Transcript The Allied Victory

The Allied Victory
WWII
• “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date
which will live in infamy - the United
States of America was suddenly and
deliberately attacked by naval and air
forces of the Empire of Japan.”
Pearl Harbor
• December 7th, 1941, Japan launched a
surprise attack on American Soldiers at
Pearl Harbor.
• Japanese naval leader: Isoruku Yamamoto
– Within 2 Hours Japan sunk 18 ships, nearly
3000 Americans were killed, and approx. 1000
were wounded.
– Attack on Pearl Harbor officially brings the
United States into the war on the side of the
Allies.
Allied War Strategy
• On December 22, 1941, just after Pearl
Harbor, Winston Churchill and President
Roosevelt met at the White House to
develop a joint war policy. Stalin had
asked his allies to relieve German
pressure on his armies in the east. To do
this he wanted the US and Britain to open
a second front in the west. Eventually the
allied powers would all agree and their
war strategy would be put into action.
Allied Strategy
• The North African Campaign
– Angered Stalin
– In late 1942 The British Army drove the Germans out
of Egypt and back to the west.
– American troops landed behind the Germans.
• Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower
– Together the American and British troops defeated
Rommel and his troops
• forced Germany to leave Africa in May 1943
– Marked the beginning of Allied victories.
• As Rommel suffered defeats in North
Africa, German armies also met their
match in the Soviet Union. The German
advance had stalled in late 1941. And
the bitter winter made the situation worse.
When the summer arrived, Hitler sent
troops in to seize the oil fields in the
Caucasus Mountains and also capture
Stalingrad.
The Battle Of Stalingrad
• German troops invaded the Soviet
city of Stalingrad in 1942.
– Bombing raids set much of the city
ablaze and ruined much of the city.
– By early November 1942 Germans
controlled more than 90% of
Stalingrad.
• Soviets Launch Counterattack
– Fall turns to winter
– Trapped Germans inside city and cut
of supplies.
– Germans forced to surrender
• Losing nearly 250,000 troops
The Invasion of Italy
• The Allies Invade Italy
– July 10th 1943 Allied Forces landed on Sicily.
• After a bloody but short battle the Allied Forces
captured Sicily.
– Mussolini is forced from power.
• Fighting will continue in Italy until the
wars end in 1945.
The Allied Home Fronts
• Wherever Allied Forces fought, people on
the home fronts rallied to support them.
In war-torn countries like the Soviet Union
and Great Britain, civilians endured
extreme hardships. Except for a few of
its territories, such as Hawaii, the US did
not suffer invasion or bombing.
Nonetheless, Americans at home made a
crucial contribution to the Allied war effort.
The Allied Home Front
• Mobilizing for War
– Fighting the war requires complete use of all
national resources (total war)
– 17 to 18 million U.S. workers make weapons
• Many of these workers are women!
– People at home face shortages of consumer
goods
• American government rationed scare items.
– Propaganda aims to inspire civilians to aid
war effort
The D-Day Invasion
• While the Allies were dealing with issues
on the home front, they also were
preparing to push toward victory in
Europe. In 1943, the Allies began
secretly building an invasion force in
Great Britain. Their plan was to attack on
German held France across the English
Channel.
Victory in Europe
• The D-Day Invasion
– Allies plan invasion of France; use deception
to confuse Germans
– D-Day: June 6, 1944; day of “Operation
Overlord” invasion of France
– By September Allied forces capture
Normandy and liberate France, Belgium, and
Luxemburg.
To Germany we go
• As Allied forces moved toward Germany
form the west, the Soviet army was
advancing toward Germany from the
East. Hitler now faced a war on two
fronts. In a desperate gamble, he
decided to counterattack in the west.
Battle of the Bulge
• U.S., British forces advance on Germany
from west, Soviets from east
• Battle of the Bulge
– Hitler calls for a counterattack
– December 16, 1944
– German tanks broke through weak American
Defenses.
• However Allies eventually pushed Germans back.
• Germans forced to retreat
– No reinforcements were available.
• After the Battle of the Bulge, the war in
Europe rapidly drew to a close. By late
April 1945, Soviet troops surrounded
Berlin (Hitler’s Headquarters)
What do you think Hitler did?
On April 30th, 1945, Hitler knowing that
the end was near, kills his wife (of 1 day)
and then commits suicide.
One week later, the Germans
surrendered, this ending the War in
Europe.
President Roosevelt had not lived to see
this victory, however. He had died in
early April and Harry Truman had taken
over the Presidency. After nearly six
years of fighting, the war in Europe had
ended.