Under German Control at end of 1941

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North Africa• Importance

• Control of Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Straights of Gibraltar

• Access to oil fields in the Middle East

• Open a Second Front

Rommel had control of Libya- had the British on the defensive in Egypt.

Italians! Have no fear, Rommel is here to help dominate Africa!

Well this stinks for us British! We better call in General Montgomery to clear things up….

Rommel, a German officer, teamed up with the Italians to push back the British with his tanks.

Rommel, AKA the Desert Fox. (Relation to Megan???)

North Africa• Who:

• Vichy French controlled Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia

• Italy controlled Libya• British controlled Egypt• German forces• American forces

• What• 1940 - Italy attacked

British in Egypt - • 1942 Hitler sent Erwin

Rommel a.k.a “the Desert Fox” to help

The North Africa Campaign:

The Battle of El Alamein, 1942 Gen. Ernst

Rommel,The “Desert Fox”

Gen. Bernard Law

Montgomery(“Monty”)

Battle of El Alamein• British

defeat Germans in Africa

• Beat German General Erwin Rommel

• Saved supply route

• Cut Nazis off from oil

Allied Supplies

Battle of El Alamein• El Alamein – British (Montgomery)

attack German’s (Rommel) – German’s are pushed out of Egypt to

Libya and defeated in Jan. 1943• Turning Point – beginning of the end

for Nazi in N. Africa• Why was Egypt so important ?

Operation Torch• Allies “Pincer Strategy” – Advance

from east and west to squeeze the Nazi’s out of North Africa

• US (Eisenhower) from the west; British (Montgomery) from the east

• May 1943 – Allies have all of N. Africa

• What does this set up?**Allied Control of Mediterranean Sea - Can launch attack on Southern Europe

The Italian Campaign [“Operation Torch”] :

Europe’s “Soft Underbelly”y Allies plan

assault on weakest Axis area - North Africa - Nov. 1942-May 1943

y George S. Patton leads American troops

y Germans trapped in Tunisia - surrender over 275,000 troops.

Invasion of Italy, 1943• Combined

British & American invasion of Italy didn’t go very well, but it stretched the German army very thin

The Battle for Sicily: June, 1943

General George S. Patton

Invasion of Italy• Allies attack Sicily• King Victor Emmanuel III

fires Mussolini and has him arrested

• New Italian government signs armistice

• Allies meet tough resistance from Germans on Italian Peninsula

The Allies Liberate Rome:June 5, 1944

Gen. Eisenhower Gives the Orders for D-Day [“Operation

Overlord”]

Invasion of France• Challenges

• Atlantic Wall – series of coastal fortifications along the Atlantic coast built by the 3rd Reich to prevent invasion

• English Channel

June 6, 1944

“all gave some, some gave all”

Deception at Calais• Elaborate Plan by Allies to Deceive

Hitler into thinking attack would be at Calais, France, NOT Normandy

• Discouraged Germans from reinforcing troops at Normandy

Sherman Tank made of Inflated Rubber

Normandy Landing

(June 6, 1944)

Higgins Landing Crafts

German Prisoners

What was D Day? D-day was the term used for the day of

actual Allied soldier landings during wwii on Normandy, France

The attack had two phases. Air assault Landing of infantry/soldiers

Omaha beach was one of the worst landings that day

Why did this happen? Nazi Germany was

increasing its strangle hold on all of western Europe.

The Allies forces are calling for an offensive front.

Allies needed a way into Europe.

Using false radio conversations, the allies created confusion within the Nazi army, spreading the Nazi’s out all over France. Therefore allowing allies to enter through beach landings

Facts (why was this battle so bloody)

3,000,000 men to make the operation work

Over 5,000,000 tons of American equipment alone was shipped for preparation

Beach obstacles 6.5 million land mines Prior aircraft bombing. Machine gun massacre

The weeks proceeding D-Day, the allies would perform bombing runs to destroy German railroad systems.

On D-day we had the air superiority… 13,000 planes

Unfortunately, on Omaha Beach, most of the bombs missed all the beach guns, making Omaha beach the bloodiest landing that day.

Invasion of Normandy (D-Day), 1944• Allies invade

France to free it from German control

• Created 2 Front war for Germany

• Germany will soon be overpowered by Allies

D-Day Results

• 3,000/150,000 Americans die on 1st day

. • 1 Million additional soldiers

arrive within 1 month

• September 1944, France is Liberated

D-day movie

Total casualties in a single day 10,000+ start movie at 2:33

The Liberation of Paris:August 25, 1944

De Gaulle in Triumph!

U. S. Troops in Paris, 1944

The Battle of the Bulge:Hitler’s Last Offensive

Dec. 16, 1944to

Jan. 28, 1945

May 1945 – Hitler kills himself

Video –End of Mussolini

Mussolini & His Mistress,

Claretta Petacci

Are Hung in Milan, 1945

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US AND SOVIET SOLDIERS GREET EACH OTHER AT TORGAU, GERMANY

IN APRIL OF 1945.

Hitler Commits Suicide April 30, 1945

The Führer’s Bunker

Cyanide & Pistols

Mr. & Mrs. Hitler

V-E Day (May 8, 1945)

General Keitel

V-E DayVictory Europe

• V-E Day – May 8, 1945 End of War in Europe

• Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in his command bunker.

• April 12 Roosevelt died - Who was president?

V-E Day (May 8, 1945)