Transcript Chapter 25.2

Chapter 25.2 Notes
Plans for the War in Europe
Churchill (GB) and FDR (US) meet for 3
weeks in Dec 1941 to discuss war plans
GB thinks Germany is a bigger threat than
Japan and convinces US to focus on
beating Germany first and just hold Japan
at bay
US official member of the Allies
Battle of the Atlantic
 Shortly after attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler orders U-Boat
attacks on US east coast
 “Battle of the Atlantic”: goal of Germany was to prevent
food and supplies from US making it to GB and USSR
 3000 mile trek across Atlantic was “life-line” for GB, if US
can’t make trip GB in serious trouble, Hitler knows this
 In four months Germany sinks 87 ships,
 By Sept 1942, Germany has sunk 681 Allied ships
 US institutes Convoy system to protect supply ships and
get goods to GB
Battle of Stalingrad
 By 1943, Allies have victories on sea and land against Germany (Axis
powers)
 Germans and USSR fighting since June 1941 in USSR (Eastern Front)
 Nov 1941 harsh winter of USSR stops German forces outside USSR big
cities of Moscow and Leningrad but by Spring Germans attacking again
 Summer 1942 Germany plans to take major industrial city of Stalingrad,
German airforce bombs city and almost burns it to the ground, battle goes
on for weeks and Germans control 9/10ths of city, but USSR winter sets in
again and German troops are stuck with no back up
 Surrender January 31, 1943
 HUGE Death toll for USSR defending city, 1.1 million deaths (more than all
American deaths in whole war!)
 TURNING POINT OF WAR IN EUROPEAN THEATER (FROM THIS
POINT ON USSR MOVES WESTWARD TOWARD GERMANY), GERMAN
RETREAT FROM USSR!
North African Front
During battle of Stalingrad, Stalin asks
allies to open up a second front against
Hitler (distract him away from them)
US and GB don’t think Europe can handle
it right now so go for North African instead,
decide to attack Axis powers in North
Africa and then push north into Italy (Soft
Under Belly Plan)
North African Front
Operation Torch, invasion of North Africa,
commanded by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
Nov 1942, troops land in Casablanca,
Oran, and Algiers in North Africa
Go eastward after Erwin Rommel (Desert
Fox) leader of Axis troops, eventually beat
him at the battle of El Alamein in 1943
Italian Campaign
 During battle for North Africa, FDR, Churchill and military
commanders meet in Casablanca (Casablanca
conference) decide that they will only accept the
unconditional surrender of Axis powers.
 After win N. Africa been attack on Italy, capture island of
Sicily in summer 1943
 Italian people revolt against Mussolini and he is forced to
resign, July 25, 1943, Italians want to surrender but
Hitler says NO!
 German troops fight Allies in Italy for months, battle lasts
until the end of May 1944
 Italy not free until 1945
Move to Free France and D-Day
 Plan to free France and then move to Germany
was called Operation Overlord or D-Day,
planned by Dwight Eisenhower
 Plan was to attack at Normandy, France
 Tried to fool Germany by making up fake plans
and letting those plans out
 Attack beaches of Normandy, June 6, 1944,
largest land and sea attack in history
 Germans fight back hard but Allies win
 Within weeks France is liberated from German
rule, General Patton in charge of this effort
OMAHA BEACH 6/6/44
Landing at Normandy
Planes drop paratroopers behind enemy lines at Normandy, France
Losses
were
extremely
heavy on
D-Day
Battle of the Bulge
 Oct 1944, Allies capture German town of
Aachen, Hitler tries one last time to keep Allies
out of Germany
 Goal is to break Allied lines and split up supply
chain of US and GB in Belgium
 Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944)
 Germany loses and is now in retreat
 At same time USSR is pushing into Poland and
Germany from the east
 ***FDR runs for and wins a 4th term in office***
End of War and Death of Hitler
 USSR army storms Berlin, Germany April 25, 1945
 Concentration Camps and Holocaust horrors are really
discovered, liberating of camps
 April 29, 1945 Hitler and Eva Braun (now his wife), same
day gives last address to German people, blames Jews
for end of War, Hitler shoots himself, Braun takes
poison)
 May 8, 1945 official surrender of Germany and Italy
 V-E Day
 FDR dies April 12, 1945 from a stroke, Harry Truman is
now president and must carry US through end of War
 Still have to defeat Japan
Famous
picture of an
American
soldier
celebrating
the end of
the war