A World at War

The Tide of War Turns to the Allies

Strategies

• The axis powers never engineer a strategy against the allies– Too many conflicting goals?

• Allies had unified goals– Agreed on a Europe-first strategy – Japan and Italy were less of a threat– Racism issues?

Hitler’s Biggest Mistake

• Germany attacked Russia in June 1941– Three armies were sent –Stalingrad, Moscow, Leningrad

• SCORCHED – EARTH POLICY - military strategy that involves

destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while withdrawing from an area• Switches focus to Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad• Brutal fighting in the winter – Partisans and Russian troops

• Germans eventually trapped– Surrender 31 January 1943

• Turning point in the European Campaign– Switched Soviet Union to the

offensive

Allied Victory in North Africa and Italy

• Created a second front – Wanted by

Soviet Union• Allowed for a

way to invade Italy– Why Italy and

not down from England?

Montgomery (El Alamein – Nov 1942) and Patton wins Operation Torch

• Oct 1942 British under Montgomery win El Alamein against Germans in Egypt and start to push West

• Nov 1942 Allies land in Morocco and Algeria– General Dwight Eisenhower

• Feb 1943 Kasserine Pass – Erwin Rommel (desert fox) led his troops against the

Americans – Broke lines and almost made it to the supplies before the

US troops managed to cut him off – Lesson – the US needs to be more aggressive

• George S. Patton is put in command of the tank regiment in Africa

Casablanca, Morocco

• Roosevelt and Churchill meet for the Casablanca conference

• Two decisions:– Allies increase bombing of Germany– UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER – surrendering without conditions, so no guarantees are given to the surrendering power

Sicilian Invasion & Anzio

• July 1943 British and Americans begin landing in Sicily

• Chased the Axis powers to the mainland• 3 September 1943 ITALY surrendered to the allies • Allies bogged down and continue fighting until 1945

Allies Moving…Revolution in Rome

Germany “saves” Mussolini

• Hitler rescues Mussolini in a mini-plane and makes him the leader of Northern Italy (separated country)– Gran Sasso Raid

The Death of Il Duce

Operation Overlord

• Over a million men will land on the beaches at Normandy.• 13,100

paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st

Airborne divisions will land behind enemy lines

The Atlantic Wall

Hedge Row Fighting

“Secret Weapons”

V-1 Rocket:“Buzz Bomb”

V-2 Rocket

Werner von Braun

Assassination and Liberation

• 20 July 1944 – an officer planted a bomb in Hitler’s headquarters– Rommel was in

on it• Aug 1944 – Allies

liberate Paris• Sept 1944 -

BeNeLux

The Battle of the Bulge

• Last ditch effort of the Germans

• Almost succeeds– Cripples Germany

by using her reserves and demoralizing what troops she has left

Marching on Berlin

• By January 1945 the Soviets reached the Oder River outside Berlin

• April 1945 – US Army reaches the Elbe River, 50 miles west of Berlin

• 30 April – Hitler commits suicide

• 7 May – V-E Day, Germany surrenders

The Pacific Theater

Island Hopping

• Strategy based on skipping islands with strong resistance and take those with strategic importance

• Many amphibious assaults

• MacArthur – commander of the Pacific forces

Guadalcanal – Aug 1942 – Feb 1943

• First major offensive against the Japanese

• Japanese air base with the location and power to threaten Australia

• Japanese lose 24,000 of 36,000 defending the island

The Battle of Leyte Gulf• 23 October 1944 –

Return of MacArthur– Japan gambles on

destroying whole US fleet by sending whole navy (all-in)

– Japanese Navy eliminated– Only Army and Kamikazes

left

Marines take Iwo Jima• March 1945 – after

bloody fighting, the marines take the island of Iwo Jima

• From here, US Army Air Force can bomb Japanese mainland

Okinawa

• April 1945• Bloodiest battle

yet• Samurai spirit

leads Japanese (all Japanese not just soldiers) to commit suicide

• US loses 12,000 men, Japan loses 100,000

An Invasion of Japan• Estimated

500,000 US lives lost in invasion– More than

1,000,000 Japanese

Manhattan Project• Secret project to develop

Atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico

• J. Robert Oppenheimer – lead scientists– “I am become Shiva, the

shatterer of worlds”– Einstein (German) was also

involved• The Potsdam ultimatum

given to Japan

Hiroshima and Nagasaki• 6 Aug 1945 Hiroshima

is bombed• 9 Aug 1945 Nagasaki

is bombed• 100,000 dead• 15 Aug 1945 – Japan

surrenders

2 Sept 1945 – Treaty signed on USS Missouri