The Liberation of Europe

1. The Liberation of Europe

2. The Atlantic Wall • The Allies had to break through the ATLANTIC WALL if reclaiming Europe, or “Operation Overlord” was going to be successful. • The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the Germans between 1942 and 1944 • Built along the western coast of Europe to defend against an anticipated British led Allied invasion of the continent from Great Britain. • Thousands of forced laborers were forced to construct these permanent fortifications along the Dutch, Belgian and French coasts

3. The Atlantic Wall • A string of reinforced concrete pillboxes were built along the beaches to house machine guns, antitank guns, and light artillery. • Minefields and antitank obstacles were planted on the beaches and underwater obstacles and mines were planted in the waters just off shore to destroy incoming craft • By the time of the invasion, the Germans had laid almost 6 million mines in northern France.

4. The Atlantic Wall!

5. The Liberation of Northwest Europe • In September 1944 the British captured the Belgian port of Antwerp • It was a key victory for the allies because they desperately required its docking facilities to bring in supplies. • The problem was that the Germans occupied both banks of the 70-kilometre long Scheldt River estuary linking Antwerp to the sea, and controlled the mouth of the river, between Belgium and the Netherlands. • Realizing the value of Antwerp to the Allied supply line, the 2nd Canadian Army under the command of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds was assigned to the task of securing the Scheldt Estuary

6. Liberating The Scheldt Estuary • After five weeks of difficult fighting, the First Canadian Army with support from other countries was successful in securing the Scheldt Estuary • It took numerous amphibious assaults, crossing of canals, and fighting over open ground • Both land and water were mined, and the Germans defended their retreating line with artillery and snipers.

7. The Scheldt Con’t • The Allies finally cleared the port areas on November 8, but at a cost of 12,873 Allied casualties (killed, wounded, or missing) • Canadians suffered approx. 6400 casualties. • This victory cleared the way for the final Allied advance into Germany.

8. The Battle of the Bulge • The Ardennes Offensive known to the general public as the Battle of the Bulge, started on December 16, 1944 • Three powerful German armies plunged into the semi-mountainous, heavily forested Ardennes region of eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. • Their goal was to reach the sea, trap four allied armies, and impel a negotiated peace on the Western front.

10. The Battle of the Bulge • Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive the line was thin with American manpower concentrated north and south of the Ardennes. • Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, the American troops did not give ground without a fight • Within three days the Americans, assisted by the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the Germans would not achieve their goal.

11. Battle of the Bulge Outcome • The German losses in the battle were critical • The last of the German reserves were now gone • The Luftwaffe had been broken • The German Army in the West was being pushed back. • Most importantly, the Eastern Front was now ripe for the taking and the German Army was unable to halt the Soviets • German forces were sent reeling on two fronts and never recovered.

12. The Yalta Conference – Feb. 4 – 11 1945 • 3 main leaders of the Allied forces, Churchill (Britain), Stalin (Soviet Union), and F.D.Roosevelt (USA) met at Yalta to discuss the fate of a defeated Germany and post-war Europe. • Resulted in several key decisions: • Germany was to be demilitarized and denazified; • Post-war Germany was to be divided into 4 zones of occupation, with Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the US occupying one zone each; • The creation of the United Nations (similar to the League of Nations)

13. The major Allied ground offensive from the west against German territory began on 8 February 1945 • In April, Canadian troops liberated most of the Netherlands

14. Freeing the Netherlands • In February 1945, Canadian troops (175000 soldiers) joined the Rhine Offensive. • They successfully drove the Germans out of the Netherlands and back into northern Germany. • As they freed the Dutch, they discovered many people were on the verge of starvation. • In fact, many had resorted to eating tulip bulbs!

15. Canada and the Liberation of the Netherlands • To this day, the Dutch remain grateful to Canada for giving them their freedom from the Germans. • To show their appreciation, every year the Dutch donate 10000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa.

16. The Final Days • In April 1945, the battle is coming to a close. • On the 30th April, Hitler commits suicide together with his mistress Eva Braun hours after they were married. • Hitler gave strict orders for his body to be burned, so that his enemies wouldn't do what they had done to Mussolini, who was publicly displayed hanging upside down.

17. The Soviets Arrive – Berlin Falls at the Battle for Berlin • By 2 May, the Reichstag, the old German parliament falls and Berlin surrenders to Marshall Zukhov, who receives the honour of being the conqueror of Berlin. • On May 5, 1945, a ceasefire is declared. • On May 7th, the German forces surrendered. • The battle for Berlin cost the Soviets over 70,000 dead. Many of them died because of the haste with which the campaign was conducted.

18. VE-Day • May 8th, 1945, is known as Victory-in-Europe, or ‘V-E’ Day • THE WAR IN EUROPE WAS OVER!