Battle in the Battle in the West - D Day & West - D Day & BeyondBeyond

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• From the Battle of Britain to the invasion of Italy…- increased resistance to Nazi occupation

- build up of Bomber Command & USAAF in Britain leads to night & then day bombing of mainland

- Casablanca Conference (Jan 1943)• ‘Germany first’ reaffirmed• unconditional surrender• Sicily invaded in July• France to be invaded in August, later postponed• Deutsches Afrika Korps defeated

- Battle of the Atlantic on the improve for the Allies

- Deutsches Afrika Korps defeated

- Operation ’Husky’: Sicily (July 10)

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• The ‘soft underbelly of Europe’ – NOT- July 10 to Aug 17 1943: conquest of Sicily- July 25: Mussolini overthrown by Fascist Grand

Council, Italians make secret peace overtures- August 13 - 23: Quebec Conference

• ‘Overlord’ set for May 1944

- Sept 8 - 10: Italy surrenders, Italian mainland is invaded, Germans move in

- end of Sept: Germans defending Gustav Line = stalemate- Nov 28 - Dec 1: Tehran Conference- Monte Cassino: fierce fighting- Jan 22, 1944: Anzio landings- June 5: Allies enter Rome- front remained fairly static until end of war.

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• Planning for ‘Overlord’- begins April 1943- Dieppe Raid (Aug 1942)- Gen Eisenhower appointed Allied C-in-C- where to attack- specialised equipment- combined arms- deception- Russian offensive timed to coincide

Battle in the West – D Day Battle in the West – D Day & Beyond& Beyond

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• The Normandy Landings- night of June 5/6: airborne attacks to create confusion,

capture/destroy bridges, etc- French Resistance join in- 3400 ships, 2500 landing craft - landings at 5 beaches:

• Utah (US) - light casualties, Omaha (US) - almost 10% casualties• Gold, Sword (Br) & Juno (Can) - light casualties

- German resistance was heavybut confused

- Hitler believed real invasion wasstill to come & refused to releasethe German reserves

- landed 155,000 troops but not allobjectives were achieved

- logistics & supply vital

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• Breakout- By June 30, Allies had only secured the Normandy coast &

port of Cherbourg (damaged by the German occupiers)- July: desperate British attacks in eastern Normandy wear

down German resistance & allow American attack in the west to succeed (Operation Cobra)

- Aug 15: Allies land on coast of southern France- Aug 25: Paris liberated- Sept 3: Brussels liberated- Sept 11: Allied troops reach the Franco-German border.- Sept 17 to 26: Operation Market Garden, Montgomery’s

gamble fails- end of Sept: almost all of France, Belgium & Luxemburg

have been liberated, Normandy & S. French forces linked up

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• Closing the noose…- Oct & Nov: spent consolidating supply lines, conquering

Alsace-Lorraine & opening Antwerp as a supply port- autumn/winter brings a halt to the advance- Dec 16 to Jan 1: ‘Battle of the Bulge’

• German counterattack through the Ardennes

• Aimed to capture Antwerp

• False hopes that the Allies would retreat/split(!)

• Allied resistance strong after initial surprise

• American resistance at Bastogne

• Germans had little in the way of supplies

• Results: no German reserves, loss of experienced troops, held up Allies for six weeks

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• The End - ‘Twilight of the Gods’- Feb 1945: Allies advance to the Rhine River- March: Allies cross the Rhine in several places- March 19: Hitler orders ‘scorched earth’ policy, but it is not

carried out- Allied advance speeds up: Germans have few units of

quality, little in the way of supplies, morale has collapsed- April 25: Western Allies & Russians meet on the River Elbe- April 28: Himmler discredited, April 29: Adm Doenitz

appointed Hitler’s successor- April 30: Hitler commits suicide in Berlin- May 2: Berlin surrenders to the Russians- May 7: Germany surrenders unconditionally (after trying to

arrange a separate peace with the West, but failing)

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

• Aftermath- carving up of Europe: Democracy -v- Communism- distrust of the Allies for each other- Nuremburg Trials

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond

Battle in the West – D Day & Battle in the West – D Day & BeyondBeyond