Download Chapter 25, Section 2

Chapter 25, Section 2
The War for Europe & North Africa
The US & BR Join Forces: War Plans
 After Pearl Harbor, FDR & Churchill knew it was vital to be on same page
o December 22, 1941 – Churchill came to White House & they worked out a
game plan for the war (about 3 wk visit)
o It was decided that GM was initial threat, then IT
 Goal was to defeat them and then move onto JP
 FDR & Churchill grew to like & respect each other very much
The Battle of the Atlantic
 Hitler knew that US was supply line for BR & SU, so he ordered U-boats to sink
US ships carrying goods in Atlantic (Battle of Atlantic)
 If the “lifeline” was severed, the BR would starve & be forced into submission
 This plan worked well initially – GM wolf packs were sinking A LOT of US
ships
 Allies responded with convoy system (previously discussed)
 Convoys – groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection
 Battle of Atlantic turned in favor of the Allies by June 1943
The Eastern Front & the Mediterranean – winter 1943: turning point in land battles
The Battle of Stalingrad
 Since June 1941 – GM had been fighting in SU
 Nov. 1941 – weather was too cold/wintry, so they stopped outside of major SU
cities
 Summer 1942 – GM offensive staged in southern SU
o Hitler wanted oil fields in Caucasus Mountains
o Hitler wanted to destroy city of Stalingrad because of its location &
industrial strength (map – p. 778)
 Attack of Stalingrad started out in Axis’ favor
o Luftwaffe was bombing everything
o SU officers recommended blowing up its factories & getting out of dodge
o Stalin said No, to fight harder (namesake)
o GM continued its assault
o Sept. 1942 – GM controlled 90% of city
o Then another brutal SU winter
o SU decided to use frozen tundra time to launch a counter attack
o SU army encircled Stalingrad & trapped/surrounded the GM, cutting off
any supplies/lifelines
o GM was done for, but Hitler wouldn’t allow them to surrender or attempt
to retreat
o Finally, Jan. 31, 1943 – GM commander surrendered
o Allies had won the battle
o Costs: SU lost 1,100,000soldiers – more than all US deaths combined in
war
o From here on, SU began heading for GM
The North African Front
 Meanwhile, Stalin was trying to convince US & BR to start a “2nd front” in
western Europe: an invasion across the English Channel
 FDR & Churchill chose not to; didn’t feel they had the manpower
 FDR & Churchill did attack though – through Operation Torch – commanded by
D. Eisenhower, it was an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa
 Nov. 1942 – 107,000 Allied troops landed at Casablanca, Oran, & Algiers (see
map)
o Chased the Afrika Korps through the lands
o The Afrika Korps was led by the Desert Fox – Gen. Erwin Rommel
o May 1943 – GM & Rommel surrendered
o Good for Allied morale
The Italian Campaign
 It had already been decided (at Casablanca) than FDR & Churchill were only
going to accept terms of unconditional surrender – meaning not only surrender,
but enemy had to be willing to take whatever blame placed upon them
 What would be their next move?
o Churchill said attack IT
o FDR said cross English Channel, go through FR, & attack GM
o They went with the plan to attack IT
 Summer 1943 – Sicily was captured – in response to their weakness, Italian
government forced dictator Mussolini to resign
 July 25, 1943 – King Victor Emmanuel III ordered Mussolini to his palace – told
him he no longer had any power & had been arrested (“You are the most hated
man in Italy.”)
 At this point, IT wanted to be out of war
 But Hitler wanted to stop Allies in IT, not let them on GM soil & so Battle
“Bloody Anzio” ensued
o Anzio was brutal battle with high casualties on both sides
o IT would not be fully liberated until 1945; same time as GM collapse
Heroes in Combat
 Tuskegee Airmen – All black 99th Pursuit Squadron; these pilots fought in IT
(highest GPA together – ever)
 Tuskegee Airmen defeated several enemy aircraft & won 2 medals of military’s
highest distinction
 Buffaloes – another successful all-black unit
 Most decorated unit in US history consisted of 1300+ Hawaiian Nisei (Nisei –
American citizens whose parents had come here from JP)
The Allies Liberate Europe
 Before the IT drama ever began, Allies were working on Operation Overlord – the
plan to invade FR & free western Europe from the Nazis

Operation Overlord would be commanded by Gen. Eisenhower
D-Day
 3 million BR, US, & Canadian troops, under Eisenhower, were going to attack
Normandy (Northern FR)
 In an effort to keep the attack a surprise, a phantom army & false messages were
sent stating that the Allies were going to attack Calais – FR port in narrowest part
of English Channel some 150 miles away
o This was believed & Hitler kept a large army at Calais
 Meanwhile, Operation Overlord was underway – supposed to invade on June 5,
but bad weather moved it to June 6, 1944
o After midnight, Allies parachuted in as thousands and thousands of
soldiers arrived from the waters
 Operation Overlord – largest land-sea-air operation in army history
 GM retaliation was better than expected (Omaha Beach – map)
The Allies Gain Ground
 Heavy casualties, yet within 7 days, Allies held 800 mile strip of FR
 Key to success: so many men to the invasion point at same time (strength in
numbers)
 July 25, 1944 – Gen. Omar Bradley cleared a path (aerial & land bombings) &
allowed Gen. George Patton to advance & reach Paris
 Few days later, Patton & the troops united with FR resistance forces & freed Paris
(after 4 years)
 Sept. 1944 – Allies had freed FR, Belgium, & Luxembourg
 The ultimate success of Operation Overlord led to FDR’s 4th term as president
o VP – Harry Truman
o US didn’t want to “change horses in midstream”
The Battle of the Bulge
 Oct. 1944 – Americans captured GM town of Aachen
 Hitler made a desperate move – break through Allied lines & try to recapture
Belgian port, Antwerp – idea was to disrupt Allied supply line & demoralize US
 Dec. 16, 1944 – GM tanks broke through a weak point in our defense line (an 80
mile front)
o Tanks went 60 miles into Allied territory, a “bulge” in our line
o GM SS captured American soldiers at this point & brutally killed them
o Battle of Bulge lasted about a month
o All said & done – nothing had really changed – GM were ultimately back
to where they started, BUT significant damages & losses left GM virtually
defenseless. It was basically over.
Liberation of the Death Camps
 Allied troops continued east into GM & SU traveled west toward Berlin

Along the way, SU & Allied troops came across & liberated concentration camps
– SS tried to cover tracks, but to no avail
o Both SU & US media/war correspondents, along with soldiers, were
absolutely stunned (quote – p. 782)
Unconditional Surrender
 April 25, 1945 – SU army stormed Berlin
o Panic ensued & GM soldiers were running around, trying to escape
 Meanwhile, Hitler was in his underground HQ preparing for the end
o Married his longtime woman, Eva Braun
o Wrote a letter to the GM people
 Blamed failure on Jews & his generals
 Explained that he had chosen to kill himself rather than surrender
 Shot himself & Eva Braun took poison pill
Gen. Eisenhower accepted “unconditional surrender” of 3rd Reich
 May 8, 1945 – V-E Day or Victory in Europe Day
o War in Europe is over
 FDR did not see these final events – he had stroke & died on April 12, 1945
o VP Harry Truman sworn in as 33rd president