1. Nazi Germany vs. Soviet Union

2. Soviet Union After taking France, Hitler turned his attention to Britain. –Battle of Britain & The Blitz When Hitler cannot break Britain, he turns against the Soviet Union. Non-Aggression Pact? Believes he can quickly defeat them. Then Britain would truly have no allies.

3. Soviet Union Late 1940 – Early 1941 - Hitler secures Greece and Yugoslavia. –Needs to secure them to secure his route into Soviet Union. –Italy had failed to do it.

4. Operation Barbarossa Hitler cannot invade Soviet Union until June 1941. –Still thinks he can defeat them before winter. By winter, Hitler only has Leningrad under siege –Has not reached Moscow or Stalingrad –German army is not prepared for winter Germans are particularly brutal to the Russian/Slavic civilians

9. Stalingrad In spring 1942, a new German offensive pushes to Stalingrad. –High point of the German advance into Soviet Union Hitler is determined to take it… Stalin is determined to defend it… –The German Army will ultimately be forced to pull back.

10. Entrance of the United States After Pearl Harbor… –United States declared war on Japan –Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The USA had to fight a war on two fronts. Arcadia Conference –“Europe First”

11. Problem: Where to attack Europe?

12. War in North Africa Why North Africa? –Gain experience before taking on the main German army. British troops had begun fighting in North Africa in 1940. –Fight back Italian troops in their colonies of Egypt and Libya. Hitler sends General Erwin Rommel, “The Desert Fox.” Afrika Korps –Pushed British back into Egypt.

13. Nov 1942, American troops land in Morocco. –Led by US General Dwight Eisenhower. Push Afrika Korps back and trap 240,000 Italian and German troops. War in North Africa

17. Problem: Where to go next?

18. Italian Peninsular Campaign “The soft underbelly of Europe” – Churchill. July 1943, Allies invade Sicily, then Italy. –As Allied forces invade mainland 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.

19. Italian Peninsular Campaign “The soft underbelly of Europe” – Churchill. July 1943, Allies invade Sicily, then Italy. –As Allied forces invade mainland 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.

21. The Second Front… The Soviet Union was losing thousands of lives a day while they hold the Nazis at bay. –Nov 1943 - Tehran Conference Roosevelt and Churchill agree to help Stalin’s Soviet Union by opening up a new front.