WWII (1941-1945)

Americans Join the War Effort

Post Pearl Harbor Americans eager to join5 million volunteer for military service

Selective Service SystemDrafted additional 10 million 8 weeks basic training

Production MiracleFebruary 1942: The last

automobile for private use producedRetooled to produce tanks,

planes, boats, command carsMechanical Pencil Factories: Bomb

partsBedspread manufacturer: bottle

filling, explosive shell filling

Henry J. Kaiser, Liberty ShipsCargo carriers, tankers, troop

transports, baby aircraft carriers

Mobilization Scientists

Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)Improvements in radar, sonar,

pesticides, “miracle drugs”

Largest Achievement (1941)Atomic Bomb is possible!

Manhattan Project: 1942 program established to develop ASAP

Federal Government Takes Control

Office of Price Administration: Price freeze

Income tax raiseMillions of people now must pay

who never had before

War Production BoardRation of fuel and materials such as

gasoline, heating oil, metals, plastic

The War for Europe and North Africa

Battle in the Atlantic

German UboatsBeginning of 1942: Hitler sank 87 shipsBy the end of 1942: 681 allied ships sunk

Convoys establishedGroups of ships travelling together for

mutual protectionAccompanied by aircraft

Turning Point Liberty Ships out produced number sunk

each month

The Battle of Stalingrad

November 1941: Germans turn South in Soviet Union the Weather!

Hitler’s Priorities:Soviet Oil Fields in Caucasus MountainsWipe out Stalingrad

August 1942: Germany controls 9/10ths of StalingradLuftwaffe raidsHand to hand combat

But winter comes again..Surrender January 31st, 1943

Operation TorchLed by Dwight D.

EisenhowerAttack on Axis

controlled North AfricaGermans trapped in

TunisiaNovember 1942- May

1943

Italian CampaignNorth Africa Won

Only unconditional surrender of enemies will do

Italy will be the target

Summer 1943: Capture of SicilyJuly 25th: Il Duce is stripped of

powerFebruary-May 1944: Bloody Anzio

25,000 Allied30,000 Axis

The Liberation of Europe

D-Day aka Operation Overlord, June 6th 19443 Million British, American,

CanadiansNormandy (Northern France)Air and sea bombardment

D-Day (June 6, 1944)D-Day (June 6, 1944)

The Liberation of Europe (Cont.)

7 Days of FightingAllies attain 80 mile beach strip1 million more troops able to land170,000 vehicles

St. Lo: massive air raid August 1944: Paris is liberated from four

years of German Occupation (Vichy France)Belgium and Luxemburg quickly freed

Battle of BulgeOctober 1944: Aachen captured

First German town

Hitler reordered his troops to capture Antwerp, BelgiumDecember 16th: German tanks make a

bulge and break in the American and British troops

1 month of fighting irreplaceable damageGermans lost 120,000 troops600 tanks and assault guns1,600 planes

Unconditional Surrender in EuropeApril 25th, 1945: Soviets storm BerlinHitler retreats to underground HQApril 29th

Marries Eva BraunFinal address to the Germany

Blames Jews for starting and Generals for losing the war

“I die with a happy heart aware of the immeasurable deeds of soldiers at the front. I myself and my wife choose to die in order to escape the disgrace of capitulation…”

V-E Day: May 8th, 1945Declaration by General Eisenhower