1. November 21, 2016
Goal: Explain the role that geography played in the development of military strategies and weaponry in World War II.
QOD: Why did America get involved in the war in Europe?
Agenda: Battles in Europe and American Goes to War PPT with notes

2. North African Front
Eisenhower commanded 107,000 allied troops in North Africa in 1942
After months of fighting the Germans surrendered in May 1943
Allies hoped to draw Germans away from Stalingrad (Soviet Union)

3. Italian Campaign Allies capture Sicily in 1943 and Mussolini resigns
Hitler turns full attention
Some of the bloodiest battles of war fought right outside Rome Hitler did not want the fight coming to Germany. Effort did not succeed. In 1945 Germany surrenders

4. D-Day (Operation Overlord)
June 6, 1944
Occurred on beaches in France, led by Eisenhower (GB and Canada help)
7 days of fighting, the Allies held the 80 mile strip
By Sept the Allies had freed France

5. Battle of the Bulge
Oct Americans capture their first German town
Battle lasted 1 month
Germans had been pushed back
Allies liberated death camps

6. In the final days of war, Italians who supported the allies capture and execute Mussolini and Hitler will commit suicide

8. V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day, marked the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces.
May 8th 1945

9. The Pacific Theater
      
   Japan was working on expanding empire throughout the Pacific
The U.S. had a trade embargo on Japan to try and deter Japan from invading countries
U.S. was able to intercept and break Japan's secret codes
Intercepted the code about Pearl Harbor - sent the message on a slower telegram (by accident) to warn U.S. Navy about attack

10. Pearl Harbor
2 full blown attacks on Pearl Harbor December 7, Japan saw the US military fleet in Pearl Harbor as their only challenge in the Pacific. It must be destroyed!!!
“A Date Which Shall Live in Infamy”

11. Pearl Harbor Continued
Japan viewed as a stunning victory
December 8, 1941, U.S. declares war on Japan

12. Island Hopping
A military strategy employed by the US in the Pacific War against Japan during World War II. The idea was to bypass heavily fortified Japanese positions and instead concentrate the limited Allied resources on strategically important islands that were not well defended but capable of supporting the drive to the main islands of Japan.
US fights Japanese from island to island all the way back to Japan

13. Island Hopping Reading

14. Battle of Midway (US win) Strategic island to refuel ships (1942)
Guadalcanal- US win brings us one step closer to Japanese mainland, keeps Japanese from invading Australia
Iwo Jima (1945) Americans now in striking distance to mainland
Okinawa (1945) Close to Japanese mainland

15. Guadalcanal-Reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQKJY43-LmE
Iwo Jima- The Tunnels
Okinawa Reading:

16. Navajo Code Talkers
Young Navajo Indians who transmitted secret communications on the battlefields of WWII. At a time when America's best cryptographers were falling short, these modest sheepherders and farmers were able to fashion the most ingenious and successful code in military history. They drew upon their proud warrior tradition to brave the dense jungles of Guadalcanal and the exposed beachheads of Iwo Jima. Serving with distinction in every major engagement of the Pacific theater from , their unbreakable code played a pivotal role in saving countless lives and hastening the war's end.

17. Atrocities leading up to attack Worksheet
Your job: Slam poetry