Download Pearl Harbor: A Day That Will Live in Infamy

Operation Overlord
An excerpt from www.army.mil (the official website of the U.S. Army):
“June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi
Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D.
Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will
accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and
13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on
June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost
was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded
-- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe
to defeat Hitler.”
–U.S. Army Website
 1939:
 Germany invades Poland
 After negotiations for Germany to withdraw fail, Britain
and France declare war on Germany
 1940:
 June: Germany captures Paris, France surrenders to Hitler
 July: The Battle of Britain begins, a three month battle
fought in the skies over Britain
 1941:
 Japan attacks American
naval fleet at Pearl Harbor
 U.S. declares war on
Japan
 Three days later, Germany
and Italy declare war on
U.S.
Pearl Harbor during Japanese attack
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/savageman
2003/398579964/in/photostream/)
 1942:
 U.S. troops arrive in Europe
 Russian forces hold off
Germany’s attempt to capture
Stalingrad.
1943:
 U.S. and British troops defeat
Germany in North Africa
 Allied forces capture Sicily,
and parts of Southern Italy.
 1944:
 More than 600 U.S. bombers
begin an assault on Berlin
 Allied forces capture Rome,
Italy
 Allied forces mobilize in an
attempt to capture territories
in France
 Invasion of Normandy set for
June 5, 1944; had to be
delayed because of bad
weather conditions.
 Land on 5 beaches,
stretching 50 miles along
coast of Normandy,
France.
 Beach codenames: Utah,
Omaha, Gold, Juno, and
Sword
 Secure the coastline in
order to mobilize troops to
liberate France from
German control
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower briefing
American troops before invading
Normandy
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/256121
2534/in/set-72157605500980913/)
 Began from the air
 Attack from the sea
 Paratroopers main task
 3,000 landing crafts,
was to capture bridges.
 Capturing bridges would
eliminate possibility of
effective German
counter-attack.
 3 hours into attack, 5000
Allied fighters defeated
119 enemy aircrafts.
2,500 other ships, and
500 naval vessels arrived
off the coast 4 hours into
the battle.
 7 battleships and 18
cruisers attacked enemy
defenses along the 5
beaches.
 American troops storm Utah




and Omaha
Canadian troops storm Juno
British troops storm Gold
and Sword
Utah, Juno, Gold, and Sword
captured without many
casualties, or much German
resistance
American forces at Omaha
face strong German
resistance; become pinned
back against water, with
increasing casualties.
US infantrymen storm Omaha beach
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/2560388
523/)
 American troops lost tank support; all but two
amphibious tanks were sunk.
 Landing crafts had trouble reaching the shore because of
strong German resistance
 Small groups of American troops, who had been
separated from their regimen, attacked Germans from
behind and from the sides.
 Americans were no longer pinned back due to the help
from small groups of American forces, and were able to
advance onto land eventually.
 British infantry advancing
inland met heavy German
resistance, but were able to
defeat enemy forces.
 Hitler withdraws reserve
troops, and leaves only one
division of troops to fight off
British infantry.
 All 5 beaches are eventually
secured once American troops
receive support from British
and Canadian Forces
 Allied forces begin to move
inland, meeting only limited
German resistance.
German troops surrender on the beaches
of Normandy, France.
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/2561211
540/in/set-72157605500980913/)
 By the end of D-Day, the Allies landed 130,000 troops by




land, and 29,000 troops by air.
Allied casualties (meaning killed, wounded, missing, or
captured) for D-Day are estimated at 10,000 men.
Over 2,500 Allied troops died on D-Day.
Most consider D-Day to be the beginning of the end of
Germany’s hold over Europe.
May 7, 1945: Germany unconditionally surrenders to
Allied forces in Europe.
 http://www.army.mil/D-day/
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/
 http://www.history.com/content/worldwartwo/d-day-
timeline
 http://www.britannica.com/dday