Transcript D-Day: June 6, 1944 The Longest Day

WWII The War in Europe
Mr. Macomber
Mercedes High School
2006-2007
TEKS Objective
• *US6B -analyze major issues and
events of World War II such as the
invasion of Normandy
• US6C-explain the roles played by
significant military leaders during
World War II, including Omar Bradley,
Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur,
George Marshall, and George Patton
1942- Turning Point
• America
Agrees to
Germany
first policy
• 1942-43
the turning
point of
WWII in
Europe
and Pacific
El Alamein- North Africa Oct-Nov 1942
• British 8th Army
Commander Field
Marshal Bernard
Montgomery
defeats German
Africa Korps and
Italian Allies under
General Irwin
Rommel (the
Desert Fox) at El
Alamein, near Cairo
Egypt
Australian Troops
German Panzer Mk IV
Stalingrad 1942-1943
• From 1942-43 German
and Soviet Forces fought
for control of Stalingrad
on the Volga River
• Against Hitler’s orders the
entire German 6th Army
under Field Marshal
Friederich Von Paulus
surrendered to the
Russians
• Most important battle of
WWII
Operation Torch 8–16 November 1942
Kasserine Pass
• British pressure America to invade Africa first
instead of France
• America’s first battle with German forces ends in
disaster at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia
Casablanca Conference- Jan 1943
• “Unconditional
Surrender”
• “Soft Underbelly”Italy then southern
and Eastern Europe
• No D-Day in 1943
Roosevelt and Churchill
Sicily-Operation Husky
• Allied Forces invaded Sicily
• Generals Patton and Montgomery raced to
be the first to conquer the Island
Italian Campaign 1943-45
• Italy surrenders to the Allies unconditionally, but
Germany invades and continues war for 2 years on
Italian soil.
• Mussolini abdicates and is later executed by
partisans
Strategic Bombing- Air War
• During WWII the U.S.
and British RAF tried
two bomb targets in
Germany
• The U.S. bombed by
day and the British by
night.
• Initially only military
targets were bombed
but later in the war
“terror” bombing of
cities was used to
demoralize the enemy
Battle of the Atlantic
• In WWII the Germans
came close to stopping
the flow of supplies to
Great Britain with their
U-Boat “Wolf Packs”
• The allies eventually
countered this through
the use of convoys,
radar, sonar, aircraft,
and most especially
“Ultra” (the breaking of
German codes).
Promise of a Second Front
• Meeting in Tehran
Iran in 1943,
Churchill and FDR
promised Stalin that
the allies would
open up a second
front in Europe by
1944.
Eisenhower Shall Lead
• Roosevelt appointed
General Dwight D.
Eisenhower (IKE) to
be Supreme Allied
Commander in
Europe
• He would be in
charge of planning
the invasion
Americans in England
• “Over-paid,
oversexed, & over
here”- What the
British say about
the American Army
• For two years
American troops
were built up in
England for the
invasion
Practicing for D-Day
• American troops
practiced in England
for months
• Often using live
ammunition
American Infantry Weapons
GI KIT
• 1. Soap and Container
• 2. “Housewives” Sewing Kits
• 3. Shaving Creams, Brush,
Saftey Razor and Styptic Pencil
• 4. Toiletry Set, Private Purchase
• 5. Tooth Powder and Tooth
Brush
• 6. Interwoven Socks, Private
Purchase
• 7. Insect Replant, Liquid
• 8. Insect Replant, Powder “for
Body Crawling Insects”
• 9. Foot Powder
• 10. Foot Balm
• 11. Foot Balm, Private Purchase
• 12. Chapstick, Private Purchase
• 13. Aspirin, Private Purchase
• 14. Crystaline Sulfanilamide,
H.W. & D.
American Vehicles
Where They Are Going?
•
•
•
•
•
Juno
Sword
Gold
Utah
Omaha
Last Minute Pep Talk
• Eisenhower gave a
last minute pep talk
to some of the
troops.
• He had prepared
two speeches: one
or a successful
invasion and one in
case he failed
Fortress Europe
• Since the Battle of
Britain, Hitler had
been preparing for an
Allied invasion of
Western Europe
• Hitler ordered
thousands of miles of
Europe’s coastline to
be mined, fortified,
and under constant
watch by German
forces
Hitler’s Fortress Europe
Point Du Hoc, Normandy
Faking Out Hitler at Calais:
Operation Quicksilver
Patton
June 6,1944
• On a moonlight
night on June 6,
1944 Eisenhower
gave the order
• Thousands of Allied
ships carrying
150,000 troops
crossed the channel
• U.S. and British
Navy warships
provided support
A Beach Called Omaha
• U.S. invasion forces
met the most
resistance at a
beach code-named
Omaha
• U.S. General Omar
Bradley almost
called off this
attack, but by the
end of the day had
secured the beaches
and cliffs above
Casualties
• Thousands of
Americans died at
Omaha on the first
day of the invasion
• Those who were not
killed and could be
moved were
evacuated to
hospital ships
offshore or back to
England
Follow Up Troops
• After the initial
landings more and
more troops were
unloaded by ships
right onto the beach
Getting off the Beach
• Getting off the beach was easy for some of
the allied troops at Gold or the other
beaches, but was very difficult at OMAHA.
Mulberry’s
Artificial Harbors
Hedgerows
• The Geography of
Northern France
made advancing
difficult for U.S.
forces.
• “Hedgerows”
between fields
allowed German
forces to ambush
U.S. troops easily
German Troops in Normandy
Breaking Out From the Beaches
• Operation Cobra
• General George S.
Patton and the U.S.
Third Army broke
out of Normandy
• Very shortly after
the U.S. Army was
able to liberate Paris
Battle of the Bulge- Dec 1944
V-E DAY May 7-8, 1945
U.S. & Red Army link up at Elbe
RED Army in Berlin
Hitler’s Suicide