Transcript 18. The End of War in Europe

The Defeat of the Axis
• Mid-1943—Allies stopped the Axis powers in
Europe and the Pacific
• Early 1944—Allied bombers attacked German
industrial centersdestroying production and
transportation
• Feb. 1945—Dresden fire-bombed by Allies
– 135,000 Germans dead and city destroyed
D-Day
• On June 6, 1944, the U.S. and Allied forces
launched “Operation Overlord” on the
beaches of Normandy, France
• More than 11,000 planes, 4,400, ships, and
over 1 million allied troops gained a toehold in
France
Eisenhower’s D-Day Message
• Answer the following questions :
– What do you think the first Eisenhower letter
really was?
– What does the second letter tell us about the
outlook of the invasion of Normandy?
Ernie Pyle, The Toughest
Beachhead in the World, 1944
• Read the story by Ernie Pyle
• Use the graphic organizer to record details
about the invasion of Normandy.
• When finished reading, write a main idea
sentence about the invasion of Normandy.
• Turn in your note card and graphic organizer
and staple them together.
• December 1944—Battle of the Bulge—
Germany’s last offensive=FAILURE!!
• January 1945—Soviets reached outskirts of
Berlin
• February 1945—FDR, Churchill, and Stalin met
at Yaltaagreed to dismantle Germany and
force them to pay reparations; SU pledge to
declare war against Japan after the defeat of
Germany
• April 12, 1945—FDR dies; replaced by Harry
Truman
• April 1945—Americans reached outskirts of
Berlin
• April 30, 1945—Hitler committed suicide
• May 7, 1945—Germany surrendered
• May 8, 1945—Victory in Europe Day (official
acceptance of German surrender)