Allied Turning Points in WWII

Warm Up What event thrust the United States into WWII? What benefits does the US entry in to war bring?

Allied War Front Entry of US added strength to Allies 1942: Big 3 agree to finish war in Europe before turning attention to Asia Home front: Total war Factories produce resources for war effort Gov’t censorship & propaganda Decrease in civil liberties (ex-US Japanese Internment camps)

Turning Points Battle of Alamein: North Africa With help from American forces advancing from the west, the Allies trapped Rommel’s army in 1943, & he surrendered Allies could now attack Europe from N. Africa Head towards Italy

Invasion of Italy Great Britain & US send troops into Italy Italians overthrow Mussolini but Hitler sends troops to Italy to restore his power Weakened Hitler’s forces in Western Europe

Battle of Stalingrad Hitler & Stalin were both determined to win Russian troops and freezing winter caused German troops to surrender Red Army drove Germans out of the SU & then began advancing towards Germany

The Allies Liberate Rome June 5, 1944

Invasion of Normandy 1944-Allies were ready to open a 2nd front in Europe w/invasion of France Dwight Eisenhower was allied commander D-Day, June 6th 1944, Allies storm beaches of France. They broke through German defenses to advance toward Paris and freed France from German control Allies then moved from France into Germany

Operation Overlord General Dwight Eisenhower gives the order for D-Day

Normandy Landing June 6, 1944

Battle of the Bulge: Hitler’s last offensive Dec. 16, 1944 to Jan. 28, 1945

Battle of the Bulge Dec. 16, 1944: Last German offensive Jan. 16, 1945: Bloodiest battle of the war & Germany loses Feb. 4, 1945: Yalta Conference-Big 3 meet (FDR, Churchill, & Stalin) U.S. and Britain agree to allow Stalin to control Eastern Europe after the war ends.

The End of Mussolini & Hitler March 1945: German forces retreat into Germany as U.S. troops cross the Rhine on the country's Western Front. April 1945: Mussolini and his mistress are hung in Milan April 30, 1945: As Soviet forces from the Eastern Front encircle Berlin, Hitler, in a bombproof bunker, poisons his mistress, Eva Braun, and shoots himself. Their bodies are hastily cremated in a garden.

Hitler Commits Suicide

Victory in Europe (V.E. Day): May 8, 1945 Now the Allies had to turn their attention to the Pacific Theater