1. 1944
The Decisive Year

2. Island Hopping Campaign Continues
Kwajalein (quah juh LEAN)

3. The Japanese were taken by surprise when the American’s invaded Saipan
They were expecting the Americans to go after the Caroline Islands

5. Japan felt they had rebuilt their aircraft carrier fleet and were ready to attack.
So they sent their aircraft carriers and their land based planes to attack the Americans
This became known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea

7. The Japanese launched several attacks from carriers and land based aircraft
The biggest problem was that the quality of Japanese pilots had seriously deteriorated
Japan had to rush pilots through their training programs, their pilots just didn’t have enough training time
The American’s annihilated the planes that were sent to attack them.
Then American planes counter attacked and sank 3 more Japanese carriers

8. The Japanese lost 600 planes and 3 aircraft carriers to Americas’ approximately 40 aircraft and no ships
American’s nicknamed it the Mariana’s Turkey Shoot
Significance – Japan would never again have a carrier strike force
America captured air bases that put their new long range bombers within range of the Japanese home islands.

10. Capture of Rome Capture of Rome June 4, 1944
After 9 months of hard fighting in Italy, the Allies had moved about half way up the Italian Peninsula.
The Germans had abandoned it for a better defensive position and to keep the city from being destroyed
The excitement of capturing Rome would be very short lived as they were overshadowed by bigger events

12. D-Day The Allied invasion of France was known as D-Day. Why D-Day?
Code named Operation Overlord
One of the greatest invasions in history.
5,000 Ships
150,000 Troops
30,000 Vehicles
800 transport planes dropped 13,000 paratroopers

13. Planning for D-Day began years before
Requirements – good beaches, within air cover distance, and a major harbor
Rommel and the Atlantic Wall – delay them on the beaches and used mobile armored forces to drive them into the sea
Pas de Calais
Where the Germans were
Deception – Patton and fake army
Dead body and plans
Build up of troops

14. Pas de Calais

24. The plan
American, British and Canadian beaches
Isolate the landing area with Air interdiction – bridges and trains were destroyed to isolated the invasion area so it would be hard for the Germans to reinforce
German air forces withdrawn to Germany to protect against bombing

26. Paratroops would capture bridges and disrupt enemy movements
Paratroops are elite, but they were weaker than a regular army force because they lack equipment and they can’t be reinforced
Hard decision for Eisenhower

27. Weather another big concern
A few days good weather, Eisenhower decides to go

28. Omaha beach
Progress good on most beaches
Omaha was exception
Good German unit defending this section of the beach
Currents were stronger and pushed troops off course
Most of the DD tanks sank in the water

33. U.S. / UTAH U.S. / OMAHA U.K. / GOLD CAN. / JUNO U.K. / SWORD
197
U.S. / OMAHA
2,000
U.K. / GOLD
413
CAN. / JUNO
1,204
U.K. / SWORD
630
They considered abandoning Omaha, but as the day progressed, small units led by junior officers and NCO’s started to make progress
Losses at the 5 beaches

34. Good fortune – Rommel strafed,
Hitler taking sleeping pills and could not be disturbed during the critical 1st few hours of the battle, so the panzers could not be released w/o his authority

35. Clip of Saving Private Ryan

36. Most pictures and footage are from British beaches because US footage fell in the water and was ruined
By the end of the day, the Allies had a firm hold on the beaches. The Germans lost their chance to stop the Allies.