops Mobilize on the Other Side of the Border For 7 Months…..Nothing Happens

Spring 1940 April 9, Germany Invades –Denmark –Norway May 10, Germany Invades –Holland –Belgium –Luxembourg –France

Dunkirk France and England are Beaten Badly After the Invasion of France –What is Left of Their Armies Retreat to the French Coast Dunkirk –Surrounded by German Troops –850 Ships of All Types are Sent From England –338,000 Allied Soldiers are Saved

France is Defeated June 22, France surrenders to Germany Germany occupies most of France A Puppet Government called Vichy France controls the rest England Stands Alone

Battle of Britain Hitler Wants to Invade England (Operation Sea Lion) –Destroy the R.A.F. –Land 250,000 German troops German Luftwaffe Began Bombing England –Airfields –Factories –Cities (Blitz) British Advantages –Radar –Broke German Codes

North Africa September 1940 N. Africa- Italian Troops Invade British Egypt Dec Jan N. Africa-British & German Troops Locked in Back and Forth Combat in North Africa

Yugoslavia & Greece April 6, Germany Invades Yugoslavia & Greece Yugoslavia falls in 11 Days Greece Falls in 17 Days Hitler Wants Yugoslavia to Act as a Base for the Invasion of Russia

Germany Invades Russia June 22, 1941 Operation Barbarossa –Russia has the Biggest Army in the World –Poorly Equipped, Trained –Germans Drive 500 Miles Into Russia –Russian Scorched Earth Policy

Leningrad and Moscow Leningrad –September 8, 1941 Germans Surround the City –Siege lasts until January 1944 –Mass Starvation …..1.5 million German Troops Reach Moscow December 1940 and are Held off by… –Fresh Russian Troops –Russian Secret Weapons…Snow +Ice

Back to North Africa Nov. 3, 1942, N. Africa- German forces are defeated by the British Nov. 8, 1942, N. Africa- American troops land in N. Africa May 1943, N. Africa- Germany is defeated in N. Africa

Stalingrad (Turning Point) August 23, 1942 –German Bombers Level the City –November 1942, Germans hold 90% of the City Both Stalin and Hitler Order that the City Must Be Taken….AT ALL COSTS –More Snow + Ice + Russian Counterattack –February 90,000 Germans Surrender –Over 1 Million Russian Casualties

The Allies in Italy “Soft Underbelly of Europe” –Allies Invade Sicily and Mainland Italy –Mussolini is Toppled Italy Surrenders, but Germany Invades –Mussolini is Captured…Shot…Hanged –Fighting Continues in Italy Until the End of the War

Allied Invasion of Normandy France D-Day…Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944 –General Eisenhower in Command 3.5 Million Soldiers on 5 Beaches Heavy Allied Casualties….Especially American, but the Beaches were Held

Summer 1944 July British and American troops break out of Normandy and roll across France August Paris is liberated September First U.S. troops reach Germany’s border

Battle of the Bulge December 16, 1944, Hitler Launches his Last major Attack of the War –Goals…Cut Allied Supply Lines, Stop Allied Advance From the West Allied Lines in France and Belgium Bulge, but do not Break –Bastogne

April 1945 April 12- FDR Dies By April 25-Russia Troops Have Entered Berlin, and Surrounded the Center of the City April 30- With Russian troops closing on his bunker, Hitler commits suicide in Berlin by taking poison and shooting himself in the head

V-E Day May 8, 1945….Victory in Europe Nazi Germany Surrenders to the Allies World War II in Europe is Over