Discussion PointWhy was the Battle of Stalingrad a critical turning point in World War II?

D-DAY

JUNE 6, 1944

Italy begins to crumble• Success of Operation Torch leads to invasion of Italy

• July 1943 Allies invade Sicily– Mussolini falls from power– September Italy surrenders

April 28th 1945

Mussolini hung

World War II

1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945

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D-Day

MussoliniFalls

PolandInvasion

France Falls

Battle of Britain

InvasionSovietUnion

OperationTorch &Battle ofStalingrad

Battle ofMidway

PearlHarbor

1944

D-Day• When: June 6th – August 25th 1944

• Code Name: Operation Overlord

• 1943 begin building troops in Great Britain– 3.5 million troops assembled

– Thousands of planes, ships, tanks & landing crafts

• Result: Allied Victory– 3,000 Americans die first day

Troops assemble in England

Training in England

Normandy

• General Dwight Eisenhower plans strike on coast of Northwestern France (Normandy)

• British, French, American & Canadian troops participate– By July 1.5 million troops were in France

• Began June 5th with paratroopers & planes

Military Strategy:

Paratroopers sent in behind enemy lines night before D-day

Storming the Beach

Beaches of Normandy

Beaches of Normandy

STORMING THE BEACH!

Results of D-Day

• By July the Germans were retreating

• By August 1944 the Allies had liberated Paris!

• Turning point in European Theater of war– Created a 2-Front War in Europe– Forced Hitler to develop new war strategy

• The Battle of Stalingrad & D-Day ensure Hitler’s defeat

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Dday_newyorktimes.jpg

D-Day Reading

• Class Discussion

Journal #4

• Explain why the Allies were ready to re-take France in June of 1944.

• With Hitler about to fail, what is CRITICAL to ensure a lasting peace?– (what lessons did you learn from the Treaty of

Versailles)