1. World War II 14.2: The Early Battles (Appleby 494-499)
14.4 Pushing Back the Axis (Appleby )
*European War Focus

2. Today’s Agenda 14.2 slide show Homework
Presentations or Paper due THIS Friday!!!
Quality must be Excellent
Must be ontime

3. Normandy Beach, France June 6, 1944

4. What events led these Americans to end up in Normandy, France?

5. Who were the Allies/the Axis Powers?
United States
Great Britain
Soviet Union
And many others
Axis Powers
Germany
Italy
Japan
World Map with the participants in World War II. The Allies depicted in green (those in light green entered after the attack on Pearl Harbor), the Axis Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey.
“The Big Three

6. What was the Allied strategy for fighting WWII?
Second Front
Stalin wanted US to invade Europe
Help Russia fight Germans
FDR
agreed to defeat Germany 1st
Defensive war in Pacific
Unconditional surrender
No separate truces will be accepted
“Closing the Ring”
Allied plan to encircle Germany
Defeating Germany 1st priority
European theater gets “Lion Share” of troops and supplies
Defensive war in Pacific
Hold back Japan until Germany is defeated
Unconditional surrender
No peace deals or truces with Axis powers will be accepted
“Closing the Ring”
Plan to encircle Nazi Germany on all sides
Mr. Reilly

7. Barbarossa

8. Axis Powers by September of 1942.

9. Hitler’s Plan: Operation Barbarossa
Capture the wheat fields of Ukraine
Advance East across North Africa and South from Russia to capture the oil fields of the Middle East.
Wheat Fields
Oil Fields

10. Describe the importance of Stalingrad.
Operation Barbarossa began June 1941 (Summer)
Blitzkrieg extremely effective
Control of Volga Rv. = control of Russian resources
oil of Caspian & wheat of Ukraine
Stalingrad key to Volga Rv.
Battle of Stalingrad
Brutal street fighting
Germans unprepared for winter
Soviets stopped Germans
300 thousand captured
Turning point of the war

11. In spite of these loses, Hitler was firmly entrenched in western Europe.
Russian Advance
After Stalingrad
Allied Invasion of
Italy Summer ‘43
Allied Invasion of
N. Africa 11/42

12. To complete the encirclement of Hitler (Closing the Ring) the Allies needed to land somewhere in France.
Normandy 6/’44
D Day

13. Describe the preparations for the Allied invasion of Europe.
Pas-de-Calais
Port city in France where Hitler believed Allies would invade
Allies encouraged Hitler’s belief
Operation Mincemeat
Spring ‘44
1.5 million US soldiers, thousands or airplanes, equipment gathered in S. England
Chose northern coast of France as invasion site (Normandy Beach)
Conditions for invasion only good from June 5-7 (Tide, Moon would be OK)

14. Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. …I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. Dwight D. Eisenhower

15. What was Operation Overlord?
Plan for Allied invasion of W. Europe (D-Day)
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
Involved transporting hundreds of thousands of troops, equipment across stormy English Channel to gain foothold in France
Atlantic Wall
Normandy Coast of France heavily fortified by Germans
Omaha beach saw intense fighting
Over 2, 500 casualties
Built man-made harbor
Huge success
Landing site extremely secretive
Operation Mincemeat
English homeless man’s body dressed as British officer with fake secret plans

17. D-Day

18. What was the Battle of the Bulge?
Hitler’s last major offensive (Dec. 1944)
Caught Allies off guard
Goal was to capture Antwerp
Germans surrounded town of Bastogne
Protected by 101st Airborne
Germans demanded surrender
“Nuts” was the reply
Weather broke in January and supplies replenished

20. Site of assassination attempt on Hitler by Claus von Stauffenberg

21. What was V-E Day? After Battle of the Bulge German spent
By April ‘45, Soviets were in Berlin, US was closing in
Hitler committed suicide April 30
Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies May 8, 1945
“Victory in Europe” = VE Day
FDR had died April 12
100 thousand women raped in Berlin in May 1945
6 thousand suicides

22. VE Day