1. The entrance of the Soviet Union to VE Day
WWII
The entrance of the Soviet Union to VE Day

2. Hitler’s Operation Barbarosa
Before the US entry (June, 1941), The Nazi’s had overrun all of Western Europe except ________________.
Hitler thought the time was ripe to break the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact and invade the Soviet Union.
Hitler explained his thinking, by saying:
“If I had the Ural Mountains with their incalculable store of treasures in raw materials, Siberia with its vast forests, and the Ukraine with its tremendous wheat fields, Germany under (Nazi) leadership would swim in plenty”

5. War in the Soviet Union
3 Million Germans poured into the shocked Soviet Union.
The Soviet military was still suffering from purges that had killed many top officers
The USSR took heavy losses at first, but as they retreated they destroyed factories and farm equipment, and burnt crops to keep them from the Nazis
By fall it looked like the USSR were about to lose Leningrad and Moscow, probably sealing their defeat.
However, “General Winter,” stepped in as temperatures plunged to -4 degrees and thousands of German soldiers froze to death.
In Leningrad, the Germans began what would become a 2½ year siege which lead to terrible hardships for the Soviet citizens

6. The Stage is Set: Major Players
Allies
Axis
Great Britain
United States
Soviet Union (USSR)
Germany
Italy
Japan

7. North Africa
Nazi General, Erwin Rommel, led his troops to many victories in North Africa en route to the USSR.
In 1942, the Allies stopped the Nazi advance with victories in Egypt
Later in 1942, American general Dwight Eisenhower took command of a joint Anglo-American force in Morocco and Algeria.
Eisenhower soon joined with British troops to trap Rommel’s army and force their surrender in may 1943.

8. Red Army turns the Tide: Stalingrad
After a disastrous winter in the USSR, the Nazis launched another offensive aimed at the rich oil fields of southern Russia. This advance only got as far as Stalingrad.
German troops surrounded the city of Stalingrad.
The Russians soon encircled their attackers
As winter approached this long battle turned into a brutal street-by-street, house-by-house battle.
One officer reported that soldiers fought for two weeks straight over a single building.
Trapped without food or ammunition, the German commander finally surrendered in early 1943

10. The Soviet push towards Germany
After the Battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army drove the invaders out of the Soviet Union entirely.
By early 1944, Soviet troops were surging towards Germany.

11. D-Day: The Allied invasion of Normandy
In response to Soviet victories, the U.S. and Great Britain saw that they must reopen a Western front against Germany; They were racing the USSR to Berlin
The Allies chose to invade Normandy (NW France) from the sea on June 6, This was known as D-Day
Allied planes dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines. Then, at dawn, thousands of ships ferried 176,000 Allied troops across the English channel.
At dawn, the troops fought their way to shore amid underwater mines and constant machine gun fire.
Despite heavy losses, the Allies were successful.
French resistance troops rose up against the Germans in the south.

13. Battle of the Bulge
After D-Day, Allied forces battled towards Germany.
Germany launched a massive counterattack at the Battle of the Bulge.
Both sides took huge losses in this month long battle
The Germans were unable to break through and were forced to retreat
After this the Allies maintained a fairly constant surge towards Berlin.

14. Conference at Yalta
At the Conference of Yalta, Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA), Winston Churchill (Great Britain), & Joseph Stalin (USSR) discussed how to finish the war and how to handle the post World War II world

15. VE Day In Italy guerrillas captured & executed Mussolini
Upon the Soviets arriving in Berlin, Hitler committed suicide
On May 7, 1945 a war destroyed Germany surrendered.
Officially, the war in Europe ended the next day, May 8, 1945
This is known as VE Day