1. Modern US History Chapter 26, Section #3 “War in Europe and North Africa”

2. Churchill and Roosevelt Make War Plans
Immediately after Pearl Harbor British prime minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin Roosevelt spend a few weeks at the White House
They agree that Germany and Italy posed a greater overall threat to their interests than did Japan
Once the war in Europe was being won, then more resources could be poured into the fight against Japan

3. Hitler’s Atlantic War Plans
After Pearl Harbor Hitler prepared his new war plans
Hitler ordered his submarines to conduct raids on ships along America’s east coast
He hoped to prevent the US from supplying food and war materials to Great Britain and the Soviet Union
In the 7 months immediately after Pearl Harbor, Germany had sunk 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic

4. Battle of the Atlantic
The Allies responded to the German submarine threat by organizing their cargo ships into convoys
Convoys of merchant ships were protected by destroyers equipped with sonar to detect the German submarines
By 1943 the US was producing 140 ships a month and was able to overwhelm the German naval forces
By the spring of 1943 the sea war was effectively over and the German submarine fleet was nearly wiped out

5. After the Battle of Britain
With a victory over Britain denied him Hitler weighs his options
What if he had stopped there?
Instead, he invades the following:
North Africa
The Balkans (Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary were persuaded to join the Axis Powers to avoid invasion, while Yugoslavia and Greece did not and were attacked)
Soviet Union

6. Axis Forces Attack North Africa
Mussolini and Italy at first neutral
Mussolini declares war on France and Britain after German victory
September 1940— Mussolini attacks British in North Africa moving from their colony of Libya to Egypt

7. Italian L3/33 in North Africa

8. British Fight in North Africa
Britain Strikes Back
December 1940—British attack and drive Italians back
Erwin Rommel, German general, battles British in North Africa
In 1942, Rommel first retreats then succeeds against British at Tobruk, Libya
Germans begin push back into Egypt in June 1942

9. German General Erwin Rommel (“The Desert Fox”) with the 15th Panzer Division between Tobruk and Sidi Omar, Libya, January or November 24, 1941.

10. British General Bernard L. Montgomery watches his tanks move up
British General Bernard L. Montgomery watches his tanks move up." North Africa, November 1942.

11. The North African Campaign
Rommel takes Tobruk, June 1942; pushes toward Egypt
British General Montgomery attacks at El Alamein, Egypt forces Rommel back
American forces land in Morocco, November 1942
General Dwight D. Eisenhower—American commander in Morocco
In May 1943, Rommel’s forces defeated by Allies

12. War in the Balkans
Meanwhile, Germany had continued to take over in Eastern Europe
Hitler planned to invade the Soviet Union, but moved to take the Balkan countries first
Hitler then invaded Yugoslavia and Greece in April 1941; both fell quickly
All of this took place prior to Germany’s fighting in North Africa, and prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union

13. Germany Invades Soviet Union
Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
Germany invaded an unprepared Soviet Union in June 1941
Hitler decided to split his forces into three groups
Germans stopped at Leningrad, forced to undertake long siege
Germans almost capture Moscow, but forced to pull back
A third army pushed into the southern region rich in oil

14. Operation Barbarossa: German Invasion of USSR
3 Prong Attack

15. Russian soldiers prepare to attack German lines outside Leningrad.

16. A column of Red Army POWs captured near Minsk is marched west.

17. A group of Soviet POWs, taken to undefined Prison Camp

18. Russian Advantages
Though they are poorly equipped, the Soviet Union has the largest army in the world
scorched earth strategy – as Germans move into Russia, Soviet troops burn land as they retreat (taking advantage of the vast land)
As German invasion drags on and are bogged down outside of Leningrad and Moscow, it turns to winter

19. The Battle for Stalingrad
German army moves to capture Soviet oil fields (southern prong of Operation Barbarossa)
Battle of Stalingrad—Soviets, Germans battle for control of the city
German troops capture city in late summer of 1942

20. The Battle for Stalingrad
Marked by constant close quarters combat and disregard for military and civilian casualties, it is among the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare
The Soviet Union lost over a million lives in the battle, more than the U.S. loses in the entire war (in Europe and the Pacific)

21. The Battle for Stalingrad
Soviet counter-attack finally surrounds the German 6th army in Stalingrad and cuts them off
Hitler refuses to allow them to surrender
German troops surrender in February 1943 after a long battle
It was a turning point in the European theatre of World War II
the German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to reinforce their losses

22. Second Front in Europe
Churchill wanted Britain and the U.S. to strike first at North Africa and southern Europe
The strategy angered Stalin, who wanted the Allies to open the second front in France
The Soviet Union, therefore, had to hold out on its own against the Germans
All Britain and the U.S. could offer in the way of help was supplies
Nevertheless, late in 1942, the Allies began to turn the tide of war both in the Mediterranean and on the Eastern Front

24. The Invasion of Italy
After victory in North Africa, Stalin again called for a second front against Germany in France
Instead, U.S. and British forces land on and capture Sicily in 1943
Mussolini loses power and Italy surrenders
The Germans still keep control of northern Italy
The fighting against the Germans there goes on until the war ends

25. Victory in Europe
While the Allies were dealing with issues on the home front, they also were preparing to push toward victory in Europe
In 1943, the Allies began secretly building an invasion force in Great Britain
Their plan was to launch an attack on German held France across the English Channel (an invasion known as D-Day)

26. The D-Day Invasion
Allies plan invasion of France; use deception to confuse Germans
D-Day—June 6, 1944; day of “Operation Overlord” invasion of France
Thousands of planes, ships, tanks, and landing craft and 3 million troops took part
5 beaches stormed by British, Canadian, and American forces
Allied forces capture Normandy beaches despite heavy casualties

27. Europe at time of the D-Day invasion

28. D-Day invasion to cross English Channel to Normandy, France