The War for Europe and North Africa Chapter 17 Section 2 Pages 569-577

The Battle of the Atlantic 1941-1943 U-boats off the coast of the eastern U.S. sink 87 ships 7 months sank 681 Allied ships Prevent war materials and food from reaching the British and Soviets Starve Britain into submission

The Battle of the Atlantic 1941-1943 Convoys escorted by destroyers Sonar onboard ships Airplanes equipped with radar Allies destroy U-boats faster than Germany can build them The U.S. producing 140 Liberty ships per month

The Battle of Stalingrad Summer 1942 – January 1943 To capture the southern oil fields of the Caucasus Mountains To destroy a major industrial city Stalin demands the defense of his namesake city at all costs Brutal hand-to-hand combat Germans control 90% of city

The Battle of Stalingrad Summer 1942 – January 1943 Soviets counterattack and surround German army Hitler orders them to stand and fight Soviets suffer 1,100,000 dead Germans suffer an irreversible defeat

The North African Front November 1942-May 1943 During Stalingrad, Stalin demands the Allies open a “second front” in Europe This will relieve pressure on Soviets by diverting German troops to France FDR and Churchill don’t feel ready Launch Operation Torch instead under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower

The North African Front November 1942-May 1943 107,000 Allied troops land at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers Defeat General Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, and his Afrika Corps Review map on page 572

Casablanca Conference FDR and Churchill meet to discuss the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers Meaning that enemy nations would have to agree to whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated Next, they discussed where to invade next FDR wanted France Churchill wanted Italy

The Italian Campaign Spring 1944 N. Africa is launching point to invade Sicily, Summer of 1943 Embarrassed the Italian government and King strip Mussolini of his power and arrest him Rescued by German special forces Killed trying to escape to Austria in April 1945 40 miles south of Rome the Germans take a stand “Bloody Anzio” lasts 4 months and costs 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Germans killed or wounded

D-Day June 6, 1944 Eisenhower named Supreme Allied Commander Operation Overlord begins 3 million American, British, and Canadian troops gather Secrecy and deception Phantom army placed in Dover under Patton’s command Fake port of Calais invasion

D-Day June 6, 1944 Largest air-land-sea operation in history 5,000 ships 150,000 soldiers 50,000 vehicles 11,000 planes 13,000 bombs 23,000 airborne (parachute & glider) troops 50 miles of Normandy, France Map on page 575

D-Day June 6, 1944 Fortress Europe & the Atlantic Wall 24,000 miles of defensive positions Field Marshal Erwin Rommel Estimated 4-9,000 causalities Allied causalities 6,000 wounded 4,000+ dead

D-Day June 6, 1944 After 7 days 80 miles of beachhead 1 million troops 567,000 tons of supplies 170,000 vehicles August 25, Patton and the 3rd Army liberates Paris

D-Day June 6, 1944 By September 1944, France, Belgium and Luxembourg are free FDR is elected to an unprecedented 4th term

The Battle of the Bulge October 1944, Americans capture the German town of Aachen Hitler orders the capture of Antwerp December 16, 8 German divisions break through an 80 mile front (see transparency) 200,000 Germans and 600 tanks Americans 80,000 men, 400 tanks

The Battle of the Bulge 60 mile bulge in Allied line 120 Americans captured near Malmedy by SS troopers and executed in open field 101st Airborne hold Bastogne Clouds and fog clear and US air forces turn the tide Germans lose men and material that they can no longer replace

Liberation of the Death Camps July 1944, Soviets pushing through Poland find Majdanek 1,000 starving prisoners World’s largest crematorium 800,000 shoes “A gigantic murder plant”

Germany Surrenders The Red Army enters Berlin Deserters are shot on the spot April 29, Hitler marries Eva Braun Take their lives April 12, 1945, FDR dies from a stroke May 8, 1945 is V-E Day – Victory in Europe Day Harry S. Truman is sworn in as president