1. 17.2 The War for Europe and North Africa

2. The United States and Britain Join Forces  Their first major decision was to make the defeat of Germany the Allies’ top priority  Adolf Hitler, the number one enemy of the United States  Joseph Stalin was desperate for help against invading German forces  Only after Germany was defeated could the United States look to Britain and the Soviet Union for help in defeating Japan

3. The Battle of the Atlantic  Seven months into 1942, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic  Convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater and by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface

4. The Battle of Stalingrad  Germans pressed in on Stalingrad, conquering it house by house in brutal hand-to-hand combat  November, the Soviets launched a massive counterattack  February 2, 1943, some 91,000 frost-bitten, lice- ridden, half-starved German troops surrendered  In defending Stalingrad, the Soviets lost a total of 1,250,000 soldiers and civilians  More than all the American casualties during the entire war

5. The North African Front  Operation Torch  An invasion of Axis- controlled North Africa  Dwight D. Eisenhower-American Commander  Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox”

6. The Italian Campaign  In July, 1943, King Victor Emmanuel III stripped Benito Mussolini of his power  Hitler responded by seizing control of Italy, reinstalling Mussolini as its leader  On April 28, 1945, Italian rebels found Mussolini disguised as a German soldier trying to escape the country  He was executed

7. D-Day  June 6, 1944  Three divisions parachuted down behind German lines during the night  British, American, and Canadian troops fought their way ashore at five points along the 60-mile stretch of beach  By September 1944, the Allies had freed France, Belgium, Luxembourg and much of the Netherlands

9. The Battle of the Bulge – The Turning Point  December 16, 1944, eight German tank divisions broke through weak American defenses along an 80-mile front  When it was over, the Germans had been pushed back and little seemed to have changed  Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes in the Battle of the Bulge

10. Battle of the Bulge Map

11. Liberation of the Death Camps  July 1944  SS guards worked to destroy all evidence of their atrocities.

12. Unconditional Surrender  By April 25, 1945, the Soviet army had stormed Berlin  April 29, Hitler married Eva Braun  The next day Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison  The two bodies were soaked with gasoline and burned  On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day)