Prior to 1942  Invasion of Austria 1938  Sept 1, 1939: Hitler invades Poland; France / England declare war  Hitler and Stalin take over a bunch of little countries  1940 France falls to Hitler  1940 Battle of Britain  Dec 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor bombed; U.S. enters war

War Plans  December 22, 1941: Churchill and Roosevelt met for three weeks to work out war plan  Decision to strike against Hitler first because Germany and Italy were seen as a greater threat

The Battle of the Atlantic  Allies depended on supplies from U.S.; After America’s entry into the war, Hitler was determined to prevent food and war supplies from reaching Britain and the USSR  Hitler ordered submarine attacks against supply ships (wolf packs) while the Allies organized convoys of cargo ships with destroyer and airplane escorts  In the first seven months of 1942, German U-boats sank 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic  Only in 1943 do the Allies make gains because of the increased effort in ship building  Game at: attle_atlantic.shtml

ALLIES ATTACK U-BOATS U-426 sinks after attack from the air, January Almost two-thirds of all U- boat sailors died during the Battle of the Atlantic.

THE EASTERN FRONT Turning point of the war: Battle of Stalingrad  Russia at war against Germany since 1941  Stalingrad: a major industrial center in Russia Hitler wanted to capture Caucasus oil fields and destroy StalingradHitler wanted to capture Caucasus oil fields and destroy Stalingrad   August 1942: series of bombing raids sets much of the city on fire; this was followed by weeks of hand-to-hand combat in the city   Then winter set in: Germans unprepared: wearing summer uniforms / short on food Soviet army brings in fresh supplies and surrounds the city cutting off German supply lines Germans now were on the defensive   The Germans surrendered in January 1943   Soviets begin to move west on the offense

BATTLE OF STALINGRAD The Soviets lost more than 1 million men in the battle (more than twice the number of deaths the U.S. suffered in all the war) Stalin never forgave Roosevelt and Churchill for not helping out

THE NORTH AFRICAN FRONT  “Operation Torch”  Invasion of Axis- controlled North Africa in 1942  Led by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower  Allied troops land in Casablanca, Oran and the Algiers in Algeria  Fought Afrika Korps led by German General Edwin Rommel (“the Desert Fox”) into Egypt  Germans surrender in May 1943  Map at: ars/wwtwo/launch_ani_el_alamein.sht ml

CASABLANCA MEETING  FDR and Churchill met in Casablanca 1) Plan amphibious invasions of France and Italy 2) Only unconditional surrender would be accepted

ITALIAN CAMPAIGN  Allies easily took Sicily in 1943  King Emmanuel III stripped Mussolini of his power and had him arrested Germans rescued him by dropping 100 parachutists at his mountain prison and flying him to Munich.Germans rescued him by dropping 100 parachutists at his mountain prison and flying him to Munich. Mussolini is captured April 28,1945 by Italian partisans.Mussolini is captured April 28,1945 by Italian partisans. They shot him and hung his body upside down in Milan Square.They shot him and hung his body upside down in Milan Square.  Hitler’s forces continued to resist the Allies in Italy; Hitler’s strategy: he would rather fight in Italy than on German soil  Not until 1945 and the collapse of Germany was Italy secured by the Allies

ALLIES LIBERATE EUROPE the Allies left fake clues, set up phantom army, and sent fake radio messages to make it look like the invasion would take place near Calais

D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944  “Operation Overlord”  Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower  Also called “D- Day,”  June 6, 1944  Largest land- sea-air operation in military history  Established a second front for the war D-Day was an amphibious landing – soldiers going from sea to land

D-Day (Operation Overlord)  Allied forces landed at Normandy in Northern France 3 divisions land via parachute behind German lines3 divisions land via parachute behind German lines Remaining British, American, and Canadian forces landed at beaches named Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and OmahaRemaining British, American, and Canadian forces landed at beaches named Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and Omaha  Despite heavy losses, Allies hold the beach  Within a month, the Allies had landed 1 million troops, 567,000 tons of supplies and 170,000 vehicles  Map at: ord_campaign.shtml

OMAHA BEACH 6/6/44

Landing at Normandy

Planes drop paratroopers behind enemy lines at Normandy, France

FRANCE FREED  After bombing roads, bridges, and German troops there was a gap in enemy defense line  General George Patton led Third Army through the gap and liberated Paris on August 25, 1944  By September 1944, the Allies had freed France, Belgium and Luxembourg  That good news and the American’s people’s desire not to “change horses in midstream” helped elect FDR to an unprecedented 4 th term General George Patton (right) was instrumental in Allies freeing France

The Battle of the Bulge  October 1944, Allies captured first German town, Aachen  Battle of the Bulge - Germans final counter attack on the western front Hitler hoped breaking through the Allied line would break up Allied supply linesHitler hoped breaking through the Allied line would break up Allied supply lines December, German tank divisions and 200,000 German troops attacked AlliesDecember, German tank divisions and 200,000 German troops attacked Allies The Germans drove 60 miles into Allied area creating a “bulge” in the lineThe Germans drove 60 miles into Allied area creating a “bulge” in the line reinforcements arrived and the allies were able to push the Germans backreinforcements arrived and the allies were able to push the Germans back Battle a turning point: Germans were now on the defensive in the Eastern Front tooBattle a turning point: Germans were now on the defensive in the Eastern Front too American soldiers photographed in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.

Battle of the Bulge  Before the attack started, English speaking German soldiers dressed in American uniforms went behind the lines of the Allies and caused havoc by spreading misinformation, changing road signs and cutting telephone lines. Those who were caught were shot after a court martial  The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought by the Americans in World War Two. 600,000 American troops were involved in the battle. The Americans lost 81,000 men while the Germans lost 100,000 killed, wounded and captured. World War TwoWorld War Two

BATTLE OF THE BULGE  Little seemed to have changed, but in fact the Germans had sustained heavy losses: 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and 1,600 planes  Battle a turning point: Germans were now on the defensive in the Eastern Front too

LIBERATION OF DEATH CAMPS  While the British and Americans moved westward into Germany, the Soviets moved eastward into German-controlled Poland  The Soviets discovered many death camps that the Germans had set up within Poland Find thousands of starving prisoners and extensive evidence of the murdersFind thousands of starving prisoners and extensive evidence of the murders Stunned Soviets call it a “murder camp”Stunned Soviets call it a “murder camp”  The Americans also liberated Nazi death camps within Germany

Liberation of the Death Camps General (later US President) Dwight Eisenhower inspecting prisoners' corpses at a liberated concentration camp, 1945

FDR DIES; TRUMAN PRESIDENT On April 12, 1945, FDR suffered a stroke and died– his VP Harry S Truman became president

ALLIES TAKE BERLIN; HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE  By April 25, 1945, the Soviet army had stormed Berlin  Hitler hid in his underground headquarters in Berlin  On April 29, he married his longtime girlfriend Eva Braun then wrote a last note in which he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it  The next day he gave poison to his wife and shot himself; bodies were then burned

V-E DAY  General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich  On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day – victory in Europe Day  The war in Europe was finally over

American soldier celebrating the end of the war

Unconditional Surrender V-E celebration in New York City