SECTION 4

Pushing the Axis Back

Striking Back at the Third Reich

Allies have no choice but to launch an invasion from the beach

Can be very risky

No cover on a beach, no place to run/hide, no way to turn back

If war was going to be won by the Allies, they had to land troops in Europe and on islands in the Pacific

Cont.

First large Allied invasion of the war, attack on North Africa, had shown allies could mount a large-scale attack from sea

Roosevelt felt it was time to meet with Churchill to plan next attack, met in Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca Conference

Casablanca Conference

Strategic Bombing

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Striking at the Soft Underbelly

As bombing of Germany intensified, so did the plan for invading Sicily

Dwight D. Eisenhower was placed in command of invasion

General Patton and British General Bernard Montgomery were put in charge of forces on the ground

Invasion began before dawn on July 10, 1943

General D. Eisenhower General George Patton

British General Bernard Montgomery

Cont.

Allied troops made it ashore despite bad weather

Very few casualtiesDUKW- amphibious truck that proved very

effective in bringing supplies and artillery to soldiers on the beach

Connecting History

Cont. Striking at the Soft Underbelly

8 days before troops came ashore…

American tanks led by Patton smashed through enemy lines and captured western half of island

Continued to push east

Montgomery attacked from the south

August 18, the Germans had evacuated the island

Cont.

Attack on Sicily created turmoil in Italian government

King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, and others decided Mussolini’s time was up

King called Mussolini in and told him that he was the most hated man in Italy and King had him arrested

New Italian government secretly started negotiating with Allies for Italy’s surrender

September 8, 1943 Italian government publicly announced Italy’s surrender

Cont.

Hitler was stunned by Italy’s surrender but refused to give up Italy

German troops went to action at onceSeized control of northern Italy, including

Rome, attacked Americans at Salerno, put Mussolini back in power

To stop Allied advance German army took up positions near Cassino, which had rough, steep terrain

Cont.

Allies decided to land at Anzio, behind German lines

Hoping to surprise and force Germans to retreat

Plan backfiredTook Allies 5 months to break through

German lines at Cassino and AnzioMay 1944 Germans begin retreatingThe Italian campaign was one of the bloodiest

in the warCost the Allies more than 300,000 casualties

Roosevelt Meets Stalin at Tehran

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Landing in France

Roosevelt headed to Cairo where him and Churchill continued to plan invasion of France

Operation Overlord- code name given to planned invasion

Roosevelt selected Eisenhower to command the invasion

Planning Operation Overlord

Hitler fortified the coast of France preparing for Allies invasion

Allies had the element of surprise on their sideHitler wasn’t sure where they would come ashorePas-de-Calais was the most obvious choice

because it was the area of France closest to Britain

U.S. baited the Germans into believing they would come ashore here by placing inflated rubber tanks, empty tents, and dummy landing craft along the coast across from Calais

Looked real to German spy planes Real target wasn’t Pas-de-Calais, but Normandy

Cont.

Everything ready to go, picking a date was the hardest obstacle

Invasion must begin at night to hide ships, arrive at low tide to see beach obstacles, low tide had to come at dawn so gunners could see targets, moonlit night so paratroops could see landing targets behind enemy lines the night before, weather had to be good, a storm would ground the planes and rough seas could swamp landing craft

Few days each month when invasion could begin

Cont.

First opportunity would last from June 5-7, 1944

Date for the invasion became known as D-Day Eisenhower’s staff referred to the day any operation

began by the letter DJune 5 bad weather conditionsJune 6 weather improves slightlyAdvisers split on the decisionEisenhower gave the final order: “OK, we’ll

go.”

The Longest Day

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Island-Hoping in the Pacific

Driving the Japanese backBritain and American military leaders were

developing strategy to defeat JapanPacific Fleet, commanded by Admiral Nimitz,

would advance through the central Pacific by hoping from one island to the next getting closer and closer to Japan

General MacArthur’s troops would advance through the Solomon Islands, capture the north coast of New Guinea, then launch invasion to retake Philippines

Cont.

Island-hoping campaign was read to begin in the fall of 1943

Problems came with the coral reef that surrounded most islands

Tarawa was navy’s first objective and experience with the reef

Landing craft were at risk of running aground forcing marines to wade through the water

Causalities were high, 1/3 soldiers made it to shore

Cont.

One vehicle was able to cross the reef and deliver its troops to the beaches, the LVT

LVT was a boat with tank tracks

Invented in the 1930s to rescue people in the Florida swamps

Cont.

Next objective was Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands

Much smoother objectiveAll troops went ashore in amphtracs

Next came Mariana IslandsAdmiral Nimitz captured all 3 islands: Saipan,

Tinian, and GuamUsed the islands to build airfields for the B-29

Bomber SuperfortressB-29 could fly farther than any other plan in the

world and could bomb Japan from Marianas Islands

MacArthur Returns to the Philippines

MacArthur’s campaign began with the invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942

Continued until 1944 when MacArthur had enough islands to surround Rabaul, which housed the main Japanese base in the region

MacArthur ordered his forces past Rabaul in fear that navy’s advance across the Pacific was leaving him behind

Captured Hollandia, then New Guinea, then on to Morotai- which was the last stop before the Philippines

Cont.

U.S. assembled enormous invasion force to take back Philippines

October 20 troops began to land on Leyte, eastern side of Philippines

MacArthur headed to the beach shortly after the invasion began

“People of the Philippines, I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil.”

Cont.

Japanese respond by sending 4 aircraft carriers towards Philippines, secretly dispatched another fleet from the west

American carriers left Leyte Gulf to stop them

Japanese saw their chance, ships from the west raced through Philippine Islands and ambushed remaining American ships

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