Spiders as Big as your fist! Witness History It was beautiful, but beneath the loveliness Guadalcanal was a mass of lps and stinks and pestilence; of scum-crusted lagoons and vile swamps inhabited by giant crocodiles; a place of spiders as big as your fist and wasps as long as your finger…of ants that bite like fire, of tree leeches that fall fasten and suck; of scorpions, of centipedes whose foul scurrying across human skin leaves a track of inflamed flesh, of snakes and land crabs, rats and bats and carrion birds and of a myriad of stinging insects.” Robert Leckie, Delivered from Evil: The saga of WWII

Axis and Allies Plan Stategy Allies spied signs of hope Axis Power shared common enemies but nurtured individual dreams Hitler-dominate Europe & “eliminate” inferior peoples Mussolini-Italian empire Tojo-Japanese control of the Western Pacific/Asia Allies shared more unified goals Roosevelt, Churchill & Stalin considered Germany the most dangerous enemy Agreed to pursue a “Europe first” stategy

Turning the tide in Europe FDR-America will be the “arsenal of democracy”. How? Allies battled U-boats in the Atlantic Wolf-packs controlled the Atlantic & Caribbean Mid-1943, the Allies began to win –Convoys –Radar –Depth Charges

Soviets turn back Nazis at Stalingrad Germany’s main objective-conquer Soviet Union Stopped by heavy Soviet resistance and brutal Russian winter Battle of Stalingrad-true turning point in the war in Europe Nazi armies, starving, sick & suffering from frostbite were forced to retreat

Allies drive Germans out of North Africa Forcing Germany out of N. Africa would pave the way for an invasion of Italy Oct, 1942 British won a victory at El Alamein Nov, 1942-Allies landed in Morocco Led by Dwight Eisenhower Kasserine Pass Erwin Rommel (Desert Fox) led the German offensive Allies won but not by much Taught Allies that they needed better desert training

General George S. Patton Jr. In charge of the desert training Known as “blood and guts Patton told his junior officers, “You usually will know where the front is by the sound of gunfire, and that’s the direction you should proceed. Now, suppose you lose a hand or an ear is shot off, or perhaps a piece of your nose, and you think you should walk back to get first aid, if I see you, it will be the last…walk you’ll ever take.” Under his command: Axis forces were pushed into a shrinking pocket in Tunisia. Rommel escaped, but his army did not In May, 1943, 240,000 German and Italian troops surrendered.

Allies Invade Italy FDR & Churchill met in Casablanca to decide their next move Decided to increase bombing in Germany Invade Italy ONLY “unconditional surrender would be accepted” to end the war Why Italy? Allies could invade sicily without great risk from U- boat attacks Protected by air superiority July 1943 Commanded by Ike 38 day campaign achieved great results Gave Allies complete control of the western Mediterranean Paved the way for invasion of Italy Ended the rule of Mussolini Sep 3, 1943-Italy surrendered

Bombers batter Germany Night fliers launched nonstop air raids against Germany Saturation bombing used to inflict maximum damage By day, American bombers strategically bombed Germany- destroying their capacity to make war Tuskegee Airmen Played a key role in bombing 1500 missions, did not lose a single bomber Overall-Bomber crews suffered 20% casualty rate

Turning the tide in the Pacific May 1942, Japanese still making forward momentum Turning point Midway Led by Charles Nimitz Navy code breakers had intercepted Japanese messages and met the expected assault June 5, 1942 US sunk 4 Japanese aircraft carriers while the US lost 1