1. European Theater

2. Striking Back at the Third Reich
Launching an invasion from sea is very risky as a beach offers no cover, no place to hide, and no way to retreat. The Allies had no choice; if they were going to win the war they would have to land troops in Europe and on islands in the Pacific.
At the Casablanca Conference it was decided to increase bombings on Germany to destroy the military, industry, economy and morale, and attack the Axis on Sicily (the soft underbelly)– believing the Italians would quit if the Allies invaded their homeland
Strategic Bombing
both the British Royal Air Force and the US Army Air Force had been dropping tons of bombs on Germany since each entered the war
the massive new joint campaign that began in January 1943 dropped approximately 53,000 tons of explosives on Germany every month until the end of the war
the bombing campaign caused a severe shortage of oil, wrecked the railroad system, and destroyed so many aircraft factories that Germany’s air force could not get replacements for combat losses
by the time the Allies landed in France they had total control of the air , ensuring that troops would not be bombed

4. Striking at Italy
General Dwight D Eisenhower was placed in overall command of the Allied invasion of Sicily, with General Patton and British General Bernard Montgomery in charge of the actual ground forces
the invasion began at dawn on 10 July 1943 with the Allies making it ashore with few casualties and a new vehicle, DUKW, and amphibious truck proved effectively
eight days after landing, General Patton smashed through enemy lines and captured the western half of Sicily
Patton’s troops headed east while Montgomery attacked from the south and the Germans evacuated the island on 18 August
The attack on Sicily created a crisis in the Italian government, the soldiers did not want to fight anymore, and King Victor Emmanuel and his generals decided to get rid of Mussolini, the most hated man in Italy
Mussolini was arrested and the new Italian government began secretly negotiating with the Allies for Italy’s surrender
September the Italian government publicly announced Italy’s surrender and American troops landed in Salerno
Rome was captured by the Allies within two weeks but fighting continued in northern Italy until May 1945, costing the Allies more than casualties
Mussolini was caught by the Italian resistance retreating with the Germans in April 1945, shot, and hung in the Milan town square

6. Roosevelt Meets Stalin at Tehran
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in Tehran, Iran late in Several agreements were reached :
Stalin promised to launch a full-scale offensive against Germany when the Allies invaded France
Roosevelt and Stalin agreed to divide Germany after the war so it would never again threaten world peace
Stalin promised to help the US defeat Japan after Germany was beaten
Stalin accepted Roosevelt’s proposal for an international organization to help keep peace after the war

8. Planning Operation Overlord
Hitler had fortified the French coast, but the Allies had the element of surprise on their side, being able to choose when and where to land. The target was Normandy and by Spring 1944, 1.5 million American soldiers, 12,000 airplanes and more than 5 million tons of equipment were assembled in England
the weather conditions needed to be perfect to ensure success
moonlit night before the assault so paratroopers could see to land behind enemy lines
night time invasion to hide the ships crossing the English Channel
low tide arrival so they could see beach obstacles
low tide at dawn so gunners could see their targets
good, clear weather that couldn’t ground airplanes or swamp landing craft with high waves
the first opportunity would be 5-7 June 1944 with the opening day designated with a D (every operation began on D day – the D doesn’t stand for anything except “day”). Bad weather – clouds, winds and waves – made it impossible to land on 5 June, the weather was forecasted to briefly clear on 6 June so Eisenhower approved the launch
the American landing at Utah beach went well as the German defenses were weak, and in less than three hours with less than 200 casualties the beach was secured and they were moving inland
British and Canadian landings also went well and at the end of D-day they were several miles inland
Americans came under intense fire at Omaha beach. As General Omar Bradley made plans to evacuate the American landing forces which were disintegrating under heavy German fire, the American troops began to knock out German defenses
the landing at Normandy succeeded in establishing an Allied army in France

11. The Third Reich Collapses
Before the end of the war, the Allied leaders were aware of Nazi atrocities and had declared they would punish the Nazis for their crimes. Roosevelt was convinced the best way to end the concentration camps was to destroy the Nazi regime by breaking out of Normandy, liberating France and conquering Germany.
Hedgerows, dirt walls covered in shrubbery built to fence in cattle and crops, enabled the Germans to fiercely defend their positions in the Normandy countryside. The battle of the hedgerows ended on 25 July 1944 when bombers blew a hole in German lines that American tanks raced through. As the Allies broke out of Normandy the French Resistance, civilians who resisted German occupation, staged a rebellion in Paris which was liberated on 25 August. Within three weeks American forces were within 20 miles of Germany.

12. The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler decided to stage one last offensive move with the goal of cutting off Allied supplies from the port at Antwerp. 16 December 1944 the Germans caught the Americans by surprise
As the Germans raced west, the Allied line bulged outward
Germans pushed to capture the town of Bastogne where several roads converged
American reinforcements raced to the town which the Germans then surrounded
The Germans demanded the Americans surrender
Eisenhower ordered Patton to rescue the Americans in Bastogne and 3 days later he slammed into the German lines while Allied aircraft targeted German fuel depots.
The US won the Battle of the Bulge, Germans began withdrawing having suffered more than 100,000 casualties, and lost many tanks and aircrafts

14. VE Day: The War Ends in Europe
While the US and GREAT BRITAIN were invading Normandy, the USSR began a massive attack on German troops in Russia. By the Battle of the Bulge, the Soviets had driven the Germans out of Russia and Poland.
As the Soviets crossed the eastern border, the Americans attacked the western border of Germany
The Americans reached the Rhine river, Germany’s last line of defense in early March
When the Americans captured the heights above the town of Remagen they discovered the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine was still intact – the Germans had not destroyed it – and the American raced across the bridge, pushing back the defenders and crossing the Rhine
On April 16 the Soviets crossed the Oder River and within five days were in the outskirts of Berlin
On 30 April 1945 Adolf Hitler chose Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz to be his successor then married his long-time girlfriend, killed her and the their dog by poison, then shot himself
Hitler’s secretary Martin Bormann carried his body outside, doused it in gasoline and set it on fire
Doenitz tried to surrender to the British and American forces while continuing to fight the Soviets, but Eisenhower insisted on unconditional surrender
On 7 May 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally and the next day was proclaimed V-E Day for Victory in Europe