• Even with Anti tank cannons and a main fortress every 5 kilometers, there was an undeniable flaw!

• The line went from Belgium to Switzerland

It was a mistake!

Maginot Line

Built as protection from Germany

Battle of Dunkirk

• German Forces pound English and French forces back to the coast

• All available boats (Battle ships, Merchant vessels, Fishing boats, row boats, dinghy's, and anything that will float) pick up French and British soldiers who retreat.

• 338,000 Allied soldiers are rescued

Nazi soldiers march through Paris

France surrenders June, 1940

Allied Invasion of Africa: Operation “Torch”

El Alamein

El Alamein

British Victory November ’42By Monty

Allied invasion Nov ’42 By Ike May ‘ 43

EL ALAMEINEL ALAMEIN Oct.-Nov.1942• British Victory• DEFEATED GERMAN

GENERAL ROMMEL the “Desert Fox”, prevented from capturing Suez Canal

• TURNING POINT FOR WAR IN AFRICA

• Fighting in Africa•November 1942-May 1943

•Allied troops landed in Algeria and Morocco

•Germans driven out of N Africa by May 1943

Invasion of Invasion of ItalyItaly

After victory in Africa, the Allies conquered Sicily and moved into Italy

Allies landed south of Rome at Anzio, fought for four months and broke through German defenses in April 1945

Invasion of Soviet UnionInvasion of Soviet UnionStalingrad- Hitler was Stalingrad- Hitler was obsessed with conquering obsessed with conquering this city named after Stalinthis city named after Stalin

Germans suffered under Germans suffered under harsh winter conditions, harsh winter conditions, Russians counterattacked Russians counterattacked and surrounded German and surrounded German armyarmy

***Turning point in the ***Turning point in the war in the Eastwar in the East

Stalingrad

• 1942-2/2/43• Key city leading to oil rich

lands in south• As soon as Stalingrad won,

Soviets surround city, cut off supply lines

• Cold and starving, German troops fought until 2/2/43—surrendered

• Defeat marks a major turning point

OPERATION OVERLORDInvasion of mainland of Europe, essential to winning the

war

Hitler expected it at Calais, but the coast was heavily defended

INVASION OF INVASION OF NORMANDYNORMANDY

• JUNE 6, 1944• OMAHA BEACH• GERMANS

THOUGHT NORTH OF SEINE

• STAYED CONFINED UNTIL JULY 24

D-Day

• Allies establish a foothold

• Within a few weeks– Million troops– 566,648 tons of supplies– 171,532 vehicles in France

• Allies push through France

• 8/25/44 Paris Liberated

U.S. soldiers landing on Omaha Beach

Going over the top D-Day

BATTLE OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGEBULGE

• DEC. 1944 - JAN. 1945

• LAST GERMAN OFFENSIVE

• VITAL SEAPORT: ANTWERP

• “BULGE” IN LINES• 100,000 GERMAN

CASULATIES• 800 tanks lost• Largest battle in

Western Europe

Battle of the Bulge

• Belgium, France, Luxemburg• 12/16/44• Germans last offensive• Wanted to reach Antwerp and force Allies to

negotiate peace• German Defeat—marks the end of serious German

resistance• 81,000 US casualties 1,400 British, 800 tanks

The End of the War in Europe

• By 1945, Soviets surround Berlin• Hitler commits suicide April 30,

1945• Germany signs an unconditional

surrender on May 7, 1945• V-E Day—Victory in Europe—

May 8th

Russians place Hammer and Sickle on the Reichstag

American soldiers taking Paris

May 1945

War in the PacificWar in the Pacific• Pearl Harbor

» Sunday, December 7, 1941—7:55 A.M.

» Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

» Ends American Neutrality

» Devastates the American fleet

» 8 battleships, 3 cruisers,

» hundreds of planes

» 2,400 killed

War in the PacificWar in the Pacific—Pearl Harbor—Pearl Harbor

• “a day that will live in infamy”—FDR • On the same day, Japanese bombers struck

American airfields in the Philippines, Wake Island, and Guam—key American bases

• December 8, 1941—FDR declares war on Japan• December 11, 1941—Axis powers declare war on

US—Congress declares war on Germany and Italy

Philippines

• When 12/7/41-4/9/42• Who: Japanese vs. Filipino and American troops

—MacArthur• What: 12/7/41—Japanese strike and quickly take

Manila (capital)– Allies must retreat to the Baatan Peninsula

– Allies surrender 4/9/42

– Bataan prisoners (sick and starving) forced to march to prison camps 60 miles away.

Philippines

After 4 months of fighting, the Filipino and American soldiers surrendered to the Japanese

76,000 soldiers became prisoners of war and were marched 60 miles to a prison camp, at least 20,000 died along the way in the famous “Bataan Death March”

Battle of Coral Sea

First naval battle carried out entirely by aircraft.

The enemy ships never even came into contact with each other

•May 7, 1942

•Strategic Allied victory—halted the Japanese advance on Australia

BATTLE OF BATTLE OF MIDWAYMIDWAY

• JUNE 3-6, 1942• CONSTANT 2-DAY

BATTLE• First major

Japanese defeat• OVER 185

JAPANESE SHIPS lost

Battle of Midway• What: a strategic attempt by Japan to

shut off US supply lines

• Results: US stopped the Japanese and changed the direction of the war– U.S. loses only 2 ships– Protects Hawaii– US takes offensive

Mac Arthur returning to Philippines

Guadalcanal—8/42-2/43• Who: US vs. Japan• Where: Island near Australia—

one of Solomon Islands• What: One of the most vicious campaigns

– Japanese put up a fierce resistance– US has superior air and naval power

• Results:– First time US land troops defeat Japanese– Americans are able to secure the island

Iwo Jima

• February-March 1945• Island off the coast of Japan—Japanese soil

– Longest sustained aerial offensive of the war

– More marines sent than in any other battle

– 100,000 men fighting on an island the 1/3 the size of Manhattan

– Japanese fought from below ground—Allies rarely saw a soldier

– The battle was won inch-by-inch

Volcanic island deeply entrenched

Iwo Jima

• Results: US win– Provides a link in the

chain of bomber bases

– By the war’s end, 2,400 B-29 bombers and 27,000 crewmen made emergency landings.

– “4 marines raising US flag”

Okinawa

• Casualties– US—12,500 killed; 36,000 wounded– Japan—93,000 troops killed; 94,000 civilians

killed (many killed themselves)

• Kamikazes—suicide pilots– Crashed planes loaded with explosives– Sank 30 US vessels

The End of the War in the Pacific

• With most of Japan’s air force and navy destroyed, B-29’s pounded Tokyo and other cities

• Japanese refuse to surrender

• Potsdam Declaration issued:– If you don’t surrender you face “prompt and

utter destruction”

The Atomic Bomb

• Truman decides to use the bomb• 8/6/45—Hiroshima

– 70,000 killed

• 8/9/45—Nagasaki– 40,000 killed

• Thousand injured• Many more die from radiation• August 15, 1945—Japan surrenders—V-J Day

Truman and the Bomb

• Truman decides to use the Bomb because– Invading Japan would mean up to 1,000,000

more casualties– Anti-Japanese sentiment is strong in the U.S.

• August 6, 1945 Enola Gay drops uranium bomb on Hiroshima

• August 9, 1945 Plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki

VICTORY IN JAPANJapanese surrender aboard U.S.S. Missouri

Costs of the War

• 40 million died

• American casualties– 332,000 dead; 800,000 wounded

• Soviet Union– Over 20 million deaths

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima