Europe and N. Africa1941-1945

Poland Fought by Germans to take back German

speaking peoples Germans crushed Poles using blitzkrieg Starts WWII

France German attack on French, need country to attack

G.B. Germans once again roll to victory Pushes Allied forces out of mainland Europe

Battle of Britain Germany wants to eliminate all main

threats from Europe then move onto USSR

British win by repelling the onslaught of German bombings

Morale boost for Brits, but also keeps Germany from owning Europe and allows for US and GB to fight back in future

Getting to Europe First challenge for the US-getting to war

Hitler attacked the 3,000 mile shipping lane to Britain, sinking 87 ships in 4 months

The US would begin to use convoys similar to WWI- naval and air protection began to run with cargo ships

FDR and Churchill meet to discuss attack plans

Battle for Moscow Oct 1941-Jan 1942 Operation Barbarosa-cut off the head and

the body dies USSR eventually stands ground after

massive casualties Hitler made mistakes-wouldn’t accept

surrender, backed Soviets into area he couldn’t skip over

El Alamein Summer 1942- 1943 Poor showing by allies at this time, needed

a victory Allies and Monty use decoy tanks and

attacks to fend off and attack Rommel Protected key supply lines of Suez canal

and gave Allies needed victory in North Africa

Meanwhile, back in the USSR Germany had attacked the Soviets in 1941

Hitler’s goal was to capture oil fields in the south and the industrial Stalingrad

Extremely confident-USSR officers suggested burning the city and leaving it

Bitter hand to hand combat begins, Germans winning one street at a time Then winter set in…

Turning the tide Fresh tanks and supplies moved in for a

counterattack Cutting off supplies for Germans was key Hitler refused to retreat but by Feb 1943, the

German commander and soldiers surrendered

Soviets lost 1,100,000 soldiers defending the city Huge losses however, could not dampen this

turning point of the war, the Soviets would continue to push the Germans out of the USSR

Operation Torch Against Eisenhower’s request, US looks to

N. Africa Chased Afrika Korps and Erwin Rommel

for months until 1943 surrender This victory made an attack on Italy

possible Churchill thought it to be a safer

attack than France

Italy Allied capture of Sicily in ’43 led to

overthrow of Mussolini “most hated man in Italy”

Hitler refuses to lose the boot Fighting continues for months with each side

suffering similar casualties Italy will not fall until 1945 So much for safe..

Invasion of Normandy Decided that invasion of France across the

English channel is best 3 mill troops (Brit, US, even Canadians!) Arranged fake attack

Op. Overlord forced to June 6, 1944 Paratroopers dropped night before Followed by largest land-sea-air operation ever Brutal fighting on beaches

Victory in France In just weeks, allied forces had worked

their way across France George Patton and his Third Army a

large reason for the success “Dear Ike: Today, I spat in the

Seine.” Germany was next

Battle of Bulge Aachen captured and Germany needs a

rebuttal Hitler calls for an attack to surprise the

Allied forces during the holiday season Gets its name from the battle formation

Hitler attacks middle and the line of allies bends but does not break after a month of fighting

Possibly Germany’s last chance

Battle of Berlin Tactically speaking, not much to talk about

Importance because signified end of war in Europe

Will cause Hitler to hide in underground bunker during invasion and commit suicide\

Wrote final letter to people-blaming Jews for the start of the war and generals for loss

He shot himself while Eva Braun, wife, took poison

Bodies were said to be burned as ordered

Victory in Europe day the result May 8, 1945-fighting in Europe

ended as the Third Reich came to a close

Important to remember that fighting was going on in the Pacific this whole time as well and the war still rages on…

Also, FDR died month prior, so new leader in Harry S. Truman