Download The Battles

WWII: European Theater
The Battle of the Atlantic
Battle of the Atlantic
 Battle of the Atlantic – major threat
to the Allied Powers
 Longest continuous military battle
Winston Churchill once
wrote that, '... the only
thing that ever really
frightened me during the
war was the U-boat
peril'
 Sept 3, 1939-1945
 Britain needed tons of food &
supplies imported
 If sunk 150 ships a month would starve
the British
 German wolf packs
 Attacked at night
 Especially easy after France fell
 German control until 43’, “happy
time”
 Allied power technology changes game

http://sillysoft.net/plugins/images/WWII%20Europe.jpg
U-boats succeeded in
sinking three million
tons of Allied shipping
...
 1939 : 222 ships sunk (114 by submarine)
 1940 : 1059 ships sunk (471 by submarine)
 1941 : 1328 ships sunk (432 by submarine)
 1942 : 1661 ships sunk (1159 by submarine)
 1943 : 597 ships sunk (463 by submarine)
 1944 : 247 ships sunk (132 by submarine)
 1945 : 105 ships sunk (56 by submarine)
Operation Barbarossa
 In 1941, Hitler
violated
nonaggression
pact and
invaded the
USSR
 Why?
 Ironic?
Hubert Menzel (German-Army)
 'We knew that in two years' time, that is by
the end of 1942, beginning of 1943, the
English would be ready, the Americans would
be ready, the Russians would be ready too,
and then we would have to deal with all three
of them at the same time.... We had to try to
remove the greatest threat from the East....
At the time it seemed possible.'
Germans invaded Russia:
Purpose & Attitudes
 Desired:
 Soviet oil fields
 living space (lebensraum)
 SS to kill all Communists, “total
disregard for human life”
 Hitler ordered that Leningrad
should “vanish from the surface
of the earth”
 So arrogant only gave summer
gear
 What does this tell you?
Leningrad
Moscow
Kiev
Stalingrad
 N, Leningrad; C, Moscow, S, Kiev
 One week into the German invasion, 150,000
Soviet soldiers were either dead or wounded
 Destroyed everything they could find
 Utilities
 Stalin removed many industries and industrial workers
but left civilians - 800,000 civilians starved at Leningrad
alone

506 day siege of Leningrad
 Stalin: no retreating, ordered deserters shot,
8,000 killed Moscow for “cowardness” , blame
ethnic minorities, killed “disloyal”
Leningrad
Moscow
Kiev
Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad, Aug 1942 – Feb 43’
1,000 tons of bombs dropped
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/videos/world-war-ii-battle-of-stalingrad
 New Soviet policy – FIGHTING RETREAT!!!
 Hand to hand combat
 “I was like a beast. I wanted only one thing – to kill. You know how it looks
when you squeeze a tomato and juice comes out? Well, it looked like that
when I stabbed them. Blood everywhere. Every step in Stalingrad meant
death. Death in our pockets. Death was walking with us”, Soviet General
 Av. Life expectancy private soldier 24 hours!
 Soviets lost 1.1 million (death & wounded)
 Stalin, at first, forbade evacuation of the city
 Winter arrives, German supplies stretched thin
 Germans had to stop eastern offensive
 Such huge losses
Winter in Stalingrad
The Winter Arrives
 "My hands are done for, and have been ever
since the beginning of December. The little
finger of my left hand is missing and - what's
even worse - the three middle fingers of my
right one are frozen. I can only hold my mug
with my thumb and little finger. I'm pretty
helpless; only when a man has lost any fingers
does he see how much he needs then for the
smallest jobs. The best thing I can do with the
little finger is to shoot with it. My hands are
finished." 43 below zero
Stalingrad – Hitler’s Big Mistake
 "I was horrified when I saw the map. We're quite alone,
without any help from outside. Hitler has left us in the
lurch. Whether this letter gets away depends on
whether we still hold the airfield. We are lying in the
north of the city. The men in my unit already suspect
the truth, but they aren't so exactly informed as I am.
No, we are not going to be captured. When Stalingrad
falls you will hear and read about it. Then you will know
that I shall not return." Anonymous German soldier
 Psychological loss, man power loss, strategic loss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6b1PNWqpbM

Images stalingrad

http://www.history.co.uk/explorehistory/ww2/stalingrad/video.html;jsessionid=E5B94C334258967A0CEA989FF3798F88

British propaganda video send support stanlingrad
 Where are England, USA and other Allied
Powers????
North African First….
North African Campaign
 Why North Africa?
 European controlled, Suez
Canal, oil fields, link to raw
materials Asia
 MEDITERRANEAN
 Italy enters war 40’ fighting
spreads N Africa where Axis and
Allied Powers had colonies
 Also opens a new front
 Why is that good????
http://www.history.com/shows/wwii-inhd/videos/north-africa-campaign#north-africacampaign
North Africa campaign – 1.5 min
North African Campaign
 Spans 1940-1943
 Part I: Western Desert
 Sept 1940 Italians attacked British in
Egypt from base in Libya
 Dec 1940 British counterattack in
December
 Feb 1941 German General Erwin Rommel
“the desert fox” arrived to reinforce
Italians and take command
 March – Nov 41’ launched offensive to
reach Egypt
 More in spring in summer of 42’!
 Fall 42’ - British halted Axis attacks and
Axis withdrew!
North African Campaign
 Part II: Operation Torch
 Nov 8 1942-Nov 11 1942
 D. Eisenhower led British and
Americans
 3 beach invasions (Morocco &
Algeria)
 German troops to Tunisia
 End of Nov, 1942 - Allied powers
entered Tunisia
Eisenhower & Patton
North African Campagin
 Part III: Tunisia Campaign
 Jan 1943 Allied amphibious
landing in Eastern Tunisia
 Feb 43’ More movement into
Tunisia
 Germans cut off from supply base
 By May 43’ Allied captured Tunis
(capital)
 May 13, 1943 Axis
surrendered
What is Tunisia a perfect
based for??
 Taking Italy!
 Remove Mediterranean threat completely
& take back parts of Europe (controversial)

Taking Italy: Where do you start?
 Sicily first: Operation Husky
 Operation “Mincemeat” diversion
plan
 Hitler sent his men to Sardinia and
Corsica
 Italians already weak from North Africa,
Allied won easily, but Axis armies fled
 July 24, 1943, Mussolini = deposed and
arrested – new gov’t helped allies
 Italy now part of ALLIED
POWERS
Moving up to Italy
 3 Sept 1943 Allied invaded Italy
 Thought would be easy
 Germans took Italian military
installations moved North
 Germans created defensive
line “Gustav Line” 75 miles
north of Naples
 Hitler sends in 8 divisions –
hold Rome
 Bogged down allied forces
 Not until June 4, 1944 Allied
forces capture Rome
By mid 1943….
Axis advances stopped
-Soviet Union pushing west from
Poland
-Britain moving up from Italy
-Constant bombing of German cities
& industrial installations
-Destroy materials, demoralize
German population & get ready take
back France - Force German air force
protect Germany
Taking Back France: The Invasion of
Normandy
 June 6, 1944 – D Day

Gen’l Dwight D. Eisenhower – led
 Air & amphibious (water) attack
 Canadian, UK, Free French & US
 5 beaches, 50 mile stretch

Within a week coast taken back

4,000 landing craft

600 warships

11,000 planes

Largest land-sea-air operation in history
http://www.history.com/videos/d-day-allied-invasion-at-normandy#d-day-allied-invasion-at-normandy
news real video Normandy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPU4p7UQOtU
Images Normandy
 August 25, 1944 Paris liberated
 French resistance movement
 Luxembourg and Belgium next (by
Sept)

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/battle-of-normandy-videos-playlist.htm#video47114
 http://www.cyberlearning-
world.com/lessons/ushistory/ww2/europeant
heater.htm
Moving into Germany – Ending the War in
Europe
 Sept 1944 at Germany’s border
 Ruhr valley goal – Siegfried Line
 Oct 1944, Aachen
 Heavy casualties
 First German city taken
 Continue moving east
 Battle of Bulge , Dec 1944
 German offensive – Ardennes mountains



Germans were winning in the beginning, Allied
counteroffensive & Germans run out supplies
120,000 Germans died (also lost 600 tanks and guns
and 1,600 planes – leading to defeat))
~100,000 Americans casualties
 Soviets move west through Poland and
storm Berlin, April 25, 1945

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rjtFurTyv8 German

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCgc8hTlRbM British
Planning the End in Europe
 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference:
 Discuss post-war Europe
April 12, 1945
 April 28, 1945: Mussolini executed
 April 28, 1945: Hitler Married Eva Braun
 April 30, 1945: Hitler & Eva commit
suicide
 Gunshot & cyanide
 Bodies buried in the street
 May 8, 1945: Unconditional Surrender
 VE Day
 Eisenhower accepts surrender
Potsdam Conference
 July – August 1945
 Truman, (Churchill and then Clement Atlee)
and Stalin met in Potsdam, Germany
 Drew up a blueprint to disarm Germany and
eliminate the Nazi regime
 Division of Germany & Berlin
ALSO TALK ABOUT JAPAN…. “unconditional
surrender”
WWII: The Pacific Front
Japan - Post-Pearl Harbor
 Immediately after PH, the
Japanese seize Guam, Wake
Island, Hong Kong, Burma,
Malaya, Borneo, Philippines
 Philippines under control of
Army General Douglas
MacArthur
 Invasion anticipated
 Mixed Filipino force versus best
Japanese troops
 Feb 12th, “I shall return”
 American/Filipino surrender
4/9
Bataan Death March
 Bataan “Death March” (42’)
 70,000 – 60 miles About ¼
died
 Surrender forfeit rights
 Hell ships
 Sent to Japan to work
"A Japanese soldier took
my canteen, gave the
water to a horse, and
threw the canteen away,"
“The stronger were not
permitted to help the
weaker. We then would
hear shots behind us."
The Japanese Empire
Trying to Contain the Japanese
 Doolittle’s Raid (April 18, 1942)
 Attempt to attack Japanese homeland with B-25 bombs via
aircraft carriers
 16 bombers; 5 man crew
 “The Japanese people had been told they were invulnerable ... An attack
on the Japanese homeland would cause confusion in the minds of the
Japanese people and sow doubt about the reliability of their leaders.
There was a second, and equally important, psychological reason for this
attack ... Americans badly needed a morale boost..” James Doolittle
 Psychological Impact
 Battle of Coral Sea (May, 1942)
 Japanese attempt to take Port Moresby in
New Guinea and Solomon Islands
 Australia isolated so unable to help Allied
 Aircraft carriers (equally matched)
 Fought entirely with planes!
 American loses Yorktown, but stopped
the Japanese from taking Port Moresby
& isolating Australia
Battle of Midway (June 3-6,42)
 Admiral Nimitz
 Japanese wanted bring out Pac Fleet
 Turning point (cryptology)
 JN-25
 Allied go on the offensive
Japanese lost 4 carriers, a heavy cruiser, 3
destroyers, some 275 planes, at least 4,800
men
American losses included 1 carrier, a destroyer,
about 150 planes, and 307 men
America on the Offensive:
Island Hopping
 Army (Macarthur) versus Navy (Nimitz)
 Naval Plan initiated - Island Hopping
 Take strategic islands to get closer and
closer to Japan
 Bypass strongly held islands
 Bases & air control
 Bomb and then invade islands
 More resistance than expected,
reconnaissance problems
 Fight till the death
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n79CRrEBCh0
Intro island hopping
Americans On the Offensive
 Guadalcanal , Solomon Islands
 Huge American offensive Aug 42’-Feb 43’
 American victory

Control air base - communication
 Fighting in the jungle

Every 2 killed in battle, 5 killed by disease
 Foxholes/dugouts
 Major supply problems
 Gilbert Islands
Hopping Away!
 Reefs
 17 Japanese alive
 Marshall Islands
 Naval & aerial bombardment
 Marianas – airfields!
 “Great Mariana Turkey Shoot Out”
 Saipan – mass suicides
 14,111 US casaulties
 What now?

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-saipan/videos/peleliu
Reconnaissance
Marines
Foxholes
Close contact
Constant fear
Reclaiming the Philippines
 Macarthur convinced FDR to allow an invasion of
the Philippines
 Outer islands first (Sept 44’ – East Indies as a base)
 Oct –Dec 44’ - Battle of Leyte Gulf
 All 4 Japanese carriers destroyed – Navy
should be finished!
 Kamakaze – “divine wind” – better to die
than live as a coward
 Jan 45’- Luzon, Philippines – OIL Blocked!!!!!!
 On land - Strap mines to body throw under
tanks
 largest campaign of Pacific (March 45’ taken)
 Japanese lost 200,000 plus – US 8,000 plus
Fighting continued until the Japanese surrender on
August 15, 1945
Capt. Motoharu Okamura:
“I firmly believe that the
only way to swing the war
in our favor is to resort to
crash-dive attacks with our
planes…. There will be
more than enough
volunteers for this chance
to save our country.”
Closing in on the Homeland
 Iwo Jima – Feb-March 45’
 About 600 miles Japan – base for bombers & stop Japanese from
detecting American bombing raids (2 airfields)
 Bombing, but 22,000 men in caves (6800 tons of bombs, 2 months)
 Japanese technique no longer by shore – now inland
 Large marine casualties first day

3 days later take Mnt (center defense)
 Fighting continues… surprise attacks from tunnels
 All Japanese (23,000 killed) except 1,00o POW
 US 6,000 dead, 18,000 wounded
Mt. Suribachi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y0gdFi
sD9k&feature=relmfu
Okinawa - April-June 1945
 4 air bases – launch bombing raids Japanese heartland
 300 miles away mainland
 Thought 65,000 really 130,000 about 450,000 civilians
 War of attrition
 Kamikazes attacked allied fleet
 12,000 Americans died – 40% from kamikaze
 Damage American carriers - 21 sunk ships; 66 damaged from Kamikazes
 ~70,000 Japanese killed and 7,400 men taken prisoner
Fire Bombing of Tokyo – March 1945
 2,000 tons over 48 hours
 Fire – firestorm (windy)
 Worst single fire storm in history
 Many suffocated to death
 16 square miles around Tokyo
destroyed
 80,000-130,000 killed
 100,000 injured
 Women, children, elderly suffered
 men at war!
Operation Downfall
 Nov 1, 1945 – Kyushu
 No beaches…
 Resistance from citizens
 Harry Stimson - 1.7-4 million casualties..?
Potsdam Conference
 July – August 1945
 Truman, (Churchill and then Clement Atlee)
and Stalin met in Potsdam, Germany
 Call for unconditional surrender of Japan ,
“surrender or face prompt and utter
destruction”
Bombs versus Invasion (Operation Downfall)
Dropping the Bombs
August 6, 1945: “Little Boy” on Hiroshima
140,000
August 9, 1945: “Fat Man” on Nagasaki
80,000
War in the Pacific: Atomic Bomb
 32’ atomic split; 33’ Germany’s nuclear program’, 33’ Hitler fires
Jewish scientists
 39’ Einstein wrote letter FDR; 40’ US & UK creates Uranium
Committee; 41’ “all out effort” to make bomb
 Manhattan Project: New Mexico, Washington, Tennessee
 Oppenheimer
 Truman takes over April 45’ – learns about bomb
 Potsdam - “Surrender or suffer prompt and utter destruction,”
US & UK told to Japan
 Oppenheimer said it reminded him of, Hindu holy text, the
Bhagavad-Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of
worlds.“
 45’ = Trinity test in New Mexico = release double anticipated