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WWII – Pushing to Victory

WWII – Pushing to Victory. Europe First. The only way to really defeat Germany was to push them out of France Easier said than done. Germany has been fortifying France for the past few years. Stalin knew that the key to success was invading France, and creating a 2 front war

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WWII – Pushing to Victory

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  1. WWII – Pushing to Victory

  2. Europe First • The only way to really defeat Germany was to push them out of France • Easier said than done. • Germany has been fortifying France for the past few years. • Stalin knew that the key to success was invading France, and creating a 2 front war • Churchill was not eager to repeat the death from WWI that happened in France.

  3. November 1943 • Teheran, Iran • Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin have their first face to face meeting of the war. • Argued over when to invade France. • FDR and Stalin felt the time was now, • Churchill worried about the western front and U-boats in the English Channel • Finally decided to move towards invading France. • Issued a declaration stating that “no power on earth can prevent our destroying the German armies by land, their u boats by sea, and their planes from the air” • Took 6 months to organize but soon the second front would be open.

  4. Operation Overlord • Most daring and difficult operation to this point in the war • Most experienced officers put in charge • British – General Bernard Montgomery • US first Army – General Omar Bradley • Supreme Commander – General Dwight D Eisenhower • The Plan would be landing 21 American divisions and 26 British, Canadian, and Polish divisions on a 50 mile stretch of beaches in Normandy France. • Use a fleet of over 4,400 ships and landing crafts

  5. Beaches of Normandy • 5 beaches would be attacked at the same time • Code named • Utah • Omaha • Gold • Juno • Sword • Landing crafts would deliver soldiers onto the beaches while bombers would supply air support to capture the landing areas.

  6. Deception • Another part of the plan was to trick the Germans into thinking the invasion was going to happen somewhere else • Allies created a fictional army under the command of General Patton • Created a fake headquarters across the English channel from Calais • Also had fake tanks, fake ships, and fake radio signals • Germany bought it and thought the invasion was going to happen at Calais • Hitler put his top tank division at Calais.

  7. D-DAY June 6 1944 • Allies hit the beaches of Normandy • Planes arrived first • 11,000 aiming to destroy communication networks and transportation centers and weaken defenses • At 6:30 am landing crafts arrived after an incredibly rough journey over the English channel • Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches • Defenses on these beaches was lighter and the troops were more successful, casualties were not as many as Omaha

  8. Omaha Beach • German forces were well fortified at Omaha Beach • Dug in trenches on the cliffs overlooking the beach • Built concrete pillbox bunkers for heavy weaponry • Beach was covered with machine gunners and mine fields • Americans had a difficult time even getting close to shore • Many landing crafts dumped their men early • Could touch the bottom, weighed down with gear many drowned before even reaching the beach. • Many were shot as soon as the entered the water

  9. Success at Normandy • It was not easy in any way. all beaches had defenses and all beaches had casualties • “Once our boat touched down I became a visitor to hell” • Total number 2,700 British, 946 Canadians, and 6,603 Americans. • But the impact of Normandy was massive • Within a month more than 1 million troops would land at Normandy to invade France • First step in ending the war with Germany.

  10. Liberation • Germany now faced a 2 front war, and was basically surrounded by the allies • Soviets were finding success pushing west and the Germans were losing resources • Paris • Slowly the Allies moved into Paris • Hitler ordered the city destroyed, but the soldiers left it untouched. • Germany became more and more hopeless

  11. Germany collapsing • German leaders were starting to turn on Hitler • Rommel and others tried to overthrow Hitler • On July 20th on officer planted a bomb at Hitler's headquarters • Explosion wounded or killed 20 but not Hitler. • Rommel afraid of trial and execution committed suicide with poison. • Hitler refused to surrender.

  12. Germany’s last push • Hitler ordered a counter attack in December 1944 • Used German soldiers to dress as Allied and American soldiers and cut communications, change road signs, and create confusion • Then German tanks would move in • Became known as battle of the Bulge • Germany pushed a bulge into the front lines of the allies but were eventually pushed back when the weather allowed bombers to destroy their forces.

  13. Final Straw • The Battle of the Bulge defeat ultimately lead to a quicker end to the war for Hitler • His men were exhausted, beat down, starved, and morally defeated. • In April 1945 Mussolini was captured and killed • The Allis moved into Berlin and started an assault on Hitler's headquarters • Hitler tried desperately to finish the war • No one listened to him, he was going mentally insane • Committed suicide with his closest friends on April 30 1945

  14. V-E Day • Victory in Europe came on May 7th in a little school house that Eisenhower was using as his headquarters • Germany officially surrender and the war in Europe was over. • FDR didn’t live to see the end of the war • Died a few weeks earlier from illness • Harry S Truman took the oath of office and the role of ending the war.

  15. War in the Pacific • Island Hoping strategy • Start north and south and work our way towards Tokyo • Difficult going as Japanese soldiers never gave up • Old Samurai warrior belief in never surrender lead to a difficult and slow battle resulting in High casualties • Japanese's would rather kill themselves than surrender and retreat.

  16. Kamikaze • Pilots would crash into American troops or ships rather than crash somewhere and survive • Inflicting high damage and higher death tolls. • By the end of the war an estimated 3,000 pilots committed suicide • Kamikaze was deadly but it didn’t prevent the American forces lead by Douglas Macarthur from stopping taking back islands.

  17. America moves closer • Iwo Jima • Feb and March 1945 • Island 650 miles away from Tokyo • Japanese's forces had dug tunnels and trenches and heavily fortified the island. • Took 36 days to capture a 5 mile island • 23,000 marines died in the struggle. • Captured it and rallied the troops when the flag was raised on Iwo Jima.

  18. Okinawa • April 1945 • 340 miles away from Japan • Contained a vital air base that the US would need to bomb Tokyo and end the war • Capturing the island would be the hardest, most deadly, and expensive effort of the war in the pacific • Half million troops and 1,213 ships. • 50,000 died in the struggle • Opened the airfield for bombers to get to Tokyo • In one night bombers destroyed 16 square miles of a city and killed 83,000 people and injured 100,000 more.

  19. Manhattan Project • Throughout the war technology was improving • Radar, bombing “computers”, jets, penicillin. • But the most technologic advancement was in the field of atomic energy • In 1930 scientists learned how to split and atom • Found it created a lot of energy • Albert Einstein sent a letter to president Roosevelt urging him to proceed with atomic development. • In 1942 FDR put it at priority one and started the program to create an atomic weapon. • The Manhattan Project.

  20. Manhattan project • Lead by General Leslie Groves • Who would build facilities • Recruit scientists • Provide security • J Robert Oppenheimer • Lead scientists • Security was tight and they tried not to let people know what was actually being developed.

  21. July 16th 1945 • Alamogordo New Mexico • First test of an atomic bomb • Flash of light visible from 180 miles away • Sound was heard 100 miles away • Oppenhiemer “ Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” • Groves: “The war’s over: One or Two of those things and Japan will be finished.”

  22. Truman Decides • Harry Truman had to decide whether to use the weapon or not. • Had a lot of potential casualties and destruction. • Could open the door to more attacks • However, some deaths could save countless American lives. • Could save 1 million soldiers or more. • Truman decides to drop the bomb

  23. Hiroshima and Nagasaki • August 6th 1945 • Pilots dropped the first atomic bomb at 8:15 am • Within 2 minutes more than 60,000 were dead or missing • Japan would debate whether to surrender or continue to fight over the next 3 days. • On August 9th soviet union declared war on japan and invaded Manchuria • And the US dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki killing 35,000

  24. V-J day: August 15th 1945 • Emperor Hirohito made the decision to surrender • Japan officially signed the documents ending the conflict on September 2nd aboard the USS Missouri and the War officially ended.

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