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WORLD WAR II

WORLD WAR II. ALLIED INVASIONS. War in Africa. Fighting begins in Africa in 1940 when Italian forces based in Libya attacked British-controlled Egypt Italy wants an African empire The British need to protect the Suez Canal, since it was the shipping route to the oil fields of the Middle East

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WORLD WAR II

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  1. WORLD WAR II ALLIED INVASIONS

  2. War in Africa • Fighting begins in Africa in 1940 when Italian forces based in Libya attacked British-controlled Egypt • Italy wants an African empire • The British need to protect the Suez Canal, since it was the shipping route to the oil fields of the Middle East • The British eliminate the Italian threat and even invade Libya – the Italians were now on the defensive • Feb. 1941 – 30,000 British soldiers capture 130,000 Italian prisoners, gain 500 miles • Only lost 500 men and Ethiopia is freed

  3. Hitler steps in and sends the Desert Fox • The new German and Italian force was called the Afrika Korps and was led by General Erwin Rommel • He pushes the British out of Libya and back into Egypt • Rommel and the British go back and forth • The Afrika Korps lacks supplies – Rommel is outnumbered and has less fire power • Battle of El Alamein (Oct. 1942) • British General Montgomery takes advantage of Rommel’s supply problems • Rommel retreats 2,000 miles

  4. Operation Torch – the Allied Invasion of Africa • Stalin wants the Allies to invade Europe to open up a second front • The U.S. and especially the British decide to invade Africa instead • Nov. 1942 – three amphibious landings in the French colonies of Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco • Led by American general Dwight Eisenhower • Landed with 107,000 Allied troops and the Vichy-controlled colonies soon joined • As a result, Germany occupies all of France • Rommel is in trouble, has Allied forces to the east and west

  5. Rommel goes to Berlin to plead for more troops and weapons • May 1943 the Afrika Korps surrenders and the war in Africa is over • 250,000 Axis soldiers taken prisoner and the Allies control all of North Africa

  6. Invasion of Italy • Known as Operation Husky (June 1943) • The Allies invade the island of Sicily first • The Italians remove Mussolini from power • Italy leaves the war in September • Sicily is captured a few weeks later • The Allies next invade mainland Italy • Germany sends Rommel to defend northern Italy • German resistance slows the Allies • They reach Rome by May 1944 • Don’t gain total control of Italy until five days before Germany surrenders

  7. Battle of the Atlantic and Berlin • Battle of the Atlantic • Germany relied once again on U-boats since they couldn’t match the battleships of Great Britain • The German U-boat fleet consisted of 400 subs • They fought in wolf packs for protection • Sank 2,452 merchant ships and 174 warships at a cost of thousands of lives and millions of dollars • Eventually the Allies won control of the Atlantic • Better-equipped convoys that hunted and destroyed the U-boats • Allies had broken the German code, knew the location of the U-boats

  8. Battle of Berlin • November 1943 to spring 1944 • Allies bomb Berlin and other cities • Also bomb railways and infrastructure in France

  9. Tehran Conference • Nov. 1943 – meeting of the Allied Powers • Main issue was the plan to launch the cross-channel invasion • Decide to create the United Nations to replace the failed League of Nations • Would be dominated by Britain, U.S., the Soviet Union, and France

  10. Invasion of France • American generals Eisenhower and Marshall are put in charge • Assemble and train troops, also develop specialized equipment to transport troops and tanks across the channel • Fake out Hitler – complex plan to mislead Hitler about where the invasion would take place • Hitler doesn’t know where the attack will happen, sends Rommel to defend the coast of several nations • Rommel builds the Atlantic Wall

  11. D-Day June 6, 1944 • Operation Overlord – Allied forces invade France • 150,000 troops land on the beaches of Normandy and force their way through German defenses • High amount of casualties, but D-Day was a huge victory • With the beaches secured, more Allied troops sent in • 1 million soldiers in France by the end of June • The Allies quickly reconquered most of France and Paris is freed in August

  12. Battle of the Bulge • Dec. 1944 – the Germans launch a massive counterattack in Belgium • The Germans advance, creating a bulge in the Allied battle lines • By Jan. 1945 the Allies regain the land and crush the German offensive • Within two months the Allied forces had crossed the Rhine River into Germany and were racing towards Berlin

  13. Allied Invasions Allies Code Who does Hitler Invade Name send to defend

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