Transcript 10 WWII - LPS.org

What’s Italy Thinking?
Italy enters the war: June 1940
Mussolini had the immediate war aim of expanding the Italian
colonies in North Africa by taking land from the British and
French colonies.
Of Italy's declaration of war, Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
President of the United States of America, said: "On this tenth
day of June 1940, the hand that held the dagger has struck it
into the back of its neighbor."
Italian campaign
Following the Allied victory in North Africa an Allied invasion of
Sicily began on July 10, 1943 with both amphibious and airborne
landings. The Germans were unable to prevent the Allied capture
of the island, but succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to
the mainland, the last leaving on August 17, 1943.
The Allied invasion of Italy started when British forces landed in
the 'toe' of Italy on September 3, 1943. The Italian government
surrendered on 8 September, but the German forces prepared to
defend without their assistance. On 9 September American forces
landed at Salerno. While the rough terrain prevented fast
movement and proved ideal for defense, the Allies continued to
push the Germans northwards through the rest of the year.
The German prepared defensive line called the Winter
Line. The line was eventually broken by frontal assault in
the Spring of 1944, and Rome was captured in June.
Following the fall of Rome and the landings in Normandy
and Soviet advances on the Eastern Front the Italian
campaign became of secondary importance to both sides.
Operation Overlord (Normandy Invasion)
The invasion was the largest seaborne invasion at the time,
involving over 156,000 troops crossing the English Channel from
the United Kingdom to Normandy.
The "D-Day" invasion began with overnight parachute attacks,
massive air attacks, naval bombardments, an early morning
amphibious landing and during the evening the remaining
elements of the parachute divisions landed.
The Normandy landings were costly in terms of men, but the
defeat inflicted on the Germans was one of the largest of the war.
Strategically, the campaign led to the loss of the German position
in most of France and the secure establishment of a new major
front.
Normandy landings helped the Soviets on the Eastern front, who
were facing the bulk of the German forces.
Battle of the Bulge
The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945)
was a major German offensive on the Western Front.
Germany’s planned goal was to split the British and American
Allied line in half, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace
treaty.
The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest of the battles that U.S.
forces experienced in World War II; the 19,000 American dead
were greatest of all battles.
The German losses in the battle were critical : the last of the
German reserves were now gone; the German Air Force had been
broken; and the German Army in the West was being pushed
back. On the Eastern Front the German Army was unable to halt
the Soviets.
Malmedy massacre: troops ordered to line up and shot
Victory in Europe Day
May 7 and May 8, 1945
April 30, Hitler committed suicide during the Battle for Berlin, and
so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement,
President of Germany Karl Dönitz
Tinian
Best known for being the base from which the American atomic
bomb attacks on Japan during