Battle of Britain to Battle of Stalingrad Sept to August 1942
September 1940 (during Battle of Britain) Germany and Italy attack North Africa –Goal is to seize Suez Canal –Both sides advance and retreat vets/goldstar/GillndBA.htmwww.rootsweb.com/.../ vets/goldstar/GillndBA.htm
Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
General Bernard Montgomery
March 1941 Hitler invades Balkans –Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary forced to join Axis –Yugoslavia and Greece invaded and conquered –Balkan campaign set the stage for an invasion of the Soviet Union
Fall of Greece
June 22, 1941 Operation Barbarosa –Germans invade Soviet Union –Russians retreat (Scorched-Earth strategy) –Surrounded Leningrad, 1 million died during winter, did not surrender –Advanced to Moscow –winter forced German retreat 125 miles –No retreat order given
August 1942 Battle of Stalingrad begun –major tank producing city –Caucus oil fields to south of city