Download Victory in Europe and the Pacific

VICTORY IN EUROPE AND THE
PACIFIC (PART I)
Chapter 15
Section 3
PLANNING GERMANY’S DEFEAT
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin argued over when they would start
a second front in France
Up until this point, Soviet troops had done most of the fighting in
Europe
Stalin insisted that Roosevelt and Churchill carry more of the
military burden by attacking Germany in the west
This would force Germany to divide its troops
PLANNING GERMANY’S DEFEAT
Although Roosevelt sympathized with Stalin, Churchill was hesitant
Churchill recalled the slaughter of British troops on the western front in WWI and did
not want to see history repeat itself
Eventually Churchill agreed and plans were made for US and British troops to invade
France and begin their march toward Germany
The massive Allied invasion of France was given the code name Operation Overlord
D-DAY INVASION OF NORMANDY
Overlord required the most experienced Allied officers in Europe
American General Dwight D. Eisenhower again served as Supreme
Commander
Overlord required landing 21American divisions and 26 British, Canadian and
Polish divisions on a 50-mile stretch of beaches in Normandy, France
The fleet was the largest assembled with more than 4,400 ships and landing
crafts
The planned set out to strike 5 beaches in Normandy (Utah, Omaha, Gold ,
Juno and Sword)
The plan also involved elaborate deception
D-DAY INVASION OF NORMANDY
The Allies created a fictional army under General Patton
Although the army only existed on paper, the Allies set up fake headquarters
in southeast England across the English Channel from Calais, France
There were wood and cardboard tanks, useless ships and detectable radio
traffic
The Allies hoped to convince that the attack would come at Calais, not farther
west in Normandy
In the end, the deception worked and Hitler ordered his top tank division to
Calais
D-DAY INVASION OF NORMANDY
On June 6, 1944 – known as D-Day – The Allies hit German forces
More than 11,000 planes prepared the way, hoping to destroy German
communication and transportation networks and soften Nazi beach defenses
At 6:30 am, the first Allied troops landed
On four of the beaches, the landings were only lightly opposed and casualties
were relatively low
Omaha and Utah beaches were assigned to American forces, and the
Germans there were ready to fight
D-DAY INVASION OF NORMANDY
On the cliffs overlooking the beach, the Germans had dug trenches and built
small structures from where heavy artillery could be fired
The beach was covered with a variety of deadly guns and the beaches were
heavily mined
When the first American soldiers landed, they stepped into a rainstorm of
bullets, shells and death
Some boats dropped their occupants too far from the beach and soldiers
weighted down by heavy packs, drowned
One writer called D-Day “the longest day”
D-DAY INVASION OF NORMANDY
By the end of the day, the Allies had gained an advantage in France
Within a month, more than one million Allied troops had landed at Normandy
Berlin, the capital of Germany, was their final destination and was still a long
road ahead
Look on page 484-485
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Read “The Allies Land on D-Day”
Review the map and see where the beaches were located
Read the quotes from Thomas E. Herring and Jack Fox
Look at the photo on the top of page 485 and read “Why it Matters”
Think about your answer to the “Thinking Critically” question
LIBERATION OF EUROPE
After D-Day, Germany faced a hopeless two-front war
Soviet soldiers were advancing from the east, forcing German armies out of
many areas in eastern Europe
Allied armies were on the move in the west and in August 1944, they liberated
Paris
Hitler had ordered his generals to destroy the French capital, but they
disobeyed, leaving the city as beautiful as ever – Parisians celebrated and
Allied troops kept advancing
As a mood of hopelessness fell over Germany, a plot was created to
overthrow Hitler; however, the strategy failed and Hitler refused to surrender
LIBERATION OF EUROPE
In December 1944 Hitler ordered a counterattack
Hitler’s strategy called for English speaking German soldiers in US uniforms to cut
telephone lines, change road signs and spread confusion
German tanks would then secure communication and transportation hubs
This counterattack was called the Battle of the Bulge, and it almost succeeded
The Germans caught the Allies by surprise which created a bulge in the American line
and captured several key towns (see map on page 486)
American forces held on despite frostbite and brutal German assaults
Finally, reinforcements arrived and the Allies were back on the offensive
LIBERATION OF EUROPE
The Battle of the Bulge was a desperate attempt by the Germans to drive a
wedge between American and British troops
Instead, it crippled Germany by forcing them to use their reserves and it
demoralized their troops
It ultimately shortened the time that Hitler had left
Once the Allies reached the Elbe River, 50 miles west of Berlin, they were in a
position for an all-out assault against Hitler’s capital
By this time, Hitler was a physical wreck; he was shaken by tremors, paranoid
from drugs and kept alive only by mad dreams of a final victory
LIBERATION OF EUROPE
He gave orders that no one followed and planned campaigns that no one
would ever fight
Finally, on April 30, he and a few of his closest associates committed suicide
His “Thousand Year Reich” had lasted only 12 years
On May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered
Americans celebrated V-E (Victory in Europe) Day
Unfortunately, FDR did not see this day….he had died a few weeks earlier
President Harry S. Truman would be the one to see the nation through its final
victory