Transcript World War II

WORLD WAR II
Turning Back the
Germans
TURNING BACK THE GERMAN ARMY
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In 1942 Allied forces began to win victories in
Europe as well.
Stalin (Soviet Union) urged FDR to open a 2nd
front in Europe.
Stalin appreciated the Lend-Lease supplies from
the US, but the Soviets were still doing most of
the fighting – if British & US troops opened a 2nd
front by attacking Germany from the west, it
would take pressure off the Soviet Union.
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Churchill did not believe the US & GB were ready to
launch a full-scale invasion of Europe & instead
wanted to attack the periphery of the German empire,
FDR agreed and in July 1942 ordered the invasion of
Morocco & Algeria – 2 French territories under
German control
THE STRUGGLE FOR NORTH AFRICA
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FDR decided to invade Morocco &
Algeria for 2 reasons:
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1 – to give the army some
experience without requiring a lot
of troops
2 – Once US troops were in North
Africa, they would be able to help
British troops fighting Germans in
Egypt - Egypt was important
because of the Suez Canal
The German forces in the area
were known as the “Afrika Korps”
ERWIN ROMMEL'S (DESERT FOX) AFRIKA CORPS
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November 1942 US invasion of North Africa began
under command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower –
the US forces in Morocco were led by General George
Patton
BATTLE OF KASSERINE PASS
The US headed east & the British headed west –
planning to trap the Germans between them.
 When the US troops advanced into Tunisia, they
had to fight the German army for the 1st time at
the Battle of Kasserine Pass – they did not do
well – they were outmaneuvered & outfought –
they suffered roughly 7,000 casualties & lost 200
tanks.
 Eisenhower fired the general who led the attack
& put Patton in command
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Together, the US & British forces finally pushed the
Germans back – On May 13, 1943, the last German
forces in North Africa surrendered
 Thousands of German prisoners of war arrived in
Alabama.
 The 1st and largest POW camp to house them was built
in Aliceville, Alabama in Pickens County.
 It accepted its 1st prisoners on June 2, 1943, and at its
peak was home to some 6,000 German prisoners.
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CAMP ALICEVILLE
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Aliceville - WWII
German POW
camp - capacity
15,000
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German prisoners prepare to march from the
Aliceville train depot to the POW
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A row of barracks at Camp Aliceville.
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Other Major
POW camps were
established at
Opelika,
Anniston, and
Camp Rucker.
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A total of 2,772 prisoners were interned at
Camp Opelika by June 1, 1945.
•The castle above was built by German prisoners about
1944.
THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
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As US & British troops fought the German army in
North Africa, the war against German submarines in
the Atlantic Ocean continued to intensify
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After Germany declared war on the US, German
submarines entered US coastal waters & found US
cargo ships easy targets – especially at night when
the glow from the cities in the night sky silhouetted
the vessels
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To protect the ships, cities on the East Coast
dimmed their lights every evening – people put up
special “blackout curtains” and drove with their
headlights off.
BLACKOUT CURTAINS
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The loss of so many ships convinced the US Navy to
set up convoy systems – cargo ships traveled in groups
and were escorted by navy warships making it harder
for a submarine to torpedo a cargo ship & escape
without being attacked
CONVOYS
The spring of 1942 marked the high point of the
German submarine campaign – in May & June alone
over 1.2 million tons of shipping were sunk – yet in
those same 2 months US & British shipyards built
over 1.1 million tons of new shipping.
 From July onward US shipyards produced more ships
than German submarines managed to sink
 At the same time US airplanes & warships began to
use new technology: radar, sonar & depth charges to
locate & attack submarines which began to take its toll
& the Battle of the Atlantic slowly turned in favor of
the Allies
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BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
In the spring of 1942 Hitler was ready to launch
a new offensive to knock the Soviets out of the
war – he was convinced the only way to defeat
the Soviet Union was to destroy its economy.
 In May he ordered his army to capture strategic
oil fields, industries, & farmlands in Southern
Russia & Ukraine – the key was to attack the
city of Stalingrad because it controlled the Volga
River & was a major RR junction – if the
Germans captured it, the Russians would be cut
off from the resources needed to stay in the war
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When the
German
troops entered
Stalingrad in
midSeptember,
Stalin ordered
his troops to
hold the city
at all cost –
Retreat was
forbidden!
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The Germans were forced to fight from house to house,
loosing thousands of soldiers in the process
On November 23, Soviet reinforcements arrived &
surrounded Stalingrad, trapping almost 250,000
German troops
 When the battle ended in February 1943 - 91,000
Germans had surrendered – although only 5,000 of
them survived the Soviet prison camps to return home
after the war
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The Battle of Stalingrad was a major turning point in
the war – it put the Germans on the defensive
25-3 BOOK QUESTIONS
 Pg
747 – Picturing History Question
 Pg 747 – 6
 Pg 754 – Analyzing Political Cartoons
Question