1. Striking Germany and Italy

2.  The Allied invasion of North Africa showed that large-scale invasion by sea was possible  Churchill and FDR met in Casablanca, Morocco, to plan the next step in the war.  They agreed to increase the bombing of Germany to destroy German industry, military, economy, and morale.  Also, they would invade Italy by first taking the island of Sicily.  Churchill called Italy the “soft underbelly” of Europe.

3.  The British Royal Air Force dropped an average of 2,300 tons of explosives per month on Germany for three years.  From Jan. 1943 – May 1945, the U.S. and Britain dropped ~53,000 tons of explosives per month on Germany.  It severely hurt German aircraft factories, caused an oil shortage, and wrecked the railroad system.  The German economy and morale remained intact.

4.  General Dwight Eisenhower commanded the invasion, with Patton and Montgomery heading the ground forces.  Began on July 10, 1943 before dawn  Despite poor weather, Allied forces made it to shore with few casualties  New amphibious truck delivered supplies and artillery to the soldiers on the beach.

5.  Eight days after troops came ashore, American tanks smashed through enemy lines, capturing the western half of Sicily.  Patton’s troops then headed east, while Montgomery’s forces attack from the south  By August 18, 1943, the Germans had fled from the island.

6.  The Allied attack on Sicily created a crisis in the Italian government.  The king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, and a group of Italian generals decided to depose Mussolini.  They had Mussolini arrested at the King’s palace  But German troops seized control of north Italy, including Rome, and returned Mussolini to power.

7.  Then the Germans took up positions in Cassino, a town with steep, barren, and rocky terrain.  The Allies landed in Anzio, behind German lines, to avoid the terrain at Cassino.  But instead of retreating, the Germans surrounded Allied troops near Anzio.  It took 5 months to break through German lines at Anzio.

8.  Finally, in late May of 1944, the German retreated from Cassino and Anzio.  About 2 weeks later, the Allies capture Rome.  The Italian campaign was one of the bloodiest in World War II.  Fighting in Italy continued for another year.  There were more than 300,000 casualties for the Allies.

9.  FDR wanted to meet with Stalin before the Allied invaded France.  In late 1943, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin all met in Tehran, Iran.  Stalin promised to launch a full-scale offensive against the Germans when the Allies invaded France.  FDR and Stalin agreed to divide Germany after the war in 2 pieces.  This way, Germany would never again threaten world peace.

10.  Stalin said that once Germany was defeated, the Soviets would help the U.S. fight Japan.  Stalin also accepted FDR’s proposal of an international peacekeeping organization after the war.