Transcript The End of the War in Europe

The End of the War in
Europe
North Africa
• Struggle for control of the Suez Canal and
access to oil from the Middle East and raw
materials from Asia
• At the battle of El Alamein (Egypt) in Oct.
1942, the Germans fell short on fuel and
ammunition forcing Rommel to retreat to
Tunisia
• George Patton leads troops from the West in
Morocco as Montgomery leads troops from the
East
D-Day (Operation Overlord)
• By mid-1944 early mobilization of manpower
and resources in America was beginning to pay
off
• By the beginning of June 1944, the United
States and Great Britain had accumulated the
largest number of men and the greatest amount
of materiel ever assembled to launch and sustain
an amphibious attack (3.5 million men)
D-Day
• Three months before D-Day, a strategic air
campaign was launched to cripple
bridges/railways/airfields near Normandy, France
• The Allies also put into effect a deception plan to
lead the Germans to believe that landings would
take place farther north of the beaches at Normandy
The Attack
• Despite unfavorable weather forecasts, General
Eisenhower made the decision to attack on June 6, 1944.
• After an intensive air and naval bombardment, assault
waves of troops began landing at 0630. More than 5,000
ships and 4,000 ship-to-shore craft were employed in the
landings
• U.S. forces in the center (Omaha Beach) met determined
opposition.
Result
• Beachheads secured by June 11th (10,000 Allied
Troops Killed)-----6,000 Americans (est.)
• French and American troops rolled into Paris on
August 25, 1944
Battle of the Bulge
(The Ardennes Offensive)
• Hitler had convinced himself that the alliance between
Britain, France and America was not strong and that a
major attack and defeat would break up the alliance
• Hitler’s plan was to launch a massive attack using three
armies on the Allies
• Goal: To take the huge port of Antwerp through which a
great deal of supplies was reaching the Allies.
The Plan
• Hitler believed that his forces would be able to
surround and cut off America’s 1st and 9th Armies
and Britain’s Second Army.
• The battle started with a two hour bombardment of
the Allies lines that was followed by a huge armored
attack (Dec. 16th, 1944)
The Last Battle
• Despite punching a bulge into the Allies front line, the
Germans could not capitalize on this, and the success
lasted 2 days
• By December 22nd, the Allies brought their air power
into force
• By mid-January 1945, the effect of lack of fuel was
becoming evident as the Germans had to simply abandon
their vehicles
Wartime
Agreements
• Unlike WWI, there was no Peace of Paris to
reshape Europe.
• Instead, the Yalta agreement of February 1945,
signed by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, turned the
prevailing military balance of power into a political
settlement. (Divide Germany into zones of
occupation, free elections in Europe)
• Potsdam Conference, in suburban Berlin (July
1945)—Truman, Stalin, Churchill – Finalized plans on
Germany / Truman mentions bomb to Stalin
Outcome
• The one huge problem for the Germans – their inability
to keep their armored vehicles supplied with fuel
• Allied bombing of fuel plants in Germany meant that
such supplies did not exist
• Hitler's plan that a successful attack would split the Allies
was also based on false hope.
• Germany surrenders May 8, 1945 (V-E Day)