Transcript Invasion of Western Europe

Invasion of Western Europe
Allied Air War
• Preparing for an Eventual invasion of Europe
• 1943 on
• Carpet Bombing: scattering large numbers of
bombs over large areas
Operation Overlord
• Code name: Planned invasion of Western
Europe by Allies
• Prep began 1943
• Gen. Eisenhower: Supreme Commander of
Allied forces in Europe chosen to plan
• Massive Military build up in Southern England
• U.S., British, French, Canadians, Belgians,
Polish, Dutch
German Response
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Strengthen Defenses along French Coastline
Machine Gun- Pill Boxes
Barbed wire
Land and water mines
Hedgehogs
Germans know it’s coming but when and
Where?
• Allies leaked false reports to keep Germans
guessing.
D-Day
• Code name given for the Invasion
• June 6, 1944
• Shortly after midnight- 4600 Invasion craft
and warships left England across the English
Channel
• 1000 RAF bombers pounded German
defenses
• 23,000 American and British Airborne
parachuted behind enemy lines
Dawn- June 6, 1944-D-Day
• Invasion of Western Europe Begins
• Normandy-Northern France
• 150,000 Allied Soldiers began coming ashore
a 60 mile stretch of French Coast
• Largest landing in Naval History
Beaches
• Omaha and Utah- U.S. 1st Army, British
• Gold, Sword, and Juno- British, Canadians
• Omaha- Fiercest- 2000 Casualties
German Response
• Hitler hesitated- expected a second attack by
Patton at Calais
• Defended fiercely
• Could not stop the onslaught
• Within 1 week- 500,000 Allied soldiers in
France
• By late July 2 million.
Liberating France
• Using his own blitzkrieg Patton burst out of
Normandy August 1944
• Led 3rd Army across N. France
• Aug. 25, 1944- Paris liberated from the Nazi’s
• Charles de Gaulle back in charge of France
• Belgium liberated a few days later
• Allied force attacking Germans in the
Netherlands working their way into Western
Germany.
Battle of the Bulge
• With Germany threatened from all sides
• Hitler orders a counter attack into the Allied
lines
• The offensive created a bulge pushing the
allies back.
Battle of Bulge cont
• Many America soldiers were cut off and running low
on supplies. (Bastogne)
• Fought valiantly until Patton and Bradley’s tank corps
arrived.
• German advance was stopped.
• Casualties B of B
• U.S. 80,000 German 100,000
• Drive into Germany was now restarted.
• After defeat at B of B most Nazi’s new the war was
lost.
War in Europe Ends
• Continued Allied Airstrikes on Germany
• U.S. moving toward Berlin from the West
• Soviets moving towards Berlin from the East
Soviets Capture Berlin
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April 1945 – Soviet forces advance on Berlin
Hitler enlisting men as young as 15 to fight
Soviets wanted Berlin- matter of honor.
Death toll during war for the Soviets 18 million
Germany Surrenders
• April 30, 1945 with Soviet Forces closing in
• Hitler marries his long time companion Eva
Braun then they both commit suicide in his
underground bunker in Berlin
• MAY 8, 1945- Remaining German forces
surrender
• VE DAY- Victory in Europe
FDR’s Death
• President Roosevelt did not get to witness the
Surrender
• Died April 12, 1945
• Still prior to his death he new the war would
not be finished until the war in the Pacific was
won.
Yalta Conference
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FEBRUARY 1945
Big 3- Had met in Yalta, Soviet Union
Plan the final defeat of Germany
Reshape postwar Europe
Germany would be split into 4 zones controlled by U.S., British, French,
Soviets
Berlin likewise
Stalin also promised to help with the war in the Pacific and have free
elections in Eastern Europe
Stalin did not fulfill either pledge- Leading to postwar COLD WAR tensions
FDR and Churchill criticized for letting Stalin rule Eastern Europe