Chapter 25 Section 2Retaking Europe

Atlantic Charter An agreement signed by President

Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941

Outlines the nation’s war aims Sought no territory No territorial changes without

permission of the people People have a right to choose their

own government Nazis must be destroyed

Why was the Atlantic Charter significant?

It contained terms agreed to by Great Britain and the U.S. to govern war behavior and define their aims

General Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Commander of the Allied

forces in World War II

American

Future President 1953-1961

What obstacles did Allied forces face while fighting in Italy?

Mountainous terrain

Destroyed bridges

Blocked roads

Elaborate German Army defenses

In June of 1941, the Nazis invade the Soviet Union. How successful was the invasion of the Soviet Union in the first few months?

Very successful

German air forces gained near total control of the air

Germans took hundreds of thousands of Russian prisoners

Moved deep into Russian territory

Why did the German invasion of the Soviet Union succeed at first?

The intensity and speed of the attack took the Soviets by surprise

Describe the events of the Battle of Stalingrad?

Important rail and industrial center

Germans firebombed and shot artillery at the city for 2 months

House to house combat

Soviets make their stand

Winter sets in

90,000 Nazis eventually surrender

What factors helped the Soviet army defeat the Germans?

While the Soviets were retreating, they burned anything the Nazis could use

The cold and harsh weather

The size of the Soviet Union

How did the Allied decision to delay an invasion of Western Europe and fight instead in North Africa and Italy affect the Soviet Union?

The Soviet Union bore the heaviest cost of fighting Germany

26 million dead in the Soviet Union alone

This made the Soviets suspicious of the West

Carpet Bombing Planes scattered large numbers of

bombs over a wide area

German cities suffered heavy damage as a result

What advantage did carpet bombing have over a conventional attack on Germany?

Carpet bombing, along with more precise American bombing, enabled the Allies to strike all over Germany with lower risk for allied casualties

D-Day June 6, 1944

Allied invasion of France

Beginning of the invasion of Hitler’s Europe

130,000 Allies land on the first day

Largest invasion in history

In a little over 2 months, France is liberated

Explain the significance of the D-day invasion?

It represented the opening of the Allied invasion of Western Europe

Battle of the Bulge Americans were on the verge of

entering Germany

December 1944-Germans attack American lines in Belgium

Created a bulge in the middle of American lines

Last ditch offensive for the Nazis

Explain why Stalingrad and the Battle of the Bulge market two different turning points for Germany during the War.

Stalingrad

Turning point of the war in the east

German surrender and loss showed that Germany’s seemingly unstoppable offensive was over

Battle of the Bulge

Resulted in great German losses

Nazis lose the last of their armored reserves

Nazi leaders recognize that the war is lost

Germany Surrenders The Soviets invade Berlin in April

1945

Hitler commits suicide April 30, 1945

May 8, 1945- Germany surrenders