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America Prepares For War • After Pearl Harbor 5 million young men volunteered for military service. • Another 10 million were drafted in order to meet the war need. A Production Miracle • In Early February 1942, the last car rolled off the assembly line. • Automobile plants retooled and began producing tanks, planes, boats, and command cars. A Production Miracle • A mechanical pencil plant turned out bomb parts. • A soft-drink company filled shells with explosives. War Production Board (WPB • The government needed to ensure that the armed forces and war industries received the resources they needed to win the war • The WPB organized nationwide drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. War Production Board (WPB • In addition, a system for rationing, or establishing fixed allotments of goods deemed essential for the military. War Production Board (WPB • Under this system, households received ration books with coupons to be used for buying such scarce goods as meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, and gasoline. The U.S. Enters the War Franklin & Winston Roosevelt Churchill The two leaders joined forces to 1st deal with Germany & Italy The Battle Of The Atlantic •After Pearl Harbor Hitler ordered submarine raids on ships along America’s east coast. •The German goal was to prevent food & war materials from reaching Britain & Russia. The Battle Of The Atlantic •In the first four months of 1942 subs sank 87 ships off the Atlantic coast, after seven months 681 ships lost. •The Allies responded by using a tactic from WWI. •They grouped ships together in convoys. By mid 1943, Germany was loosing more U-boats than they could build. The North African Front •The USSR called for the U.S. to lead an invasion into Europe. •Instead Gen. Eisenhower was sent to Africa to defeat Rommel. Sherman Tank German Panzer Tank The North African Front • Operation Torch was launched to force Erwin Rommel “The Desert Fox” & the Axis powers out of N. Africa. The North African Front • In November 1942 107,000 troops landed in Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers. The North African Front • U.S. and British forces suffered several major defeats to Rommel’s tactics and superior tanks. The North African Front • Hitler recalled Rommel back to Germany just prior to their surrender at Tunis, in May 1943. The North African Front • Germans, Rommel, 100K men, 500 Tanks • British, montgomery, 200K men, 1000 tanks • Battle of El Alamein- Allied victory • Germans outnumbered, low on supplies, forced to surrender • This ended German occupation of North Africa The Italian Campaign • Roosevelt wanted us to mass forces and attack Europe by crossing the English Channel. The Italian Campaign • Churchill thought it smarter to attack Italy first. The Italian Campaign • Sicily fell first and the Italian people called for the removal of Mussolini. • Mussolini was stripped of power and arrested on July 25, 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad • The Germans had been fighting in the Soviet Union since June 1941. • Winter stopped the Germans outside of Moscow & Leningrad. The Battle of Stalingrad • In the summer of 1942 the Germans went back on the offensive in southern USSR. The Battle of Stalingrad • Hitler wanted to destroy Stalingrad as it was a major industrial city. • In August 1942 Germany began an all out attack on the city. The Battle of Stalingrad • The Luftwaffe bombed the city night and day until every wooden building burned. Things were so bad the Soviet officers wanted to blow up the factories & abandon the city. The Battle of Stalingrad • Stalin ordered the city, that carried his name, be defended at all costs. • The Germans were capturing the city house by house until winter arrived. The Battle of Stalingrad • Stalin used the winter to roll in fresh tanks over the frozen ground. • They surrounded the city & cut off German supply lines. The war had turned & the Soviets headed west. Turning Point Of The War • At Stalingrad the Soviets lost 1.1 million soldiers. • This was more than all American deaths in the entire war. The Allies Liberate Europe • Operation Overlord was the plan to attack the German forces in France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was put in charge of the invasion. The Allies Liberate Europe • In England Eisenhower gathered together a force of 3 million troops. The Allies Liberate Europe • Eisenhower planned to attack at Normandy in northern France. The Allies Liberate Europe • Eisenhower also established a phantom army and headquarters. • Messages were sent ordering the phantom army to attack at the port of Calais, 150 miles away. • The messages were designed to be intercepted by the Germans. The Allies Liberate Europe • Hitler ordered a large army to defend Calais. • The Allied invasion, code named D-Day was scheduled for June 5, but bad weather delayed the invasion. The Allies Liberate Europe • The next day saw the largest landsea-air attack in army history. • Even with massive numbers, the German retaliation was brutal. • Omaha Beach saw thousands die. B-17 Flying Fortress The Allies Gain Ground • Despite heavy casualties the Allies held the beachheads. The Allies Gain Ground • After 7 days of fighting the Allies held an 80-mile strip of France. • Within a month they landed: • 1 million troops • 567,000 tons of supplies • 170,000 vehicles The Allies Gain Ground On July 25, Gen. Omar Bradley through land & air raids at St. Lo, opened a hole in the German defenses & Gen. Patton moved right through. The Allies Gain Ground •Gen. George S. Patton led the third army into France to the Seine River. •2 days later the Allies liberated Paris. The Allies Gain Ground •By September 1944, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg were free. •FDR was elected to a 4th term. Battle Of The Bulge • This was a last desperate effort by Hitler to break through the Allied lines at Antwerp, Belgium. Battle Of The Bulge • Germany's goal for these operations was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capturing Antwerp, Belgium. Battle Of The Bulge • Then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers' favor. • This goal would fail. Battle Of The Bulge • In Dec. 1944, 8 German tank divisions broke through American defenses along an 80-mile front. • This bulge in the defenses is where the name came from. Battle Of The Bulge • In early February, the Allies launched an attack all along the Western front: In the north, under Montgomery; in the center, under Courtney Hodges; and in the south, under Patton. Battle Of The Bulge • The last of the German reserves were now gone; the Luftwaffe had been broken; and the German army in the West was being pushed back. Liberation Of Death Camps • The Soviets were the first to arrive at the death camp at Majdanek. Majdanek Front Gate Liberation Of Death Camps • The SS guards tried to destroy the evidence of their crimes, but they were too late. Liberation Of Death Camps • Hitler in his underground bunker married Eva Braun, then shot himself as she took poison. V-E Day • Victory in Europe was declared on May 8, 1945. • Gen. Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. V-E Day • On April 12, 1945, FDR died of a stroke • Harry S. Truman became the 33rd President of the United States.