Shape of the Day

• Who is Private Wotjek?

• Presentation: The Allies Strike Back

• Final Project Introduction

• Work Time in Computer Lab

The Allies Strike Back

Operation Torch

• When the American’s joined the War in 1941, the only question left was where they would attack

• While a direct attack on France from Britain seemed the most obvious, President Roosevelt was afraid that it would cost to many lives

• It was decided that the Americans would attack North Africa through Morocco, a territory under the control of Germany and defended by Vichy France

• The attack begun on November 8, 1942

Operation Torch: The French Question• The Allied forces were

unaware of what resistance their old ally, the French, would giveo Although the British had fought

along side them in the Battle of France, Britain had also sunk French ships shortly after

o France was angry with the United States who stood idle as their country feel to the French

Operation Torch: The Attack Begins • The attack begun as 124,000

British and American troops spread landed on three beaches in Morocco and Algeria

• Response was varied, some French groups laid down their weapons while others fought fiercely

• After only 4 days of fighting, the Vichy French surrender and the Allies were victorious with only 500 killed soldiers

North African Campaign

• With Morocco and Algeria taken, the Allies looked to take over the country Tunisia

• Tunisia was valuable to the Allies as it had a port only 100 miles away from Sicily which would offer the Allies an opportunity to invade Europe

• On January 24, 1943, the Allied forces invaded Tunisia

North African Campaign: The Beginning• The Axis had placed

170,000 troops in Tunisia to protect it from the approaching Allies

• The British attacked from Egypt in the West, while the Americans attacked from the East, Canada offered heavy air and naval support

North African Campaign: The End• While the British had little

trouble advancing towards the country, German tanks destroyed the inexperienced Americans

• Experienced British soldiers came to reinforce the Americans and soon the Axis were pushed back

• On May 13, 1943, the Axis surrendered and more than 250,000 were taken prisoner

Invasion of Sicily

• With North Africa under Allied Control, Winston Churchill felt that the Allies should attack Germany through its “soft underbelly” (Italy)

• Before doing this, however, the Allies planned to take the island of Sicily from the Axis

Operation Mincemeat

• In order to distract the Axis, the British had sent a dead soldier with a brief case attached to his wrist

• Inside the brief case were love letters and “classification documents” containing details for a fake invasion

• Hitler fell for the distraction and sent a large group of soldiers from Sicily to Sardinia

Invasion of Sicily• On July 10, 1943, the Allied

forces invaded Sicily heavily outnumbered by the Axis 350,00-180,000

• The Allied forces consisted of British, America, Canadian, and other Commonwealth soldiers

• The tides turned, however, on when August 17, 1943, 135,000 Italian soldiers were captured and the Axis lost the battle

• Mussolini was quickly voted out of office an imprisoned

Invasion of Italy• With Sicily under Allied control,

the Allies focused on taking Italy• The new Italian leader, Pietro

Badoglio, signed a deal with the Allies promising them peace

• For this reason the Allies thought that the Italian campaign would be quick and easy

• The Germans, however, still had a massive amount of soldiers in Italy and would prove a difficult enemy

Invasion of Italy• On September 3, 1943, British and

Canadian soldiers landed in Southern Italy • The Germans had anticipated the Allies

attack however and retreated north of Naples and made a defensive line known as the “Gustav Line”

• After months of deadlock, the allies would force the Germans 200 miles north of Rome and the Germans were forced to create a new defensive line known as the Gothic Line

• In September 1944, the troops in Italy were sent to Southern France to support the attack taken place in Northern France and abandoned Italy

Impact of Canada• The Invasion of Sicily was the first sustained

land battle Canadian soldiers fought ino Before the Canadians even landed in Sicily

three of their ships were sunk and 58 Canadians drowned

o On land there were 2300 casualties including nearly 600 deaths

• More than 92,000 Canadian soldiers fought in Italyo 26,000 Canadians were casualties as a

result of the battleo Included in this was more than 5300 deado 1372 Canadians soldiers died in the

streets of Ortona alone