The Road to Victory in Europe Angela Brown

The Road to Victory in Europe Angela Brown Chapter 24 Section 2 1

Learning Targets 2

Bellringers: Day 1: • Have you ever used the term D-Day? What did you mean? • What was the D-Day operation? 3

Atlantic Charter • FDR and Churchill met on warship in 1941 to agree on War’s goals = Atlantic Charter • Pledged a peace that will afford all nations the means of dwelling in safety inside their own boundaries. • Agreements form basis for United Nations 4

Atlantic Charter http: //images. encarta. msn. com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t 043334 a. jpg 5

Atlantic Charter http: //www. ssa. gov/history/pics/acharter 1. jpg 6

http: //cairsweb. llgc. org. uk/images/ilw 1/ilw 0284. jpg 7 http: //www. eliillinois. org/cgi-bin/ida/fullidarecord. pl? record=343

Americans Mobilize for War • The GI War • 16 million served • U. S. soldiers called themselves GIs – “Government Issue” stamp appeared on all items provided by military • Four essential freedoms by FDR • (Speech/Worship God in own way/From want/From fear) 8

GI http: //veterans. house. gov/images/press/gibill. jpg 9

Diversity in the Armed Forces • 300, 000 Mexican Americans – defended Philippines, North African Campaign, and D-Day invasion • 25, 000 Native Americans – 300 Navajos radio operators • developed a code based on their language that the Japanese could not break “code talkers” 10

Japanese Americans • Thousands of Japanese Americans volunteered to fight – couldn’t until 1943 • 20, 000 served • The All-Nisei 442 nd Regimental Combat team most decorated military unit in U. S. History. 11

nd All-Nisei 442 http: //www. hyperhistory. net/apwh/art/view/i 3 tamura_soldiers. jpg 12

African Americans • One million African American troops served – at first support roles • 1942 allowed combat duty in segregated units. • 761 st tank battalion captured 30 major towns from Germans. • 99 th Army Air Force fighter squadron, Black Eagles, shot down 110 enemy planes. • 1944 army forced to accept African Americans in white combat units due to need for soldiers. 13

http: //www. ddaymuseum. org/store/images/black_knights. jpg 14

Women in the Armed Forces • 350, 000 women volunteered for service in all areas except combat. • 1200 WASPs (Women Air Force Service Pilots) ferried planes around the country and towed practice targets for anti-aircraft organizations. • WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) – 86, 000 served in Naval Aviation 15

http: //www. airpower. maxwell. af. mil/apjinternational/apj-s/3 trimes 04/kamps 1. jpg 16

• 100, 000 officers and enlisted personnel • Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was the largest women military groups. • Colonel Oreta Hobby led more people than many Army Generals. 17

Fighting in North Africa and Italy • Many feared Germany could not be stopped when U. S. entered War The Battle the Atlantic. • Merchant ships formed convoys to carried food and supplies to Great Britain. • Germans countered with groups up to 30 submarines called Wolf Packs. • Wolf packs very effective despite sonar. • Battle of Atlantic spread to the American Coast. 18

http: //www. dypevag. pwp. blueyonder. co. uk/ships_files/Utviken. jpg http: //upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Aerial_view_of_a_convoy. jpg /250 px-Aerial_view_of_a_convoy. jpg 19

The North African Campaign • 1942 Great Britain and U. S. troops under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower landed in Morocco and Algeria. http: //www. mbacd. com/presidents/art/eisenhower. jpg 20

The North African Campaign • 1943 two allied armies joined forces in Tunisia – trapped Rommel’s forces (desert fox) 240, 000 surrender. • 1943, Churchill and FDR met in Casablanca, Morocco planned strategy for fighting rest of war. • Continue concentration on Europe then Pacific- accept only unconditional surrender of Italy, Germany, Japan. 21

Edwin Rommel “Desert Fox” http: //www. hotelsofgreece. com/athens/grandebretagne/rommel. JPG 22

The Invasion of Italy • 1943 Gen. Patton attacked Sicily. • Inland fell in 38 days, Mussolini overthrown. • 72, 000 American soldiers killed or wounded by May 1944 when finally broke through German Defenses at the Battle of Anzio. • April 1945 before Germans in Northern Italy surrendered. • U. S. losses = 190, 000 German losses = 500, 000 during Italian campaign 23

" Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. " General George S. Patton 24 http: //www. amba. lu/pics/Gen. %20 George%20 S. %20 Patton, %20 Jr. %201945. jpg

War in the Soviet Union • Hitler called for conquest of the Soviet Union, claiming that Germany needed lebensraum (living space) to the East. • After losing the Battle of Britain, he broke his pact with Stalin and launched an attack against the Soviet Union. 25

The German Advance, 19411942 • 1941 Germans invaded Soviet Union. • Soviets poorly equipped, not well trained, unprepared to intensity and brutality of Germans. • Germans rounded up and executed large numbers of civilians. • Soviets adopted scorched earth policy – destroyed everything useful to Germans. 26

• Stalin ask FDR for help through Lend. Lease Act. • Congress blocked for money – June 1942 • Stalin urged Allies to launch attack on Western Europe to take pressure off Soviets. • Churchill hesitated – persuaded FDR to invade Italy instead. 27

The Battle of Stalingrad • Red Army made stand at Stalingrad – Sept 1942 Campaign of bombing – took positions in rubble = bitter house-to-house fighting • November Soviets took advantage of weather – counter attacked and surrounded German army. • Final assault in January 1943 – 90, 000 surviving Germans surrendered – Germans lost 330, 000 troops. • Turning point of the war in the east – Soviets began long struggle to regain territory. 28

George Marshall • FDR’s Army Chief of Staff – everyone assumed he would lead the invasion of Western Europe. • Supported this invasion long before others • Allies shocked when FDR sent Dwight D. Eisenhower. • FDR said Marshall was to important to the overall war effort. 29

http: //www. cartage. org. lb/en/themes/Biographies/Main. Biographies/C/catletgeorge/warnecke. gif 30

• Marshall served in France during WWI. • Resigned in 1945 at end of war. • Truman’s Sec. of State – launched effort to rebuild postwar Europe = Marshall Plan • Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 31

• The Invasion of Western Europe • In 1943, British finally agreed to Marshall’s proposal to launch a land invasion 32

The Air War • RAF began bombing Germany in 1940. • Luftwaffe forced RAF to safer nighttime raids. • Carpet Bombing – large numbers of bombs were scattered over a wide area rather than seeking specific targets = technique adopted by both • By 1944 - British and American Commanders were conducting coordinated air raids. • U. S. by day- RAF by night = 3000 planes involved 33

Preparation for Invasion • Troops built up in Southern England – American, British, Canada, Polish, Dutch, Belgium, French troops • German soldiers added machine-gun emplacements, barbed wire fences, land water mines, and underwater obstructions. 34

D-Day • Codename for invasion • June 6, 1944 – largest landing by sea in history 4600 invasion crafts and warships crossed English Channel. • 1000 RAF bombers pounded German defenses at Normandy. • 23, 000 airborne soldiers were dropped behind enemy lines during the night. 35

http: //www. historyimages. com/WWII/photo-D-Day. jpg 36

• DAWN = Allied warships massive shelling of coast - 1000 U. S. planes continued bombings. • 150, 000 allied troops and equipment came ashore the 60 miles of Normandy coast • Hitler hesitated fearing a larger invasion near Calais. • German resistance fierce – 2000 Allied causalities on Omaha Beach (one landing site) • 500, 000 came ashore within a week by July 2 million 37

38 http: //www. canadafirst. net/our_heritage/rememberance_day/d-day. jpg

The Battle of the Bulge • Aug 1944 – American troops liberated Paris • British and Canadians freed Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium. • Allies attacked Germans occupying Holland – American crossed western border of Germany. • Germans launched counter attack in Belgium and Luxemburg in 1944 = Battle of the Bulge • Germans overwhelmed American forces and pushed them back. 39

• Gen. Patton moved entire army of 250, 000 from western France to help stop German Advance. • Largest battle in western Europe during WWII and largest ever fought by U. S. army. • 600, 000 GI’s involved – 80, 000 killed wounded or captured • Germans lost 100, 000 troops – after this battle, most Nazi leaders recognized the war was lost. 40

War ends in Europe The Soviets Advance · German –Soviet fighting from 1941 -1945 greatest conflict ever fought on a single front – 9 million troops · 13. 6 million soviets and 3 million Germans killed = 2/3 total dead for all WWII · Soviet deaths civilian and military = 27 million · Soviets took Berlin April 1945 – city 80% destroyed by Allied bombs – continued west – met American troops at Elbe River on April 25 41

Germany Surrenders • May 1, 1945 – German government announced Hitler committed suicide • May 8, 1945 – Germany surrendered • V – E Day (Victory in Europe Day) 42

The Yalta Conference • February 1945 – Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt met at Yalta in Soviet Union to plan for postwar world • Agreed to split Germany into (4) zones – each under control of major Allies • city of Berlin split into 4 zones as well even though in was in the Soviet quarter • 43

The Big Three 44 http: //academic. brooklyn. cuny. edu/history/core/pics/0255/img 0039. jpg

The Yalta Conference • Stalin promised to allow elections in Nations liberated from Germany and to enter war against Japan after Germany’s surrender. • Stalin later refused free elections. • Roosevelt and Churchill accused of not doing enough to prevent Soviet domination in Eastern Europe. 45

United Service Organizations • (USO) founded in 1941 – assembled volunteer touring companies of actors, comedians, band leaders, singers and dancers to entertain armed forces overseas. • Toured every American war zone since. • Today 40, 000 volunteers keep USO active. 46

So Your Husbands Gone to War • New book by Ethel Gorman – advice for preparing for furloughs, coping with smaller apartments, parties for women, restraining the office “Wolf” • One of many new books aimed at helping women and children cope with the stress of missing loved ones. 47

“Good Neighbor Policy” • Latin American nations provided vital war materials, naval and air bases. • Brazil sent troops to Europe • Mexico had an air squadron in Pacific. • Mexican Cuban navies patrolled Caribbean for German Ships. • In return, U. S. provided military equipment and loans to these nations. 48

Exit Slip 1. What events helped turn the tide of war in favor of the Allies? 2. List the major battles and their significance to the war. 3. Explain how the Allied decision to delay an invasion of Western Europe and fight instead in North Africa and Italy affected war efforts in the Soviet Union. 4. Why do you think Americans who were denied full rights at home were eager to take part in the war against facism? 49