World War II European Theater of Operations The Ground War
Components of the War in Europe The Naval War The Air War The Ground War
Four Broad Fronts Eastern front – Russia vs. Germany (June 1941 – April 1945) North Africa – U.S. & Britain vs. Germany & Italy (Nov – May 1943) Operation Torch – Morocco Operation Husky – Sicily Italy - U.S. & Britain vs. Germany & Italy (July 1943 – April 1945) Operation Avalanche – Salerno Operation Shingle – Anzio/Rome Operation Dragoon – South France Western front - U.S. & Britain vs. Germany (June 1944 – April 1945)
The Ground War
North Africa and Southern Europe
The Ground War Operation Torch November 1942
The Ground War Casablanca Conference 14 – 24 January 1943 Franklin Roosevelt Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Henri Giraud Joseph Stalin – invited but declines to attend Meeting was arraigned to plan Allied European strategy All agreed to accept nothing but Unconditional Surrender
The Ground War Operation Husky
The Ground War 3 September 1943 Operation Baytown 9 September 1943 Operation Slapstick Operation Avalanche
The Ground War Downfall of Italy 24 July – Mussolini receives a vote of no confidence 25 July – Mussolini dismissed by king Victor Emmanuel III 25 July – Mussolini arrested immediately after being dismissed as he leaves the palace – jailed by Italians 25 July - Pietro Badoglio replaces Mussolini assigned the task of extricating Italy from the War 8 September – Italy surrender to Britain and the US 12 September – Germans rescue Mussolini
The Ground War Operation Shingle January 1944
Key Tactical Issue - How to Proceed? Montgomery wanted narrow front Eisenhower favored a broad front Key issue was logistics
The Ground War Invading Fortress Europe
June 6, 1944 D-Day
The Ground War Operation Dragoon August 1944
The Western Front
The Ground War Operation Market-Garden Fall 1944
The Ground War Battle of the Bulge
The Ground War Grinding it Out
The Ground War Berlin Falls to the Soviets
The Death of a President 12 April 1945
VE Day 8 May 1945