George Marshall

 Appointed the Army Chief of Staff as WWII began  Planned and equipped the United States Army to ready for war  Coordinated the war effort from Washington D.C.: Churchill called him the architect of victory.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

video  Supreme Commander of the Allied invasion force during the invasion of Nazi-occupied France.  Planned the attack on the five beaches at Normandy that would become D-Day and begin the liberation of Europe.  Later elected President of the United States in 1952

Omar Bradley

 Commander in North Africa and Italy during World War II  Commanded 12 th Army group of American forces landing at Omaha beach in Normandy, France  Known as “the Soldier's General”

George Patton Video Patton Film Clip

George Patton  Colorful and brilliant tank commander and general who led the American 3 rd Army.  Also known as “Old Blood and Guts”  Spearheaded the final attack into Germany, freeing vast territory from the Nazis.

D-Day

Video – 40 minutes  June 6, 1944  Also known as Operation Overlord  Allies crossed the English channel and invaded German-held France at beaches of Normandy.  The largest amphibious assault in human history and the turning point in European liberation.

Battle of the Bulge

 This was a push to the west by the Germans that created a bulge in the lines in December  This was the last Nazi offensive in the war  Allies began to drive toward Berlin from east (Soviets) and west (USA and Britain)

Liberation of Concentration Camps

Liberation of Concentration Camp Video Band of Brothers  The Germans used concentrations camps for forced labor to build war material  Filled these camps with Jews and other unacceptable peoples of society  Later many of these camps became death camps  Americans liberated these camps as they overtook the German positions

Holocaust

 Nazi Germany’s systematic slaughter of European Jews  The Jews were first used as forced labor.  Approximately 6 million Jews were killed in extermination camps

Genocide

 The deliberate annihilation of an entire people or nationality.

American Heroes

Vernon Baker

video  Vernon Baker, a black U.S. soldier who belatedly received the Medal of Honor for his World War II battlefield valor after historians concluded he'd been wrongly denied the military's top award because of his race

Audie Murphy

 During a battle in Germany, at the age of 19, Murphy became the nation's most-decorated soldier, earning an unparalleled 28 medals including the Medal of Honor  Became a famous Hollywood actor  From Hunt County, Texas

Tuskegee Airmen

Video  The first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces  Part of the 332nd Fighter Group  Was the only operational unit of African American pilots  Nicknamed "Red Tails“  One of the most successful combat units in the war

Yalta Conference

 February 1945  Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin met to discuss post- war Europe.  Agreed to divide Germany into four zones of occupation.  Stalin wanted Germans to pay reparations, but other Allies disagreed.  A “Declaration of Liberated Europe” was signed, but disagreements would lead to Cold War.

The New European Map Site

The New European Map  World War II Interactive Map World War II Interactive Map