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Global Struggles
Unit 7
1941-1960
America and World War II
Pushing Back the Axis
Chapter 21 Section 4
Striking Germany and Italy
• Casablanca Conference
– FDR and Churchill met in Morocco to set up a
plan to bomb Germany
– Goal: Progressive destruction of the
German military, industrial, and
economic system, and the undermining
of the morale of the German people
Striking Germany and Italy
• Strategic Bombing
– Great Britain’s Royal Air Force and the United
States’ Eighth Army Air Force had been
bombing Germany every month
– This bombing campaign did not destroy
Germany’s economy or undermine their
morale but. . .
– It did cause a severe oil shortage and
wrecked the railroad system and
destroyed many aircraft factories
Striking Germany and Italy
• Striking the Soft Underbelly
– The idea was to attack Italy – if we
attacked Italy then Italy would pull out
of the war
– General Eisenhower commanded the invasion
– July 10, 1943
• Invasion of Italy began
• Allied troops made it ashore with few casualties
• American troops smashed through enemy lines
and captured the western half of Sicily
Striking Germany and Italy
• Striking the Soft Underbelly
– August 18 the Germans left the island
– Italians did not like the turn of events so they
decided to get rid of Mussolini
• The King invited Mussolini to his place and told
him he was no longer in charge
• The King had Mussolini arrested and Italy
began negotiating with the Allies to
surrender
– Germany seized control of Rome and
reestablished Mussolini
Striking Germany and Italy
• Striking the Soft Underbelly
– Anzio
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The Germans surrounded the Allied Troops
Allies took 5 months to break the German Lines
2 weeks later the Allies captured Rome
Fighting still lasted another year
Striking Germany and Italy
• The Tehran Conference
– Stalin, FDR, and Churchill met in Iran
– Stalin promised to launch a full scale offensive
against the Germans
– Roosevelt and Stalin agreed to divide
Germany
– Stalin promised to help the US against Japan
Landing in France
• Roosevelt and Churchill met to discuss an
invasion of France
– Commander of the Invasion – General
Eisenhower
Landing in France
• Planning Operation Overlord
– Hitler fortified the coast along the English
Channel
– Germany did not know where the Allies would
land
– The Allies placed dummy equipment in an
area the Germans thought they would land
– The real target was further south along
the Normandy Coast
Landing in France
• Planning Operation Overlord
– Picking a time to attack
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Invasion had to be at night
Invasion had to at low tide
Low tide had to be at dawn
Invasion needed a moonlit night
Weather had to be good
June 5-7 was picked
– June 5 – heavy cloud cover, strong winds, high waves
– June 6, 1944 – Eisenhower gave the ok to begin
the attack
Landing in France
• The Longest Day
– 7,000 Ships holding more than 100,000
soldiers headed for the coast of Normandy
– 23,000 Paratroopers dropped behind the lines
– At dawn allied warships began a tremendous
barrage
Landing in France
• The Longest Day
– The Result
• The American landing went well – less than 3
hours the troops had captured the beach and
moved inland
• British and Canadian landings also went well
• Omaha Beach was a different story
– General Omar Bradley began making plans to evacuate
– The American troops began to slowly take down the
Germans
– 2,500 Americans were either killed or wounded
• Operation Overlord or D-Day was a success
Driving Japan Back
• American Plan was to develop a two pronged
attack
– Pacific Fleet would advance through the Central
Pacific by hopping from island to island
– Another set of troops would advance through the
Solomon Islands, capture the coast of New Guinea
and then retake the Philippines
Driving Japan Back
• Island Hopping in the Pacific
– We were ready in the fall of 1943 to begin the
island hopping campaign
• The geography of the land was a problem – the area
was covered in coral reefs
– The Landing Craft hit the coral reef the marines
had to wade ashore in shoulder deep water
– Only one marine out of 3 marines made it to the
beach
Driving Japan Back
• Island Hopping in the Pacific
– Amphtrac – boat with tank tracks
– More than 1000 marines died on Tarawa
– American troops were able to capture the
majority of all islands in the Pacific that led us to
Japan and we were able to start bombing Japan
Driving Japan Back
• MacArthur Returns
– The American troops began by attacking
Guadalcanal
– MacArthur secured various islands and then
went to the Philippines
Driving Japan Back
• MacArthur Returns
– More than 700 ships sailed for Leyte Gulf
– After MacArthur landed in the Philippines he
announced to the people “I have returned”
– Japanese sent four aircraft carriers to the
Philippines to stop the Americans
Driving Japan Back
• MacArthur Returns
– Leyte Gulf
• The other Japanese aircraft and warships raced to the
gulf and met the Americans there
• Kamikaze Attacks – First time the Japanese used this
tactic
– Divine Wind
• Japanese Commander believed more ships were on the
way so he ordered a retreat
• The Philippines are now in the Allies Hands