1. Allied Strategy Early WWII

2. The Allies  Big Three: Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States  Other allied nations: China, France, Poland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.  Big Three: Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States  Other allied nations: China, France, Poland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

3. The Axis  Germany, Italy, Japan  Also: Hungary, Romania, Slovak Republic, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Thailand, etc.  Germany, Italy, Japan  Also: Hungary, Romania, Slovak Republic, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Thailand, etc.

4. Priorities  Defeat Germany first, then invade Japan later  Twin offensives against Japan:  Douglas MacArthur moves north from Australia  Chester Nimitz moves west from Hawaii  “Island hopping”  Win the “Battle of the Atlantic” to keep the shipping lanes open to Britain (the invention of sonar and radar make this possible)  Where should we attack the Nazis first?  Defeat Germany first, then invade Japan later  Twin offensives against Japan:  Douglas MacArthur moves north from Australia  Chester Nimitz moves west from Hawaii  “Island hopping”  Win the “Battle of the Atlantic” to keep the shipping lanes open to Britain (the invention of sonar and radar make this possible)  Where should we attack the Nazis first?

5. Stalin’s demand  Demanded that Churchill and FDR open up a second front in western Europe (France) immediately to relieve the pressure on his people  Germany had pushed 1,000 miles into the Soviet Union; the Soviets stood alone to fight the Nazis (20.6 million deaths in WWII-11% of their total population)  Opening a second front would force Hitler to split his forces and lighten the burden on the Soviets

6. Churchill’s plan  Churchill feared that a premature landing in Europe would lead to a terrible stalemate as in WWI  His approach: protect the Suez Canal and liberate North Africa from the Nazis, then move on to Sicily and Italy and move north toward Germany

7. The verdict  FDR backs Churchill  Stalin continues to hold off the German invasion alone throughout 1942 and 1943, with American supplies  British and American soldiers land in North Africa to take on the Nazis in November 1942  Bitterness, hostility, and distrust between Stalin and the other two leaders grows