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World War IIThe War in Europe
Mr. Herneisen
Background – World War I Germany & Ottoman
Empire (Turkey) vs. USA, Great Britain, France
Germany loses
Germany forced to pay back money and loses lots of land.
Germany goes into their own “great depression”.
How did the Great Depression in the USA affect Europe?
Background Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power
Soldier in WWI Upset when Germany surrenders Blames the “Jews and the Communists”
Joins the “Nazi” political party Promises to help Germany recover from the
Great Depression
Hitler elected as “Chancellor” in 1932
Causes of WWII
Battle of Britain (1940) After the fall of France, Hitler turns
toward Great Britain Can’t invade until Germany establishes
air and sea superiority Begins bombing Great Britain night &
day a.k.a.
The British stay strong & never give up Hitler gets frustrated, turns towards
Russia
Hitler Targeting Russia After 1941, Hitler’s goal was to
avoid a crushing defeat, rather than achieve victory. He wants to increase the attacks on
Russia to try and get Russia to abandon the Allies and ask for a truce
The Allies must strike back before Russia is beaten!
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
When Hitler can’t defeat Britain, he takes on Russia (Big mistake #1) Wants to rid Russia of Jews and Communists to give
Germans “living space”
Hitler breaks the Non-Aggression Pact with Russia, declares war on Russia
After Japan attacks U.S.A at Pearl Harbor, Germany declares war on U.S.A. as well (Big Mistake #2)
Taking Back Europe! Hitler now must fight a war on two sides
Western Front (France) Fighting against the USA, Britain, & France Hitler is very worried about an Allied invasion
Eastern Front (Russia) Fighting against the Russians By 1943, Russia had killed or captured 1
million German soldiers
Where will the Allies invade?
Where will the invasion occur? Hitler knows the Allies will invade in France
Why? (Geography!) Allies have built up supplies and soldiers in Britain for
3 years Easiest place to invade is the Pas-de-Calais (map)
Hitler expects that, B Builds up his defense all along the Northern coast of
France, but he still doesn’t know exactly where the invasion will occur
U.S. uses General George Patton and a bunch of fake tanks at Dover to make Hitler believe the invasion will occur at Calais
Operation Overlord (D-Day) The Invasion of France
When? June 6, 1944 (after weather delays)
Where? Normandy (map)
Why there? The element of surprise!
What does “D-Day” stand for, anyway?
D-Day One day and One Night
5,300 ships and 11,000 airplanes moved… 175,000 men 50,000 vehicles
…70 miles across the English Channel
Largest fleet EVER assembled, in history!
Short battles…Heavy casualties 5 Beaches
Utah (U.S.A.) Omaha (U.S.A.)– Longest Battle/Toughest beach to take
6,600 combined U.S. casualties that day
Gold (Britain) Juno (Britain) Sword (Britain)
Liberating France After D-Day, General Patton
and his tank battalion swept across northern France.
Paris was liberated two months after D-day, by the French “Resistance” and a French division of the U.S. 1st Army
The British and Canadian forces moved across Belgium and the Netherlands
Battle of the Bulge Huge “last ditch effort” offensive attack by
the Germans in Belgium 600,000 American troops involved
80,000 Americans killed Germany loses about 100,000 soldiers After losing this battle, most German
commanders realize the war is lost
War in Europe Ends Russian troops suffer huge losses, but keep
pushing into Germany On the Eastern Front:
11 million Russian soldiers killed (7 million civilians)
3 million German soldiers killed Russians consider taking Berlin to be a matter of
pride. After Berlin falls, Hitler commits suicide in his
underground bunker rather than be captured
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