Transcript 4-Fighting-World-War-II-in

■Essential Question:
–Should the United States
have gone to war in Europe
against Germany & Italy
during World War II?
From 1939 to 1942, the Axis Powers
dominated Europe, North Africa, & Asia
Germany used blitzkrieg tactics to
dominate Eastern & Western Europe
England was wounded
Hitler broke the
from German attacks in Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression
the Battle of Britain
Pact & marched into Russia
The German & Italian armies dominated
Northern Africa, threatened the Suez
Canal & the oil fields in the Middle East
The Japanese dominated Asia, crippled
the U.S. navy after the Pearl Harbor attack,
& seized most Western colonies in the Pacific
However, U.S. entrance into the war in 1941 helped
the Allies turn the tide and defeat the Axis by 1945
FDR & Churchill agreed that defeating Hitler was
the top priority, but American troops would be
deployed to fight Japan at the same time
To win in Europe, the
U.S. had to secure the
trans-Atlantic supply lines
against German submarines
The Allies won the Battle of the
Atlantic by breaking Germany’s
coded communications, using
sonar & convoy system
American & British
troops invaded Italy,
took Sicily in 1943,
seized Rome in 1944
The Allies defeated Germany Instead, Britain & USA agreed
When
the
USA
entered
In
1945,
Mussolini
was
at
the Battle
of
El Alamein
to fight the Axis Powers in
WWII,
Stalin
wanted
the
captured
& executed
by
North
Africa
inAllies
1942to&open
thenapushed
the
Western
the Italian
resistance
Operation
Torch
Axis
Powers
out
of
Africa
(Stalin was angry )
Front & divide German army
Meanwhile,
the Soviet
army
The
defeated
The Soviet victory
at Stalingrad
wasSoviets
a turning
point
stopped
German
attack
the German
army at
in Worldthe
War
II because
theatRussians
began pushing
Moscow
& Leningrad
in 1942
theEast
Battle
Stalingrad
towards
Germany
from the
by of
1943
By 1944, the Allies
decided to open a
Western Front by invading
Nazi-occupied France
Operation Overlord
(called D-Day) June 6,
1944 was the largest land
& sea attack in history
The Normandy invasion
was deadly, but the
Allied victory created
a Western Front…
D-DAY June
th
6
https://youtu.be/mT3q8tba_lw
■
D-DAY-(OPERATION OVERLORD)
– 5 BEACHES
• ALLIED BEACHES: BRITISH,
CANADIAN & FRENCH = GOLD, SWORD
& JUNO
• U.S. BEACHES = OMAHA & UTAH
– “BLOODY OMAHA”:
• 2,000 AMERICANS KILLED
• 5,000 CASUALTIES
– 8,000-9,000 ALLIED DEATHS IN
ONE DAY
1944
American Cemetery
Normandy, France
After D-Day the
Allies could now push
towards Germany from the
West
At the same time, the Soviet
army pushed from the East
Forced to fight a two-front war,
Hitler ordered his last massive By March 1945, the
Allies were fighting in
counter-attack at the
Germany & pushing
Battle of the Bulge...but lost
towards Berlin
In February 1945, the
Stalin agreed to send troops
“Big Three” met at the to help the U.S. invade Japan
Yalta Conference to
Big Three agreed to allow selfcreate a plan for Europe determination (free elections) in
nations freed from Nazi rule
after the war was over
Big Three agreed
to occupy
Germany after the
war
Big Three agreed
to create & join a
United Nations.
U.S. joins to help
achieve world
peace, unlike
League of Nations
As the Allies pushed into Germany & Poland, troops discovered &
liberated concentration & death camps, after WWII
Nazi leaders would be tried during Nuremberg trials
Heroes of WWII
PATTON (U.S. “OLD BLOOD & GUTS”) vs ROMMEL
(GERMANY “THE DESERT FOX”)
THE EUROPEAN THEATER
– AUDIE MURPHY:
• SECOND MOST DECORATED SOLDIER OF WWII (26
MEDALS)
• KILLED 50 GERMANS IN ONE BATTLE
• EARNED CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR
• STARRED IN TO HELL AND BACK (HIS OWN LIFE STORY)
– MINORITY HEROES
• TUSKEGEE AIRMEN “RED TAILS”, AFRICAN-AMERICAN 99TH &
332nd PURSUIT SQUADRONS
• BUFFALO SOLDIERS: AFRICAN-AMERICAN INFANTRY
• BLACK PANTHERS: AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARMORED DIVISION (761st
BATTALION)
• PURPLE HEART BATTALION: 442ND, JAPANESE-AMERICAN
INFANTRY, MOST DECORATED UNIT IN HISTORY
• NAVAJO CODE TALKERS:
NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE PACIFIC
TUSKEGEE AIRMEN
THE “RED TAILS”
BLACK PANTHERS (761st)
JAPANESE-AMERICANS
442nd & 100TH BATTALION
“THE PURPLE HEART BATTALION”
■
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14,000 MEN SERVED
18,143 AWARDS
9,486 PURPLE HEARTS
4,000 BRONZE STARS
560 SILVER STARS
21 MEDALS OF HONOR
8 PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATIONS
NAVAJO CODE TALKERS
April 12, 1945, FDR dies
In April the Soviet army captured
Berlin
On April 30, 1945,
Hitler committed suicide
On May 9, 1945, the
German government
signed an unconditional
surrender to the Allies
The world celebrated
V-E Day (Victory in Europe)
May 8, 1945
EUROPEAN DEATH TOTALS