Download The War for Europe and North Africa

Chapter 17.2
Essential Questions
What were the Allies’ plans for winning
the war?
 What were key events in the war in
Europe?
 How was Europe liberated from Axis
control?

Who is the bigger threat?
Both FDR and Churchill agreed that
Germany and Italy posed the biggest
threat to the world’s security and should
be dealt with first
 Once the Allies gained the upper hand in
Europe, they could pour more resources
into the Pacific War against Japan
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEXZ1sUO5gs
WW2 From Space 10:35-19:47
Battle of the Atlantic

Why was it so
important to win this
battle?
 The 3,000 mile lifeline
that stretched from the
U.S. to Great Britain
crossed the North
Atlantic
 If German U-boats
were successful in
cutting that lifeline,
Britain would be starved
into submission
The Threat: The Wolfpack
German U-Boats
The Effect
Easy Targets:
By July 1942, German U-boats had sunk
681 Allied ships.
 To combat the Wolfpack threat, the Allies
employed new countermeasures:

 Detection by aircraft using the new resonant-
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cavity magnetron (basically second-generation
radar technology)
Sonar
Minesweepers
Weapons like depth charges and torpedos
The good old convoy system!
Counter-measures: Detection
ASDIC
= Canadian/British SONAR System
As well as Corvettes and
Destroyers, minesweepers were
crucial to detect dangers above
and below the surface.
Counter-measures: Destruction of the THREAT

Counter- measures:
The CONVOY
The Tide Turns…
By mid-1943, Allied counter-measures
had begun to take effect.
 The Allies captured a German Enigma
encoding machine, allowing them to
track German u-boat movements
 The Allies “win” the Battle of the Atlantic
by keeping the lifeline open!

ENIGMA/ULTRA
So what does the situation look
like in 1942?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEX
Z1sUO5gs 27:50 to 35:55
 Why, then, would Hitler want to invade
Russia?
 Lebensraum aka “living space”
 Hatred of Stalin and communism
 Oil!

Turning Point Campaign #1:
The Eastern Front
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The Largest Full Scale Land Invasion…
Ever.
June 22, 1941-Operation Barbarossa
Hitler wanted to conquer the Soviet Union for
Lebensraum, or living space for the Aryan
People. He viewed the Russians (Slavs) as
inferior untermenschen (subhuman).
June 1941 Hitler ignores the Nazi-Soviet
Nonaggression Pact and invades the Soviet
Union.
The Wehrmacht attacked with 188 divisions,
3,300 tanks, 2,700 aircrafts, 7,000 artillery,
600,000 vehicles, 650,000 horses, and
100,000 wagons. (3.3 Million Men)
Battle Plan
This massive force was divided into
three army groups: North, Center,
South.
Army Group North- Attack from the North,
targeting the city of Leningrad.
Army Group Center- Penetrate central
Soviet territory and encircle Moscow.
Army Group South- Capture the oil fields
located in the Crimean Peninsula.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEXZ1sUO5gs
WW2 from Space 35:55-47:00
What led to initial success for the
Germans?
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Stalin had ample evidence of a German
Invasion but mobilized too late; late
mobilization results in heavy casualties on the
Soviet side.
Stalin had purged most of his officer corps
(One million men) when he came to power.
Result: no experienced officers to lead the
Soviet Army.
Because Stalin was so hated by many of his
own people, many Russians saw the Germans
as liberators
Germany’s Initial Success
To the North, Army Group A reached
Leningrad, and began a 900 day siege
on the city.
 By Oct 1941, Army Group Center was
40 miles away from Moscow.
 Army Group South was 60 miles away
from the oil fields, until Hitler changed
his mind and ordered the attack on
Stalingrad.

Battle of Moscow
Oct 1941 – Jan 1942
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Hitler’s assumption: When Moscow falls, the
Soviet Union falls.
German forces had reached the outskirts of
Moscow by Oct 1941.
Dec 1941, Soviet began counter offensives.
Soviet continued to pour fresh reserves into
the battlefield. At one point, the Red Army
fielded over 250 divisions on the Eastern
Front. (1 division = 10-20,000 men)
German forces were pushed back by Soviet
resistance.
At the outskirts of Moscow
Battle of Stalingrad
Aug 21, 1942 – Feb 2, 1943
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Rattinkrieg (Rat War)
Urban Warfare fought
within the city of
Stalingrad.
The German war machine
bogged down inside and
outside the city because of
the Russians’ best allyGeneral Winter!
90% of Stalingrad’s
surface was destroyed.
Stalin decreed executive
order no. 227, which asked
for all political officers to
shoot deserters of battle;
“Not One Step Back” was
the slogan.
“Why is Stalingrad considered a turning
point battle of WWII?”

In terms of casualties, it was the bloodiest battle in
modern history.
790,000 Soviet casualties (750,000 military, 40,000
civilians) 740,000 Axis casualties (91,000) captured

For perspective, the U.S. lost 416,800 service
members in all of WWII.

It was the first large-scale German defeat of the war.

After the defeat, the German Army was in full retreat
from Russia.
Stalingrad was Russia’s center of communication,
transportation; it was also an important manufacturing
center. If the city was lost, Russia would have
effectively been split in two.

“Why is Stalingrad considered a turning
point battle of WWII?” continued…

The impact of morale: If the city with Stalin’s name attached
to it was captured it would be a blow to Russian pride and a
feather in Hitler’s cap!

Russia could not allow the Germans to gain control of the oil
fields in the Caucasus region.

It was a battle of wills:
Hitler’s orders to Gen. Von Paulus- “Fight to the last man
and the last bullet; there will be no surrender.”
Stalin’s orders to Gen. Zhukov- “Not one step back!”
(enforced by the NKVD- the “commissars”)

For the Germans, the loss at Stalingrad was a disaster. A
complete army group was lost. 91,000 Germans were taken
prisoner. It was a huge loss of manpower and equipment.
Once it began, they had nothing left to stop the Russian
advance to Germany.
Factors in German Defeat
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Corporal Hitler- Hitler made poor decisions
during the invasion.
General Mud and General Winter
German supply line stretched thin.
The Soviet Union possessed unlimited
manpower.
German military leaders were overconfident.
Allied intelligence was superior.
Allied bombing campaign was successful in
reducing Germany’s production efficiency.
The Eastern Front 1943-1945
Soviet forces gradually pushed the
German Army back to Berlin.
 Throughout the war, Hitler dedicated
80% of Germany’s military power on the
Eastern Front.
 Soviet Union suffered the most
casualties out of the Allied powers, total,
about 6 million people.

Turning Point Campaigin #2:
The Battle for North Africa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEXZ1sUO5gs
WW2 From Space 47:00-56:00
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November 1942: Operation Torch
The invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa
The Force- 107,000 Allied troops (most of
them American)
Supreme Commander of Allied ForcesGen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The 3 main landing sites:
 Casablanca
 Oran
 Algiers
Operation Torch- November 1942
The Enemy: The Afrika Korps
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Germans and
Italians controlled
most of North Africa
Their goal: to drive
toward Egypt and
capture the Suez
Canal
Key Battle:
Germans stopped
by the British at
El Alamein
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel-aka
The Desert Fox- Commander of the
German Afrika Korps
Axis Forces Surrender
U.S. forces saw their first military action in North
Africa… and were absolutely overmatched!
They were annihilated by German forces at
Kasserine Pass…until General Patton took over
and whipped them into shape
 Though Eisenhower was the Allied Commander,
U.S. General George Patton was the
commander in the field, proving to be the best
field general in the U.S. Army
 The North African campaign ended when the
last of the Afrika Korps surrendered in May 1943

The Casablanca Conference
FDR and Churchill meet in Casablanca,
Morocco in 1943
 Both agree that only an unconditional
surrender by the Axis will be accepted,
meaning: the enemy nations have to
accept whatever peace terms the Allies
dictate to them
 Also, it was agreed that the next Allied
target would be Italy and not France

TUSKEGEE
AIRMEN
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Among the brave men
who fought in Italy
were pilots of the allblack 99th squadron –
the Tuskegee Airmen
The pilots made
numerous effective
strikes against
Germany and won
two distinguished
Unit Citations
On May 31, 1943, the 99th Squadron, the first group of
African-American pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute,
arrived in North Africa
Turning Point Campaign #3:
The Italian Campaign
Italy was considered the “soft underbelly
of Europe”- a less heavily defended area
for the Allies to attack
 Operation Husky

 Launched in the summer of 1943
 Sicily was easily captured by American and
British forces led by General Patton and
Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery.
 Sicily would serve as the launching point for
the invasion into Italy
The Allied Invasion of Italy
German Resistance in Italy
After the collapse of Sicily, Mussolini is forced to
resign (he is eventually captured and executed)
 Italy withdraws from the war, but Hitler sends in
German forces. He would rather fight in Italy
than in Germany. As a result, the “soft underbelly
of Europe becomes nothing of the sort. The
fighting is some of the most ferocious of the war!”
 Major Battles in the Italian Campaign:

 “Bloody Anzio”- 25,000 Allied casualties
 Monte Cassino- fought in early 1944 with the intention
of breaking through to Rome- more high casualties
Benito Mussolini- Shot, hung
upside down in the town square
(Milan) so that the townspeople
could spit on him!
Turning Point Campaign #4:
The Normandy Invasion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEXZ1sUO5gs
WW2 From Space 1:03:26-1:14:46
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Code-Named Operation Overlord
D-Day: June 6, 1944 (the same day that
Rome falls to the Allies!)
The largest amphibious assault in history
Supreme Allied Commander- General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Combined landing of 1 million amphibious
forces and paratroopers- American, British,
Free French and Canadian troops
The Normandy Invasion
Prior to Field Marshal Rommel’s
arrival, the “Atlantic Wall” was
nothing more than a few gun
emplacements
Field Marshal Rommel was in
charge of building the Atlantic
Wall
The Atlantic Wall- Hitler
commanded Rommel to make
the German Beach Defenses
more formidable
Reinforced Concrete Wall
Defenses
Barbed Wire
Rommel Inspecting the Atlantic
Wall Defenses
D-Day

5 landing beaches code-named:
 Omaha- bloodiest fighting
 Utah
 Juno
 Sword
 Gold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT3q8tba_lw
Saving Private Ryan
OMAHA BEACH 6/6/44
Many soldiers disembarked their landing craft in
water over their heads. Many drowned.
Shore parties took cover under the
intense German machine gun and mortar
fire
General Eisenhower encouraging American paratroopers
Planes drop paratroopers behind enemy lines at Normandy,
France
Losses
were
extremely
heavy on
D-Day
On the way to victory…
Within one month of
the D-Day landing,
Allied forces had
secured a beachhead
and were driving
inland
 On August 25, 1944,
Paris was liberated by
American and Free
French forces.
 By September 1944,
France, Belgium and
Luxembourg had
been liberated

General George Patton
(right) was instrumental in
Allies freeing France
Allied Bombing of Germany
Intensifies…
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America’s Time: Civilians at War 4:50-10:24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFe7BZSoGMs
The Allies began bombing German cities in order to “target the morale of the
enemy civilian population” ie: Germany’s cities and civilians
Dresden Before
Dresden After
Victory Equals Re-election for FDR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj4rDmYOZjc&feature=related
America’s Time: Homefront 3:00-7:30
 Good
news in Europe– and the
American people’s desire not to
“change horses in midstream” –
helped elect FDR to an
unprecedented 4th term
FDR
VS.
NY Gov. Thomas Dewey
BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
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In October 1944,
Americans captured
their first German
town (Aachen)– the
Allies were closing in
Hitler responded with
one last ditch massive
offensive
Hitler hoped breaking
through the Allied line
would break up Allied
supply lines
BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
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The Battle of the Bulge was
Germany’s last gasp
The battle raged for a
month – the Germans had
been pushed back
Little seemed to have
changed, but in fact the
Germans had sustained
heavy losses
Germany lost 120,000
troops, 600 tanks and
1,600 planes
From that point on the
Nazis could do little but
retreat
LIBERATION OF DEATH CAMPS
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While the British and
Americans moved
westward into
Germany, the Soviets
moved eastward into
German-controlled
Poland
The Soviets
discovered many
death camps that the
Germans had set up
within Poland
The Americans also
liberated Nazi death
camps within Germany
For many it was too late…
ALLIES TAKE BERLIN; HITLER
COMMITS SUICIDE
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By April 25, 1945, the Soviet
army had stormed Berlin
In his underground
headquarters in Berlin, Hitler
prepared for the end
On April 29, he married his
longtime girlfriend Eva Braun
then wrote a last note in
which he blamed the Jews
for starting the war and his
generals for losing it
The next day he gave poison
to his wife and shot himself
V-E DAY
General Eisenhower
accepted the
unconditional
surrender of the Third
Reich
 On May 8, 1945, the
Allies celebrated V-E
Day – Victory in Europe
Day
 The war in Europe was
finally over

Famous
picture of an
American
sailor
celebrating
the end of
the war
FDR DIES; TRUMAN PRESIDENT
•President Roosevelt
did not live to see
V-E Day
• On April 12, 1945, he
suffered a stroke and
died– his VP Harry S
Truman became the
nation’s 33rd president
•The war in the Pacific
would continue…