Turning the TideThe Allied Powers victory in Europe

 KEY Red - Nazi occupied and

controlled

Purple - Nazi controlled under Mussolini

Blue - Free country, supported by the United

States

Green - Under the control of Josef Stalin of Russia

who sided with the Nazis in 1939

Yellow - Neutral, but greatly influenced by

Nazis, for example, Spain was under the dictatorship of General Franco who was

controlled by Hitler

EUROPE AFTER THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

4

OPERATION OPERATION

BARBAROSSABARBAROSSA

Operation Barbarossa was a three pronged invasion of the Soviet Union. The goal was to seize all of the USSR up to the Ural Mountains including the major cities of Odessa, Kiev, Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad.

Operation Barbarossa, 1941

22 June 1941: Operation 22 June 1941: Operation Barbarossa, the invasion Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Unionof the Soviet Union

Blitzkrieg devastates Red Blitzkrieg devastates Red ArmyArmy

1942: Germany continues 1942: Germany continues to advanceto advance

6

MILLIONS OF RUSSIAN SOLDIERS WERE KILLED OR CAPTURED IN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF THE GERMAN ATTACK.

The USSR Reorganizes Winter 1941-42:Winter 1941-42:

Severe cold saved Severe cold saved Soviets & generals used Soviets & generals used time to modify tacticstime to modify tactics

Copied German tactics Copied German tactics and invented new ones:and invented new ones:**Supplied all tanks & aircraft w/ radios

*Radio-jamming units created; by 1943 2/3 of German radio traffic was jammed

*Order 227 (July 1942): ‘not a step back’; fight & die, but do not retreat or else execution (thousands were executed)

Other reasons for Soviet victory:

Hitler made many errors: Overconfident, predicting

victory by Oct ‘41, so no winter gear for troops

100,000s died from exposure or disease

Supplies pulled by horses, slowing use of technology

German industry inefficient, using more raw materials to produce fewer weapons

Other reasons for Soviet victory

British & USA helpedprovided suppliesAllied bombing slowed

German production

Strategic ImportanceThe Axis powers were attempting to gain

control of Africa so they could strike at the oil fields in the Middle East and eventually open a second front against the Soviet Union.

The Allies were attempting to stop the Axis advance, pull pressure off of the Soviet Union, and allow for the opening of a second European front.

After going back and forth with the Axis Powers in

Africa, the Allies gained the advantage at the Battle of El Alamein. From there,

they launched amphibious attacks from the north with

Operation Torch.

Operation Torch• November 1942 – Allied invasion of Axis controlled

North Africa led by American Gen. Eisenhower.

• German Afrika Korps led by Field Marshall Erwin ‘Desert Fox’ Rommel surrenders in May 1943

• Success in Africa opened the door for Operation Husky

• Allies attack the so called ‘soft under belly’ of Hitler’s Europe - Italy.

• Invasion of Sicily in 1943

• Allies controlled Sicily by August of 1943 and then started the drive up the Italian peninsula.

Operation Husky

Importance

Operation Husky took Italy out of the war, beginning to destroy the Axis powers.

Germany had to send troops to Italy and couldn’t focus mainly on attacking Russia.

the Allies also gained control over the Mediterranean Sea.

Describe the invasion of France at Normandy.

The invasion of France was named Operation Overlord

Allied forces gave false clues to keep Germans guessing on location of invasion.

Allies landed in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Describe the invasion of France at Normandy.

Germans secured the beach with concrete bunkers, tanks and mines.

Difficult fighting commenced, it took a month for Allied troops to penetrate 20 miles into France.

On August 25, 1944, the Allied forces liberated Paris.

While the invasions of Italy and France were successful , the Soviet Union was pushing German troops back into Germany.

As the Soviet Union, Great Britain, the United States, and the other Allied nations liberated more and more of Europe, they liberated concentration camps.

Define the Holocaust.

The Holocaust was Nazi Germany’s systematic slaughter of European Jews.

Millions of Jews were put under German rule as Germany expanded throughout Europe.

Approximately six million Jews were killed either at their capture, or in concentration camps.

This treatment of Jews was called the “final solution of the Jewish question” by Hitler.

Describe the conditions in German concentration camps.

Jews were herded into railroad freight cars, usually packed in at least double what was provided for.

standing room only for the entire trip, which could last several days.

Water buckets passed around the train, but not everyone would get a drink.

Many from dehydration, disease or heat exhaustion.

Describe the conditions in German concentration camps.

Those too weak to work immediately taken into “showers”, i.e. gas chambers. Afterwards, their bodies cremated.

Those fit to work provide slave labor in the camps until they became too weak, then they were killed.

Many killed in mass firing squads, and buried in communal graves.

Dr. Josef Mengele

Describe the conditions in German concentration camps.

The Allied Powers by summer of 1944 had the momentum in the war.

The Soviets had pushed Germany west, out of Asia.

Meanwhile, the Allies had taken control of North Africa, invaded Italy and France, and were pushed the Axis Powers east.

The time had come for the “big three” (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) to make plans for post war peace.

Recognize the accomplishments of the Yalta Conference.

What did each of the big three seek?

Churchill – democratic systems for European nations that were liberated from Germany.

Roosevelt – Soviet assistance in the Pacific War through an invasion of Japan.

Stalin – Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

Recognize the accomplishments of the Yalta Conference.

What did they agree to?

Soviet Union would declare war on Japan three months after a German surrender.

They discussed the return of liberated nations to self government.

They agreed to divide Germany up after the war.

They made plans for a new international peace organization, like the League of Nations.

Describe the events that led to German surrender and V-E Day.

September 1944:Allied crossed the German border.

December 1944:the Battle of the Bulge: Germans created a bulge in the Allies’ lines, but the Allies regrouped and pushed the Germans back rapidly.

Describe the events that led to German surrender and V-E Day.

In the spring of 1945, the Allied Powers were pressing further into Germany from both sides: the Soviet Union from the east, the British and Americans from the west.

April 30, 1945:Hitler committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin.

Describe the events that led to German surrender and V-E Day.

Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945.

May 8, 1945 was known as V-E Day (Victory in Europe), ended five years of fighting in Europe. It is celebrated on this day because the surrender agreement was ratified on this day.