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17 The Allied Commanders Dwight Eisenhower US Allied Supreme Commander George S Patton US Georgi Zhukov USSR Bernard Montgomery Great Britain The Axis Commanders Erich von Manstein Germany Heinz Guderian Germany Erwin Rommel Germany Herman Goering Germany The War For Europe and N. Africa • On Dec. 22, 1941, weeks after Pearl Harbor, Churchill and FDR meet at White House to develop war plans • Churchill convinced FDR Italy and Germany posed a greater threat than Japan Battle of the Atlantic – Hitler ordered U-boat attacks against ships on east coast – Purpose was to cut supply lines – Germans took upper hand early; seven months in German wolfpacks sunk 681 Allied ships – HOWEVER Allies started putting cargo ships in convoys, groups of ships traveling together, escorted by destroyers and airplanes armed with radar – Allied forces began sinking u-boats and US was producing 140 Liberty ships per month, eventually outweighing the losses/month Enigma machines • In an effort to keep their communications secret from the Allies, the German military used the Enigma machines, which scrambled communications. • Both British and American code breakers were able to eventually break the secrets of the machines, but had to be careful to not let the Germans figure this fact out. • By 1945, almost all German Enigma traffic could be decrypted within a day or two, yet the Germans remained confident of its security Germany invades Russia • 22 June 1941, Germany attacks the USSR, expecting to control the Soviet Union before winter. • Despite large losses early on, the Red Army regroups and holds the major cities of Leningrad and Moscow. Battle of Stalingrad During the Battle of Stalingrad, Red Army sniper Vasily Zaytsev made 242 verified kills. The German commander von Paulus became the first German Field Marshall to EVER surrender in the field – Germans stopped outside Moscow and Leningrad in winter of 1941 – 1942 Germans were looking to the oil fields at Stalingrad, a major industrial city – Brutal hand-to-hand combat saw Germans take Stalingrad house by house – USSR counterattacked and surrounded the German 6th Army inside the city. – Germans were trapped in and around Stalingrad, their supplies cut off – Germans surrendered Jan. 31, 1943 – Soviets lost 1.1 million soldiers (more than all Americans in the entire war) in Battle of Stalingrad – Soviets began to march west toward Germany North Africa Front Erwin Rommel the commander of the Afrika Korps was nicknamed the Desert Fox – With the Italian declaration of war in June 1940, Britain invaded the Italian colony of Libya. – In response to the destruction of Italian forces, German forces were dispatched to North Africa – A see-saw series of battles for control of North Africa followed, reaching a climax when British forces under the command of Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery delivered a decisive defeat of the German Afrika Korps at the Battle of El Alamein. North Africa Front – After Pearl Harbor, Churchill and FDR launched Operation Torch, invasion of Axis-controlled N. Africa commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower – Eisenhower’s troops moved east from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia chasing Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps while Montgomery’s British forced pushed westward – Nazi Afrika Korps surrendered in May 1943 The Air War -In an effort to stop the Germans from resupplying their troops, Allied forces began a bombing campaign of German factories, roads, railroads, oilfields, and bridges. – The air campaign became a major aspect of Allied strategy – The British bombed by night and at best could hit specific cities. Large numbers of German civilians were killed, injured, or rendered homeless. The Air War One of the most famous B-17’s was the Memphis Belle of the324th Bomb Squadron .The aircraft was one of the first American heavy bombers to complete 25 combat missions with her crew intact The "Hell's Angels" B-17 of the 303rd Bomb Group completed 25 combat missions on 13 May 1943, the first aircraft to accomplish this feat – The Americans bombing by day, attempting to hit specific targets using their Norden bomb sites. – The American and British air crews suffered very heavy casualties against German fighters and increasingly effective anti-aircraft guns. The Air War • 12,000 heavy bombers were shot down in WWII • Between 1939 and 1945 the Allies dropped 3.4 million tons of bombs (27,700 tons of bombs a month) • 2/3 of Allied bomber crews were lost for each plane destroyed • Over 100,000 Allied bomber crewmen were killed over Europe Italian Campaign – Allies agreed to only accept unconditional surrender of Axis powers – must meet whatever terms Allies state – FDR wanted to go through France, after Hitler; Churchill convinced him to strike Italy first – Italian army collapsed at Sicily and Mussolini was forced to resign – he was arrested by Italian PM; Italians celebrated end of war – Hitler was determined to fight Allies in Italy – better to keep them out of Germany Battle for Europe and N. Africa • Italian Campaign – On 12 September 1943 German special forces rescued Mussolini from Italian prison. – “Bloody Anzio” – one of bloodiest battles of WWII, 40 miles from Rome; 4 months with 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. May 1944 allies force Germans back. – Germanys fought tough through 1945 but by then they were unable to hold Italy and were much closer to collapse People In History • Audie Murphy • Murphy became the most decorated United States soldier of the war during twenty-seven months in action in the European Theatre. He received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for valor, along with 32 additional U.S. and foreign medals and citations War in Italy • The 442nd is considered to be the most decorated infantry regiment in the history of the United States Army. • The unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese descent who volunteered to fight in World War II even though their families were subject to internment. • The 442nd was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations and twentyone of its members were awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II