WWII in Europe and Africa

8/3/2019 WWII in Europe and Africa

1/15

North African Campaign

On January 1, 1942 the U.S., Britain, and the Soviet Union (Allies) joined to

defeat the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan)

Even though Japan was conquering much of the Pacific the Allies agreed to

concentrate on fighting Germany in Europe first.

Europe and Africa were almost completely conquered by Hitler and the

Allies felt if the Soviet Union were conquered, Germany might proveunstoppable.

Although Stalin wanted an assault on Europe by the Allies to open a

second Western Front, it was deemed to difficult at the start of the war

and instead the Allies started by attacking German forces in North

Africa Axis forces in Africa were under the command of General Erwin Rommel

known as the Desert Fox because of his success in desert warfare.

In November 1942, the British defeated Rommel at El Alamein, (on the

boarder of Libya and Egypt) that prevented the Germans from capturing the

Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.


2/15


3/15

The Invasion of Italy

The Allies now had areas to prepare military bases to launch an invasion ofsouthern Europe

They took the Island of Sicily in the summer of 1943 and landed on the

Italian mainland in September of 1943.

As the Allies advanced on their capture of Italy, Hitler had to divert men

and resources to try and help his Italian Allies.

With Allied advances on Rome the Italian population grew disenchanted

with Mussolini and the war.

Mussolini was overthrown by the Italian people and Italy surrendered and

Italian forces were out of the war.

However, German forces continued to fight.

Fighting in the Italian mountains slowed the Allies who made anamphibious landing at Anzio, near Rome in an attempt to capture the

capital.

The Allies were pinned down on the beach for four months until they

finnaly broke through German forces and advanced to take Rome and

liberate the capital in June of 1944.


4/15

Air War over Germany

The Allies also launched an air war against GermanyIn the summer of 1942, using bombers, the British and U.S. air forces began

bombing Germany.

The Allies looked to destroy the manufacturing capability of Germany and

prevent them from supplying the war.

The bombing caused massive damaged to Germany and killed many

civilians.

The British and U.S. forces suffered many casualties as bombers were shot

down at an alarming rate.

The capacity of U.S. factories to re-supply planes quickly was a major

factor in helping to defeat Germany.

Intense Allied bombing of cities often resulted in firestorms in the cities. Inone attack on Hamberg in 1943, 30,000 people died in the firestorm that

resulted from the bombing.


5/15

The Tide Turns in Europe

On the Eastern Front it was the Soviets that bore the brunt of the fightingas there forces battled German troops.

German forces had advanced far into the Soviet Union after their initial

invasion and by September of 1941 they surrounded Leningrad.

The Germans began a siege ( military blockade to starve a city) of the city.

The blockade lasted 900 days.

Leningrad did not fall, and as food ran out people of the city ate the animal

(even dogs and cats) as well as bread made from wall paper paste.

In 1944, Soviet forces broke the siege and Germany retreated, many

civilians were killed or suffered malnutrition and disease after it was over.

German forces also tried to capture the Soviet capital of Moscow and

reached the cities outskirts before bad weather and a Soviet counteroffensiveforced a German retreat.


6/15

Stalingrad

In 1942, the Germans attempted to capture Stalingrad, a city near rich oil

fields. The Germans fought house to house to take the city.

No sooner than the German victory and capture of Stalingrad, Soviet forces

surrounded the city cutting off German supply lines and laying siege to the

city.

Cold and Starving and running out of ammunition German forces foughtuntil February 1943, when the remains of their Army surrendered.

The Soviets then launched an offensive that drove back the Germans

hundreds of miles.

Germany counterattacked but the loss of their Army at Stalingrad marked

aturning point in the war as there forces were no longer able to dominatethe field of battle as they had before.

Hitler would suffer a major blow because of his attack on the Soviet Union.

Even though his forces were initially superior, the vastness of the Soviet

Union, its large supply of men, and its cold harsh winter (the coldest in a

generation after Hitlers attack with temperatures dropping that winter to 60

degrees below zero) would be to much for Germany to overcome.


7/15

The Allied Invasion of France

D-Day

By 1944, the Allies were preparing to open a new front on Germany by landing

forces in France and opening a second Western Front to the war.

General Eisenhower was named the Supreme Allied Commander and code

named the invasion Operation Overlord

It would be a massive invasion using U.S., British, and Canadian forces in a

massive amphibious assault that included Allied paratroopers, the Frenchunderground, and a massive bombing campaign from both the air and sea.

The Germans were convinced that the invasion would come at the port city

located closest to England.

General Patton was assigned to the area where the Allies created a fake army to

fool the Germans.Instead, Eisenhower chose the French costal area of Normandy for the invasion.

The plan was set to correspond to the proper tides for the landing at the

beginning of June but poor whether delayed the invasion.

With a glimmer of hope for a break in the weather Eisenhower ordered his troops

to their ships on June 5

th

where they stayed till June 6

th

when the weather cleared.


8/15

D-Day

June 6, 1944, the Allies waded ashore on the beaches of Normandy.

The Germans had prepared the coasts with defenses that included land

mines, barbed wire, and fierce artillery from fixed positions.

Many soldiers were killed in the landing on the beaches as the Allies

struggled in some areas to gain a strong foothold.

Hitler refused to release the Panzer tanks he held in reserve to repel the

attack believing the the real invasion would come at the Roux d Callis.

The move proved to be an error as the Allies succeeded in securing a

beachhead and began building docks to land troops and supplies.

Within a few weeks the Allies had landed over 1 million men and the

Germans were in retreat from what was now a two front war. On August 25, French and American soldiers marched through joyful

crowds and liberated Paris. France was ruled by the French once more.


9/15

Victory in Europe

The Germans were now fighting the Soviets on the Eastern front and the

British and Americans on the Western Front.

General Patton was brought to France and his Army raced across France

quickly.

In late 1944, the cold winter and German resistance slowed the Allied forces

at the Rhine River.

In mid-December the Germans mounted a desperate winter offensive alonga 50 mile front in Belgium, trying to split Allied forces and regain an

advantage in the war.

The Battle of the Bulge as it became known, created a deep bulge in Allied

forces leaving Allied forces in the position of having their lines broken.

After several weeks, and with a long winter drive by Pattons Army, the

Germans were pushed back.

German forces also suffered from a lack of gasoline for their tanks and

trucks.

The battle resulted in 75,000 casualties and marked the end of any real

German resistance.


10/15

V-E Day

The final phase of the war in Europe began in the spring of 1945.

The Soviets surrounded Berlin, the capital of Germany.

Hitler refused to leave the capital and spent the final few months of the war

in an underground bunker. On April 30, 1945, when he realized the situation was hopeless he committed

suicide along with his companion Eva Braun.

On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender ending the

war in Europe.

The Allies declared May 8, V-E DAY for Victory in Europe


11/15

General George S. Patton

Patton was one Americas most remarkable military leaders of all time.

He was a leading authority on tank warfare, a cleaver planner, a great

combat officer, and a leader of men.

Patton distinguished himself in North African Campaigns and the capture of

Sicily.

Although a brilliant military leader he was controversial throughout hiscareer and after slapping and enlisted soldier his career in WWII was almost

over.

Eisenhower decided to return Patton to the war effort assigning him the

Third Army in France.

Patton quickly distinguished himself as a great commander.Pattons Army helped turn the tide for the Allies and saved defeat at the

Battle of the Bulge.

By the end of the war the Third Army liberated 80,000 square miles of

territory and took thousands of prisoners.

Patton died in December 1945 in an automobile accident.


12/15

The Passing Of FDR

In February of 1945, FDR had traveled to Yalta in the Soviet Union to meet

Churchill and Stalin.

After returning home, Roosevelt had gone to Warm Springs, Georgia on a

vacation.

On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died suddenly.

Americans were saddened by the loss of the man who had led them throughthe Great Depression and then through WWII.

Roosevelts Vice President, Harry S. Truman took over and led America

through the rest of the war.


13/15

The Holocaust

As Allied and Soviet troops liberated areas under German control they

found horrifying evidence of Nazi brutality.

Nazi leaders had carried out Hitlers plans to rid Europe of the Jews whom

Hitler believed were in conflict with the Aryan race and prevented German

domination of the world.

In order to carry out Hitlers plans Nazi leaders created what they calledthe final solution of the Jewish question.

Their solution wasgenocide (wiping out and entire group of people)


14/15

The Final Solution

After Hitlers rise to power Nazis persecuted Jews.

As Germany conquered more of Europe the persecution became

widespread.

They rounded up thousands of Jews and massacred them dumping their

bodies in mass graves.

Nazi troops crammed thousands of Jews into railroad cars, like cattle, and

brought them toconcentration camps. Concentration camps were prisons for civilians and upon arrival guards

took prisoners belongings, shaved their heads, and tattooed prisoner

numbers on their wrists.

Prisoners lived in horrible conditions with little food and water and

widespread disease. Many died living in the poor conditions. In the early 1940s, the Nazis embarked on the final solution by building

death camps where they killed thousands a day in gas chambers, and then

burned the bodies in ovens.

At Auschwitz in Poland, the Nazis killed between 1 and 2 million Jews.

As many as 6 million Jews died in what became known as the Holocaust.


15/15

The Final Solution

The Nazis also killed millions of others including Soviet prisoners of war,

Poles, Gypsies, and people with handicaps.

As Allied troops moved through Germany after V-E Day, they witnessed

firsthand the unspeakable horrors of the camps.

Journalists sent back stories and photos of the atrocities as the world was

stunned by Nazi tyranny.

Date post:	06-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	aashna-motwani
View:	223 times
Download:	0 times

WWII in Europe and Africa

Documents