In February of 1943, 90,000 German soldiers surrendered to the Russians in Stalingrad. From this point on, the Russians began pushing the Germans westward. During the battle of Stalingrad, Stalin tried to get Churchill and Roosevelt to invade France.

Allies Invaded Italy First On July 10, 1943, 180,000 Allied soldiers landed on Sicily and took it from Italian and German forces. This event drove Mussolini from power. On July 25th, King Victor Emanuel III fired Mussolini and had him arrested. On September 3rd, Italy surrendered to the Allies. But the Germans took back Northern Italy and put Mussolini back in charge there. The allies entered Rome On June of 1944. Fighting continued there until the end of the war in may of 1945.

On April 28th, 1945, while the Germans were retreating from Northern Italy, Mussolini was hiding in a truck disguised as a German soldier. Resistance fighters pulled Mussolini out, shot him, and hung him the next day in the town square in Milan.

Where should the Allies attack France? Secret Mission In 1943, the Allies had been secretly gathering a large force in Great Britain. The mission for this force would be to cross the English channel and attack the Germans at Normandy. They created a fake army however to trick the Germans into thinking that they were going to attack at Calais. Ask them, where do you think would be invaded? Where should the Allies attack France?

Deception

Operation Fortitude (South) Goal: Convince the Germans that an invasion would come from Calais. Calais was the logical point of attack because it is the closest to England. The logical attack point for invasion at Pas-de-Calais would have been the British city of Kent. From Kent to Pas-de-Calais would have been the shortest route across the English channel. Hitler wanted to believe that this was where the invasion would take place.

Patton’s “Ghost” Army Allies needed to make the Calais invasion seem realistic and that it was going to happen soon. They put highly respected U.S. General George Patton in charge of a completely fake army. 21st army group (real) – Montgomery 1st U.S. Army Group (FAKE) - Patton

The FAKE Army Dummy landing craft Inflatable tank From an aerial view from a spy plane or even from a distant ground view, FUSAG would appear as if it was a real army preparing for an invasion. When viewed right up close though, it was obvious that FUSAG was made up of inflatable tanks and making landing crafts. It was a truly brilliant and effective deception tactic.

What the Germans Saw From an aerial view from a spy plane or even from a distant ground view, FUSAG would appear as if it was a real army preparing for an invasion. When viewed right up close though, it was obvious that FUSAG was made up of inflatable tanks and making landing crafts. It was a truly brilliant and effective deception tactic.

The Day of the Invasion On June 6, 1944 British, American, French and Canadian troops invaded Normandy, France. In May of 1944, the force was ready to begin. The commander of the force was Dwight E. Eisenhower. On June 6th, 1944 the invasion codenamed Operation Overlord began. British, French, Canadian, and American troops fought their way onto a 60 mile stretch of beach in Normandy.

D-Day Invasion

The Atlantic Wall An extensive system of fortifications along the coast built by the German Army.

On the Beaches

The Allies were able to take the beachhead with heavy casualties. The Germans were forced to retreat as one million more troops landed on the beaches.

By August 1944, the Allies had taken back Paris. By September, they liberated France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and much of the Netherlands. Then they focused on Germany. While the Allies were pushing the Germans from the West, the Russians were pushing them from the East.

Hitler Wrote a final address to the German people which blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. Hitler realized his time had come to an end. On April 29th he married his longtime sweetheart Eva Braun.

April 30, 1945 Hitler and his wife committed suicide. On May 7th, Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Germans. President Roosevelt did not get to live to see this day as he died on April 12th. Harry S. Truman took over for him.

map

V-E Day The official surrender was signed on May 8th, 1945. This date is known as V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day).

Safari Montage – World War II  Chapter 9: World War II and the Road to Victory  Chapter 10: World War II in the Pacific 

The Manhattan Project US felt they had two options… Attack Japan and lose many lives Drop an Atomic Bomb and force Japanese surrender The Atomic Bomb had been developed by the top secret Manhattan Project. It was created by General Leslie Groves and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Prior to dropping the bomb, Truman told the Japanese to surrender. "Little Boy"

Japan refused to surrender.

On August 6th, 1945 Truman chose to drop an A-bomb on Hiroshima. 73,000 people died in the attack.

Enola Gay Paul Tibbets dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima. The Enola Gay is in the Udvar-Hazy Museum at Dulles Airport.

"If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air the likes of which has never been seen on this earth." Harry S. Truman August 7, 1945

The Japanese still did not surrender. Truman dropped another atomic bomb on August 9th on the city of Nagasaki. 37,500 died in this attack. "Fat Man"

V-J Day The Japanese surrendered to General Douglass MacArthur on September 2, 1945. This became known as V-J Day for Victory in Japan Day. With Japan’s surrender, the war was officially over.

Safari Montage – World War II Chapter 11: World War II and the Nuclear Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki 

What Next??? Complete #6 & 7 in your Battles and Events Chart Work with a partner to put the events of WWI and WWII in the correct order. Have Mrs. B check your work!

Many countries become industrialized. Work is done in factories Many countries become industrialized. Work is done in factories. Economies grow.  Countries need resources and markets for goods. They start building empires.  European countries begin competing for colonies. When they try to talk out problems, diplomacy fails.  Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo by Serbs that want land from Austria-Hungary. WWI begins. The US joins the Allies in WWI.  Lenin takes over Russia in a coup d’etat. Russia drops out of WWI and becomes the USSR.  Germany loses WWI. The Treaty of Versailles punishes Germany severely. Germans want revenge.  Economic depression hurts the world. Weak countries turn to fascist dictators to fix things.  Aggression begins. Italy takes Ethiopia. Japan takes Korea, Manchuria, and China. Germany takes over Austria and Czechoslovakia.  The world appeases aggressive dictators. The League of Nations does nothing. Pacifists don’t want war.  Hitler invades Poland. WWII begins. France is conquered by Germany.  Hitler can’t defeat Britain despite relentless bombing. Churchill won’t surrender. Surprise, Surprise. Hitler goes back on his promise to Stalin and invades the Soviet Union. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor hoping to wipe out the American Navy. They don’t. The United States declares war on Japan. Germany declares war on the United States.