Transcript “Victory in Europe”.

Operation Mincemeat
Meet Major
William Martin of
the British Royal
Air Force
On April 30, 1943, the body of
Glyndwr Michael, disguised as Major
William Martin of the Royal Marines,
was dropped into the sea off Huelva
on the Spanish coast. In his briefcase
were letters, meticulously faked by
British intelligence officers to give the
impression that the Allies intended to
attack Greece, and not Sicily. Within
hours the body was spotted by a
young fisherman and brought to
shore. The briefcase was taken into
Spanish custody and Michael was
buried under his assumed name in
Huelva cemetery. Would the Spanish
pass the documents to the Germans?
And if they did, would the Germans
take the bait?
A British submarine planted Martin's body
off the coast of Spain, making it appear
that he had died in a plane crash. Although
the Spanish were a neutral party in the
war, they were sympathetic to the Nazis
and shared their discover with them. The
Spanish could not simply hand over the
body to the Germans, however, without
fear of provoking the British. To that end,
they carefully examined the body and
opened the briefcase. They opened the
sealed envelopes very carefully and
managed to get the "top secret"
documents out long enough to photograph
them before replacing them. They then
passed the photographs on to Berlin and
the body, including the suitcase, to the
British. Major Martin was buried with full
military honors and the documents were
carefully studied by German intelligence.
The Germans realized the probability of an
attempt at deception, but the British had done
such a good job at creating an identity for Major
Martin that they were convinced by the evidence
they saw. Hitler himself ordered extra Panzer
divisions to Greece while neglecting the defense
of the real target, Sicily. As with the attack on
Normandy later, this ruse made the invasion
much easier by insuring that the Nazis were not
prepared for it. If the Germans had known it
would come in Sicily or had not believed that it
would come in Greece, they would have been
more prepared when General Montgomery and
General Patton landed in Sicily.
The
diversion
worked.
The identity of Major Martin remains
a mystery. It remained classified for
over 50 years after the war. It was
not until the 1990s that the name
Glyndwr Michael was revealed to the
public. Apparently, Martin was really
a homeless man from Wales who had
committed suicide by eating some
rat poison. While some scholars have
doubts as to whether Michael was
really the corpse used in Operation
Mincemeat and we will likely never
know for sure, it is interesting to
think that a homeless Welsh man
helped win World War II for the
Allies!
June 6, 1944
“Operation Overlord”
Map of the English Channel showing routes for the
invasion.
American, British, and Canadian troops executed the D-Day landing. These
countries landing on specific Normandy beaches. They nicknamed the
beaches in order to protect the specific landing sites from the Germans.
These beaches are still often referred to as their wartime codename.
Normandy is located in France and was the
location of the D-Day invasion. France had
been under German control for 4 long years.
http://bcove.me/6iqnku3r
The Germans were very aware that the Allies were coming. They prepared the
80 miles of shoreline with obstacles that would make landing difficult. There
were over 4 million land mines, hedgehogs, Belgian Gates, barbed wire, etc.
The Germans also build huge trenches and ditches that would
were flood planes. These would keep the Allies from accessing
the German front easily.
German Preparations
• The commander of the Germans was Erwin
Rommel also known as “Desert Fox” –
remember his role in Africa
• The Germans thought the Allies would
attack at high tide Why?
Atlantic Wall
• The Germans thought
the Allies would attack
on the Atlantic Wall which
was a HUGE defensive
line built by the Germans.
The Atlantic Wall faced
the country of Great Britain.
The Germans built bunkers on the side of mountain side.
They watched day and night for the Allies to cross the English Channel with
their war ships and weapons.
Allied Preparation
video
* The codename for the D-Day
invasion was Operation
Overlord
* The landing took place on the
beaches of Normandy
* The Allies approached the
beaches at low tide before dawn
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n23_v145/ai_16073572/
Bad Luck for the Germans
• * The German leaders couldn’t decide the
best way to protect the beaches.
• * Rommel assumed the bad weather on June
6th would delay any attack…he went to
Berlin for his wife’s b’day!
• * The German leaders weren’t sure it was
the REAL invasion…they delayed their
defense.
* The Allies pulled out all the stops, attacking the Germans from the air, water,
and eventually ground.
The Allies loaded planes, blimps, boats, and huge warships with
supplies, ammunition, and weapons.
Paratroopers were a very important part of the D-Day invasion.
Some planes did not make it to their destination.
British shipyard with ships full of goods and supplies that will be transported to
Normandy.
Zeplins or blimps were also used to cross the English Channel.
These were launched from warships. The zeplins or blimps carried
supplies and goods to be dropped on the beaches.
Some soldiers got sea sick or collapsed from exhaustion from
swimming before making it to shore. Soldiers took huge risk in helping
them up on the beach. 4,000 US soliders died at Omaha Beach.
Wounded soldiers that were being tended to by
medics.
End Result
• Within a few weeks, the
Allies had landed a
million troops in France.
• From Normandy the
Allies pushed across
France. On August 25,
1944 the British and
American soldiers
marched through joyful
crowds and liberated
Paris.
Victory in Europe
• Germany fought for survival on two fronts.
– In the east the Soviets pushed the Germans out
of eastern Europe.
– In the west the British and Americans
approached the German border.
Battle of the Bulge
•
•
In mid-December the Germans mounted a last, desperate offensive against the
Allies.
On December 16, 1944, they launched a surprise attack along a 50 mile front
in Belgium.
Battle of the Bulge
* In the Battle
of the Bulge,
the Germans
at first drove
troops and
artillery deep
into a bulge in
the Allied lines.
Harsh weather conditions and extreme cold made fighting difficult.
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Battle of the Bulge
• After several weeks of fighting
the Allies were able to push the
Germans back.
• The battle, which resulted in
more than 100,000 casualties,
marked the end of serious
German resistance.
Final phase of war in Europe
• The final phase of the war in Europe now began
• By mid April 1945, the Soviets had surrounded
Berlin (German capital).
• Hitler who had spent the final months of the war in
an underground bunker there, realized that the
situation was hopeless and committed suicide on
April 30.
• Research says that Hitler’s cause of death was
suicide caused by gunshot and cyanide poisoning.
Final phase of the war in Europe
• After Hitler’s death
Germany signed and
unconditional surrender
on May 7, ending the
war in Europe.
• The Allies declared May
8 V-E Day for “Victory
in Europe”.
Death of a President
• President Roosevelt did not
share in the Allied victory
celebration.
• In February 1945, he had
traveled to Yalta in the Soviet
Union to meet Churchill and
Stalin.
• After returning home Roosevelt
had gone to Warm Springs,
Georgia, for a vacation.
• He died suddenly on April 12,
1945.
Harry S. Truman
• Vice President
Harry S. Truman
became the next
President of the
United States and
would lead
American to the
end of the war.