WWII European and North African Front

Learning Targets

1. Describe the main battles of the North African and European Front and the battle’s contexts to prepare for the mini-projects on the battles.

2. Create pictures within their notes to illustrate their understanding of the importance of each battle.

3. Analyze the battles and determine why the Allies won the war against Germany.

4. Test the knowledge of the battles with a clicker quiz.

1940: Battle of Britain

• GOAL:

Germany wanted to destroy British Royal Air Force and then

invade Britain

Battle of Britain

• How: “Blitz” attack on

London; bombing raids; radar defense

• Outcome: Allied win• Impact: Germany never

invaded Britain; Hitler’s first failure

Elephant and Castle Tube Station during the Blitz

6

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

--Winston Churchill 1940 on the pilots of the RAF during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz

1939-1944: Battle of the Atlantic

• GOAL: control supply route to BritainU-boats sink 360 U.S. ships

Battle of the Atlantic

• How: Britain used radar, sonar and convoys; Germany used U-Boat “wolf packs”

• Outcome: Allied

win• Impact:

Great Britain

still got supplies

from U.S.

1942-43: War in North Africa (El Alamein)

• GOAL: Italy wanted to take over British- controlled North Africa for oil and Suez canal

Higgins Boat – Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP)

•Based on Japanese landing craft design•U.S. first used in Pacific at Guadalcanal, later all island battles•U.S. first used in European Front in North Africa, later D-Day

War in North Africa (El Alamein)

• How: British and American forces trap Rommel’s Afrikan Korps• Outcome: Allied win• Impact: Afrika Korps surrender; Allies attack Italy from N. Africa

1943: Invasion of Sicily & Campaign for Italy

• Goal:

take Axis Italy

out of the war

• How:

Invade island of Sicily;

use island to invade Italy

American and British troops use North Africa

as base of attack.

Introduced The DUKW(used in D-Day and Pacific)

Invasion of Sicily & Campaign for Italy

• Outcome:

Allied win

• Impact:

Mussolini

overthrown

and Italy

surrenders

1942-43: Battle of Stalingrad

• GOAL: German offensive to get transportation routes, steel, and city of Stalingrad

“No retreat allowed.”Soviet leader Stalin

German invasion forces:2,700 planes, 3350 tanks, 3.3 million men in Operation Barbarosa

Battle of Stalingrad

• How: ruthless room-to-room fighting; Soviets surround Germans• Outcome: Allied Win• Impact: turning point; Germans retreat from East

Casualties – 1 million Soviets 250,000 German soldiers 91,000 Germans surrender

June 6, 1944: D-Day

• GOAL:

liberate France

from Germany

• How:

largest sea and

land invasion ever

D-Day

Invasion Force• 700 ships•110, 000 Allied soldiers• 23,000 paratroopers

U.S. Casualties• Utah 200 and 3 hours• Omaha 2,500

D-Day

• Outcome: Allied win• Impact: took beaches and began to retake France; Germany has to fight on 2 fronts

1944-45: Battle of the Bulge

• GOAL: Germans attack in Belgium to stop Allies from reaching Germany• How: created “bulge” in Allied lines; reinforcements stalled offensive

Battle of the Bulge

• Outcome: Allied win• Impact: Germany on defense only; German defeat coming

U.S. 77,000 deathes