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European Theater of European Theater of Operations Operations 1941-1945
European Theater of European Theater of OperationsOperations
1941-1945
Soviet Union: Operation Barbarossa
Germany invades Underestimation of
Soviet war abilities Failure of Blitzkrieg Scorched-Earth Policy
(remember Napoleon?) War in the east
1941-1945 Beginning of End for
Germany
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Dec 7th 1941 US enters the War
Japanese attack US at Pearl Harbor Hawaii
US declares war on Japan
Germany and Italy declare war on US
US joins Allies (USSR & Britain)
North Africa 1941-1943
Germans invade North Africa 1941 US and British win by 1943 Importance of this region:
– Suez Canal– Access to oil fields of the Middle East– Staging base to invade Europe from South– Manipulating nationalism, avenging failed promises of
post-WWI Protectorates
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Allies Invade Italy 1943
1943 US & British invade Italy
Itlay surrenders but Germans are sent in by Hitler to rescue Mussolini
Fighting continues up the Italian Penninsula until the end of the war
D-Day: June 1944
Allies invade Normandy France
Nazies slowly give up land as British and American troops press inland.
Allied Break Through: July 1944
Germans fight a Strategic Withdrawal
Great Britain and US attack from the West
Soviets attack and press in from the East
Some German Army Officers try to take control
July 20th 1944 Assassination attempt on Hitler fails
Many high ranking army officers are implicated and killed.
Paris is Liberated
US troops enter Paris on August 25, 1944
A Chain of Allied Victories
Sept 1944 Belgium is liberated
Oct 1944 Allies enter Germany
Allies believe the War will be over by Christmas
The Battle of the Bulge
Allies underestimated Germany’s ability to still fight
Dec 16-27 1944 Germans smash through allied lines in the Ardennes Forest but are soon out gunned and out of gas!
Germans Retreat into Germany January – February 1945 the German Army retreats
into Germany itself.
Allies follow
The Eastern Juggernaut
Soviet Red Army presses in from the east and enters Poland in Jan 1945.
By March 1945 the Red Army enters Germany itself.
Revenge is taken.
The End in sight
April 21, 1945 the Red Army reaches Berlin and encircles the city
April 25 US and Soviet forces meet up
April 30 Hitler commits suicide
May 7th 1945 Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies
May 8th 1945 VE DAY
