Transcript The War In Europe Part 1

The War In Europe: Part 1
Mr. White
US History 2
Main Idea and Objectives


Main Idea: The United States and Great
Britain invaded Europe through France, and
pressed toward the final defeat of Nazi
Germany.
After this section, we should be able to:
–
–
Explain the events related to the Allied invasion
on D-Day
Explain the allied failure at Market Garden
Invasion of France



To defeat Germany and
win the war, the Allies
would have to invade
Europe
Allies planned to invade
and liberate France,
then push on Germany
Invasion was gradually
pushed back to June of
1944
The Atlantic Wall
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
Hitler had been preparing for
the coming Allied invasion
Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” had
been built – a system of
concrete bunkers, gun
emplacements, machine
gun nests, etc., to pin the
invasion forces on the
beaches
Allies decided to avoid the
strongest point and attack at
Normandy, where it was
weakest
Three Phases of D-Day

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
Phase One – Paratroopers and glider
infantry would be dropped behind beaches to
secure bridges
Phase Two – Bombers would bomb
Germans and the beaches
Phase Three – Allied troops would land on
the beaches and take them, creating a
beachhead
Phase One: Airborne Landings

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Paratroopers and glider
infantry would drop
behind enemy lines and
seize bridges
Troops would defend
the bridges to keep
German tanks from
crossing them
Would drop at night to
avoid detection
Phase Two: Bombings from the Air

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American planes would
drop bombs on
Germans and the
beaches
Destroy German
fortifications and troops
Bombs on the beach
would create large
craters for soldiers to
take cover in
Phase Three: Beach Landings


Allied troops would
come from ships and
land on five different
beaches (two
American, three British)
Troops would take the
beaches, then move
inland to relieve the
paratroopers holding
the bridges
Results of D-Day
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Phase One – Airborne troops had landed
disorganized and scattered, but managed to
hold bridges
Phase Two – Planes had largely missed their
targets; no craters on the beaches, Germans
largely unhurt
Phase Three – Allied beach landings
successful, but did not move as far inland as
plans had called for
Breaking Out
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After D-Day, Allies were bogged down in
hedgerows – thick banks of hedges that kept
them from moving forward, and made it easy
for Germans to ambush
Gradually, Allies broke out of hedgerows and
pushed on to the borders of Germany
British commanders had a daring plan to end
the war by the end of 1944
Operation Market Garden

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British wanted to make
largest drop ever of
airborne troops
Wanted to seize a
series of bridges, hold
the bridges, and have
tanks race across them
into Germany
Plan had to go perfectly
to work
Market Garden Results


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Many British troops, at the farthest bridge at
Arnhem, were captured by German tank
units
Casualties were high, and few objectives
were accomplished
Widely regarded as a failure, although not a
total one
End of 1944
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At the beginning of 1944, many American
troops and commanders thought the war
would be over by Christmas
Failure at Market Garden would make the
Americans and British realize that the war
was going to be much longer
Germans were going to fight to the end
Main Idea and Objectives


Main Idea: The United States and Great
Britain invaded Europe through France, and
pressed toward the final defeat of Nazi
Germany.
After this section, we should be able to:
–
–
Explain the events related to the Allied invasion
on D-Day
Explain the allied failure at Market Garden