The War for Europe and North Africa

Mr. VanderportenContemporary American History

War PlansAfter Pearl Harbor, Churchill and

Roosevelt meet to discuss war plans

Become great friends

Churchill wants Roosevelt to attack Europe first, and then Japan

The Battle of the AtlanticGermany wants to prevent food/war materials

from reaching Britain and the Soviet Union

Britain gets all of its goods from the sea, Hitler wants to stop this

German U-Boats attacked American ships

Allies start using convoys (groups of ships traveling together for protection), Huge success!!!

Escorted by destroyers who use sonar to detect submarines

Airplanes use radar

Convoy System

The Battle of StalingradAugust 1942 to February 1943

Soviet Union

Vs.

Nazi Germany

The Battle of StalingradGermany/Soviet Union had been fighting since

June 1941

Summer of 1942: Hitler wants to capture Soviet oil fields, also wants to attack Stalingrad

Attacks Stalingrad in August of 1942, Luftwaffe begins heavily bombing the city

Stalingrad is easily burnt because many buildings are made of wood

Brutal hand to hand combat, house by house fighting

The Battle of StalingradBut then winter comes….

Soviets begin massive counterattack, trapped the Germans

Many Germans froze or starved to death

Soviets win the battle but lose 1.1 million soldiers

Soviets now on the attack towards Germany

The Soviet winter destroys the German Army

The North African Front

The North African FrontStalin wants Britain and U.S. to open up

a second front

Allies attack North Africa instead

Led by Dwight D. Eisenhower, defeat Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps

Allies now determine they need an unconditional surrender

Decide to attack Europe though Italy

North African Front/Italian Campaign

The Italian CampaignAllies capture Sicily

Italian government forces Benito Mussolini to resign

The King had Mussolini stripped of his power and had him arrested

Germany is determined to keep fighting in Italy