The War in Europe and North Africa

1. The War in Europe andNorth Africa

2. Planning for War • During WWII, two of the greatest leaders of all time collaborate on the best plans • FDR and Churchill • They meet in December of 1941 • Washington, D.C. • Decide to focus their attention in Europe first • Japan and the Pacific second

3. Churchill and FDR

4. Battle in the Atlantic • Hitler’s attack on American shipping increases after Pearl Harbor • What is the goal? • Without supplies from the U.S., the war could not be fought • U.S. ships were largely unprotected • Early 1942 – 87 ships sank • Late 1942 – 600+ more ships sank

5. Attack on Shipping

6. A New Plan for Shipping • The Allies now send their ships in convoys • Supply ships with protection • Used sonar and radar to detect and destroy U-Boats • By 1943 the tide has turned in the Atlantic • Germany cannot build enough U-Boats • The United States is cranking out ships like crazy

7. Atlantic Convoy

8. Atlantic Convoy

9. The Soviet Union’s Sacrifice • The Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941 • They were stopped in November of 1941 • Why? • Hitler turns his attention to the south in 1942 • He is confident (overly) that he will take it quickly • He used the Luftwaffe to bombard the city • By late 1942, Germany controls 90% of the city • The fighting was intense and deadly • What happens now?

10. Battle of Stalingrad

11. Battle of Stalingrad

12. The Soviet Union’s Sacrifice • The Soviets use the winter to counterattack • Hitler was too dumb to retreat • The Soviets cut off German supply lines • They started to freeze to death • They had no food or supplies • Germany surrenders on January 31, 1943 • Cost of the Battle of Stalingrad: • 1,100,000 Soviet lives

13. Battle of Stalingrad

14. Battle of Stalingrad

15. Battle of Stalingrad

16. Battle of Stalingrad

17. North Africa • Germany seeks Oil and Suez canal in North Africa • Stalin wanted the Allies to attack across the English Channel • Divert attention from Eastern Front • FDR and Churchill were not prepared for this • They launch Operation Torch • Land at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers • Over 100,00 Allied troops • German General Erwin Rommel surrenders his Afrika Korps in May of 1943

18. Operation Torch

19. North Africa

20. The Italian Job • FDR and Churchill meet in Casablanca • Decide to only accept unconditional surrender • They knew a full scale invasion was inevitable • Decide first to attack Italy • They capture Sicily in the Summer of 1943 • Il Duce is thrown from power • Hitler used Italy as a buffer and fought at Anzio • “Bloody Anzio” • Around 25,000 Allied causalities • Around 30,000 Axis casualties

21. Bloody Anzio

22. Famous Units • Tuskegee Airmen • 99th Pursuit Squadron • Pivotal in North Africa and Italy • Buffaloes • 92nd Infantry Division • African-American division • Company E • Mexican-American • One of the most decorated in WWII • Purple Heart Battalion • 442nd Regimental Combat Team – All Nisei soldiers • Most decorated in US History

23. Tuskegee Airmen

24. Purple Heart Battalion

25. Invasion of Normandy • Allies gathered almost 3 million troops • They set up a fake army to confuse the Germans • Made them think they would attack at Calais • Hitler didn’t think we would attack at Normandy • Because he wouldn’t have done that • Hitler kept a large army at Calais just in case • Dwight D. Eisenhower is Supreme Allied Commander of the invasion • “Ike”

26. Ghost Army http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE2Euz3ucdE

27. Operation Overlord • Bad weather pushed back the invasion • D-Day is given the go on June 6, 1944 • First wave was the airborne troops • Three divisions (23,000) • They were followed by the largest land-sea-air force in history (132,500) • The fighting was brutal and deadly • Especially at Omaha Beach • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPU4p7UQOtU

28. Airborne Troops

29. Into The Jaws of Death

30. Omaha Beach

31. Sword Beach

32. Breaking out of Normandy • Allies lost around 12,000 troops on D-Day • They established five beachheads for landings • A month later they had: • Landed a million troops • Landed over 500,000 tons of supplies • Omar Bradley leads the way in the air • George Patton and his Third Army on the ground • On August 23, Patton reaches the Seine • They liberate Paris on August 25, 1944

33. Landing Force

34. Landing Force

35. Battle of the Bulge • Hitler was desperate for a victory • Allies had captured Aachen • German tank divisions break through the lines in the Ardennes • They made it 60 miles into Allied territory • Battle was a month long • Result was devastating for the Germans • 120,000 troops lost • 600 tanks lost • Luftwaffe essentially wiped out

36. Battle of the Bulge

37. Battle of the Bulge

38. Battle of the Bulge

39. Suicide and Surrender • Soviet troops had reached Berlin by April 25 • German soldiers attempted to escape • Hitler and Eva Braun (wife) hid in a bunker • Hitler shot himself on April 30th, 1945 • Braun swallowed poison • Bodies were burned • Third Reich surrenders on May 8, 1945 • V-E Day

40. V-E Day