The United States in World War II

1. The United States in World War II 24.1 The War in Europe and North Africa

2. The Battle of the AtlanticDefeating the Axis Powers depended largely on control of the seas U-Boat Attacks The Allied Response • WWI = US formed convoys to protect their ships • WII = US does not have enough ships for convoys • The ‘Wolf Pack’ Attacks • U-Boats began to hunt in groups at night • Germans sunk 360 ships in just one year and lost only eight of their own • Energized shipyards began producing ships at an amazing rate • Began to protect convoys from the air; use radar technology • Enigma • German code system • Broken by the U.S. in 1941 • By the war’s end, 70% of Germans who’d served on submarines were dead

3. The War in the Soviet Union • In the summer of 1941 Hitler broke his ‘Nonaggression Pact’ with Stalin – surprise, surprise! – and sent troops into the Soviet Union. • The Soviet Union joins the Allied Powers • Stalin was ill-equipped to combat the Blitzkrieg, but the Soviets were joined by a new ally . . . • Winter in Russia • This slowed, but did not defeat, German forces

4. The Battle of Stalingrad • When Spring returned, Germany resumed it’s assault of the SU • One major target of the German armies was the industrial city of Stalingrad • In August 1942, the Germans attacked Stalingrad • In some of the bloodiest fighting in the history of warfare, the Soviets refused to let Stalingrad fall • Not only did the Germans fail to take the city, they also exposed themselves to a counterattack costing them some two million soldiers; the SU lost twelve million soldiers and millions of civilians BUT . . . • In January 1944, the German army had been successfully pushed out of the SU and back into Germany; Stalingrad marked the beginning of the end for the Germans in the SU

5. The Battle of Stalingrad

6. American Forces in N. Africa and Italy • Soon after France fell, the British and Italians began a fight for North Africa; North Africa was vital to Allied success • Protect shipping on the Mediterranean Sea • Bring oil through the Suez Canal from the Middle East to fuel planes/ships/tanks • The Italians attempted an attack on British forces in Egypt but were beaten badly; Hitler had to send reinforcements • The Battle of El Alamein • The British finally handed the Germans a major defeat in N Africa as well

7. Operation Torch • U.S. Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower called for American forces to invade N. Africa in November 1942 • Americans fought German forces in North Africa for roughly six months and lost some 20,000 troops; but by May of 1943, they’d defeated them • Stalin began to push the U.S. to invade Europe; however, such an operation was still years away • Instead, the Allied leaders prepared to cross the Mediterranean and knock the Italians out of the war

8. Invading Italy“Would you rather die for Mussolini and Hitler . . . or live for Italy and civilization?” • In July of 1943, the U.S. invaded the island of Sicily • By the end of the month, the Italians had chosen life . . . they turned against Mussolini and forced him out of power • The Allied Powers took Sicily a few weeks later; much to Hitler’s outrage • Hitler responded by sending troops to Italy, but the Allies continued to make steady progress • Enter the Tuskegee Airmen

9. Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen? The Tuskegee Airmen were the first unit of African Americans to receive training as pilots in the U.S. military

10. Taking Rome • After early successes in Italy, the Allies slowed their approach as they got close to Rome • Anzio • In late January, the first of some 100,000 Allied soldiers came ashore • Fighting raged for four months until Allied troops from the South came to the rescue of the soldiers trapped in Anzio; 25,000 – 30,000 Allied soldiers were lost • Despite the victory at Anzio, fighting in Italy continued for another year . . . some 300,000 troops would die or suffer injury there

11. D-Day: The Invasion of France • Operation Overlord • To end the war a.s.a.p., the Allies wanted to launch a large scale attack on Europe • They settled on the beaches of Normandy, France • Careful planning and speed were going to be crucial . . . • The Germans had two new weapons • V1 Flying Bomb • V2 Rocket

12. The Landing at Normandy • June 6, 1944, 3.5 million Allied soldiers arrived • Success was absolutely necessary, but uncertain

13. The Attack • Began with soldiers parachuting behind German lines to try and secure key sites • Ships offshore rained shells on the coastline • Allied aircraft filled the sky to provide cover for the waves of troops to come • The Success of Operation Overlord would depend on the individual soldiers, whose job it was to wait for their landing-craft gate to open then move toward shore • By the thousands, they waded through the surf till they hit the sand and then raced through obstacles, wounded and dead comrades, and a hail of gunfire to find something to hide behind, and went forward again

14. D-Day

15. Saving Private Ryan

16. The German Response • Thanks in part to Allied deceptions, Hitler feared the assault on Normandy was just a trick and that another invasion would take place elsewhere; therefore, he was slow to respond • For DAYS, German leaders delayed in sending backup forces to the area • Though the cost was high – some 10,000 soldiers (more than half being Americans) - D-Day was a success • By July, the landing area was considered secure enough to send in our first women’s army corp., and the Allied troops marched onward to France

17. Women’s Army Corp.

18. The Battle of the Bulge • Hitler’s once mighty war machine now appeared on the verge of collapse . . . and the Allied forces projected an early end to the war • This turned out to be premature . . . • December 16, 1944 • The Germans launched a surprised offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge; which came down to control of the Belgian city of Bastogne Hitler caught the American troops completely off guard . . . but how would it end??

19. The Battle for Bastogne • Surrounded by Germans, shivering in below-zero temperatures and low on supplies, Americans clung to survival • December 26th, just as things were starting to look dire, reinforcements led by Lieutenant General George S. Patton arrived to provide relief • By the end of January 1945, the bulge created by the German offensive had been rolled back; the Allies set their sights on Germany . . . and the defeat of Hitler