An Allied Victory!

The New Allied Powers After Pearl Harbor, Churchill & FDR met to discuss a plan of action. Stalin wanted them to open a front in France. This would force Germany to fight a 2 Front war.

Allies Strike Back While Churchill & FDR agreed with Stalin, they wanted to strike in Northern Africa first. This left the USSR alone fighting off the Germans. Britain and the U.S. sent supplies to the USSR in order to help out.

Allies Strike Back In 1942, Britain sent an army led by General Bernard Montgomery. The army was able to push Rommel’s Afrika Korps back. On November 8th, 1942 the U.S. launched Operation Torch by sending over 100,000 troops led by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Caught between the US & Britain, the Afrika Korps was crushed by May of 1943

Invasion of Italy As the German soldiers spend yet another winter in the USSR, Stalin continues to urge the British and the Americans to invade France. FDR & Churchill decide to invade Italy instead. They start with Sicily on July 10th, 1943.

Invasion of Italy The invasion of Italy toppled Mussolini’s rule. By September 3rd, the Germans stepped in but the Allies fought back! Fighting in Italy continued until Germany fell in May of 1945.

D-Day Finally in May of 1944, the Allies were ready to invade France. Thousands of planes, ships, tanks and over 3 million troops waited for the call to invade at Normandy. This huge force was led by Dwight D. Esienhower

D-Day Operation Overlord was launched on June 6th, 1944. Our strategy: We had a fake army set up in the French seaport of Calais. Operation Overlord was launched on June 6th, 1944. It is known as the largest land & sea attack in history!

Moving Toward Victory By September, the Allies had liberated France, Belgium, & Luxembourg! Now it was time to focus on Germany.

Moving Toward Victory As Britain & U.S. marched toward Germany from the west, the USSR was advancing on the east. Germany is now fighting a 2-Front war. Hitler wanted to break up the Allied forces by attacking in the west.

Battle of the Bulge December 16th German tanks broke through weak American lines near the Ardennes. Even though they were caught off guard, the Allies were able to push the Germans back.

V-E Day By April 25th, 1945 Berlin was surrounded by the Allies. Hitler was hiding out in his underground headquarters. On April 30th, He and his newlywed wife committed suicide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHirhpr9ArE May 9th was celebrated as Victory in Europe Day

Still Fighting in the Pacific By the Fall of 1944, the Allies were island-hopping closer and closer to Japan. After months of heavy losses, Marines invaded Iwo Jima in March of 1945 & within a month the U.S. forces invaded Okinawa.

The Next Step The next logical step would be to invade Japan. Truman was advised that an invasion could cost the Allies half a million lives. Instead Truman decides to drop the A-Bomb to end the war quickly.

Atomic Bomb On August 6th, 1945 the A-Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It was tested in New Mexico On August 6th, 1945 the A-Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. 3 days later it was dropped on Nagasaki. Japan finally surrendered on Sept. 2nd