WWII Americans at War

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WWIIAmericans at War

• 1941 - 1945

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The Major Players of the Atlantic War European
Theatre of Operations (ETO)

• Churchill Prime Minister of England
• Roosevelt US President
• Josef Stalin Chairman of Soviet Union

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Players for the Fascists

• Hitler Germany
• Mussolini - Italy

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The Atlantic CharterAugust 1941
Roosevelt/Churchill Goals of Alliance

• There would be no enlargement of territories.
• Freedom of people to choose their government
• Final destruction of the Nazis.

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But where do we start from???
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Battle of the Atlantic

• How to get supplies to the British?
• Use our economic power
• Wolf Packs
• 20 U-boats that hunted enemy convoys in packs.
• Took out 360 ships in 1942 alone.
• Some in sight of the US coastline.

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How to combat the Wolf packs?

• Long range sub hunting aircraft
• SONAR
• Better depth charges
• Cut off U-Boats from their ports in Germany and
  France.
• Liberty Ships easy to make and repair.

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Strategic Bombing

• B-17 Flying Fortress
• B- 24 Liberators
• Bombing of Axis Industry.
• Destroy their economy/ industry
• Carpet Bombing
• Ex.40,000 died in one day in Hamburg, Germany
• Fire Bombing Dresden Firestorms - 40,000 dead

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The War in the Soviet Union

• Great Patriotic War
• Germans advance in Russia 1941 1942.
• Operation Barbarossa.
• Blitzkrieg tactics

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The War in the Soviet Union

• Nazis greeted as liberators by Russians who hated
  Stalin.
• But THEN Nazis turned on the local people.
• Executions
• Forced labor
• Russians engaged in guerrilla war against Nazis.

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Stalingrad

• Turning Point
• September 1942 January 1943
• Most lethal siege of a city in history.

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Top Ten Bloodiest BATTLES in all of Human History

• 800,0001,600,000 - Battle of Stalingrad
  (19421943) 670,0001,500,000 - Siege of
  Leningrad (19411944) 700,000 - Battle of Moscow
  (19411942) 400,000680,000 - Battle of Kiev
  (1941) 500,000 - Battle of Smolensk
  (1941) 370,000 - Battle of Voronezh
  (1942) 370,000 - Battle of Belarus
  (1941) 175,000350,000 - Operation Bagration
  (1944) 230,000350,000 - Battle of Kursk
  (1943) 300,000 - Battle of the Somme (1916) 

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Battle of Stalingrad

• Nazi 750,000 killed, missing or wounded91,000
  capturedTotal 841,000 casualties
• Russian 478,741 killed or missing650,878 wounded
  and sick40,000 civilians deadTotal 1,129,619
  casualties
• Nazis begin to lose their holdings in Russia.

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Russia Asks for Help!

• Stalin wanted Roosevelt and Churchill to invade
  Western Europe
• Take pressure off Red Army.
• Repeat WWI Two Front war

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The North Africa Campaign

• Feb. 1942 First U.S. land forces involved
  lose to Nazis - Kasserine Pass.
• May 1942 defeated Nazis in Tunisia

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Nazi Generals

• Rommel The Desert Fox
• Erwin Rommel (1891 1944)
• Great tank commander
• Used surprise and bold moves.
• Was NOT a member of the Nazi party

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Nazis lose in North Africa

• El Alamein 23 Oct 4 Nov 1942 Egyptian coastal
  city
• Allies win - a major turning point in North Africa

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Invasion of Italy Start Retaking Europe.

• Soft Underbelly
• U.S. General Patton took Sicily and the English
  started to invade the mainland of Italy.

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Political Change in Italy

• Mussolinis Fascists turned against him in 1943.
• Nazis rescue Mussolini but hes caught by Italian
  Communists as he tried to escape to Germany.
• Killed in 1945

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It sure wasnt over yet!

• Battle of Anzio and Cassino trapped Allies from
  January May 1944.
• Allies v. German Nazis
• April 1945 Italy was in Allied control.

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The Generals Allies

• Dwight Ike Eisenhower (1890 1969)
• Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces
• Excelled at
• Staffing issues
• Diplomacy

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Invasion of Western Europe D-Day

• June 6, 1944 some 7,000 invasion craft left
  England for France.
• 100,000 soldiers
• Largest Armada in History
• 1,000 aircraft dropped 23,000 paratroopers in
  France

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D-Day Why June 6th?

• Weather Tides prevented earlier attack.
• Flat open beaches in Normandy land a lot of
  people at once.
• Coincidence - Rommels wifes birthday!

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D-Day Largest landing by sea in history

• Gold
• Juno
• Sword
• Omaha
• Utah

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Specialized Landing Craft
"D" indicated a vehicle designed in
1942, "U" meant "utility", "K" indicated driven
front wheels, "W" indicated two powered rear
axles.

• DUKW (Ducks)

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Donald Duck DD Tanks

• Duplex Drive

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D-Day Utah Beach

• Landing was difficult currents but little
  resistance.
• Trouble happened later.
• Hedgerow fighting

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D-Day Omaha Beach

• Killing Zone
• 12 major resistance points could fire down over
  every inch of the beach.
• Steep cliffs to climb

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D-Day Casualties

• Over 2,000 American (Omaha)
• 9,000 total Allied
• 2,000 German
• BUT
• By the next week 500,000 Allies were in France.

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Liberating France

• Patton used Blitzkrieg to blow a hole in Germans
  and advance out of Normandy.
• Liberated Paris August 25, 1944.

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The Generals United States

• George Patton 1885 1945.
• As a boy knew he wanted to be a hero.
• LOVED war.
• Early on realized the potential for tanks.
• Did NOT have good diplomacy skills.

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The Battle of the Bulge Germany fights back

• Dec 1944 Germans cut off part of the American
  army.
• Pattons amazing movement in winter saved the
  American forces.
• 600,000 GI soldiers involved
• 80,000 killed, wounded
• 100,000 Germans killed
• http//lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/maps/wwii/
  essay1.html

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The War in Europe Ends

• Stalins Red Army approaching Germany from the
  East.
• British, American and French approaching from the
  West.

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The War in Europe Ends

• Russia was out for revenge for Nazi atrocities
  committed against them.
• 24 MILLION dead Russians.

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Crossing the Elbe River

• April 25, 1945
• US and Russian troops joined up and pushed on
  into Berlin
• Russians given the honor of capturing Berlin.

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Germany Surrenders V-E Day!

• April 30, 1945 Hitler commits suicide.
• May 8, 1945 Germany surrenders
• V-E Victory in Europe.