Striking Germany and Italy
The Allied invasion of North Africa showed that large-scale invasion by sea was possible Churchill and FDR met in Casablanca, Morocco, to plan the next step in the war. They agreed to increase the bombing of Germany to destroy German industry, military, economy, and morale. Also, they would invade Italy by first taking the island of Sicily. Churchill called Italy the “soft underbelly” of Europe.
The British Royal Air Force dropped an average of 2,300 tons of explosives per month on Germany for three years. From Jan – May 1945, the U.S. and Britain dropped ~53,000 tons of explosives per month on Germany. It severely hurt German aircraft factories, caused an oil shortage, and wrecked the railroad system. The German economy and morale remained intact.
General Dwight Eisenhower commanded the invasion, with Patton and Montgomery heading the ground forces. Began on July 10, 1943 before dawn Despite poor weather, Allied forces made it to shore with few casualties New amphibious truck delivered supplies and artillery to the soldiers on the beach.
Eight days after troops came ashore, American tanks smashed through enemy lines, capturing the western half of Sicily. Patton’s troops then headed east, while Montgomery’s forces attack from the south By August 18, 1943, the Germans had fled from the island.
The Allied attack on Sicily created a crisis in the Italian government. The king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, and a group of Italian generals decided to depose Mussolini. They had Mussolini arrested at the King’s palace But German troops seized control of north Italy, including Rome, and returned Mussolini to power.
Then the Germans took up positions in Cassino, a town with steep, barren, and rocky terrain. The Allies landed in Anzio, behind German lines, to avoid the terrain at Cassino. But instead of retreating, the Germans surrounded Allied troops near Anzio. It took 5 months to break through German lines at Anzio.
Finally, in late May of 1944, the German retreated from Cassino and Anzio. About 2 weeks later, the Allies capture Rome. The Italian campaign was one of the bloodiest in World War II. Fighting in Italy continued for another year. There were more than 300,000 casualties for the Allies.
FDR wanted to meet with Stalin before the Allied invaded France. In late 1943, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin all met in Tehran, Iran. Stalin promised to launch a full-scale offensive against the Germans when the Allies invaded France. FDR and Stalin agreed to divide Germany after the war in 2 pieces. This way, Germany would never again threaten world peace.
Stalin said that once Germany was defeated, the Soviets would help the U.S. fight Japan. Stalin also accepted FDR’s proposal of an international peacekeeping organization after the war.