Transcript World War II The Allied Offensive North Africa

World War II
The Allied Offensive
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North Africa (1942-1943)
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Summer 1942 – British forces pushed Germans back into Libya
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November 1942 – an American army landed in French North Africa
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Swept eastward through Morocco & Algeria led by General George S. Patton
Briefly stopped in Tunisia before Patton led impressive string of victories
May 1943 - Rommel abandoned North Africa
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Ended threat to the vital Suez Canal
300,000 German troops captured
Italy (1943-1944)
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July 1843 – 250,000 British & American troops landed on Sicily
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Sept. 1943 – Invasion of Italy began
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Popular uprising in Rome forced Mussolini from power
Italy then surrendered but Germany continued to pour in reinforcements
Fighting intensified over the next nine months
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Staging ground for invasion of southern Italy
Jan. 1944 – Battles of Montecasino & Anzio
June 1944 - Rome liberated
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April 1945 - Mussolini & mistress captured & executed by Italian partisans
Invasion of Normandy
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Air Campaign against Germany
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1943-1944: Allied forces made devastating air raids
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Designed to support Allied offensives in Russia & Italy
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Targeted German railroads, factories and weapon emplacements
Extensive material damage & civilian loss of life
Not successful in forcing German surrender
Operation Overlord
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Allies decided to open a Western front to force the Germans
to divert forces from the Italian & Russian fronts
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Largest amphibious assault in history
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June 6, 1944 – 6 Allied army divisions (3 U.S., 2 British, & 1
Canadian) landed on the beaches of Normandy
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4000 transports, 800 warships, 12,000 aircraft
100,000 troops reached shore over the first two days
Swelled to 500,000 within ten days
By July 1, one million Allied troops had landed at Normandy
Allied armies began to move across Northern France
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August 25, 1944 – Paris was liberated