Transcript Ch. 18

Fighting in WWII – Europe &
North Africa
 Allied War Plans
Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
FDR
– FDR & Winston Churchill
(Prime Minister of Great
Britain) felt that Allies were
not ready for a massive
invasion of Europe.
– Objectives • Hitler first; Churchill &
FDR wanted to
concentrate on defeating
Germany before giving
Japan higher priority.
Fighting in WWII
George Marshall
 Major U.S. Military
Commanders of WWII
 George C. Marshall
– U.S. Army Chief of Staff & chief military
adviser to FDR - known as the “organizer of
victory”.
 Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight Eisenhower
– Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in
Europe during WWII. Planned successful
invasion of North Africa & Normandy, France.
 Omar Bradley
– He led First U.S. Army in D-Day invasion &
invasion of Europe - known as the “GI’s
General” for his positive interaction with troops.
 George Patton
Omar Bradley
– A leading Army General during campaigns in
George Patton
North Africa, Sicily, France and Germany known as "Old Blood and Guts”.
Fighting in WWII
 Major U.S. Military
Commanders of WWII
(cont.)
 Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
• From Fredericksburg, TX
– Admiral of the U.S. Navy &
selected by FDR to be Commander
in Chief of U.S. Pacific Fleet in
war against Japan.
 Douglas MacArthur
– Under command of Nimitz, he was
the U.S. Army General in charge of
the Pacific campaign against Japan
– at end of war, he accepted
Japan’s surrender.
Douglas MacArthur
Fighting in WWII - Europe
 Battle of Stalingrad – 19421943
– Germans began offensive in
Joseph Stalin
southern Soviet Union.
– Soviet army surrounded city & cut
off German supply lines. Over
300,000 Germans trapped &
surrendered.
– Geography of Russia (large &
vast) played key role in German
defeat.
– Battle of Stalingrad turning point
in war on the Eastern front.
Halted German advance in USSR
as Soviet troops began to advance
toward Germany.
Fighting in WWII – North Africa
 North African Front – 1942-1943
– British had been fighting German Panzer divisions
since 1941.
– Germans led by Irwin Rommel (the “Desert Fox”)
– U.S. & G.B. launched Operation Torch – an
invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa.
• Nov. 1942 100,00 Allied troops invaded North
Africa in Algeria & Morocco.
• Battle of El Alamein – signaled end of German
presence in North Africa (Oct. – Nov. 1942)
• Pushed Rommel all the way to Tunisia; massive
German casualities.
– One of the first major Allied victories in WWII.
Also opened up Allied shipping in Mediterranean and
made invasion of southern Europe possible.
North Africa, 1942
Irwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox”
Fighting in WWII - Europe
The dead Mussolini &

his mistress
Invasion of Italy – 1943
– Summer 1943, Allies
launched invasion of
southern Italy. Italian army
collapsed under Allied
attack. Encouraged, antifascists overthrew
dictator Benito Mussolini.
– Hitler was determined to
stop Allies rather than fight
on German soil. Sent
troops to northern Italy.
Germans halted Allied
advance in Italy until end
of the war.
Fighting in WWII
 Minority Heroes in Combat
– Although minority groups often dealt
with segregation & discrimination on the
homefront and in the military, some
groups distinguished themselves for
exceptional heroism in combat.
– Navajo Code Talkers
• Approx 420 young Navajo Indian
men were recruited to be “code
talkers” in WWII.
• Created an unbreakable military code
using their native Navajo language.
Greatly assisted U.S .victory in
Pacific War against Japan.
Fighting in
WWII
 Minority Heroes in Combat
(cont.)
– Tuskegee Airmen
• First African American fighter pilots
in U.S. military
• During WWII, Tuskegee Airmen
received multiple military honors for
their outstanding aerial combat
against the German Luftwaffe
• Their success helped to pave the way
for later integration of U.S. Armed
Forces
 Flying Tigers
– During 1941-1942, 300 young Americans
known as the “American Volunteer
Group” fought to defend China from the
Japanese airforce.
– Nicknamed the “Flying Tigers”, they had
many notable victories in combat.
Fighting in WWII - Europe
 D-Day - June 6, 1944
– Code named Operation Overlord, Allied plan to send
3 million British, American, Canadian troops to invade
Nazi-controlled France across the English Channel.
– D- Day opened second major front in Europe.
– General Dwight Eisenhower would lead Allied
invasion of Europe.
Fighting in WWII - Europe
 D-Day - June 6, 1944 (cont)
– June 6, 1944, Allied troops began largest
land-sea-air invasion in history when they
landed on the beaches of Normandy,
France.
Fighting in WWII - Europe
 D-Day - June 6, 1944 (cont)
– By Sept., 1944, Allies had freed France and other
countries on their way toward Germany.
– Allies needed clear weather, complete secrecy, and
massive supplies. Spent months building floating
harbors called Mulberries to carry troops & supplies
across Eng. Channel
Fighting in WWII - Europe
 Battle of the Bulge – December 1944
– Germans launched last major offensive on U.S.
positions in Belgium & Luxembourg.
– U.S. casualties nearly 80,000
– General George Patton & his 101st Airborne
Division stopped Hitler’s last-ditch counter offensive.
– By January, Allies again moving toward Germany.
U.S. soldiers
defending
Ardennes
area
General Patton
Fighting in WWII - Europe
 Holocaust
– Six million Jews were murdered as part
U.S. Ninth Army liberated
this group of prisoners at the
German concentration camp
at Wobbelin
of Hitler's "Final Solution"
– Six million others also killed including
gypsies, homosexuals, physically
handicapped, and political opponents
– Allied soldiers first began to liberate
concentration & death camps in July of
1944 (most camps were located in
Poland and liberated by Soviet soldiers)
• Soldiers found thousands of starving
prisoners, mass graves filled with the
dead, and crematoriums…..news of
the true horrors of the Holocaust
soon began to spread to the rest of
the world…
Allied Diplomacy  Yalta Conference - Feb.
1945
in WWII
– The “Big Three” –
Roosevelt, Churchill, and
Stalin, met in city of Yalta in
Soviet Union to discuss
plans for post-war Europe.
– Agreed to divide Germany
into four military occupation
zones (Soviet, U.S., British,
French) after war.
– Stalin agreed to “Declaration
of Liberated Europe” which
called for free elections. He
also promised USSR would
help U.S. in war against
Japan (later, Stalin did not fulfill
these promises).
Fighting in WWII- Germany Surrenders – May
1945
Europe
– April 1945, Soviet armies were
closing in on Berlin. Hitler, in
his underground bunker,
committed suicide. Germany
was nearly defeated, and had
struggled to fight a two-front
war.
– May 8, 1945 Germany
surrendered. Celebrated as
V-E Day (Victory in Europe
Day).
– FDR did not live to see V-E
Day. April 12, 1945 FDR had a
stroke and died. Harry Truman
(vice-president) was now in
charge.
President Harry S. Truman
Allied
 Potsdam Conference – JulyDiplomacy in
August 1945
WWII
– Truman, Stalin, Churchill met at
Potsdam in eastern Germany.
– Leaders disagreed on most issues;
war alliance beginning to break
down. Stalin distrustful of Allies
(knew about secret U.S. atomic
bomb project).
– During conference, Truman
ordered dropping of the atomic
bomb on Japan.
– Approvals given to concept of warcrimes trials and the
demilitarization and denazification
of Germany.
Fighting in WWII - Pacific
 Japanese Victories in the Pacific
– After Pearl Harbor, Japan had a number of
victories. Seized much of China, Guam, Wake
Islands, some Aleutian islands, and others.
Fighting in  U.S. loss of the Philippines
• Philippine Islands had belonged to U.S.
WWII - Pacific
since 1898 (Spanish-American War)
– 20,000 U.S. troops led by General
Douglas MacArthur withdrew to
Bataan, close to Manila, but
eventually surrendered to Japanese
forces
• Bataan Death March – 85-mile
forced march of U.S. GIs who
were tortured and eventually
burned alive - suffered
unspeakably during the March.
– Although weak & starved, POWs
who could not continue or keep up
with the pace were executed
General Douglas
MacArthur
• MacArthur ordered by
Washington D.C. to leave
Philippines for Australia: “I shall
return”
– Assumed command of all Allied
Pacific forces against Japan
Fighting in
WWII - Pacific
 Battle of Midway June 1942
– Americans had broken
Japanese ship under
attack by U.S. planes
Japanese code, knew Midway
Islands (northwest of Hawaii)
were next target.
– Battle fought by air. U.S.
planes found and destroyed
large Japanese fleet. Turning
point in Pacific War & halted
Japanese advance.
– Americans began
“leapfrogging” – island by
island winning territory back
from Japan.
Fighting in WWII  Iwo Jima - February, 1945
Pacific
– U.S. victorious - fighter planes
now close enough to bomb
Japan (would escort B-29s
coming from the Marianas)
 Okinawa - April 1, 1945 -- ends
in June
– 50,000 American casualties
U.S. Marines raising
flag on Mt. Suribachi,
Iwo Jima
resulted from fierce fighting
which virtually destroyed
Japan’s remaining defenses.
– Bloodshed influenced the
eventual use of the atomic
bomb to prevent further U.S.
casualties from ground assaults.
 Manhattan Project
– Led by scientist J. Robert
J. Robert
Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer, it was the top secret
project to develop the atomic bomb.
Almost completely funded by U.S.
– July 16, 1945. A-bomb first tested in
New Mexico desert. July 25,
President Truman made decision to
drop bombs on Japan to end WWII
and save American lives.
– Aug. 6, 1945 – first A-bomb (“Fat
Man”) dropped on Hiroshima .
– Aug. 9 – second bomb (“Little Boy”)
dropped on Nagasaki. Over 200,000
people dead. Japan surrendered
September 2, 1945.
Hiroshima, after the bomb
Atomic bombs, “Fat Man”
& “Little Boy”
End of WWII
 Conclusion….
– World War II most costly, destructive war in
history. Approx. 60 million people died
(400,000 were Americans).
– United States had abandoned its policy of
isolationism by entering WWII, and was now
the reigning world superpower (victorious in
war & only nation to have atomic weapons).
– U.S. would assume position as world leader
in international affairs.