• Germany has a solid hold on Europe and the allied armies are too weak to reinvade. What should they do in the meantime?

• When the allies are finally strong enough, where should they invade first?

The End of World War IIThe End of World War II

Allied Offensives in EuropeAllied Offensives in Europe

Create a new Google Doc called “Ending the War”

Create a new Google Doc called “Ending the War”

ObjectivesObjectivesTake notes today on material that matches the following:

•What was the allied strategy to defeat Hitler?

•Where did the Allied armies invade Axis-controlled territories?

•What was “D-Day”? How did it contribute to the end of the war?

•When did the war end?

DQ: 1-29-13DQ: 1-29-13

• Pretend you are one of the allied generals (American and British). What is your plan for defeating Germany and Italy in Europe?

• How will you weaken Germany’s war machine?

• When the time comes, where will you in re-invade Europe?

Weakening the War Machine

Weakening the War Machine

• Allied bombing campaign

• Americans by day, British by night

• Factories vs. Cities

Where First?

Operation TorchOperation Torch

British fighting against Germans and Italians in Egypt and Libya since 1940

Fall 1942 Americans invade western North Africa

“Pincer” move kicks Germans/Italians out in May 1943

Where next?

“The Soft Underbelly”“The Soft Underbelly”

Operation Mincemeat

Invade Sicily July 1943

Mussolini’s government falls during the month-long fighting

Invade Italy in September, Italy surrenders on September 8, joins Allied side

Germany does not give up control of the land, though

Fight the Allies to a standstill until the next May

Liberation of Rome June 4, 1944

Allies continue to fight their way north, stalemate in the Alps

Mussolini killed by partisans on April 28, 1945

“The Soft Underbelly”“The Soft Underbelly”

Where next?Where next?

The Longest DayThe Longest DayD-Day: June 6, 1944

175,000 American, British, & Canadian soldiers along 60-mile stretch of Normandy coast

2,245 killed, 1,670 wounded

Allied planes and French partisans worked for months to disrupt the rail and communications systems so the Germans cannot send reinforcements.

LiberationLiberation

Allies breakout from Normandy in final days of July

Liberate Paris on August 25, 1944

Allies continue to advance through the Low Countries (Belgium & Holland) in the fall

Push from the East

Push from the East

While Allies press on through France and low countries, the Soviet Army reaches its pre-war borders by the end of 1944.

Also knocked out Germany’s allies (Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria)

By the end of March 1945 both Allied and Soviet armies had invaded Germany; Germany fights on but continues to lose ground

Hitler commits suicide in an underground bunker in Berlin on April 30

Germany surrenders on May 8, 1945

V-E Day

The End of the Reich

The End of the Reich

Capture of the Reichstag

Who suffered most?How hard was the war on

US?