1. Victory in Europe The Decision to Invade Normandy

2. What did you decide? Germany or Japan first?

3. What did you decide? Germany or Japan first? “…if Britain wins decisively against Germany we could win everywhere; but that if she loses the problem confronting us would be very great;… we might no win anywhere…”

4. What makes a strategy successful? Unit Goals: You will be able to Articulate the overall Allied strategy for 1944–1945, and to assess how successful it was Understand the importance of the Normandy invasion to the overall strategy Assess the effectiveness of the strategic bombing campaign against German cities Identify on a map locations that were important to the war in northern Europe Identify and explain the significance of the most important military engagements

5. Why, after Pearl Harbor, did Anglo-American strategy focus on defeating Germany rather than Japan? What was the Anglo-American plan for Europe in 1942–1943? Why did the British and Americans decide to invade North Africa in 1942?

6. How did the Allied invasion of France contribute to the victory over Germany? What contribution did strategic bombing make toward the defeat of Germany?

8. Create a press release answering these questions Why did Anglo-American military planners reject the Mediterranean as the primary route for an invasion of Europe? What role would air power play in the anticipated invasion? Why was April 1, 1944, chosen as the target date for the invasion? What did military planners believe was the best location for an invasion of France, and why? How would the planned invasion affect the war in the Pacific? What was to be the overall objective of Operation Overlord? What was to be the task of the Supreme Allied Commander? How was the Soviet Union expected to assist the anticipated invasion?