THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR II

Allied forces, led by the United States and Great Britain, battle Axis powers for control of Europe and North Africa.

Learning Objectives:Section 2 - The War for

Europe and North Africa

• 1. Summarize the Allies’ plan for winning the war.

• 2. Identify events in the war in Europe.

• 3. Describe the liberation of Europe.

The United States and Britain Join Forces

War Plans• Churchill convinces FDR to strike first against Hitler

The War for Europe and North Africa

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The Battle of the Atlantic• Hitler orders submarine attacks against supply

ships to Britain- wolf packs destroy hundreds of ships in 1942

• Allies organize convoys of cargo ships with escort:- destroyers with sonar; planes with radar

• Construction of Liberty ships (cargo carriers) speeds up

SECTION 2: THE WAR FOR EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA

• Days after Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived at the White House and spent three weeks working out war plans with FDR

• They decided to focus on defeating Hitler first and then turn their attention to Japan

THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

• After America’s entry into the war, Hitler was determined to prevent foods and war supplies from reaching Britain and the USSR from America’s east coast

• He ordered submarine raids on U.S. ships on the Atlantic

• During the first four months of 1942 Germany sank 87 U.S. ships

The power of the German submarines was great, and in two months' time almost two million tons of Allied ships were resting on the ocean floor. Efforts were soon made to restrict German subs' activities.

ALLIES CONTROL

U-BOATS

• In the first seven months of 1942, German U-boats sank 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic

• Something had to be done or the war at sea would be lost

• First, Allies used convoys of ships & airplanes to transport supplies

• Destroyers used sonar to track U-boats

• Airplanes were used to track the U-boats ocean surfaces

• With this improved tracking, Allies inflicted huge losses on German U-boats

U-426 sinks after attack from the air, January 1944. Almost two-thirds of all U-boat sailors died during the Battle of the Atlantic.

The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean

The Battle of Stalingrad• Hitler wants to capture Caucasus oil fields and

destroy Stalingrad• Soviets defeat Germans in bitter winter campaign

- Over 230,000 Germans, 1,100,000 Soviets die• Battle a turning point: Soviet army begins to move

towards Germany

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The North African Front• General Dwight D. Eisenhower commands

invasion of North Africa• Afrika Korps, led by General Erwin Rommel,

surrenders May 1943

Continued . . .

THE EASTERN FRONT & MEDITERRANEAN

• Hitler wanted to wipe out Stalingrad – a major industrial center

• In the summer of 1942, the Germans took the offensive in the southern Soviet Union

• By the winter of 1943, the Allies began to see victories on land as well as sea

• The first great turning point was the Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad was a huge Allied victory

BATTLE OF STALINGRAD

• For weeks the Germans pressed in on Stalingrad

• Then winter set in and the Germans were wearing summer uniforms

• The Germans surrendered in January of 1943

• The Soviets lost more than 1 million men in the battle (more than twice the number of deaths the U.S. suffered in all the war)

Wounded in the Battle of Stalingrad

THE NORTH AFRICAN FRONT

• “Operation Torch” – an invasion of Axis -controlled North Africa --was launched by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1942

• Allied troops landed in Casablanca, Oran and the Algiers in Algeria

• They sped eastward chasing the Afrika Korps led by German General Edwin Rommel

American tanks roll in the deserts of Africa and defeat

German and Axis forces

Allied troops landed in Casa-blanca, Oran and the Algiers

CASABLANCA MEETING

• FDR and Churchill met in Casablanca and decided their next moves

• 1) Plan amphibious invasions of France and Italy

• 2) Only unconditional surrender would be acceptedFDR and Churchill in

Casablanca

GUIDED READING:The War for Europe and North AfricaFeb-

1943End of Battle of

StalingradPrevented Germany from ta1dng over

the Soviet Union; marked the point from which the Soviet Army began to move west ward toward Germany

May-1943

End of Operation Torch

Placed the Allies in control of North Africa; gave the Allies a place to launch an attack against Italy

Mid-1943

Victory in Battle of the Atlantic

Safeguarded Allied shipping of war materials to Europe

continued The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean

The Italian Campaign• Allies decide will accept only unconditional

surrender from Axis• Summer 1943, capture Sicily; Mussolini forced

to resign• 1944 Allies win “Bloody Anzio”; Germans

continue strong resistance

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Heroes in Combat• African Americans —Tuskegee Airmen,

Buffaloes—highly decorated• Mexican-American soldiers win many awards• Japanese-American unit most decorated unit in

U.S. history

ITALIAN CAMPAIGN – ANOTHER ALLIED VICTORY• The Italian Campaign got

off to a good start as the Allies easily took Sicily

• At that point King Emmanuel III stripped Mussolini of his power and had him arrested

• However, Hitler’s forces continued to resist the Allies in Italy

• Heated battles ensued and it wasn’t until 1945 that Italy was secured by the Allies

TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

• Among the brave men who fought in Italy were pilots of the all-black 99th squadron – the Tuskegee Airmen

• The pilots made numerous effective strikes against Germany and won two distinguished Unit Citations

On May 31, 1943, the 99th Squadron, the first group of African-American pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute, arrived in North Africa

The Allies Liberate Europe

D-Day• Allies set up phantom army, send fake radio

messages to fool Germans• Eisenhower directs Allied invasion of Normandy on

D-Day June 6, 1944

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Continued . . .

The Allies Gain Ground• General Omar Bradley bombs to create gap in

enemy defense line• General George Patton leads Third Army, reach

Paris in August• FDR reelected for 4th term with running mate Harry

S. Truman

ALLIES LIBERATE EUROPE

• Even as the Allies were battling for Italy, they began plans on a dramatic invasion of France

• It was known as “Operation Overlord” and the commander was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Also called “D-Day,” the operation involved 3 million U.S. & British troops and was set for June 6, 1944

Allies sent fake coded messages indicating they would attack here

D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944

• D-Day was the largest land-sea-air operation in military history

• Despite air support, German retaliation was brutal – especially at Omaha Beach

• Within a month, the Allies had landed 1 million troops, 567,000 tons of supplies and 170,000 vehicles

D-Day was an amphibious landing – soldiers going from sea to land

OMAHA BEACH 6/6/44

Landing at Normandy

Planes drop paratroopers behind enemy lines at Normandy, France

Losses were extremely heavy on D-Day

FRANCE FREED• By September 1944,

the Allies had freed France, Belgium and Luxembourg

• That good news – and the American’s people’s desire not to “change horses in midstream” – helped elect FDR to an unprecedented 4th term

General George Patton (right) was instrumental in Allies

freeing France

VS.

GUIDED READING:The War for Europe and North Africa

June-1944

D-Day D-Day: Allied invasion of Europe; the liberation of Europe begins

July-1944

Liberation of Majdanek

Majdanek: First death camp liberated by Allied forces

Aug-1944

Liberation of France

France: Freed the country from four years of Nazi occupation

Oct-1944

Capture of Aachen

Aachen: First German town captured by the Americans

The Battle of the Bulge• October 1944, Allies capture first German town,

Aachen• December German tank divisions drive 60 miles

into Allied area• Battle of the Bulge—Germans push back but

have irreplaceable losses

continued The Allies Liberate Europe

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Liberation of the Death Camps• Allies in Germany, Soviets in Poland liberate

concentration camps- find starving prisoners, corpses, evidence of killing

Continued . . .

BATTLE OF THE BULGE

• In October 1944, Americans captured their first German town (Aachen)– the Allies were closing in

• Hitler responded with one last ditch massive offensive

• Hitler hoped breaking through the Allied line would break up Allied supply lines

BATTLE OF THE BULGE

• The battle raged for a month – the Germans had been pushed back

• Little seemed to have changed, but in fact the Germans had sustained heavy losses

• Germany lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and 1,600 planes

• From that point on the Nazis could do little but retreatThe Battle of the Bulge was

Germany’s last gasp

LIBERATION OF DEATH CAMPS• While the British and

Americans moved westward into Germany, the Soviets moved eastward into German-controlled Poland

• The Soviets discovered many death camps that the Germans had set up within Poland

• The Americans also liberated Nazi death camps within Germany

Unconditional Surrender• April 1945, Soviet army storms Berlin; Hitler

commits suicide• Eisenhower accepts unconditional surrender of

German Reich • May 8, 1945, V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day

continued The Allies Liberate Europe

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Roosevelt’s Death• FDR dies April 12; Vice President Harry S.

Truman becomes president

ALLIES TAKE BERLIN; HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE

• By April 25, 1945, the Soviet army had stormed Berlin

• In his underground headquarters in Berlin, Hitler prepared for the end

• On April 29, he married his longtime girlfriend Eva Braun then wrote a last note in which he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it

• The next day he gave poison to his wife and shot himself

V-E DAY

• General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich

• On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day – victory in Europe Day

• The war in Europe was finally over

Famous picture of an American serviceman celebrating the end of the war

FDR DIES; TRUMAN PRESIDENT

• President Roosevelt did not live to see V-E Day• On April 12, 1945, he suffered a stroke and died– his VP Harry S Truman became the nation’s 33rd president

GUIDED READING:The War for Europe and North Africa

Jan-1945

End of Battle of the Bulge

Bulge: From this point on, Germany could do little but retreat.

Spring 1945

End of Italian campaign

Italian: Resulted in freedom for Italy and the execution of Mussolini

May 1945

V-E Day V-E Day: The unconditional surrender of Germany; the end of war in Europe