Download PPT = The War in Europe

World War II
Progress and Conclusion of the War
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941
This causes the US to
enter WWII
War!
• Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941
• U.S. declared war on Japan on Dec. 8, 1941
• 3 days later, U.S. declared war on Germany
U.S. was not ready at first for the war…
but rose to the occasion!
• 5 million volunteered for service
• Selective service (the draft) enlisted 10 million
more men for service
• Woman also started to serve for first time
Examples of Mobilization
• Wars take men and weapons
• In early 1942, stopped manufacturing cars to
build tanks
• Shipyards and defense plants expanded at an
amazing speed – 140 ships built per month
• Scientists recruited
• Government set prices
• Rationing started – food, rubber, metal
THE WAR FOR EUROPE AND NORTH
AFRICA
• Days after Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill arrived at the White House and spent three
weeks working out war plans with FDR
• Churchill and FDR decided to focus on defeating Hitler
first and then turn their attention to Japan
Europe and North Africa
Battle of the Atlantic
• Hitler U-boats (submarines) destroyed ships
delivering food and weapons to England
• U.S. responded with
– Convoys (groups of ships for mutual protection)
– Destroyers and airplanes that destroyed the Uboats
• By mid-1943, shipping lanes were safe again
BATTLE OF
STALINGRAD
• For weeks the Germans pressed in on
Stalingrad
• Then winter set in and the Germans
were wearing summer uniforms
• The Germans surrendered in January of
1943
• Although the USSR won the battle,
marking a major defeat of the Germans
the Soviets lost more
than 1 million men in the battle (more
than twice the number of deaths the U.S.
suffered in all the war)
Wounded in the
Battle of Stalingrad
Europe and North Africa
Battle of the Atlantic
• Hitler U-boats (submarines) to destroy ships
delivering food and weapons to England
• U.S. responded with
– Convoys (groups of ships for mutual protection)
– Destroyers and airplanes that destroyed the Uboats
• By mid-1943, shipping lanes were safe again
THE WAR FOR EUROPE AND NORTH
AFRICA
• Days after Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill arrived at the White House and spent three
weeks working out war plans with FDR
• Churchill and FDR decided to focus on defeating Hitler
first and then turn their attention to Japan
Europe and North Africa
Battle of the Atlantic
• Hitler U-boats (submarines) to destroy ships
delivering food and weapons to England
• U.S. responded with
– Convoys (groups of ships for mutual protection)
– Destroyers and airplanes that destroyed the Uboats
• By mid-1943, shipping lanes were safe again
Europe and North Africa
Battle of Stalingrad
• Russia and Germany had been allies,
until Hitler attacked Russia
• They were fighting since summer of 1942
• Approached Stalingrad in August 1942
BATTLE OF
STALINGRAD
• For weeks the Germans pressed in on
Stalingrad
• Then winter set in and the Germans
were wearing summer uniforms
• The Germans surrendered in January of
1943
• Although the USSR won the battle,
marking a major defeat of the Germans
the Soviets lost more
than 1 million men in the battle (more
than twice the number of deaths the U.S.
suffered in all the war)
Wounded in the
Battle of Stalingrad
Some say that if Hitler hadn’t made
the mistake of fighting Russia in
winter he might have won the war.
Europe and North Africa
North Africa
• Operation Torch – Invaded North Africa, held
by Germany
• Led by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower(later
president)
• Mainly a battle of tanks
– German troops led by Gen. Erwin Rommel called
the Afrika Corps
– After months of fighting, German surrendered
American Tank in World War II
D-DAY
JUNE 6, 1944
D-Day was an amphibious landing –
soldiers going from sea to land
• D-Day was the
largest land-sea-air
operation in
military history
• Despite air support,
German retaliation
was brutal –
especially at
Omaha Beach
• Within a month, the
Allies had landed
1 million troops,
567,000 tons of
supplies and
170,000 vehicles
More About D-Day
• D-Day – June 6. 1944
– Led by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower – Later elected
president
– Omar Bradley and George Patten led forces on the
ground
– Thousands of paratroopers, soldiers coming in on
boats
– After massive losses, Allies gained the upper hand
and freed France in Sept. 1944
OMAHA BEACH 6/6/44
Landing at Normandy
Planes drop paratroopers behind enemy lines at Normandy, France
Losses
were
extremely
heavy on
D-Day
Battle of the Bulge
• In October, 1944 Allies captured 1st German
town
• Hitler fought back
• After a month of fighting, Allies victorious
• Germany in retreat
ALLIES TAKE BERLIN; HITLER
COMMITS SUICIDE
• 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
soldier
celebrating
the end of
the war
FDR DIES; TRUMAN
PRESIDENT-1945
• 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
nations 33rd
president