The European Theatre of WWII

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The European Theatre of WWII
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Major Axis Powers

• Germany
• Italy
• Japan
• Soviet Union (USSR)

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Major Allied Powers

• Britain
• France
• United States
• Soviet Union (USSR)

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Pact of Steel

• Italy and Germany enter into an alliance

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Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Germany and the USSR sign a non-aggression pact.
• This is surprising because they previously
  disliked each other

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The Invasion of Poland 1939

• End of the Policy of appeasement
• Britain and France declared war on Germany
• The warfare became known as blitzkrieg
  lightening war using tanks aircraft
• Poland Fell to German forces on October 5th 1939

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Miracle at Dunkirk

• Germans pushed the British and French troops into
  Belgium and drove them toward the English
  Channel. They ended up at the port city of
  Dunkirk.
• Hitler delayed advancing for 3days
• 850 British ships of all sizes evacuated an
  estimated 338,000 troops from Dunkirk.
• It is speculated that if Hitler had not waited
  that he would have defeated the British and
  French but instead they escaped.

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The Fall of France

• France surrendered in June 1940
• Germany occupies northern France
• Germans create a Free Zone in the south of France
• Created a French government in cooperation with
  Nazi Germany
• French soldiers were forced to fight for the Axis
  Powers
• French Jews were turned over to Nazi authorities

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Battle of Britain

• German air force bombed British ships in the
  English Channel and military targets.
• August 1940 Germany accidently bombed London.
  Britain bombed Berlin the next night.
• Germans were instructed to only bomb London to
  terrorize them into surrendering.
• British air force were greatly outnumbered by the
  Germans but they had one advantage RADAR
• Hitler called off invasion in October 1940.

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Germany Invades the Soviet Union
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Germany declares war on the United States
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Battling in North Africa
1942-1943

• July Roosevelt ordered invasion of Morocco and
  Algeria (French territories under German control)
• British joined United States in Tunisia
• German General Rommel The Desert Fox
• American General Patton
• Rommel Defeated May 1943.

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Battle of the Atlantic

• Between December 1941 and August 1942 Germans
  subs sank 360 American ships along the American
  coast.
• So many oil tankers sank that gas and oil had to
  be rationed.
• Navy set up convoy systems where groups of ships
  were escorted by United States Navy.
• May and June 1942 1.2 million tons of shipping
  sunk BUT 1.1 million tons of new shipping built.
• From July 1942 onward America produced more ships
  than the Germans could sink.
• US Started using new technology radar, sonar,
  and depth charges.

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Casablanca Conference

• Allied leaders get together to discuss next steps
  in the war.
• Those who attended
• United States
• Britain
• France
• USSR did not attend.
• Doctrine of Unconditional Surrender adopted
• Goal was to destroy the aggressors of WWII
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan

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Stalingrad 1942

• Viewed as the TURNING POINT of the war in Europe.
• Germans decided that the way to defeat the USSR
  was to destroy their economy.
• Captured strategic oil fields, industries, and
  farmlands.
• Attacked Stalingrad to cut off the rest of the
  USSR from resources.
• Germans entered the city in September 1942
• November 1942 Soviet reinforcements arrived and
  surrounded the city trapping 250,000 German
  troops.
• In the end 91,000 Germans surrendered. Only
  5,000 survived Soviet prison camps.

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Invasion Surrender of Italy

• US and British troops invaded the island of
  Sicily. Eight days later the Germans evacuated.
• King of Italy arrests Mussolini and secretly
  started negotiating with Allies for surrender.
• Italy surrenders September 8, 1943

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Fighting in Italy Continues

• Germans seized northern Italy and Rome. They put
  Mussolini back into power.
• Fighting in Italy finally ends on May 2, 1945.

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Tehran Conference

• Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill meet in Tehran,
  Iran
• Several agreements made
• USSR would attack Germans while Allies invade
  France in 1944
• Germany would be broken up after the war
• USSR would help the US defeat Japan after the
  Germans were defeated.
• An international organization would be created to
  keep the peace.

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D-Day 1944

• General Eisenhower put in charge of invasion
• Germans thought Allies would invade at Pas de
  Calais
• Plan was to invade at Normandy
• 7,000 ships carrying gt100,000 soldiers
• 23,000 paratroopers dropped inland
• Aircraft bombed bridges, bunkers, and radar
  sites.

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D-Day Continued

• Utah Beach invasion went well.
• Omaha Beach invasion did not go well at first.
  2,500 Americans were killed or injured.
• By the end of the day the invasion succeeded.

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Paris is Liberated
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Battle of the Bulge 1944

• Germans try to cut off American supplies coming
  through Antwerp, Belgium.
• After 3 weeks of fighting Americans won the
  battle.
• Germans lost
• 100,000 soldiers
• Most of their tanks and aircraft

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Victory in Europe
V-E Day 1945

• Starting in February 1945 the United States and
  USSR invaded Germany from the east and west.
• Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945
• May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally
• May 8, 1945 was proclaimed V-E Day (Victory in
  Europe)