Transcript Pushing Back the Axis - CEC American History

Striking Germany and Italy
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The Allied invasion of North Africa showed
that large-scale invasion by sea was possible
Churchill and FDR met in Casablanca,
Morocco, to plan the next step in the war.
They agreed to increase the bombing of
Germany to destroy German industry,
military, economy, and morale.
Also, they would invade Italy by first taking
the island of Sicily.
Churchill called Italy the “soft underbelly” of
Europe.
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The British Royal Air Force dropped an
average of 2,300 tons of explosives per
month on Germany for three years.
From Jan. 1943 – May 1945, the U.S. and
Britain dropped ~53,000 tons of explosives
per month on Germany.
It severely hurt German aircraft factories,
caused an oil shortage, and wrecked the
railroad system.
The German economy and morale remained
intact.
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General Dwight Eisenhower commanded the
invasion, with Patton and Montgomery
heading the ground forces.
Began on July 10, 1943 before dawn
Despite poor weather, Allied forces made it to
shore with few casualties
New amphibious truck delivered supplies and
artillery to the soldiers on the beach.
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Eight days after troops came ashore,
American tanks smashed through enemy
lines, capturing the western half of Sicily.
Patton’s troops then headed east, while
Montgomery’s forces attack from the south
By August 18, 1943, the Germans had fled
from the island.
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The Allied attack on Sicily created a crisis in
the Italian government.
The king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, and a
group of Italian generals decided to depose
Mussolini.
They had Mussolini arrested at the King’s
palace
But German troops seized control of north
Italy, including Rome, and returned Mussolini
to power.
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Then the Germans took up positions in
Cassino, a town with steep, barren, and rocky
terrain.
The Allies landed in Anzio, behind German
lines, to avoid the terrain at Cassino.
But instead of retreating, the Germans
surrounded Allied troops near Anzio.
It took 5 months to break through German
lines at Anzio.
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Finally, in late May of 1944, the German
retreated from Cassino and Anzio.
About 2 weeks later, the Allies capture Rome.
The Italian campaign was one of the bloodiest
in World War II.
Fighting in Italy continued for another year.
There were more than 300,000 casualties for
the Allies.
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FDR wanted to meet with Stalin before the
Allied invaded France.
In late 1943, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin
all met in Tehran, Iran.
Stalin promised to launch a full-scale
offensive against the Germans when the Allies
invaded France.
FDR and Stalin agreed to divide Germany after
the war in 2 pieces.
This way, Germany would never again
threaten world peace.
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Stalin said that once Germany was defeated,
the Soviets would help the U.S. fight Japan.
Stalin also accepted FDR’s proposal of an
international peacekeeping organization after
the war.