War in EuropeNorth Africa to Berlin

Patton vs. Rommel Operation Torch: Allied

invasion of North Africa German general Erwin

Rommel commands “Afrika Corps” & nearly captures all of North Africa

Americans take heavy losses b/c they didn’t know how to fight the Germans

General George S. Patton leads American forces against the Germans

The battle of the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, U.S. beat Rommel in largest tank battle

D-Day June 6th 1944Normandy, France 6 June 1944 Operation Overlord:

D Day—commanded by Dwight D. Eisenhower

150,000 troops by sea, 23,000 troops by air

Omaha Beach—American troops faced machine gunners as they came ashore—2,000 American casualties

U.S. Paratroopers land behind enemy lines to prevent reinforcements from coming in

Other beaches met light opposition

Germans thought the attacks were coming further north—no reinforcements were sent

Battle of the Bulge 17 December 1944, German

forces make one last assault to drive the Allies back

Heavy snow—battle took place in the wooded region of northern France

Largest counterattack the Germans launched during the war

200,000 German troops attacked 80,000 U.S. troops

German ordered a surrender, but the Allies sent in reinforcements

Germany retreated and their offensive failed

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Air War Bombing missions crush

German industry B-17 Flying Fortresses & B-24

Liberators perfect aerial bombing

Norden Bombsight makes bombing extremely accurate from high altitudes

P-51 fighters could escort bombers to & from the target

Cologne, Germany 1945

Yalta Conference Roosevelt, Stalin, & Churchill

meet in Yalta This meeting was to discuss

Russia’s entry in the war against Japan 3 months after German surrenders

Discussed dividing up Germany after the war

Roosevelt decided to run for a fourth term and he easily won

Final Attacks on Germany Allied bombers blasted German

cities Attack on Dresden—total civilian

deaths estimated between 30,000 and 60,000

The U.S. occupied western Germany to the Elbe River—The Soviets occupied the east

Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945 while hidden in a bunker below Berlin

Germany surrendered on May 7th– next day was called VE (Victory in Europe) Day