1. WWII
European Theatre
Mr. Wells – Winkler MS

2. Review: Non Aggression Pact

3. Review: Germany Invades Poland

4. Review: “Phony War”

5. German Troops Disembarking
Norway – April 9, 1940

6. Rescue at Dunkirk

7. The Fall of France

8. The Battle of Britain Summer-Fall 1940 Britain vs. Germany
German blitzkrieg- lightning war
Churchill vows to never surrender
Radar becomes important
Significance: Hitler calls off invasion

9. Hitler Invades Soviet Union

10. The Battles of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean off the British coast
Germans sank 87 US supply ships
Tonnage War: British required more than a million tons of food & material per week to survive.
Significance: British use sonar to defeat Germans

11. The Atlantic Charter (Aug. 1941)

12. Pearl Harbor

13. U.S. Enters WWII

14. The European Theatre
European theatre was the name given to fighting that took place in Europe
FDR & Churchill agreed that their top priority was to defeat the Nazis in Europe first
Great Britain stood alone against Axis in 1942
Hitler was everywhere!

15. European Theatre of Operations

16. Battle of Stalingrad Aug. 1942-1943 Bloodiest standoff of the war
Over 1 million casualties
Allies decided to let Russia fight on their own
Soviets defeat Nazis – Turning point of the war!
THIS DECISION WILL COST THE U.S. FUTURE RELATIONS WITH THE SOVIETS

17. Battle of Stalingrad: Winter of 1942-1943
German Army
Russian Army
1,011,500 men
1,000,500 men
10,290 artillery guns
13,541 artillery guns
675 tanks
894 tanks
1,216 planes
1,115 planes

18. Operation Torch: North Africa (1942)
FDR & Churchill meet in Morocco (North Africa)
Decide to invade through Sicily then into Italy
General Dwight D. Eisenhower – Supreme Allied Commander
Germans retreated into Tunisia… surrender over 275,000
Allies push into Italy
Mussolini forced to resign August 1943
Italy surrenders June 4, 1944
April 1945 – Mussolini is executed in Milan, Italy

19. The Battle for Sicily: June, 1943 General George S. Patton

20. The Allies Liberate Rome: June 5, 1944

21. Mussolini & His Mistress, Claretta Petacci Are Hung in Milan, 1945

22. D-Day: Operation Neptune/Overlord
June 6, 1944
Normandy, France
Britain/U.S. vs. Germany
Largest amphibious invasion of all-time
- 130,000 troops
- 195,700 naval personnel
- 5 Sections: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword
Significance: Liberation of France from German occupation

23. D-Day: Operation Neptune/Overlord

24. D-Day: Operation Neptune/Overlord
Higgins Landing Crafts
German Prisoners

25. The Liberation of Paris: August 25, 1944
De Gaulle in Triumph!

26. U. S. Troops in Paris, 1944

27. The Battle of the Bulge December 1944 French-German border
Officially named Battle of Ardennes by U.S. Army
“Bulge” was initial incursion of Germans into Allies’ line of advance
Germans could not sustain attack and began to retreat
19,000 Americans dead – 41,493 wounded – 23,554 captured or missing
Significance – Death Camps liberated & Nazis defeated

28. VE Day May 7-8, 1945 Germany officially surrendered
Hitler committed suicide in April before he could be captured
Now, the Allies have to figure out how to defeat Japan

29. Hitler Commits Suicide April 30, 1945
Cyanide & Pistols
The Führer’s Bunker
Mr. & Mrs. Hitler

30. Hitler’s “Secret Weapons”: Too Little, Too Late!
V-1 Rocket: “Buzz Bomb”
V-2 Rocket
Werner von Braun

31. The World
We Live in Today
Was Formed
by the Events
of World War II & its
immediate aftermath!