1. WWII in Europe: 1943 & D-Day

2. Italy & a Second Front July 1943 - Allies invade Sicily, then Italy. –Italy declares war on Germany! Mussolini is overthrown and arrested. –Eventually found and killed in 1945 –Allies do not take all of Italy until April, 1945. Nov 1943 - Tehran Conference –Soviet Union asks Allies to open a second front in mainland Europe. Was losing thousands of lives a day. Roosevelt and Churchill agree. Where must an invasion be launched from?

3. First… The Allies had to gain air superiority. They did this through carpet bombing. –Scattering a large number of bombs over a large area. Instills fear Hits desired targets, but also kills a lot of civilians

4. Preparing for D-Day Southern English Coast –Allies build forces, Late 1943 – June, 1944.

5. Where should an invasion be launched from?

6. Operation Fortitude Fake army at Dover –Design to make Hitler think that the Allies will land invasion at Calais.

7. German Defenses The “Atlantic Wall” –Machine-gun nests –Barbed-wire fences –Land and water mines –Underwater obstructions.

10. D-Day Timeline June 6 th, 1944 –Midnight: Warships depart from Southern England –1,000 RAF aircraft begin pounding German forces on Normandy coast. –23,000 British and American “airborne” parachute behind enemy lines. –Dawn: 150,000 Allied troops come ashore. Intense fighting ensues. –Within a week: 2 million Allied forces were in Normandy.

18. Hedgerow Country