TURNING POINTS of WWII

Dunkirk EvacuatedJune 4, 1940

Battle of the Atlantic • 1939 – 1945 (Jan. 1942 – July 1943 were

decisive)

• German U-Boats were sinking unprotected U.S. and other Allies' merchant ships

• Allies began using convoys to protect ships• The Allies also used a sonar system to detect

German U-Boats • The Germans were very successful in the

beginning, but by mid - 1943, the Allies had the upper hand

"The Battle of the Atlantic was the only thing that really frightened me" - Winston Churchill.

Battle of Stalingrad (June 1941 – January 31, 1943)

• Germans violated nonaggression pact with Soviet Union and attacked

• Hitler hoped to captured Soviet oil fields

• Germans nearly won (controlled 9/10 of the city)

• Winter of 1943 hit

Battle of Stalingrad cont…• Hitler forced Germans to stay put• Soviets used to their advantage and won

• Soviets lost 1,100,000 people in this battle• Turning point in WWII

• From that point on, Soviet army began to move westward towards Germany

• The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the winter of 1942 to 1943.

• • Stalingrad was an important target as it was

Russia’s centre of communications in the south as well as being a centre for manufacturing.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Stalingrad_aftermath.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/German_pows_stalingrad_1943.jpg

Nearly 250,000 Axis soldiers taken prisoner; with surrender, all of North Africa in Allied hands

Italian and British forces battled for control of North Africa. The Suez Canal and the oil fields of the Middle East were essential to the British war effort

• Afrika Korps led by Erwin Rommel• Pushed British back into Egypt• Traded blows for two years • 1942—Battle of El Alamein• British victory under Gen. Bernard

Montgomery• Axis power lessened in North Africa

Back-and-forth fighting

War in North Africa and Italy

• Soviets wanted European front• Invasion of western North Africa• Dwight D. Eisenhower led troops• Rommel caught between forces in

east and west• Supply problems worsened• May 1943—surrendered to Allies

Americans join the battle

Tuskagee Airmen

The North Africa Campaign:

The Battle of El Alamein, 1942 Gen. Ernst

Rommel,The “Desert Fox”

Gen. Bernard Law

Montgomery(“Monty”)

The Panzer IV was the mainstay of the Afrika Corps and were needed in great numbers in theWestern Desert

Erwin RommelCommander of the

Nazi forces in North Africa

Operation Torch North African Campaign

Purposes:• Drive Axis powers out of North

Africa and Middle East• Divert German forces from

Russian Front Strategy: Sandwich Afrikan Corp between British in East and Allied forces (including US) in West

The Italian Campaign [“Operation Torch”] :

Europe’s “Soft Underbelly”y Allies plan assault

on weakest Axis area - North Africa - Nov. 1942-May 1943

y George S. Patton leads American troops

y Germans trapped in Tunisia - surrender over 275,000 troops.

July - August 1943, Operation "Husky": Allied forces invade Sicily, Italy.

This Operation was the greatest Airborne-Amphibious Operation of WWII until D-DAY

3,000 ships and landing-craft with 160,000 men (8 Divisions), 14,000 vehicles, 600 tanks and 1800

guns. Operation continues in Sicily and Italy 1943-1945

First Allied attacks on Monte Cassino

Operation HuskyInvasion of Italy

Farthest Extent of Japanese Conquests

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle:First U. S. Raids on Tokyo, 1942

Battle of the Coral Sea:May 7-8, 1942

Battle of Midway Island:June 4-6, 1942

Battle of Midway Island:June 4-6, 1942

Battle Of Midway

The fight for the Pacific

BATTLE OF MIDWAY, a decisive naval battle of World War. This victory by the United States over Japan in June 1942 ended the Japanese advance in the Pacific Ocean.

American intelligence intercepted Japanese plans The Americans sent their entire carrier force, The Americans succeeded in sinking four Japanese carriers, This was the turning point in the Pacific War.

Yamamoto erred in dividing his force of more than 160 vessels. The U.S. commander, Adm. Chester Nimitz, with 76 ships