1. America and WWII: The War for Europe and North Africa

2. U.S. & Britain Join Forces Prime Minister Winston Churchill and FDR meet on December 22, 1941 to plan the war #1 Allied Priority: The Defeat of Germany FDR always considered Hitler #1 enemy of the U.S. Stalin (now an Allied Power) was desperate for help Only after Germany was defeated could the U.S. look to Britain and the Soviet Union for help in defeating Japan

3. U.S. & Britain Join Forces Also decided they would only accept the UNCONDITIONAL surrender of the Axis Powers What would be the positives and negatives to this decision?

4. Battle of the Atlantic After Pearl Harbor Hitler ordered submarine raids on America’s East Coast 1 st four months  87 U.S. ships sunk After 7 months  681 Allied ships sunk Allies used the convoy system to protect the ships  used destroyers with sonar to detect U-boats With sonar the Allies destroyed U-boats faster than Germany could replace them U.S. went on a crash ship-building program  140 ships/mo. By mid-1943 the Allies were winning the war in the Atlantic

5. Battle of Stalingrad Summer 1943  Allies began to see some victories German advance had stalled short of Leningrad and Moscow Hitler changed tactics: 1. Seize rich oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains Capture Stalingrad, a major industrial city A brutal 3 month battle ensued with the Germans advancing house-by-house in brutal hand combat End of Sept. 1943  9/10 th of Stalingrad was German controlled

6. Battle of Stalingrad November 1943, Soviets launched a massive counterattack Fighting continued into the winter  German soldiers froze/starved on the Russian frozen wasteland Feb. 2, 1943 the Germans surrendered 239,000 German soldiers died 1,250,000 Soviet soldiers and civilians died Despite the death toll, this was a major turning point in the war in the east  Soviets pushed farther and father west toward Germany

7. The North African Front U.S. and Britain opened a second front during the Battle of Stalingrad Launched Operation Torch in Axis controlled N. Africa This was led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower

8. The North African Front November 1942, 107,000 troops landed in North Africa With the British also in pursuit, the Allies sped eastward chasing Hitler’s Afrika Korps led by General Erwin Rommel After months of heavy fighting the last of the Afrika Korps surrendered in May 1943 Next step: Italy!

10. The Italian Campaign Italy was considered the “soft underbelly of the Axis” Allies quickly captured Sicily (summer 1943) Italians were tired of war  July 25, 1943 King Victor Emmanuel III strips Benito Mussolini of power  Mussolini arrested  Italians celebrated Hitler then seizes control of Italy and reinstalls Mussolini as its leader After 18 months of fighting the Allies are able to drive the Germans from Italy

11. The Italian Campaign Worst battle was near Rome  “Bloody Anzio” Lasted 4 months 25,000 Allies died 30,000 Axis soldiers died 50,000 Italians partisan fighters assisted the Allies

12. Allies Liberate Europe General Eisenhower organized Operation Overlord  planned invasion of Hitler’s fortress in Europe Allies had been planning for over two years and building an invasion force of over 3 million troops to cross the English Channel

14. D-Day: June 6, 1944 Three divisions parachuted down behind German enemy lines during the night British, American, and Canadian troops fought their way ashore at five points along a 60-mile stretch of beach D-Day numbers: 156,000 troops 4,000 landing craft 600 warships 11,000 planes Largest land-air-sea operation in history

15. D-Day: June 6, 1944 German fortresses bombed and shelled by air and sea bombardment  Allies still faced brutal retaliation from the German forces, Omaha Beach was the worst Allies were able to hold the beachhead Within a month they had landed: 1,000,000 troops, 567,000 tons of supplies, 170,000 vehicles July 25 th : General Omar Bradley launched an air attack at St.- Lo  General Patton advances with troops August 23 rd they reach the Seine River, two days later Paris was liberated

16. Battle of the Bulge By September 1944  France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the Netherlands had been liberated October 1944  Americans captured the first German town Aachen Surprise counterattack by the Germans  broke through the 80 miles of Allied troops The resulting dent from the desperate last-ditch offensive was nicknamed the “Battle of the Bulge”

18. Battle of the Bulge The battle lasted for a month (Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945) The Germans were pushed back and little seemed to have changed However, the Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes These weapons and men could not be replaced Germans could do little except retreat

19. Liberation of the Death Camps Allies were pushing eastward towards Germany, Soviets were pushing westward across Poland Soviet troops were the first to come across the death camps in July 1944 Majdanek was the first killing center they came across

20. Unconditional Surrender By April 1945, the Soviet Army had stormed Berlin Soldiers deserted rapidly but were shot or hanged on sight Hitler was in his underground Berlin bunker  in his final written address he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it Committed suicide by shooting himself  his body and his wife’s were carried outside, soaked in gasoline, and burned (Hitler’s orders)

21. Unconditional Surrender One week later General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich May 8, 1945 the Allies celebrated V-E Day – Victory in Europe Day The first part of the war was finally over…