Europe and N. Africa

Poland Fought by Germans to take back German speaking peoples Germans crushed Poles using blitzkrieg Starts WWII France German attack on French, need country to attack G.B. Germans once again roll to victory Pushes Allied forces out of mainland Europe

Battle of Britain Germany wants to eliminate all main threats from Europe then move onto USSR British win by repelling the onslaught of German bombings Morale boost for Brits, but also keeps Germany from owning Europe and allows for US and GB to fight back in future

Getting to Europe First challenge for the US-getting to war Hitler attacked the 3,000 mile shipping lane to Britain, sinking 87 ships in 4 months The US would begin to use convoys similar to WWI- naval and air protection began to run with cargo ships FDR and Churchill meet to discuss attack plans

Battle for Moscow Oct 1941-Jan 1942 Operation Barbarosa-cut off the head and the body dies USSR eventually stands ground after massive casualties Hitler made mistakes-wouldn’t accept surrender, backed Soviets into area he couldn’t skip over

El Alamein Summer Poor showing by allies at this time, needed a victory Allies and Monty use decoy tanks and attacks to fend off and attack Rommel Protected key supply lines of Suez canal and gave Allies needed victory in North Africa

Meanwhile, back in the USSR Germany had attacked the Soviets in 1941 Hitler’s goal was to capture oil fields in the south and the industrial Stalingrad Extremely confident-USSR officers suggested burning the city and leaving it Bitter hand to hand combat begins, Germans winning one street at a time Then winter set in…

Turning the tide Fresh tanks and supplies moved in for a counterattack Cutting off supplies for Germans was key Hitler refused to retreat but by Feb 1943, the German commander and soldiers surrendered Soviets lost 1,100,000 soldiers defending the city Huge losses however, could not dampen this turning point of the war, the Soviets would continue to push the Germans out of the USSR

Operation Torch Against Eisenhower’s request, US looks to N. Africa Chased Afrika Korps and Erwin Rommel for months until 1943 surrender This victory made an attack on Italy possible Churchill thought it to be a safer attack than France

Italy Allied capture of Sicily in ’43 led to overthrow of Mussolini “most hated man in Italy” Hitler refuses to lose the boot Fighting continues for months with each side suffering similar casualties Italy will not fall until 1945 So much for safe..

Invasion of Normandy Decided that invasion of France across the English channel is best 3 mill troops (Brit, US, even Canadians!) Arranged fake attack Op. Overlord forced to June 6, 1944 Paratroopers dropped night before Followed by largest land-sea-air operation ever Brutal fighting on beaches

Victory in France In just weeks, allied forces had worked their way across France George Patton and his Third Army a large reason for the success “Dear Ike: Today, I spat in the Seine.” Germany was next

Battle of Bulge Aachen captured and Germany needs a rebuttal Hitler calls for an attack to surprise the Allied forces during the holiday season Gets its name from the battle formation Hitler attacks middle and the line of allies bends but does not break after a month of fighting Possibly Germany’s last chance

Battle of Berlin Tactically speaking, not much to talk about Importance because signified end of war in Europe Will cause Hitler to hide in underground bunker during invasion and commit suicide\ Wrote final letter to people-blaming Jews for the start of the war and generals for loss He shot himself while Eva Braun, wife, took poison Bodies were said to be burned as ordered

Victory in Europe day the result May 8, 1945-fighting in Europe ended as the Third Reich came to a close Important to remember that fighting was going on in the Pacific this whole time as well and the war still rages on… Also, FDR died month prior, so new leader in Harry S. Truman