Chapter 26 – Section 3

The War in Europe and Northern Africa

Exploring American HistoryUnit VIII- Boom Times and Challenges

WWII- A World ConflictWWII- A World Conflict

Allied Goals-Allied Goals-

1st- Defeat the Germans1st- Defeat the Germans

2nd- U.S. to postpone the offensive in the Pacific and continue an active 2nd- U.S. to postpone the offensive in the Pacific and continue an active defense.defense.

Axis & Allied Powers (01:49)

War in Europe and North AfricaThe Big Idea

After fierce fighting in North Africa and Europe, the Allies stopped the German advance and slowly began driving

back German forces.

Main Ideas

• The Allies fought back against the Axis Powers in North Africa and Europe.

• Key Allied victories halted the German advance.

• In the D-Day invasion, Allied forces attacked German-controlled France.

Main Idea 1:The Allies fought back against the Axis Powers

in North Africa and Europe.

• Roosevelt and Churchill meet to develop Allied plan- Casablanca

• Priority: defeat the Germans first

• Sonar– uses sound waves to detect objects underwater

• Long-range aircraft– allowed Allies to drop bombs on German factories, railroads and cities

New Technologies

Allies Join Forces

Casablanca Conference- Jan. 1943

Jan. 14-24, 1943, World War II meeting of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Casablanca, French Morocco. A joint declaration pledged that the war would end only with the unconditional surrender of the Axis states, and the U.S. to attack Germany 1st.

Allied ships and aircraft

Cracking the Enigma

• American shipyards began producing new ships at an amazing rate.

• The new ships were used to form larger, better-equipped convoysconvoys, which cut down on the effectiveness of U-boat attacks.

• Allied aircraft protected convoys from the air.

• The Allies broke the German code system, which was called the EnigmaEnigma. This was code named UltraUltra.

• The Allies began to gain vital information about the locations and plans of U-boat formations.

• Finally, the Allies had an advantage over the Germans.

The Allies Fight the Battle of the Atlantic

How and why did the Allies fight the Battle of the AtlanticBattle of the Atlantic?

Defeating the Axis Powers depended on control of the seascontrol of the seas. The Atlantic needed to be kept safe for shippingshipping so that soldiers and goods could be transported from the United States to the other Allied nations.

GermanyGermany had a very powerful navypowerful navy including with new surface ships (including the giant Bismarck) and U-boats.

German used new tactics to increase U-boat effectiveness such as the so-called wolf packwolf pack. U-boats sent hundreds of ships and tons of supplies to the bottom of the sea. At the same time, the German navy lost few of their boats.

The entry of the United States into the war would help United States into the war would help turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic.turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Battle for the Atlantic

• German Wolf Packs-German Wolf Packs- sinking thousands of tons sinking thousands of tons of Allied shipping each month.of Allied shipping each month.

• 1942-43 critical, allies need food and supplies.1942-43 critical, allies need food and supplies.

• Radar and SonarRadar and Sonar were invented were invented

• Use of Use of UltraUltra (code breaking), Convoys and (code breaking), Convoys and DestroyersDestroyers

• U.S. Producing more shipsU.S. Producing more ships and supplies than the and supplies than the Germans could sink.Germans could sink.

1942; The Battle of the Atlantic (01:00)

The Allies Fight Back

• RecallRecall – How did sonar help the Allied war effort?

• ExplainExplain – Why did Stalin want the Allies to attack in Europe immediately?

North AfricaNorth Africa

• 1942– German Afrika German Afrika KorpsKorps began North Africa offensive against Egypt.

• British stopped them at Battle of El AlameinBattle of El Alamein.

• U.S. and British troops led by Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower advanced from Morocco Morocco and Algeriaand Algeria to defeat Germans. Operation Operation TorchTorch

Main Idea 2:Key Allied victories halted the German advance.

ItalyItaly

• July 1943July 1943– Allied forces invaded Sicilyinvaded Sicily and headed to mainland Italy.

• Slowly moved northward along western coast

• June 1944– Allied forces June 1944– Allied forces captured Romecaptured Rome.

• 1945– Germans driven out of Italy and Mussolini executed by Italian freedom fighters.

The Battle of North Africa (01:02)

North African Theater Erwin Rommel- GermanErwin Rommel- German

1942- Tanks and Blitzkrieg

Send to Africa to help the Italians stop the British and take British Oil Fields

““Desert Fox”-Desert Fox”- Outwitting opponents- Greatest German General

Also planned the defense of the Atlantic Wall.

Later accused of being Anti-Hitler conspirator- forced to take poison.

Afrika Korps-Afrika Korps- RommelBattle of Tobruk and El Alamein

Threaten Oil Fields of Middle East and the Threaten Oil Fields of Middle East and the Suez CanalSuez Canal

North African Theater

Bernard Montgomery- BritishBernard Montgomery- British El Alamein- Nov. 4, 1942El Alamein- Nov. 4, 1942

Allies defeat the Germans

Germans bottled up in Tunisia.

U.S. Landing in “Vichy” Algeria- “Operation Torch“Operation Torch,” November 8, 1942 entailed the largest amphibious invasion in U.S. naval history. 107,000 men107,000 men.

August, 1942; Battle at El Alamein (01:13)

Italy• The Allied invasion of Sicily began The Allied invasion of Sicily began

on the night of the July 9-10, 1943on the night of the July 9-10, 1943, and ended August 17 in an Allied victory. The invasion of the island was codenamed Operation HuskyOperation Husky and it launched the Italian Campaign.

• The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war. It is estimated that between September September 1943 and April 1945 some 90,000 1943 and April 1945 some 90,000 Allied and 110,000 German Allied and 110,000 German soldiers died in Italy.soldiers died in Italy.

First Films! Invasion of Italy! (03:37)

Eastern FrontEastern Front

• Massive German and Soviet armiesMassive German and Soviet armies battled on eastern front.

• By mid-1942, Axis armies had driven deep into Soviet Union.

• German forces advanced to fight Battle of StalingradBattle of Stalingrad.

– Savage street fightingSavage street fighting continued for months.

– German supplies began to run lowGerman supplies began to run low.

– Winter set in and thousands of Germans froze or starved to death.thousands of Germans froze or starved to death.

• In January 1943 the German commander surrenderedJanuary 1943 the German commander surrendered.

• Soviet victory came at an enormous cost.

– More than 1 million Soviet soldiers dead1 million Soviet soldiers dead

– About 800,000 Axis soldiers killedAbout 800,000 Axis soldiers killed

Nazi Strategy in Russia (00:26)

Operation BarbarosaOperation Barbarosa.• June 22, 1941 – HitlerHitler makes the

great blunder- he feels that all battlefields are alike and blitzkrieg always works. He invades Russiainvades Russia

• Napoleon had learned a hard lesson a hundred years before- Russia is too Russia is too big, too frozen and would cause big, too frozen and would cause the downfall of his empirethe downfall of his empire. Hitler would learn the same lesson.

• Germans moved quickly and went deep into Russia, but when they got to Moscow the worst winter in 30 worst winter in 30 years struck.years struck. Freezing temps stopped the german advance.

• Germans are stalemated at stalemated at Leningrad, Stalingrad and Leningrad, Stalingrad and MoscowMoscow

September 1942; Battle at Stalingrad (01:13)

Halting the German AdvanceHalting the German Advance

• IdentifyIdentify – What countries did each of the three generals involved in the North African Campaign come from?

• ExplainExplain – What caused the different views of Italy’s strength in 1943 and 1944?

Halting the German AdvanceHalting the German Advance

• DescribeDescribe – In the Battle of Stalingrad, how did many Germans die?

• ExplainExplain – What is meant by “The tide of the war in the east had turned”?

• ContrastContrast – What advantages did Soviet Troops have over the advancing German soldier.

Main Idea 3:In the D-Day invasion, Allied forces attacked

German-controlled France.

Invasion of German-occupied France• First step toward liberating Europe and forcing Hitler to surrender

• Dwight EisenhowerDwight Eisenhower spent months in planning.

• June 6, 1944– D-Day, or “designated day”June 6, 1944– D-Day, or “designated day”

– American, British, and Canadian troopsAmerican, British, and Canadian troops invade France from Great Britain.

– Americans landed on two beaches, codenamed Utah and OmahaAmericans landed on two beaches, codenamed Utah and Omaha.

– Fierce fighting

– Almost 3,000 killed or wounded at Omaha Beach alone3,000 killed or wounded at Omaha Beach alone.

– By end of day, all five Normandy beaches secured.

• Allies began moving east toward Germany.

June 6, 1944: D-Day and Its Aftermath (02:30)

Amphibious Tanks (DD Tanks)

These so-called Duplex Drive tanks of the 741st Armoured Battalion were launched from landing craft four kilometres from the beach. Fitted with large canvas skirts round the upper portion of the vehicle, the DD tanks were designed to float low in the water - appearing to the enemy as nothing more menacing than a rubber boat. The entry of this first group into the rough seas proved disastrous. The tanks were intended to operate in seas with a one-foot swell, yet on D-Day the waves rose six feet. High waves The heavy seas swamped 27 DDs, sending them to the sea floor.

The D-Day InvasionThe D-Day Invasion

• ExplainExplain – What was the Allied mission?

• RankRank – Which area would prove to be the toughest fight: North Africa, France or Italy

• IdentifyIdentify - What did the “D” in D-Day mean?

The D-Day InvasionThe D-Day Invasion

• RecallRecall – Soldiers from which countries took part in the D-Day Invasion?

• CompareCompare – How did the D-Day invasion compare to past sea to land invasions.

• Make JudgmentsMake Judgments - What is your opinion of the type of men who could wade ashore and fight on the Normandy beaches?