1943 Allies seize the initiative

Kursk After 1942 Russian Winter offensive Spring and summer belonged to Germans Salient – Russians knew the Germans would go after it and fortified the salient Hitler delayed the attack so that production of Panther and Tiger tanks could be delivered

German Tiger Tank

Russian T-34 Tank Note the sloped frontal armor.

German Panther Tank

American Sherman Tank

The battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history. The Germans had about 2,000 tanks and the Russians had about 3,000 The Russians dug trenches and laid hundreds of thousands of land mines They also brought up thousands of pieces of artillery The Germans had about 900,000 troops in the area and the Russians had about 1.3 million.

Germans attacked but made little headway. Once the Germans had worn themselves out in the attack, the Russians counter attacked and never stopped. Significance – this was the last major German offensive in the East. Germany had spent its best troops and equipment and been beaten – it was only a matter of time.

Soft Underbelly of Europe Churchill (Prime Minister of England) wanting to avoid the bloodshed England experienced in WWI didn’t want a head on attack of Germany through France. He convinced the US to attack the periphery of the Axis. Churchill called Italy the “Soft Underbelly of Europe” – by this he meant that it would be easier to attack the Italians because they were tired of fighting.

Operation Husky – Invasion of Sicily July – August complete conquest of Sicily Invasion of Italy Sep Italy Surrenders Germans seize Rome and control of Italy

Fighting in difficult/mountainous terrain Germans would withdraw to next defensive position The fighting in Italy would last to the end of the war in “Soft Underbelly?”

Bomber Offensive Since America couldn’t wasn’t prepared to invade Europe when it entered the war, it was looking for a way to have an impact. Strategic bombing seemed the answer. American Daylight Precision Bombing English Night Bombing

American B-17 Bomber This one is actually in Mesa! Maybe you saw it at the prom last year.

American B-24 Bomber

Bombing was less accurate than hoped – 7% of the bombs dropped landed within 1,000 ft of the target point Bombers faced attacks from German fighters and anti-aircraft artillery commonly called flak.

Hamburg Raid – 8 days and 7 nights, firestorms, killed 42,000 and wounded 37,000 Video WaCdQ WaCdQ The combination of high explosive bombs and incendiary bombs create something called fire storms. They were like fire tornadoes that roared through the city. Temperature 1,500 degrees Winds of 150 mph Reaching a height of over 1,000 ft

Schweinfurt Raid – Ball bearing factory Black Thursday (Oct 43) B-17, 60 shot down, over 1/5 End of unescorted missions The bombing missions would continue until the end of the war. They would only bomb targets within range of fighter cover. The human cost is surprising, the American 8 th Air Force lost more men than all the Marines in WWII.

American P-51 Mustang – Long Range Fighter

Pacific 2 plans McArthur and SW Philippines route Nimitz and Central Pacific/China route

American General Douglas McArthur

American Admiral Chester Nimitz

Nimitz – Central Pacific Drive McArthur – South Pacific Drive

Island Hopping – US strategy in the Pacific Theater US would capture islands that had airfields or harbors and bypass or “hop” over heavily defended islands. They could then isolate and ignore any Japanese on islands they didn’t take

Rabaul

Tarawa An invasion is one of the most complex of all military operations. It takes vast amounts of planning and coordination Invasions usually began with a preliminary bombardment. This involved airplanes bombing and battleships lobbing huge shells at the defenders.

Next the troops would climb over the side of their transport ship and get into the landing craft This was a specialized boat called a Higgins Boat (named after the manufacturer)

Finally, the troops would unload on the shore (hopefully) Often troops had to wade in waist deep water for 100’s of yards before they made it to the beach. They were under attack the whole time for enemy mortars and machine guns.

Tarawa was heavily defended by an elite group of Japanese troops. The Marines suffered massive casualties Japanese fought almost to the last man See video -

Japanese Casualties Strength of Japanese Garrison, 20 Nov ,836 Prisoners of War (Japanese) taken 17 Prisoners of War (Korean laborers) taken 129 Escaped0 Total Alive at end of battle146 Total number enemy killed on Tarawa 4690

Marine Casualties OfficersEnlisted Killed in action47790 Wounded-killed232 Died of Wounds882 Missing, presumed dead 027 Wounded, missing dead 02 Wounded in action1102,186 Combat fatigue114 Subtotal1683,133