Germans begin invasions of Russian cities Leningrad and Moscow beginning June 1941. Summer 1942:...

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD Germans begin invasions of Russian

cities Leningrad and Moscow beginning June 1941.

Summer 1942: Germans invade Stalingrad, a major industrial city in southern Russia (access to oil fields)

First major turning point for the Allies

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD August 1942: Germans invade

Stalingrad with air raids and ground troops

Hitler’s Goals:1. Capture Soviet oil fields in the

Caucasus2. Destroy Stalingrad (a major industrial

center for the Soviets)

GERMAN INVASIONS OF RUSSIA

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD By November 1942, Germans control

9/10 of the city Soviet officers consider abandoning city

and destroying factories Stalin ordered Soviet troops to defend

the city at any cost

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD All is nearly lost for the Soviets in

Stalingrad UNTIL Winter sets in Winter allows Soviets time to regroup

and acquire fresh tanks to mount a counterattack.

Soviets closed around Stalingrad, trapping German troops and cutting off their supplies

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD Germans’ situation becomes hopeless Soviets lost a total of 1,100,000 soldiers

(more than all American deaths in the entire war)

Soviet army begins westward movement toward Germany

THE NORTH AFRICAN FRONT While the Battle of Stalingrad raged,

Stalin pressures Britain and America to open a ‘second front’ in Western Europe

Purpose: Why would Stalin want this?

‘OPERATION TORCH’ An invasion of Axis-controlled North

Africa commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower

In November 1942, ~107,000 Allied troops landed in North Africa

By May 1943, Axis troops surrendered

‘OPERATION TORCH

ITALIAN CAMPAIGN Summer 1943: Allies capture Sicily Mussolini is forced to resign But Hitler is determined to stop the

allied attack in Italy before they could get to Germany

‘Bloody Anzio’ – major battle near Rome

30,000 Axis casualties 25,000 Allied casualties

ITALIAN CAMPAIGN Allies faced strong resistance in Italy Italy not freed until 1945 (near end of

war)

CRITICAL THINKING #5 Read pp. 569 – 574 in your textbook In a two-paragraph response, describe

two military turning points for the Allies (U.S., Britain, and Soviet Russia) in WWII during 1942-1943. Explain how each military victory contributed to the Allied cause. (you may want to consider the territory that was won, access to resources, importance of industry during times of war, etc.)

‘D-DAY’ Under Eisenhower’s direction, the Allies

gathered a force of nearly 3 million British, American, and Canadian troops

Army is stocked with a massive amount of military supplies

Allies prepare for a massive invasion of Normandy

EISENHOWER’S TRICKERY Sets up a ‘Phantom Army’ Sends radio message to ‘Army’ in codes

he knew the Germans could read Orders ‘Army’ to attack Calais (strongest

section of Hitler’s ‘Atlantic Wall’)

‘D-DAY’ Why would it make sense for the Allies

to invade at Calais?