1. North Africa to Italy to France to Germany
War in Europe
North Africa to Italy to France to Germany

2. North Africa
Stalin wants an invasion of Western Europe to relieve pressure
England & USA invade North Africa instead
November 1942: 107,000 troops land in North Africa
Led by Dwight D. Eisenhower
May 1943: German’s surrender
General Erwin Rommel “The Desert Fox” goes to Europe
See him again on D-Day

3. Italian Campaign 1943: FDR & Churchill meet in Casablanca
FDR wants cross channel invasion of France and push through to Germany
Churchill wants to attack “Europe’s soft underbelly”: Italy
Allies invade & capture island of Sicily
July 1943: King of Italy strips Mussolini of his power
Italians rejoice that the war is over
Hitler disagrees & seizes control of Italy & reinstates Mussolini
18 more months of fighting to drive Germany out of Italy
Mussolini is captured April 1945 & executed & body hung upside down in Milan

5. D-Day – June 6, 1944
General Eisenhower organizes massive invasion of France
American & British Paratroopers land behind German lines to prevent reinforcements
156,000 troops, 4,000 landing craft, 600 warships, 11,000 planes
5 beach heads:
American: Omaha, Utah
English/Canadian: Gold, Sword, Juno
10,000 casualties
Allies hold onto beachhead and break out in July
Liberate Paris in July
September 1944: Germans driven out of France, Belgium, Luxembourg & Netherlands

10. Battle of the Bulge October 1944: Allies invade Germany
Hitler plans one final attack to stop invasion
Americans ignore intelligence reports of attack
December 1944: 300,000 German troops attack American lines
The dent in the line resembles a bulge or bubble
American units surrounded and hold on for a month
101st Airborne refuses surrender
Germany finally pushed back
Lost 120,000 men, 600 tanks and 1,600 planes
Nothing to do but retreat

12. Unconditional Surrender
April : Soviets storm Berlin
Deserting Germans are executed
Soviet soldiers rape & murder civilians
April : Hitler marries Eva Braun, write farewell blaming Jews for the war and generals for losing it & kills himself
Bodies are removed from bunker & burned
A week later Germany surrenders unconditionally to Eisenhower
May 8: VE Day