Turning Points in the European Theater

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Turning Points in the European Theater
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Battle of the Atlantic

• US Britain vs. Germany
• German U-Boats tried to sink Allied merchant
  ships
• (US sending supplies to Britain and USSR)

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North Africa

• US Britain vs. Germany Italy
• Eisenhower Montgomery vs. Rommel, The Desert
  Fox
• Desert warfare, tanks, seesaw battle
• Allies win!

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Strategic Bombing

• British American bombers vs. German factories
  cities - Total War
• B-17 Flying Fortress
• Dresden Fire Bombing

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With a Partner

1. Why was Dresden full of refugees?
2. Why will the number of deaths never be known?
3. Which theory is most reasonable as a cause for
   the bombing of Dresden?
4. Why were the bombs so deadly? Were they
   conventional bombs?
5. What was the response of the German population
   in Dresden to the Allied bombing?

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Before
After
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Before After
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Before After
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The Eastern Front
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Battle of Stalingrad

• Largest battle in history!
• Over 1 million killed
• Hitler wanted to take Russia's oil fields
• Stalin ordered his army and civilians to defend
  the city at all costs
• Russia won - stopped the German advance,
  captured German army

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Invasion of Italy

• The soft underbelly of Europe
• Series of amphibious landings and airborne
  assaults
• Italian army surrendered quickly, Mussolini fled
• German troops reinforce Northern Italy fierce
  fighting

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Invasion of France

• June 6, 1944
• Operation Overlord
• D-Day
• Largest amphibious assault in history
• US, British, and Canadian troops attack 5 beaches
  in Normandy (France)
• Fierce resistance on Omaha Beach (Saving Private
  Ryan), 6,000 Americans killed

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Invasion of France

• Allies win, send millions of reinforcements into
  France
• France liberated on August 25th, 1944

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Russian Counteroffensive

• Battle of Kursk largest tank battle in history
  (3000 tanks)
• Ended in a draw, but Germany retreated out of
  Russia
• Red Army slowly pushes Nazis back through Poland
  and then invades Germany

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Battle of the Bulge!
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Hitler's Last Gamble
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Germany in the West

• Battle of the Bulge
• Allies closing in on Germany from both sides
• Hitler's last offensive all out attack on the
  American lines
• Panzers push Americans back, but lines do not
  break they only bulge
• Germans run out of gas and retreat

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Invasion of Germany

• Germany running low on weapons, supplies, and
  soldiers
• Hitler refused to surrender
• Allies invade Germany from both sides
• US agrees to let Red Army capture Berlin
• Hitler orders all out defense of Berlin
  hopeless
• Russians commit atrocities revenge
• Hitler commits suicide in his bunker

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Quickwrite

• Look over your notes from today's lesson...
• Which event do you think was the biggest
  turning point for the Allies?
• - Rank the events from most significant to least
  (1most, 8least)
• Battle of the Atlantic, North Africa, Strategic
  bombing, Battle of Stalingrad, Invasion of Italy,
  D-Day, Battle of Kursk, Battle of the Bulge
• Explain the reasoning for your first and last
  picks