WWII European Theatre Mr. Wells – Winkler MS

Review: Non Aggression Pact

Review: Germany Invades Poland

Review: “Phony War”

German Troops Disembarking Norway – April 9, 1940

Rescue at Dunkirk

The Fall of France

The Battle of Britain Summer-Fall 1940 Britain vs. Germany German blitzkrieg- lightning war Churchill vows to never surrender Radar becomes important Significance: Hitler calls off invasion

Hitler Invades Soviet Union

The Battles of the Atlantic 1939-1943 Atlantic Ocean off the British coast Germans sank 87 US supply ships Tonnage War: British required more than a million tons of food & material per week to survive. Significance: British use sonar to defeat Germans

The Atlantic Charter (Aug. 1941)

Pearl Harbor

U.S. Enters WWII

The European Theatre European theatre was the name given to fighting that took place in Europe FDR & Churchill agreed that their top priority was to defeat the Nazis in Europe first Great Britain stood alone against Axis in 1942 Hitler was everywhere!

European Theatre of Operations

Battle of Stalingrad Aug. 1942-1943 Bloodiest standoff of the war Over 1 million casualties Allies decided to let Russia fight on their own Soviets defeat Nazis – Turning point of the war! THIS DECISION WILL COST THE U.S. FUTURE RELATIONS WITH THE SOVIETS

Battle of Stalingrad: Winter of 1942-1943 German Army Russian Army 1,011,500 men 1,000,500 men 10,290 artillery guns 13,541 artillery guns 675 tanks 894 tanks 1,216 planes 1,115 planes

Operation Torch: North Africa (1942) FDR & Churchill meet in Morocco (North Africa) Decide to invade through Sicily then into Italy General Dwight D. Eisenhower – Supreme Allied Commander Germans retreated into Tunisia… surrender over 275,000 Allies push into Italy Mussolini forced to resign August 1943 Italy surrenders June 4, 1944 April 1945 – Mussolini is executed in Milan, Italy

The Battle for Sicily: June, 1943 General George S. Patton

The Allies Liberate Rome: June 5, 1944

Mussolini & His Mistress, Claretta Petacci Are Hung in Milan, 1945

D-Day: Operation Neptune/Overlord June 6, 1944 Normandy, France Britain/U.S. vs. Germany Largest amphibious invasion of all-time - 130,000 troops - 195,700 naval personnel - 5 Sections: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword Significance: Liberation of France from German occupation

D-Day: Operation Neptune/Overlord

D-Day: Operation Neptune/Overlord Higgins Landing Crafts German Prisoners

The Liberation of Paris: August 25, 1944 De Gaulle in Triumph!

U. S. Troops in Paris, 1944

The Battle of the Bulge December 1944 French-German border Officially named Battle of Ardennes by U.S. Army “Bulge” was initial incursion of Germans into Allies’ line of advance Germans could not sustain attack and began to retreat 19,000 Americans dead – 41,493 wounded – 23,554 captured or missing Significance – Death Camps liberated & Nazis defeated

VE Day May 7-8, 1945 Germany officially surrendered Hitler committed suicide in April before he could be captured Now, the Allies have to figure out how to defeat Japan

Hitler Commits Suicide April 30, 1945 Cyanide & Pistols The Führer’s Bunker Mr. & Mrs. Hitler

Hitler’s “Secret Weapons”: Too Little, Too Late! V-1 Rocket: “Buzz Bomb” V-2 Rocket Werner von Braun

The World We Live in Today Was Formed by the Events of World War II & its immediate aftermath!