US in WWIIThe War for Europe and North Africa
United States and Britain Join Forces
War Plans Roosevelt and Churchill decide to fight Hitler
first Battle of the Atlantic
Hitler orders submarine raids on the East Coast▪ to prevent allies from receiving food or war materials▪ Germans sank 681 Allied ships
Cargo ship convoys▪ Sank German U-boats to the point where it “reached
unbearable heights”▪ By mid-1943, the tide of the Battle of the Atlantic had
turned
The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean
The Battle of Stalingrad November 1941, the cold stops Germans outside of
Moscow and Leningrad Summer 1942, Hitler hoped to capture Soviet oil fields The Luftwaffe bombed the city nightly and the Soviets
wanted to quit but Stalin ordered them to defend his namesake city no matter the cost
Winter 1942, Soviets mount counterattack and trap the German soldiers in the city cutting off all supplies
German commander surrenders January 31, 1943, the troops surrender February 2, 1943
Soviets lost 1.1 million soldiers but was a turning point in the war
Battle of Stalingrad
The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean
The North African Front To divert troops from
Russia, Stalin asked the other Allies to open a “second front”
Operation Torch Invasion of North Africa
commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Chased the Afrika Korps Afrika Korps surrender in
May 1943
Casablanca
The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean
The Italian Campaign Before the North Africa
battle was won Roosevelt and Churchill agree that they will only accept unconditional surrenders from Axis
Capture of Sicily in Summer 1943
July 25, 1943, Mussolini is stripped of his powers and arrested
Bloody Anzio Hitler was determined
to stop Allies in Italy, so they would not reach Germany
Lasted 4 months (Ends May 1944)
25,000 Allied casualties/ 30,000 Axis casualties
Effort to free Italy did not succeed until Germany collapsed
Eastern Front and the Mediterranean
Heroes is Combat Tuskegee Airmen (99th Pursuit Squadron)▪ All African-American pilots▪ Received two distinguished Unit Citations for their outstanding
combat against the Luftwaffe Buffaloes (92nd Infantry Division)▪ African-American unit▪ Won 7 Legion of Merit awards, 65 Silver Stars, 162 Bronze Stars for
courage under fire Company E (141st Regiment, 36th Division)▪ All Mexican-American unit▪ Received 7 Congressional Medal of Honors
Purple Heart Battalion (100th Battalion)▪ 1,300 Hawaiian Nisei and Japanese-Americans▪ Becomes most decorated unit in U.S. history
Heroes in Combat
The Allies Liberate Europe D-Day (Operation Overlord)
Allies gather 3 million troops in England planning to attack Normandy, France
To keep plan secret phantom army was created, even sending fake radio signals
Eisenhower gives go ahead on D-Day, June 6, 1944
Three divisions of paratroops and thousands of seaborne soldiers invaded- the largest land-sea-air operation in army history
D-DAY
D-DAY
Allies Liberate Europe
Allies Gain Ground After 7 days Allies held an 80-mile strip of France Within a month they landed a million troops General Omar Bradley unleashes massive air and
land bombardments at St. Lo creating a gap in German defense
General George Patton and his Third Army advance through and on August 25, 1944 they liberate Paris from 4 years of German occupation
By 1944 Allies had freed France, Belgium, and Luxembourg
Generals
Allies Liberate Europe
The Battle of the Bulge October 1944, Americans captured their first
German town Aachen Hitler orders troops to recapture the Belgian
port of Antwerp December 16, 1944 hoping that the effort
would split up Allied forces and supply line Battle raged for a month, the Germans lost
120,000 troops, 600 tanks, and 1,600 planes, Nazis could now do little more than retreat
Battle of the Bulge
Allies Liberate Europe
LIBERATION OF THE DEATH CAMPS
Soviets come from west and Allied troops come from east
Soviets come upon death camps first in July 1944
“gigantic murder plant”
UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER
April 25, 1945, Soviets stormed Berlin
April 29, 1945, Hitler blames Jews and his general for losing the war
April 30, 1945, Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide
May 7, 1945, Eisenhower accepts unconditional surrender of Third Reich
May 8, 1945, Allies celebrate V-E day (Victory in Europe Day)
War officially over
Liberation of Death Camps
Allies Liberate Europe
Roosevelt’s Death Does not live to see V-E Day April 12, 1945, while posing for portrait,
has a stroke and dies Later that day, Vice President Harry S.
Truman become the nation’s 33rd president