1. 25.2: The War for Europe and North Africa OBJECTIVE: Understand how the Allies defeated Italy and Germany

2. America at War: 1941-1945 WHAT WAS AMERICA’s WAR PLAN? FDR’s STRATEGY: 1. Attack Germany first: save USSR and UK 2. Attack Japan second: give ground in Pacific PROBLEM: Will America arm itself (and its Allies) in time? CONCERN: Were totalitarian warriors better than citizen-soldiers?

3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/ wwtwo/ PROBABLY THE BEST WWII WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT WWII

4. WWII: European Theatre ACT I 1942 & 1943: War in the Atlantic Allied Convoys v. “Wolf pack” of German U- Boats 1942: Allies turn the tide Halt Germans at El Alemein and Stalingrad 11/1942-5/1943: North Africa Campaign Kasserine Pass, Rommel & Patton, Big Red 1 6/1943: Invasion of Italy Surrender of Italy, Mussolini exec., Anzio, Monte Cassino & Gothic Line

5. THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC: 1942-1943 Germany declares war on the US after Pearl Harbor and full-scale U-Boat attacks begin US and UK organize convoy escorts Advances in sonar and aircraft spotting, along with convoy tactics, eventually turn the tide. Allies “win” Battle of Atlantic by Summer of 1943 WHAT COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT ALLIED VICTORY IN ATLANTIC?

7. http://www.cia.gov/cia/information/artifacts/enigma.htm ENIGMA ENCODING MACHINE During World War II, the Germans used the Enigma, an electromechanical cipher machine, to develop nearly unbreakable codes for sending messages. The Enigma's settings offered 150,000,000,000,000,000,000 possible solutions, yet the Allies were eventually able to crack its code.

8. Liberty Ships US was able to produce 140 of these ships A MONTH!!! By the end of the war, a ship was able to be built in 5 days PROBLEM: initially 30% of the early liberty ships “fractured” at sea http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/fracture/maritime/maritime.html

9. Allied convoy, WWII, location unknown http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/aerial_recon_gallery_09.shtml

10. Battle of Stalingrad 9/1942-2/1943 German Objectives: 1. Seize Oil Fields 2. Capture the city – an industrial and transport hub Outcome: 330,000 Germans invade, only 91,000 survive/POWs 1,250,000 Soviet military and civilian casualties. SIGNIFICANCE: Turning point of war on Eastern Front http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.katardat.org/marxuniv/2002-SUWW2/Maps/map-materialSU1941.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.katardat.org/marxuniv/2002-SUWW2/Maps/Maps01.html&h=833&w=600&sz=72&tbnid=I5ax1UqGZyC85M:&tbnh=143&tbnw=103&hl=en&start=7&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstalingrad%2Bbarbarossa%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D

11. Map: The Allies on the Offensive in Europe, 1942-1945 The Allies on the Offensive in Europe, 1942-1945 The United States pursued a "Europe first" policy: first defeat Germany, then focus on Japan. American military efforts began in North Africa in late 1942 and ended in Germany in 1945 on May 8 (V-E Day). Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

12. THE NORTH AFRICAN FRONT: 11/1942-5/1943 Stalin demands allies open “second front” US/UK launch “Operation Torch” US Gen. Eisenhower placed in command of all allied forces. Gen. Patton wins key tank battles Americans learn bitter lessons at Battle of Kasserine Pass Allies turn the tide at Battle of El Alemein By May 1943 German General Rommel’s Afrika Korps defeated

13. Gen. George S. Patton http://www.usma.edu/bicentennial/history/history_1950on.asp Tank general

14. THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN: Summer 1943-Summer 1945 Churchill urges invasion of Italy first, instead of Normandy, over Stalin’s objections Campaign starts well in Sicily, Mussolini is “deposed” in July 1943, then reinstalled by Germany. Allied advance bogs down as Germans entrench around Rome. Allies try to break defenses by amphibious landings at Anzio and attacking stronghold at Monte Cassino. Surrender of Italy, Mussolini exec., Anzio, Monte Cassino & Gothic Line

15. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launch_ani_italy_campaign.shtml Animated Map of the Italian Campaign

16. WWII: European Theatre ACT II 6/6/1944: D-Day – Normandy Allies, Patton, Liberation of Paris, Soviets advance 11/1944: Harry Truman new US Vice President 12/16/1944: Battle of the Bulge German Counter-Offensive, Siege of Bastogne 4/1945: The Bitter End Soviet and American forces meet at Elbe Berlin Falls, Hitler commits suicide FDR dies, Patton now President 5/8/1945: V-E Day FDR dies, Truman now President

17. Operation Overlord: D-Day June 6, 1944 Largest Invasion in history: 156,000 troops 4000 landing craft 600 warships 11,000 planes Paratroopers Normandy Beachheads: UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO, SWORD ( US landings in red. )

18. Eisenhower at D-Day Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force General Dwight D. ("Ike") Eisenhower gives the order of the day to U.S. paratroopers in England on the eve of D-day. (National Archives) Eisenhower at D-Day Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

19. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launch_ani_wwtwo_movies_dday.shtml D-DAY VIDEO

20. http://www.ndu.edu/inss/books/Books%20-%201998/Military%20Geography%20March%2098/milgeoch2.html Battle of the Bulge: Dec. 1944 3 million allied soldiers, 4,600 vessels Beachheads: UTAH, OMAHA / GOLD, JUNO, SWORD

21. Battle of the Bulge: Dec. 1944 US forces capture first German town, Aachen. Hitler responds with massive counter-attack, aiming at massive Allied supply dump in Antwerp, Belgium. Allies forced into desperate defensive battle Initially, Germans helped by unusually severe weather that grounded Allied air power. US Airborne hold-out under siege in key town of Bastogne. Allies recover offensive as weather improves

22. Liberation of the Death Camps Soviets first to discover death camps in Majdanek, Poland in July 1944. “On April 5, 1945, units from the American Fourth Armored Division of the Third Army were the first Americans to discover a camp with prisoners and corpses. Ohrdruf was a Buchenwald sub- camp, and of the 10,000 male slave inmates, many had been sent on death marches, shot in pits, or their corpses were stacked in the woods and burned. The Americans found the camp by accident – they did not set out to liberate camps…” SOURCE: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.orghttp://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org Gen. Eisenhower at Ohrdruf death camp

23. Auschwitz Camp Bombing Controversy 14 August 1944 Dear Mr. Kubowitski: I refer to your letter of August 9 in which you request consideration of a proposal made by Mr. Ernest Frischer that certain installations and railroad centers be bombed. The War Department had been approached by the War Refugee Board, which raised the question of the practicability of this suggestion. After a study it became apparent that such an operation could be executed only by the diversion of considerable air support essential to the success of our forces now engaged in decisive operations elsewhere and would in any case be of such doubtful efficacy that it would not warrant the use of our resources. There has been considerable opinion to the effect that such an effort, even if practicable, might provoke even more vindictive action by the Germans. The War Department fully appreciates the humanitarian motives which promoted the suggested operation, but for the reasons stated above it has not been felt that it can or should be undertaken, at least at this time. Sincerely, John J. McCloy Assistant Secretary of War SOURCE: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/holocaust/filmmore/reference/primary/bombworld.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/holocaust/filmmore/reference/primary/bombworld.html

24. V-E Day Victory in England Day May 8, 1945 V-E Day Victory in Europe Day May 8, 1945 Soviets invade Berlin April 25, 1945. Hitler commits suicide April 29 th. German High Command surrenders unconditionally on May 8 th.