Download The Allied War in Europe

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The Allied War in Europe
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Where we left off…
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Allies had just gained access to Europe and chased the AXIS
powers North where they surrendered in Northern Italy
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Mussolini is dead
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Hitler has violated the Non-Aggression Pact and his forces
have invaded Stalingrad
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There is now a war in the East and the West
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Invasion of Western Europe
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To be successful Allies took to the air
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Just like Germans they targeted cities
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Carpet bombing- planes scatterd large number of bombs
over wide area
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Bombings of Hamburg - Operation Gomorrah
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Destroyed many German cities
Goal: destroy Germany’s ability to fight a war
People took cover in undergrounds
City set ablaze
More than 40,000 killed
American planes bombed by day, British by night
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Invasion of Western Europe
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George Marshall -top American general and FDR’s chief of staff
pushed for the attack of German occupied France at every
opportunity
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Operation Overlord - invasion of occupied France
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General Eisenhower
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Launched from Great Britain
Forces were gathered
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Polish, Dutch, Belgian, and French joined the British, American and
Canadian forces already in place
Artillery was in place
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Machine gun nests, barbed wire, land and water mines and underwater
obstructions
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D-Day Invasion
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Some preferred Pas-de-Calais over Normandy; but there were
problems.
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Germans knew an invasion was coming - they just didn’t know
when
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Operation Bodyguard fake Allied plan, to deceive the Germans
of timing and location of the allied attack
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General Patton, Pas-De-Calais and Norway
Why do you think having Patton lead Operation Bodyguard was
important for the success of the operation?
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Believable - he was a famous military leader
Blow up tanks, trucks, tents everywhere, soldiers “looking busy”
(even had people make fake tank tracks)
Sent fake messages to be intercepted
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D-Day Invasion
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Under the umbrella of Bodyguard fell Operation Fortitude
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Convince Hitler
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Fortitude-North - attack from Norway and Sweden
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Fortitude-South- attack at Pas de Calais (France)
Normandy was thought to be a diversion
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Even AFTER the Normandy landing Hitler still refused to redirect
troops
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He even took troops from Normandy and moved them to Calais
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Operation
Success
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D-day Invasion
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Weather, location, forces, secret plans, intel, leaders, etc.
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All factors contributed to Allies settling on June 6th
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Especially weather…WHY?
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D-Day Invasion - The day of
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Shortly after midnight on June 6th, 1944
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Troops land at the beach at 6:30 am
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4,600 invasion crafts and warships slipped out of the English
harbor
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1,000 British bombers pounded German forces at Normandy
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23,000 airborne Brits and Americans parachuted behind
enemy lines
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5 landing zones selected
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Juno Beach – Canadian Army
Gold and Sword Beaches – Assigned by the British Army
Omaha and Utah Beaches – Used by the American forces,
Omaha would feature the bloodiest combat.
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Operation Overlord
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D-Day Invasion
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Omaha was the least successful with 2,000+ deaths
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“it seemed like the whole world exploded. There was gunfire
from battleships, destroyers and cruisers. The bomber were
still hitting the beaches… As we went in, we could see small
crafts from the 116th Infantry that had gone in ahead, sunk.
There were bodies bobbing in the water, even out three or
four miles”
-Lietenant Robert Edlin
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Robert Capa Photograpghy
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The only photographer to go ashore in the first wave of
troops to capture the scenes on the beach
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D-Day Progress
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By noon the first few waves of troops had made it onto the
beaches and began to secure the coastline
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By midnight, many Germans had been pushed back and had
begun retreating back into the countryside.
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The beach was important for incoming supplies and support
troops
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This invasion brought 2 million Allies to France
PostD-Day
Invasion
of
Europe
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Liberating France
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Allied forces would look to Caen (Con) and Cherbourg next
as we attempted to move inland.
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Battle of Caen
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Battle Hedgerows
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Axis take one allied life for each meter they move
Operation Market Gardens
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Secure roads to France
Tried to end the war before Christmas of 44 by securing roads unsuccessful- Germans are pretty tough!
By mid-September of 44, Allied forces had crossed over into
Germany
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The Battle of the Bulge
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Forces began to prepare for winter
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One of the worst in Belgium history
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As Allies move in on the Axis, the Germans launched a counter
attack that pushed back the Allied line forming a bulge
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The battle
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Last just over a month
Belgium (Ardennes Forest)
Largest battle in Western Europe during WWII and largest battle
ever fought by the US army
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600,000 GI’s
Nearly 80,000 Allies dead
Nearly 100,000 Axis dead
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The war ends in Europe
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Nazi leaders recognize the war is over
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March 1945 - Allies push in towards Berlin from the West and
Soviet allies move in from the East
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Soviets stood to lose the most in WWII with an estimated 18 million
(soldier and civilians)
April 1945 - Soviets push their way into Berlin
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Battle of Berlin
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Last offensive in the European theater
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This is Stalin’s payback to Hitler
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Tragedy strikes
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Before the Americans can secure V-E day
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April 12th 1945 - FDR will die
Harry S. Truman -33rd President
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He must negotiate the end of the war
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Possible problems for the 2nd half of the century
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Germany Surrenders
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April 30th, 1945 - with the city of Berlin surrounded Hitler
commits suicide in an underground bunker
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May 8th, 1945 - Germany surrenders
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V-E day (Victory in Europe)
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Still must defeat Japan
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Yalta Conference
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February of 45
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Stalin, Churchill and FDR meet in Yalta (SU city)
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Formulate a plan for the end of the war and post war
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Split Germany and Berlin between Allies (SU, US, UK, France)
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Stalin promised elections in freed territory of Eastern Europe
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Potsdam Conference
Does not
Promised to declare war on Japan
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Holds out as long as he can
Saar Protectorate
Potsdam Conference