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Attack on the periphery of the German empire.
The prime minister wanted to attack the periphery, or edges, of the German empire. Roosevelt eventually agreed, and in July 1942, he ordered the invasion of Morocco and Algeria—two French territories indirectly under German control. -
Battle of Kasserine Pass
Eisenhower fired the general who led the attack and put General George Patton in command. The American and British forces finally pushed the Germans back. -
Battle of the Atlantic
German submarines had sunk about 360 American ships along the East Coast, including many oil tankers. The loss of so many ships convinced the U.S. Navy to set up a convoy system in which cargo ships traveled in groups escorted by warships. The convoy system improved the situation dramatically, making it much more difficult for a submarine to torpedo a cargo ship and escape without being attacked. -
Allied invasion of North Africa
The Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942 had shown that a large-scale invasion from the sea was possible. The success of the landings convinced Roosevelt to meet again with Churchill to plan the next stage of the war. -
German submarine campaign.
May and June alone, more than 1.2 million tons of shipping were sunk. Yet in those same two months, American and British shipyards built more than 1.1 million tons of new shipping. At the same time, American airplanes and warships began to use new technology, including radar, sonar, and depth charges, to locate and attack submarines. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Stalin ordered his troops to hold the city at all costs. The Germans were forced to fight from house to house, losing thousands of soldiers in the process. Unlike the Soviets, they were not equipped to fight in the bitter cold. On November 23, Soviet reinforcements arrived and surrounded Stalingrad, trapping almost 250,000 German troops. When the battle ended in February 1943, some 91,000 Germans had surrendered. Only 5,000 of them survived the Soviet prison camps. -
Roosevelt and Stalin meeting.
Roosevelt wanted to meet with Stalin before the Allies invaded France. In late 1943, Stalin agreed, proposing that Roosevelt and Churchill meet him in Tehran, Iran. The leaders reached several agreements. Stalin promised to launch a full-scale offensive against the Germans when the Allies invaded France in 1944. -
Desposal of Mussolini
The king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, and a group of Italian generals decided that it was time to depose Mussolini. On July 25, 1943, the king invited the dictator to his palace. And told him he's no good anymore. The king then arrested Mussolini, and the new Italian government began negotiating a surrender to the Allies. -
Germans Evacuating
A new amphibious truck delivered supplies and artillery to the soldiers on the beach. Eight days after the troops came ashore, American tanks smashed through enemy lines and captured the western half of the island. Patton’s troops then headed east, while the British attacked from the south. By August 17, the Germans had evacuated the island. -
D-day
Heavy cloud cover, strong winds, and high waves made June 5 impossible. The weather was forecast to improve briefly a day later. The Channel would still be rough, but the landing ships and aircraft could operate. After looking at forecasts one last time, shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944, Eisenhower gave the final order: “OK, we’ll go.”