1. Ch. 17, Section 2: The War for Europe and North Africa

2. The United States and Britain Join Forces
December 1941: Churchill arrives at White House to spend three weeks composing war plans with Roosevelt
They both believed that Italy and Germany were much bigger threats than Japan
Believing this, Churchill convinced Roosevelt to strike against Hitler first
Their meeting resulted in a strong bond between the U.S. and Britain

3. The Battle of The Atlantic
Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along the east coast of the U.S.
The aim of the Germans in this battle was to prevent aid, food and war materials from reach Great Britain and the Soviet Union
If this line was cut off, Britain would suffer greatly and be forced to surrender
For a time, Hitler’s plan seemed as though it would work
American ships that did not have any way to protect themselves were easy targets for him

4. The Battle of The Atlantic
Within the first four months of 1942, Germans sank 87 ships.
By seven months in, German wolf packs had destroyed well over 681 Allied Ships
War at sea was at risk of being lost
The Allies response was organizing convoys
In 1943, 140 Liberty Ships were being produced every month
The Battle of the Atlantic had turned over to the Allies favor by mid 1943

5. The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean
Germans had been fighting in the Soviet Union since June 1941
November 1941: It had become extremely cold and the Germans were stopped right outside Moscow and Leningrad
The following summer, Germans took the offense in the southern Soviet Union
August 1942: Germans approached Stalingrad
The Luftwaffe attacked nightly throughout the city
Germans had the advantage for a while, but eventually the Soviets were able to close in on the Germans
It was a standstill for a while but eventually the Germans surrendered

6. The North African Front
At the same time as the battle raged in Stalingrad, Stalin was urging the U.S. and Britain to open a second front in Europe
Both Churchill and Roosevelt didn’t think that Allies had nearly enough troops
By November 1942, 107,000 Allied Troops landed in Casablanca, Oran and Algiers in North Africa
The fighting went on for a little while but eventually the Afrika Corps surrendered in 1943

7. The Italian Campaign
Roosevelt, Churchill and commanders met in Casablanca
The leaders agreed only to accept an unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers
This meant whatever the Allies wanted the Axis Powers would have to accept
Roosevelt and Churchill disagreed on where to attack first
Roosevelt wanted to attack Italy, Churchill wanted to attack Germany
The Italian government forced Mussolini to resign and the king called him the most hated man in Italy
Hitler was determined to defeat Allies in Italy, rather than Germany

8. Heroes In Combat
The all black 99th Pursuit Squadron were some of the bravest heroes in battle
They were called the Tuskegee Airmen
Most Mexican Americans served in segregated units as well
Seventeen Mexican Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor
Japanese Americans served in Italy and North Africa as well

9. The Allies Liberate Europe
The task of Operation Overlord fell on to the shoulders of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Allies gathered a force of nearly 3 million British, American and Canadian troops
Allies set up a huge phantom army to keep their plans secret
The invasion was originally set for June 5, but bad weather kept it from happening
Eisenhower settled on June 6th instead

10. The Allies Liberate Europe
The invasion was originally set for June 5, but bad weather kept it from happening
Eisenhower settled on June 6th instead
On early June 6th, shortly after midnight, three divisions of troops parachuted onto German lines
German retaliation was brutal, despite the massive air and sea bombardment

11. The Allies Gain Ground
After seven days of fighting, the Allies held an 80 mile strip of France
Within a month, they landed a million troops, 567,000 tons of supplies and 170,000 vehicles in France
Omar Bradley unleashed massive air and land bombardment
This provided a gap in the German line of defense through which General George Patton and his troops were able to advance
Two days later, French resistance forces and American troops liberated the French capital from 4 years of German occupation
By September of 1944, Allies had freed France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

12. The Battle of The Bulge/Liberation of Death Camps
October 1944: Americans captured the first German town
Hitler ordered his troops to break through Allied lines and to recapture Belgian port
December 16: German tank divisions broke through weak American defenses
Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory creating a bulge
Battle went on for a month. When it was done, the Germans had been pushed back and lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks 1600 planes
Allied troops pushed on eastward and Soviets pushed towards Poland